The problem of a fertile imagination

We have just a single set of the old tattoos, and Sue has it with her at the Con (Epic Confusion). So, I am here remaking them to fit the new 2.0 way, which is a magic item needs to be playable without having to lay your hands on a spell card to make it work.

The tattoos are pretty straight forward and convert by shortening the text to fit in the box, but they work the same.

The tricky one is the Mark of the Shadows. The user is sliding into the shadows between the physical and spirit worlds and using it to see into both the physical world and into the spirit world, yet they are in neither, so they can not effect either, or be effected by either. It makes this tattoo into a way to survey enemy camps, bases or rooms, or to gather information. This is different than the classic spell, but I can fit it on a card. GM's will need to use 3.14 to make specific calls that will come up when the card is used, but that is what we have GM's for.

Are these shadows a nice safe place? Well, what happened to those who failed to get back out? Plus I know there is at least one monster in there with you. Their are also totally alien native shadow creatures in there. Wherever there is a space, something uses it. It may not turn out as slick and safe as you want. For the time being we are going to let the GM populate the shadows with creatures from their imaginations, just be aware, we will be adding some "stuff" in the distant future.

I have no idea what I could write on a card to help the GM, and the player, understand that chaos can strike anywhere.

Try this:
When someone enters Shadow Walk, by tattoo or spell, have them run into a crying man sitting on the floor. He watched his wife and family grow old and die, he watched his children, grandchildren and more, live and die. He watched the vast majority of the world die in the storms and wars after Deathday. He is mad, he wants just one thing, and that is to get out of the shadows so he can die too.

This should give the player an idea that all is not well in the shadows. I do not have a solution to the mans problem, but if a player comes up with a good, creative idea, let them get lucky and succeed. In my games good role-playing trumps dice rolls.

Conventions and Dragon Storm Con 2012

We have been getting questions about the dates for Dragon Storm Con 2012. We have them. July 20th to 22nd, 2012.

Link to Dragon Storm Con Page, with, of course, Membership information.

We also have the 2012 Con schedule up and posted. There will be, as usual, additions to the list.

Here is the Link to our Con page.

New Betas!

OK, I have posted the New Clan Swords Beta and the Gargoyle Beta cards. Time for people to start playing with them and try them out. You can use this link to get to the Beta page.

Susan is at the Furfright Con this weekend. She has several new prints for sale there. You can see, and order, the new prints on the Etsy site. Summon Fox, Leap Away, Alimeeta and Earth Wolf are the new works.

We have started creating some holiday cards in the cafepress shop. You can look them over at the Cafepress shop. I will be adding more images here over the next few days.

Have Fun!

Etsy Print Updates

Sue is off at IFC and having a good time.

I am here catching up our Etsy Print Shop.

Tail Percher is new in the Whimsical Cat Section.

The Griffitts Section of Etsy has been updated.

I am just about done with today, you can have it back now.

Updating the Web site

After the great DS Con and Origins release of 2.0 it is time to clean up the web market and make it easier to order. I have put up a new front page and rewritten the market pages. (Yes, Sue has promised me a new logo, but she is really busy with art commissions and assignments.) You can take a look here.

I am afraid that the Free Stuff and Conventions pages will have to wait until we get back from GenCon to get spiffed up.

Right now the Player Set page is really long. The next step there is to have another layer that will break the Player Sets down and make them easier to find what you want.

The Werewolf has moved to a final Beta status, and the pdf's are now in the market being prepped for printing. I have tweaked the cards based on the excellent comments I have gotten from people. I saw several people using the new werewolf at DS con. Everyone should take one last look at them to be sure they are alright. I also touched up the Get to Know your Werewolf PDF to account for the changes.

The Valarian's got a new PDF of the powers that be. Not much in the way of changes there. I put it up as a sheet of cards that people will really not need many of. I am "thinking" about the next Valarian PDF set. Who knows when it will appear.

The Warrior has moved into the Market. It, and the Scout, are in a Final Beta status as well. That means they need everyone to take a last look and check them out for us.

I added two new sets of basic items to the market. (405 and 406). The items in 405 actually got numbered and entered into my Card List, so they are very close to publishing and I ran a few sheets to test the print system. 406 should get the same treatment soon.

Let me see, what else. Oh ya, on the Starter page are a couple of sets of Training cards to help teach new people. These are the result of suggestions from Demo GM's looking for a way to get the basic rules into the hands of the newbs.

I have printed and done a few sets here to get the sold out cards ready to ship with web orders.

OK, I am done here. I need to get to work. I am going to try to hit skype a little more often for those that have questions, or comments on the new PDF's.

Thanks to Lee and Tim for their comments about DS Con. Sue and I had a great time as well, and I agree with your kind words for the GM's, Mark R and everyone who came to play.

Dragon Storm Con Prep and more

Dragon Storm Con is this weekend!  You can still sign up as a Supporting member, at least until Thursday evening, and get the Con special release cards shipped to you next Tuesday.

I have been working on getting the final Beta sheets done for the Warrior, Werewolf and Spirit Judges to show at the Con. I found myself loosing focus this afternoon, so I am not sure how much will get finished.

The Spirit Judges are GM cards. These are nasty Necromancers who use a nasty version of Shamanism they have perverted. Maybe a few of them will even take the time to learn shamanism, who knows. What actually spurred these guys in to beta form was the ongoing work on Shamanism itself.

What I did do for relaxation is to work on the Market pages. Specifically I got the Player sets organized, listed and up in a way that it will be easier to find what you are looking for. You can check out the page here.

Food at Dragon Storm Con 2011

Several people have contacted Mark Rosenberger asking about what food will be at the convention!

This is what Mark sent to me. I think the easiest way to pass on the information is to post it right here for starters.

Here is the tentative menu, subject to change based on the number of people coming and what food can be bought.

Friday Lunch: Sandwiches

Friday Dinner: Spirali and Sauce, Itailan Sausage or Meatballs, Garlic Bread

Saturday Breakfast: Ann's baked Eggs and Potatos, Canadian Bacon, Ham

Saturday Lunch: BBQ Pork Sandwiches, Corn on the Cob

Saturday Dinner: Mark's Korma Chicken with Safron Rice

Sunday Breakfast: Ann's Baked Eggs and Potatos, Canadian Bacon

Sunday Lunch: Leftovers, Sandwiches, and Soup

Sunday Dinner: Catch as Catch Can as most people will be leaving, there are several places that deliver

There will be the usual snack table open 24 hours / day: usual fare is cookies, fruit and nut bars, gummy dinosaurs, and animal crakers.  There will also be the microwave soup and pop corn stand in the basement that will be open during gaming hours.

Also put these notes up, though most of the regulars already know these rules:

* This is a house, not a convention hall, try to treat it that way.   Please open all soda cans over a sink and report any spills immediately.

* The cats are not allowed outside.  Ozzie (the white monster) will try to sneak past you; do not let him.

* Please leave the bathroom doors open and the seats down when you leave.  Not only will the humans appreciate it, but so will the cats.

Gamemaster updates, Preping for DS Con, Recovering

I have made my way through the GM card sets, adding art and a few more comments on the sets. In addition, we have listed the Wakana marauders set and the Mighty Madspawn Set. It is always good for the GM's to have some ammo for the really big parties. The page link is here.

We have decided on the DS Con card set and Sue is getting the artwork done for them. I want these cards. If you want a set sent immediatley, but you can not attend the Con, you can get a supporting membership, that way you get a set. We will make the set available at a later date, but it will not be cheap. The Con Page is here.

The DSAnnex will be at StormCon. As you know they sell Individual cards from Kanchaka and Dragon Storm. They have the last of the Deluxe cards as well. Go take a look at what they have. If you email them with your needs they can bring an order to you at the Con.

Almost as soon as the pressure of getting 2.0 out the door and arriving home from Origins/Anthrocon Sue and I fell in to a stupor. My body decided that I need pnemonia to set me down good and hard. The Doc gave me some interesting meds, I am working very slowly, but feeling better every day now.

Pre Convention Postings continue

We are starting with the Gamemaster and the Dragon in our Second Edition Book and cards, but that does not mean we are forgetting about the other shifter races. To prove that I am posting our Beta Werewolf material on the Downloads page for people to take a look at. Plus, I am going to post the Get to Know your Werewolf notes right here.

Get to Know your Werewolf.

©Susan Van Camp and Mark Ellis Harmon

 

Werewolf Design Notes:

These notes are based on the Beta cards and are not yet finalized.

 

Werewolf Forms that could be "Adopted" by other shifter races:

Dog Form, Fox Form, Wolf Form, Human Form.

 

Werewolf Senses:

The Werewolf cards focus on the sense of Smell. For Sight, sound and touch skills the Werewolf can learn the Perception Anchor and add those. The Perception Anchor bonus of +2 would apply to Distinguish Scent and Keen Nose.

 

Werewolf Form Enhances:

Note that these may only be used when the Werewolf has activated his/her werewolf senses by shifting into any form, including human. A bit odd, that human inclusion, but we are dealing with werewolves.

These Enhances do not have to be played when the werewolf first shifts, they may be combined at a later time. It increases their flexibility. Watch the timing duration of these when you activate them. Leap Away and Regenerate only last about five minutes ( C ). That means ten rounds. In regenerating after a combat that amounts to 10d6 healing.

 

Werewolf Role-Playing cards:

Distinguish Scent, Keen Nose, Distinguish Scent, Werewolf Hunt, Canine Empathy, Wolf Stalking and Sense Location all have serious role-playing potential.

This means we expect that the players will want to use any, or all, of these in creative ways during adventures. We endorse stretching the rules, and even ignoring the rules to play unique uses. The GM will, of course, determine the results, difficulty and uses using the 3.4 GM ability.

 

Howl of Rage:

Howl of Rage cards are tied to the forms of the Werewolf. You can always use smaller Howls, but not the larger. That really does mean that a Prime Werewolf can do all three in a round, if they have enough "things" to perform them.

The Classic Howl of Rage is still a valid card. We will not be creating special rules to deal with specific cards. We expect players to use their cards within the spirit of the game as a fun role-playing game. Carrying the Classic Howl and two of the new Howls will be common for higher CP characters.

 

Werewolf Slashes:

These cards are tied to the size of forms. We expect players to be able to play any of these to support other cards like Channel Healing, no matter what form they are in. These qualify as STR Enhancing cards.

 

Summon Cards:

Gamemasters will need to work with players on these cards. Some players will want to be able to Summon all three and use three Boon slots to do so. Other players will want to carry just the most powerful Summoned Wolf available. GM's are encouraged to use 3.4 to allow characters to drop the earlier Boons and have just one, if that fits the character's personality.

Note that a Summoned creature uses two IUK per round. That means that they get a Movement and an Action each round and the character summoning them has eight "things" they can do in a round. They are most commonly seen when the character is playing Solo, or in a small party, or when the character needs the extra attack.

 

What are "Special Items" mentioned on forms?

Players have an interesting way of claiming to use ropes, saddle bags, belt pouches and belts to create gear for their dogs. We left this vague so that players and GM's would feel free to improvise. Good place to use a homemade proxy.

 

Classic cards and the Werewolf:

Taking a quick scan of the cards it looks like only Slash and Fangs of the Wolf are Enhances and everything else requires a "thing" to activate them. As far as (IUK) requirements of Classic cards, we leave that in the hands of the players and GM. Do what feels right and fair.

 

Werwolf Background overview:

Werewolves have been recorded throughout written history, so they have been a known Mortal shifter for a long time.

Most werewolves are Human Werewolves, but everything is possible.

Throughout history Dragon Clans used Werewolves as a "police" force because they can speak and use items. The legends of Werewolf raids, and their visual similarity to wakana, make mortals "nervous" of them, at best.

Werewolves are best known as nasty melee fighters, getting up close and personal with their enemies. Werewolves can, like everyone else, be magic users, scribes and anything else, but they are known as warriors.

 

Werewolf Sizes:

Players will want to take these in to account when they hear the description of spaces available as the GM describes them. If you have any doubt about forms you can use, ask your GM, be sure to include your size in the request to help the GM decide.

Standard Werewolf. 6'3" to 6'9" tall. 200 to 250 lbs weight.

Greater Werewolf. 7'3" to 7'9" tall. 275 to 325 lbs weight. Great Avatar's add another foot in height to account for the wing tips.

Prime Werewolf. 8'3" to 8'9" tall. 350 to 400 lbs weight.

Dragon Storm RPG Friday News

Later today we will be heading down to the Penguicon convention. Should be fun.

Item Set 401 is now available in the items section of the Market Place. There is also a link to the sets web page with the listing. The Pre-Orders have shipped.

That brings us down to two Item sets still on the Pre-Order page. Sets 402 and 403. Magic Items. We are focused on the item sets for the moment because they work for both Classic and Second edition.

The Pre-orders we are getting are extremely helpful in keeping the cash flow regulated. Thank You! More people placing Pre-Orders would be very good.

I have been fighting off the allergy attacks sent at me by the necromancers. Those pesky enemies have discovered a way of slowing my work to a crawl. It is keeping me away from the hours sitting at the computer. However, it has caused the mind to meander, and you can see the result on my daily blog. I posted two longish meandering talks on the blog this week.

Good Night and Good Gaming!

 

Sunday Morning DS Round Up

What has happened this week? First of all I have discovered why I am not getting full webpages up for the new DS card sets. It takes at least full days work to get each page ready to go. So that is just about all I have gotten done in the past week.

I moved the links to the newest web pages for sets to the top of the Downloads page. This is the link to the page.

The starting/demo character has pictures of all of the cards with notes by each. When you scroll down to the bottom of the page you will find the set PDF's for download.

I have also included a shortened Character Creation and Rules you need for new players. It prints out as a single page. I put this up in an RTF format so our Warden GM's can either print out a couple for reference, or modify it to suit your needs.

Sue created a new Character sheet layout based on the rules she is writing. She provided an example and I laid it out. When done I created a PDF of the Character sheet and put a link to it on the Starting Character web page. If you are looking for a good long/detailed character sheet there are a number of people who have created them. Glenn put one on the Dragon Storm Group on Facebook.

Each of the card sets also include a simplified Guideline RTF. I did them this way so that it would be easy for me to update the Guides to cover new questions as they come up. In some places I have even made reference to some of the changes that affect Classic cards. I really can't get too deep into that until Sue finishes the new rules.

On some of the sets I have added an experiment. There is a buy button for the PDF's. Let's see how that works.

You may have noted that I am doing updates on Twitter, and Facebook, as I complete tasks. Both are quick to do, so I am. If you need the Twitter or Facebook links, check on our links page.

I asked for Feature ideas earlier in the week and players responded, Thank You! These are the ones I got up. There are a couple more good ones I need to post, and you should see them Wednesday.

Now, links to the new set pages:

Card Set 100. Human Dragon Starter/Demo. Lot of info here.

Card Set 102. The rest of the Dragon Characters. We now have ten races. Yes, this process will be repeated for each shifter race.

Card Set 200. The first Dragon Abilities sheet. It looks like we have four total Dragon sets on the way through the pipes. The fifth set is partial.

Card Set 400. Magic Rings. Now in the Market for ordering. The new versions do not need another card with them to work. They now stand on there own.

Card Set 401. Magic Potions. We are going to be doing a lot more with items as we go along. This is the first potion set. You can pre-order these, they are in the market.

Card Set 402. Magic Items. Nine all new items. Not as powerful as the old NFS items, but good stuff. You can pre-order these in the market.

Over the next couple of weeks, we have a convention and taxes to deal with. That means getting more than a day or two for DS is going to be tough, but keep an eye on the twitter and here for updates.

 

 

Sunday Updates

Sue and I went to Animarithon on Saturday at Bowling Green as an experiment. Anime Cons, even one day ones are well worth going to, but we are tired.

The new Cast GM cards we posted got Doug to send in his Goblin ideas. I posted them on the DS Beta Blog, go look.  Glad to see creative fun stuff from the players! Thanks.

I added a PDF of GM accessories cards. The new sheet is the Smiling GM cards we have been using, plus the Unknown Interference card. Scroll down to the GM PDF's for a look. I like giving these out during the game, it reminds me to give bonus experience for good role-playing.

Friday Dragon Storm RPG Update

Time for the last three magic Items in this set.

This is a very good one handed blade at +4 STR. Once per day (L1D) the wielder can add a +20 melee attack. Just the thing for a finishing move. The blade recharges each adventure day at Dawn (DWN). If the wielder rolls a Terrible Two while using the blade the magic function will not work again until the weapon is "repaired" .

One nice feature here is that the blade shifts with the user. That means that shape shifters do not drop the sword. It is not usable in a form, but you do not drop it. A Werewolf, Gargoyle or any Avatar may choose not to absorb the item and use it, since they have hands.

Having just covered the DWN, L1D and Shifts with user on the previous card, I will only say, they appear here as well.

The Spirit Pipe is a good item for the role-playing aspects of the game. It also allows non-shaman characters to get information from the spirit world. GM's can take advantage of this type of item to pass on information characters may have "missed" as they went along.

These items are all intermediate Magic Items. We are working upward from the simpler magic rings and potions to more powerful Magic Items. In the process we noticed that we need more magic items.

We have gotten far enough along in the rules and cards to be able to create the Second Edition Items. There have been a lot of interest in the NFS items we published. A rework of them is on Sue's desktop for her editing.

Now for a little advertising:

Card Set Pre-orders are here. We are getting good responses. Keep ordering!

Registration for the Dragon Storm Con 2011 is open. Check it out and register. The earlier we know how many special card sets to arrange for, the better It appears to be taking a month to get the cards back from the printer, so we will need some serious lead time.

I have begun a new series of pages related to the Second Edition Cards sets. The only one working at this moment is the Item Set 102. I will get these done by using my spare time on this project. Go take a look.

Sunday News from the DS Secret Clanhold.

Pre-orders are now being taken for the new Potion set. You can check out the contents by downloading the PDF and decide what you want. Just follow this link to check it out.

The printer tells me that the Ring set will be here this week. When they arrive the set will be moved to the new Items section of the market and they will be available individually for $4.00 each.

We have been getting reservations for the Dragon Storm Con 2011. If you have not checked out this special Dragon Storm event, follow this link and check it out.

Susan is currently at Furnal Equinox and is having a good time. The Con is going well.

Here at the Clanhold our water heater has decided to give up the ghost. Rather than be hurried into buying a solution, we are trying the old fashioned washbowls, boiling water and all that stuff. It is, so far, an interesting experience in going back to the "good old days". I do not recommend going back to the old ways.

I have been tweeking the Guild site, trying to make it easier to find the different options available. You can check it out here.

The DS Content page has had a few revisions. We are slowly adding the PDF's for the Second Edition. The changes in the game still allow the old and new cards together, however, you may need to add a little common sense in the conversion. I am sure that DS Players and GM's can easily cope with it. The link to the page is here.

That is it for today, I need to get back to card editing. This process is much slower than I would like it to be.

Tuesday brings Guild updates and more GM hints.

I completed a Clan Roster update that arrived in my email from the hard working Councilor Ann. I also broke out more of the link buttons to make it easier to find information on the Guild pages. Go take a look.

Gamemasters and Multiple attack tracking in Second Edition.

Among the basic Universal cards Split Action and Kick both provide additional attacks in a combat round. For most creatures, and characters, these are the only ways to get additional attacks. Each of these cost 4 CP. This means that if you want a wakana to run up, kick and hit twice it will cost 8 CP to do so. If you are keeping track of extra experience on a scratch sheet you would write down 8 for later experience.

If a Character, or cast, gains the Warrior Anchor they will be able to access the Hit 'em Again card and get a fourth attack. This one is also 4 CP. The GM will want to be careful here, because giving our Wakana above a fourth attack costs the 4 CP and the 10 CP for the Warrior Anchor to make that fourth attack. You will need to add 14 to your scratch pad for extra experience.

Gamemasters can use these CP adds to create anxiety in the characters without having the cards actually with the bad guy. This should be used to heighten the game. Normally bad guys should be limited to three attacks, with the fourth attack being unusual and used only against higher CP characters.

The simple surprise of a Skeleton swinging twice can keep the characters on edge. Use this GM shortcut to keep the characters sense of danger and chaos ramped up.

As a side note, shape shifters will have a fourth attack built into each of them. The dragon's Tail strike is an example, and it also comes into 4 CP. The CP cost is being kept consistent across the game, making the GM's job simple.

A Dragon, or other shifter, who is also a Warrior will be able to attack five times. Within the design we will be trying to keep that as the top limit.

Tomorrow I will look at shortcuts deploying bad guy archers.