Roving Band of Misfits

Just a reminder, if you haven’t been voting at Stuffer Shack for site of the year, today’s the day that we’re up on the site. Winners from each day go on to round two voting… so go vote!

So, this post started out as a joke on Twitter last week. There was a conversation about a Gamma World game where @wesleykhall and @vanitygames were present. In that game, the party had a sort of “dance off” with a giant bug at one point. Not many details were given. At that point, @digitaldraco chimed in with, “Was it a jitterbug? (I’ll see myself out…)” Hardy har. But then again… that actually sounded like a Gamma World appropriate monster.

So I made a Jitterbug, and with the help of Wes’s awesome art skills, brought it to life. Continue reading →

As you may or may not know, Stuffer Shack has an “RPG Site of the Year” contest every year. As their site of the month for last September, Roving Band of Misfits was automatically entered into the contest. Without going into too much detail, you’ll be able to vote for our site on Thursday of this week, and we encourage you to do so! (Don’t worry, we’ll remind you again)

If you missed the D&D Next seminar at PAX East last week, you can catch the whole thing over at ENWorld. This is a must see if you want the most up to date info from the designers themselves.

Blog of Holding had some deep thoughts about monsters this week – what kinds of traces do the monsters leave behind? What kinds of clues would they leave? Not only does “Monster Traces” lend a sense of realism to the campaign, but it also can create mystery, or even a sense of dread for the players.

Looking for an interesting encounter this week? Check out the D&D burglar alarm encounter presented by Breakfast for Owlbears.

Thoughtcrime Games posted some thoughts on motivations for characters that extend beyond mere survival. Good thoughts, especially when we realize that our days are filled with more motivation than “survival instinct.” What drives your character?

Of course, we can never let a good arts & crafts article go by without adding it to the roundup. This week, The She DM added even more tentacles to your box of minis. (You may remember the article we did a while back that added onto her original tentacle article)

Finally, some thoughts from Critical Hits on the different kinds of mapping that exists in D&D combat – gridded, theater of the imagination, and more. What are the pros and cons?

Blast From The Past (Weekly Roundup: Changes to the Podcast Edition)

Neuroglyph Games had a thought-provoking article on character optimization.  Agree or disagree?  Leave them a comment!  (We do see his point, though we wish he would have also addressed living campaigns)

I’m kind of conflicted about drawing my own dungeons for these little adventures. On the one hand, I have a lot of fun making them, and I think I’m getting better. Sketching dungeons in this style is easy and addictive. Also, when I draw my own dungeons, I can tailor its layout to the story I want to tell. On the other hand, there is a great amount of inspiration that I get from looking at someone else’s dungeon (without looking at its story) and asking, “Why is this dungeon laid out this way? What are those features for?” It’s a challenge to explain every piece of someone else’s dungeon, and a challenge I relish. In other words, the question I’m asking myself is: do I start with the story, and make the dungeon, or do I start with the dungeon and make the story? I’ve found both ways work for me, but that starting with the dungeon and making up a story about it is often more fun. Continue reading →

I am aware that not everyone who reads this blog likes to make terrain as much as I do. I am also aware that many (most?) of you don’t even own Hirst Arts molds. That’s cool. I try and keep the arts & crafts stuff easy and attainable because that’s how I like my projects. Plus I’m hoping someone tries one of my easy projects, and discovers how much fun, and how much awesome, terrain is.

So that’s usually. Usually the projects I talk about are not complicated or “advanced.” However, today I am going to talk about an advanced project I did, and where I screwed up. I apologize to those of you who are not interested in the subject; perhaps some sense of Schadenfreude will keep you reading. I promise to try and  make it as entertaining as possible. Continue reading →

This week, Wizards of the Coast posted a papercraft dragon on the D&D site. If you’d like to make one and display it on your desk, coffee table, or nightstand, here’s the link… just don’t take it in the shower with you. Below is the results of our efforts 

In this picture, I am moving his head up and down to make him talk. I swear that glass of wine has nothing to do with my behavior.

Do the characters in your game have no real connection to one another? Is “why are we adventuring together?” a question no one dares ask for fear that the answer will be a shoulder shrug? Try this exercise on the card provided at Some Space To Think this week.

Greyhawk Grognard posted his first impressions of Dungeon Crawl Classic. This is a new RPG system with a real old-school feel to it. If that’s something you’re hoping for in D&D Next, DCC might be a good way to get an early fix.

The new Charactergen blog had a good article on the power of “yes, and” and its nemesis “well, actually.” (Disclosure: F-bombs) You’ll remember we talked about “yes, and” in a recent article about quests.

RPG Musings posted some thoughts on what classes could look like in D&D Next. Some interesting thoughts on how “classes” might be more like “roles.”

Steve Winter posted a week’s worth of articles on the subject of random encounters at Howling Tower. They’re something that were eschewed in 3 and 4e, and may be making some kind of comeback in 5e.

Finally, Save Vs. Death posted their submission to the One Page Dungeon Contest, titled The Tears of Mother Pestilence. By the way, if you go to the contest page, you can find links to all the current submissions!

Blast From The Past (Weekly Roundup: Did Ya Miss It? Edition)

While this isn’t really the point of The Dungeon’s Master‘s article, I found the idea of having character “trees” in this article intriguing.  Does anyone else play with a stable of characters as opposed to one character?
(4/9/11) 

RAWR! Lil' Flame is coming to get you!