Rule of the Dice - Latest Comments

Re: The 5 Most Despicable Things Ever Done by Player Characters ~ Rule of the Dice

Slar — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:44:41 -0000

Despicable... Lets see. There was the D&D campaign where the party was a group of mercs hired by a kingdom watching its neighbors slowly being absorbed by the evil empire. They needed help, and soon, or they were eventually going to get swallowed up. They had a plan, though, and just needed the right group to pull it off. Our group.

We joined the enemy army as conscripts, since they were gobbling up every able-bodied person they could to bolster their forces. Once we were through basic, we got assigned to the front. Killed plenty of guys whose side we were ostensibly on, razed a few of our ally's towns we'd normally be protecting, watched our Alignments slowly start to shift, and rose up through the ranks. Once we were proven badasses, we got to work on the real plan.

The kingdom we were from was a mountainous region in the tropics, great for growing coffee, tea, and coca. Yes, coca... Which our kingdom's alchemists had long-since rendered into various forms of cocaine. Once we were in a decent position, we put together a raid on a "poorly protected enemy depot." This was, of course, a warehouse full of crack that had been set up in allied territory.

We killed all of the guards, sacked the place, and of course, shared the loot with any and all who wanted some. We told them all just how wonderful the stuff was, and how they should all try it. Of course, we made sure that our fellow officers all got to try it, and that they invited their superiors, any mages we could get to try it, etc...

The supply didn't last a week. Of course, we got wind of where another warehouse was, so we let all the newly addicted troops and officers know just where they could get their next fix. And their next one, and their next one. After about a month of chasing the drugs around the countryside, we struck for real. The next batch of crack they came across was uncut and tainted.

Hundred of troops ODed before anyone knew what was happening. Hundreds more were suffering withdrawal when their officers wouldn't allow them to partake of the available crack. The general in charge was even having problems with his own addiction, and when he found out that the only place to secure a new supply was in a kingdom hundreds of miles away. Too bad all his troops had already heard the news, themselves.

On the verge of a revolt, he was forced to lead his strung-out troops through hundreds of miles of hostile territory, without any kind of logistical planning or support, and into countries that had not yet been attacked, and so were full of battle-ready troops. By the time he reached our own nation's boarders, his troops were decimated, exhausted and strung out, his supply-line stretched razor-thin, and his army surrounded by hostiles. Then they started to smell the smoke. Lots and lots of smoke...

The local druids weren't too happy about it, but it didn't take that much convincing when they realized the alternative. And so, with their blessing, and lots of payments from the government, the local farmers did what they had to. They burned all the coca fields to the ground. The enemy army, no full of addicts, had no promised supply. They fell to infighting, and were wiped out by the vast hoard of enemies no arrayed against them. What few survivors were left were scattered in enemy territory and on the run. And that's when the truly despicable happened.

We were among the few officers and non-coms who weren't addicts. We were the ones who were able to rally the troops. Of course, the troops we rallied were the worst of the addicts, the ones most affected by the drug we'd spread among them. We managed to get them back to the coast, back to their ships, and heroically volunteered to fight the holding action that would allow them to get away.

Of course, we did manage to secure some loot from the territories we'd conquered, loot that would be brought back by these returning troops as tribute to the emperor. That loot? Crack cocaine, of course... And since the party had a mage who knew the necessary alchemy to make more, and since the coca would just grow again the next season, we were the only supply these guys would have. We retired from advanturing, used the money we'd earned as mercs to buy a few ships and hire a couple crews, and went into the export business...

Re: Why Clerics (Still) Suck ~ Rule of the Dice

Briarroot — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 09:18:26 -0000

I play a cleric alright ... a cleric of Talos. Deity-based clerics get a full range of interesting spell and weapon choices. In our current campaign, I play a human cleric of Talos, and have NO healing spells at all. The druid does the healing, or an NPC sent along by the DM, or the wizard who's into alchemy (healing potion, anyone?) Not the best arrangement, but FUN. Picture a caster in full armor, with the weapon of his deity (javelin +1 electric, in my case) who can heal, but can also cast boffo offensive magic. 3d8 harm touch? Yes, please! It's all about the roleplay. Pick a deity you'd like to cleric for, and have fun. Annoy the party, annoy the DM. Have a ball. I do! ;^)

Re: Monks Suck ~ Rule of the Dice

Briarroot — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 09:08:21 -0000

I'm in a campaign based on 3.5 & Oriental Adventures (loosely). We have a ninja, 2 ronin, a wu-jen and a shaman. And my monk. My monk has wound up being the diplomat; the one who tries to talk out situations. I walk up calmly, hoping to kick loose with combat reflexes; but the DM never gives me the chance. Monks aren't fighters, they aren't priests. They're low-powered rogues; a sort of bard without the music but with martial arts to compensate. I play him every other week, and this is his Saturday. Very much looking forward to it.

Re: Help me not suck at Google+ ~ Rule of the Dice

Peter Robbins — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:53:33 -0000

John. Reply with your G+ Profile page url, and I'll "circle you". Once you circle me back, I'll share over a large RPG circle to you. That will help kickstart your delving into the dungeon that is G+ goodness.

Re: Teaching My Son About D&D Using Facebook ~ Rule of the Dice

Boric Glanduum — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:55:07 -0000

Awesome experience, man. And congrats on the newbie. Hope all is well and that your dice remain dry.

Re: Teaching My Son About D&D Using Facebook ~ Rule of the Dice

John Williams — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:59:45 -0000

You're starting the lad young, he'll be a master DM by one.

Re: Teaching My Son About D&D Using Facebook ~ Rule of the Dice

Studio Arkhein — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:04:36 -0000

That's cute. :)

- Ark

Re: Why My Favourite D&D Class Sucks ~ Rule of the Dice

Jacob D. Adamo — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:31:09 -0000

Don't blame the system if you have a group not into roleplaying. It's not the system's fault the dude just wanted to roll dice and beat up monsters.

Re: Help me not suck at Google+ ~ Rule of the Dice

John Williams — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:03:07 -0000

I'm just bad at social networking in general. Google+, Facebook, Twitter are all the rage with the kids but I still like getting hand written mail.

Re: Help me not suck at Google+ ~ Rule of the Dice

Mark aka EvilDM — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 06:41:35 -0000

You are not alone, sir. Google+ does somewhat confuzzle me at times, for when I click on a Google+ link to send a communication to someone who is following my blog, it opens a window asking me if I wish to follow my own blog? Confuzzlement abounds!

Love the image you have on this posting. Excellent blog site, sir - keep up the good work :)

Re: Woodland Warriors Review ~ Rule of the Dice

Captain Responsible — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:55:55 -0000

Glad to see a real review of this game -- and it's good to know that it's getting played. I haven't DM'd in more than 10 years, but I've got a table full of of kids showing up on Saturdays, learning how to follow rules, roll dice, and create characters that are fun to play. Thanks for pointing out that older D&D material can be translated to the setting with minimal effort -- it's been working for me, thankfully. Oh, and I think the moles are more like dwarves than the hedgehogs are... but that's just my opinion. Cheers!

Re: If you use Google+ for gaming this looks very promising ~ Rule of the Dice

John Williams — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 23:32:18 -0000

I'm just lazy, I really should try Google+ gaming.

Re: If you use Google+ for gaming this looks very promising ~ Rule of the Dice

Ajay — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:59:24 -0000

Yeah that's pretty nifty but I have a different alternative:
http://vorpaledge.wordpress.co...

Re: If you use Google+ for gaming this looks very promising ~ Rule of the Dice

Joe Nelson — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:26:02 -0000

Wow, that looks so cool.

I haven't tried Google+ yet either, but it really looks awesome. Unfortunately, with my crappy Internet connection dropping out every hour or so, I've had to put off trying a game through it.

Re: Steal This Map ~ Rule of the Dice

Terry Gwazdosky — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:21:24 -0000

Fantastic map. It's just what I've been looking for to use in my new campaign.

What would you say the scale is per hex?

Re: Steal This Map ~ Rule of the Dice

Greg — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:42:51 -0000

Hi, just found your map and it's awesome. I'm working on this for a campaign. I haven't finished with it yet, but when I do, I'll post it to my blog: http://xhuul.blogspot.com

Re: Why Clerics (Still) Suck ~ Rule of the Dice

Mike Roebling — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:13:36 -0000

I read this and started laughing so hard. I am a Cleric in 3e/3.5, and while I have occasionally needed to drop a spell for a quick pick me up, or two...I am the single most devastating front line character in the party. Our fighter (acctually a Knight, but who's counting?) plays the tank role, and with one quick Enlarge person spell, I am literally dishing out death over his head while he keeps those pesky minions off of me while I go straight for the big guy. Our Sneaky Sneaky Rogue/Scout slips around for some nice Skirmish/Sneak Attack combos, and the Wizard conjures up some terran modifications, and boom. Funnel Tunnel Shovel. I just can't agree with saying Clerics are weak by any means, SRD or no.

I make potions, scrolls and even wands to supplement my healing abilities for the party, and now we have a Bard. So can you say attack and damage buffs please? I mean yeah it helps that we are all experienced and work together well, but the moment I chose Cleric as my class everyone else knew exactly what to build to supplement what we'd need. You are only a first aid kit if you let your fellows think of you that way from your own inaction. Even better is I am the second lowest level party member. (We all started together at first level, except for the bard who is 5th level now, I died and missed out on three adventures, and was Resurrected for a loss, so I am Ninth Level, while everyone else is twelfth.)

Either way, I just can't see how Clerics are considered weak, unless you let them be such. Sorry to rant on like this, just putting it all out there. Also. Flavor. Love Cleric's backgrounds, and moments of Divine Win.

Chao.

Re: What Does 5th Edition Mean to Me? ~ Rule of the Dice

Faoladh — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:50:07 -0000

It would be interesting to see what you would come up with if you were to design the game that you thought D&D was as you were observing it from the outside.

Re: What Does 5th Edition Mean to Me? ~ Rule of the Dice

Joe Nelson — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:54:32 -0000

See? The hope that you hold a great game will always last until you actually open it and read it.

Heck, I might just buy my copy and never even crack the spine. So I can experience that giddy hope again and again and again.

Re: What Does 5th Edition Mean to Me? ~ Rule of the Dice

Ajay Pollarine — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:07:26 -0000

I've been around for a lot of editions, I cut my own teeth on 2e and I admit that I thought 4e was trash, but I'm with you on this, even with 4e, it was an exciting moment to lift open that front cover and start reading. I'm looking forward to 5e even if it turns out to suck like a hoover.

Re: Playing by Blog ~ Rule of the Dice

Joe Nelson — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:15:08 -0000

Wow, thanks so much! I hadn't noticed this until you brought it to my attention. I guess I need to start paying more attention to Wizards main site.

Re: What Does 5th Edition Mean to Me? ~ Rule of the Dice

Joe Nelson — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:08:52 -0000

Thanks. I'm very glad you liked it. :)

Re: What Does 5th Edition Mean to Me? ~ Rule of the Dice

samldanach — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:21:50 -0000

This is an utterly fantastic post. Thank you.

Re: Steal This Map ~ Rule of the Dice

Gorgonmilk — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:33:34 -0000

Thanks for this! Been working with it recently: http://gorgonmilk.blogspot.com...

Re: Why I Love Nu-Skool D&D ~ Rule of the Dice

StephenR — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:07:51 -0000

4E is awful. I've been playing RPG's since the 80's, and 4E has got to be the most boring one I have ever played. Everything is generic, and they butchered most all of the core concepts that defined the setting. If you want a balanced game that isn't hopelessly generic, then play SW SAGA.

Literally everyone I know hates 4E, and will probably never play it again. We are trying to find a SAGA-style D&D custom game, particularly in the Forgotten Realms setting, where there were tons of possible prestige classes/specialty priests/etc, and this along with multiclassing was how we could mechanically create so many wildly diverse characters. We probably had 50 characters in 3E, and every single one of them was completely unique. The only thing 3E needed was a more balanced mechanic.

SW SAGA does this brilliantly, allowing you as much (or as little) customization as you prefer for any given character. 4E, on the other hand, is just a ridiculous excuse for a good RPG, limiting the character creation mechanics to a very small number of stupid templates that don't make any sense anyway. So my cleric is a Leader now? WTF? No, my cleric is not a "Leader", nor is my fighter a "Defender". These weak new templates not only seem extremely cheesy, but they conflict drastically with everything that was ever written regarding the D&D settings. Call it an RPG if you like, but it definitely does not deserve to be called D&D in my book.And Forgotten Realms had been pushed over 100 years into the future? Could they have been more stupid? That negates all of our characters that we have worked on and played with for decades, not to mention all of the NPCs that others have made that make up that world. We were hoping to "convert" our previous characters once the new edition came out, but with the ridiculously boring mechanics and the absolute butchery of the setting, it made any and all conversion impossible.

Again, SW SAGA is the only real choice now. 4E is so hollow and lifeless that it is a joke.