tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post4378585491211813752..comments2024-03-12T22:45:16.936+01:00Comments on The Disoriented Ranger: Musings about Longevity of Sentient Beings in the D&D RC (and other Fantasy Games)Jens D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/18394303166081684904noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-24502650310059311942015-11-20T23:34:20.546+01:002015-11-20T23:34:20.546+01:00Thanks for spreading the word, Dither! I actually ...Thanks for spreading the word, Dither! I actually googled the plural for paradox and paradoxes came up. I believed them and used it without looking back :)Jens D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18394303166081684904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-4018789188718021522015-11-20T20:59:29.614+01:002015-11-20T20:59:29.614+01:00I linked this post on my blog today. I thought you...I linked this post on my blog today. I thought you;d like to know. :)<br />http://rumorsofwarcomic.com/2015/11/knowledge-local-nov-13-nov-19/<br /><br />--Ditherditherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16636135891319380870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-69630166806003007232015-11-17T09:17:21.401+01:002015-11-17T09:17:21.401+01:00Thanks, John! Never got a chance to check the Gaze...Thanks, John! Never got a chance to check the Gazetteers or the Champions of Mystara out. Pretty much stuck with the RC most of the time. Always thought I should take the time some day, though.<br /><br />Pandius is a great source and I love it, but I've never seen that one and it's exactly what I was talking about. Shows what can be done and where the problems are. That Leo guy is like 20 years worth of playing ... I doubt it's something that could be done in real life.<br /><br />But here is an idea: A DM keeps the characters and players get what he has to play instead of making them themselves. That way a DM could carry characters for as long as he cares ... Or one could do some sort of reincarnation rules, where a DM has characters of his own that earn experience with all the different players and characters (incarnations?) he got to DM Some sort of meta game, maybe. Need to think about it some more.Jens D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18394303166081684904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-77410556295940557232015-11-17T06:13:49.836+01:002015-11-17T06:13:49.836+01:00Hi,
the second gazetteer, The Emirates of Ylaruam...Hi,<br /><br />the second gazetteer, The Emirates of Ylaruam, incorporated immortals. The history of the immortal Al-Kalim is given and referenced in the way the culture is described to behave: common greetings and sayings, general outlook of people, schism of followers, etc. They also described a MU, Barimoor, who is on the path to immortality, and describe his lair and the different ways that adventurers would interact with him at different levels.<br /><br />I am pretty sure in the Champions of Mystara boxed set that the immortal Yav is referenced pretty heavily when describing Yavdlom. He went the time travel path to immortality and I think that is given as an adventure seed.<br /><br />If you look at this page, Shawn Stanley, has compiled a list of people described as questing for immortality. Check out Leo Variantia especially!<br />http://pandius.com/nearimm.html<br /><br />John.jbeltmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02264520619277158883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-18709723760953519222015-11-17T02:43:22.187+01:002015-11-17T02:43:22.187+01:00I like Wilderlands and Blackmoor more than 90% of ...I like Wilderlands and Blackmoor more than 90% of what's come out, specifically because it is more like an Appendix N pseudo-history than an excuse to have elves that fire bows akimbo or whatever the fuck nonsense.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-63078182746678070022015-11-17T02:42:12.844+01:002015-11-17T02:42:12.844+01:00Gene Wolfe is great, especially if you like unusua...Gene Wolfe is great, especially if you like unusual diction.<br />D&D settings are all over the place, partly because of the various interests of the authors, but also because a lot of it was more-or-less churned out without any coherent idea about what was going on. I think the ones designed for publication (esp. Forgotten Realms) often suffer immensely for their total lack of coherence or quality vetting, as well as the 'kitchen sink' approach, which is really quite different from the selective and picaresque weirdness that informs many of its genre influences.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-36329290320083500372015-11-16T20:54:57.962+01:002015-11-16T20:54:57.962+01:00Definitely sounds like a great campaign, Dither. M...Definitely sounds like a great campaign, Dither. My first thought has been something like "Wow, with 4th E that's a lot dead orcs and many, many battle-intensive hours ...". I'd love to have an organically growing campaign like this, but I think that'd need dedication of a group worth years. Maybe I'm not there yet in my life (still hoping for retirement here ...).Jens D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18394303166081684904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-17149736450729612852015-11-16T20:11:34.348+01:002015-11-16T20:11:34.348+01:00We didn't really use XP since 4e assumes you&#...We didn't really use XP since 4e assumes you're killing monsters for XP. Instead the party leveled every other week, and right at the end they leveled every week. There isn't a big difference between levels -- mostly numbers increase -- not like other editions.<br /><br />In hours though? Probably 250-300. It was highly structured though, some time I'd like to see a campaign go to epic organically.<br /><br />--Ditherditherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16636135891319380870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-22971235704906497522015-11-16T19:44:53.237+01:002015-11-16T19:44:53.237+01:00Yes! Exactly that! You should definitely check out...Yes! Exactly that! You should definitely check out Erikson, then (if you haven't already), because those are major themes in his Malazan books.Jens D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18394303166081684904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-59823100520668130302015-11-16T19:37:56.473+01:002015-11-16T19:37:56.473+01:00I have put much thought into ancient characters, p...I have put much thought into ancient characters, primarily the evil ones, as it seems that that is the predominate alignment for them; their psychology fascinates me, they would have their own stages of it, maybe going through the God/King phase until they suddenly feel that power is worthless to them, depressions that would break most people are no doubt common, but what really fascinates me is how they perceive time, and how this effects their way of thinking. If somebody defeats them, they'll never get revenge on them personally, however they will get it on your bloodline, and they do it in ways that are unique to them, just killing out a bloodline isn't good enough, they seek to hurt it in ways that gives the ancient creature pleasure. It knows emotional grief, intensely, and it knows how to cause it in others. <br /><br />If asked a question that is interesting to it, it could take ions before it feels that it answers, and by that time, nobody cares anymore. RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-78930454606175925632015-11-16T19:09:50.933+01:002015-11-16T19:09:50.933+01:00Totally forgot about Jack Vance! Still, I think (a...Totally forgot about Jack Vance! Still, I think (and it might be blasphemy, I know) Erikson did a better job for the sheer scope of his books. And although all those books you mention inspired parts of D&D, all the published settings that came with AD&D went very far away from those influences, especially in the worlds they described. I might need to find those "New Sun" books ...Jens D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18394303166081684904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-5052339006284671652015-11-16T18:58:34.566+01:002015-11-16T18:58:34.566+01:00Cool. Thanks for sharing! And with 4e, no less ......Cool. Thanks for sharing! And with 4e, no less ... How many hours do you think it took (within a year seems awfully fast!)?<br /><br />Epic ending, by the way :)Jens D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18394303166081684904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-91130010487296867992015-11-16T18:26:14.319+01:002015-11-16T18:26:14.319+01:00Jack Vance's books, especially the Dying Earth...Jack Vance's books, especially the Dying Earth books, are an excellent example of this actually going on. There are insane levels of magical dastardry. semi-technological gods, burnt-out civilizations, and dimension hopping, djinn-wielding posthumans running around while these pathetic mud farmers are hoping nobody blows up the Universe around them.<br /><br />The 'New Sun' and related books by Wolfe, themselves deeply influenced by Vance, have a scope of the vastness and mind-bending weirdness of a Universe where magic, technology and time have slippery (and sometimes interchangeable) meaning.<br /><br />It is, of course, these books that serve as a huge inspiration for D&D.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-16569163625000980352015-11-16T18:23:49.567+01:002015-11-16T18:23:49.567+01:00I ran a 4e campaign from 1st to 30th a couple year...I ran a 4e campaign from 1st to 30th a couple years back. It's the longest campaign I've ever run, and the first (and only) one to reach "Epic" levels. It took us about a year moving along at a breakneck pace, and most of the shenanigans took place between levels 10-30.<br /><br />There were a couple of artifacts involved (Rod of Seven Parts, Amulet of Epic Charisma), the enmity of a few gods (Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades), and the party amassed and marched an army across the isthmus of Corinth to conquer Thebes. The climax involved a primordial dracolich, some 50+ phylacteries, an epic siege, some divine intervention (Hera and Demeter), and the creation of two new races (dragonborn and tieflings).<br /><br />The heroes were thrown into Tartarus for their trouble.<br /><br />--Ditherditherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16636135891319380870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-50213615115621985672015-11-16T18:11:42.804+01:002015-11-16T18:11:42.804+01:00It's a great series and especially because of ...It's a great series and especially because of those ideas, like creatures plotting for centuries before they see fruition of their plans or monumental remnants of older civilizations. You can feel how all those old entities with their alien mind frames work way beyond what mortals could grasp. And hold a grudge for centuries, too. Good stuff!Jens D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18394303166081684904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-62778113806751526242015-11-16T18:02:43.279+01:002015-11-16T18:02:43.279+01:00You are absolutely right about Malazan. Deep, old...You are absolutely right about Malazan. Deep, old history is the hallmark of so much of the series. One of the parts of the books I always enjoyed is when a person meets one of the truly legendary figures of the world. There is always the mental stutter. Like meeting Gilgamesh in person.Jeremy Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com