Recent content by bloodtide

A good elf is otherworldly, alien and not much like a human at all. A good half elf...really like many 'half races'....the big point is to make them half/half of each race....mixed but apart. Spock is the Ur classic example here. And close behind him is: Tanis Half Elven, and eventually Arlyn...

Gromm BigBottle "Well met. I'm not from anywhere, and no place claims me. My parents were traveling merchants too, with no home. My parents were just Walkers, not the best name. So I took BigBottle as my name. I'm an alchemist, so I wanted something catchy. "

The bottles are all sorts of odd liquids, none that look drinkable or refreshing. Dwarf "Aye and Aye again, I'm a Traveling Merchant. A Rolling Stone. Fell free to sit and put your feet up. I'm Gromm BigBottle. Dwarven alchemist of no small bottle. "

Only a few dwarves live in Rübendorf, clan less individuals that have few other places it go. So the few in town stand out. After an hour you do find a dwarf sitting at the Wolf and Way tavern. A dwarf in plain furs and plain over all look. With a large clay mug of ale. He has bottles...

I keep the world dark. It's only bright and sunny sometimes. Mostly it is gray cloudy skies, or dark rain clouds. Or, of course, at night. When playing most games, like D&D 2-3E or Old School games, I use the old 'light' rules. So some public places are lit by fires, but not all that many...

It is a cold morning, not that you feel the cold all that much. It's only a couple hours walk to town. Rübendorf is a small, unwalled town, though set up on a slight hill. The town is far more practical then made for any style or beauty. Mostly one story wooden homes, with a few two story...

Most of the time the PC just "fades away" or otherwise is just not there and not around. They "go fishing" or do some other such thing. Sometimes, another player will take control of the PC and then play "two PCs" for the game. It is rare for me to take control of the PC, but I do it...

My default is always the girmdark world does not really like the PCs. The PCs are look upon as "necessary evils" at best. People on the edge of civilized society that are needed from time to time....but are not welcome in society. This goes even more so for PCs that are not 'standard'. Of...

I have always found that most players don't want the "Player Driven Sandbox", they want the "Tyrant DM Railroad". Such players just want to relax, and be swept along in an adventure. I do love player driven adventures, but they are a rare thing. It is almost always with experienced players...

Well, I simply never tell players the DC of anything. A player or character can simply never know "exactly how hard something is mechanically". So when they roll, they don't know if the made the check of not. They only know what the DM tells them, so they never know how well a check was...

Yes, art is important. Images can really make a a book come alive. Not every writer can describe everything, so having art can really help clear things up. And this is even more true for young and new players and really a lot of people who have no idea what anything looks like outside of the...

"I do hope so. I feel you will find your destiny, out there in the snows. I shall miss you, but not worry for you. And I will await your return. The rest of the night passes without anything of note.....and the next morning the sun rises on a new day....

"I have no idea. It is nothing of mine. Though I guess it was put there to be found by you. I fear you might need to seek someone far more wise then myself. "

Waiting down the hallway, your mother looks out the window. "I fear to ask if you found anything. But I can feel the frost on my heart, and know you did. I guess it was always there for you to find>"

The vast majority of games. In a lot of ways it is the point of a IRL game. So.... The Vampire, Werewolf and most other horror type games are played more 'soft horror', like disney horror or like Goosebumbs, where the player like the 'scary' horror(as they do). Traveler played like Star...