Survey

Shadow Survey about D&D and WOTC:

 https://youtu.be/zSmslPWzzxs?si=T6mxxDl7BvHRCUSn

Survival!

 Just spotted this fun video from last year.  https://youtu.be/dv7RZ3EVCwg

Surviving on a gallon of water and a pound of food a day...  that would be grim after a couple days.  People are mammals and omnivores as a real rough rule we need to consume our body weight in mixed food over the course of a month, the more calorie dense foods you eat the less this total weight will actually be.   

When figuring out survival in the wild for games don't forget the rule of 3, that works out to you needing 3 quarts of water a day (just for drinking everyone forgets you need more water if yuo are also cookign food), 3 pounds of food each day (mostly but not all vegetables), you can likely make it 3 weeks without food but you will suffer, 3 days without water kills most of us (it would sure kill me) and if you go for 3 minutes without air you will most certainly die. 

Be careful, drink your water (you always seem to need more water than you think you will while hiking, camping, or working) and don't plan of "dieting" while doing anything physically challenging.

Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead

 I've been playing a fair bit of Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead lately. I somehow managed to be totally ignorant that this post-apocalyptic rogue-like existed for years until a couple weeks ago. The quickest way to describe it would be Minecraft in a post apocalyptic setting with simpler graphics and richly detailed approximations of reality. It hits a lot of computer gaming itches for me: it's turn based so I can play at my pace, it's customizable, it's got cyborgs, it's got hunting and gathering, it's got annoying cars, and it allows for planning and tracking a whole bunch of fiddly moving parts. The player character is generally a lone survivor facing off against foes such as cyborgs, giant spiders, giant ants, mi-go, triffids, other survivors (but all the other survivors are not foes), wild dogs, a whole bunch of different Zombies and more.

There are so many options and after spendign a day or so poking at wikis and forums I decided to fire up a random character in a random starting position. I suppose I got immensely lucky becasue while my character Sally isn't particularly impressive she's a quick learner and had a few survival skills to start out with which couple with the remote LMOE shelter she started in has made it possible for her to survive over 45 days days on winter in post-apocalyptic zombie and mutant infested New England.

The scramble at first to not freeze to death while gathering supplies was the biggest threat of  all and she almost lost her life and her hands due to frostbite but I managed to keep that from killing her and was able to scrape up enough supplies from a nearby farm house to then chase a horse down in a barn and kill it with a hammer so it could be butchered and keep Sally alive.

Further explorations have revealed a gas station, a motel, a school or library with an automated defense system, other farm, and a whole town not too terribly far away by the name of Goffstown (about 30-40 minutes away from me by car in real life). 

I like this game becasue the only path to success isn't being a killing machine. Focusing on combat over anything else will kill your character. A problem I have with some online multi-player post-apocalyptic games are how they devolve into bully wish fulfillment for many players who have no real reason to act moderately decent to other players, this being a solo-play experience there's none of that to deal with but there are NPCs who do more than attack you out there somewhere in Cataclysm DDA.

Currently Sally has upgraded her pathetic staring gear to a shocking excess of clothing and some armor even thanks to a crashed military vehicle recently discovered. She's gone from a paleolithic stone hand axe, to a more proper stone axe, and now thanks to wider scavenging a proper honest to goodness steel wood axe and that makes not freezing to death and cooking a whole lot easier. She's become competent with her bow and has scavenged a couple of guns with a handful of bullets and has managed to hunt a few critters. I'd recommend not eating the giant mutant spiders but giant ant seems to be safe enough to eat despite being dangerous prey sadly the nearest ant colony is being attacked by some sort of armed group with some high-tech and high capacity weapons that have shot at poor Sally but not pursued her, they can't be doing too well because just a couple days ago she spotted one of them zombified while she was butchering a rabbit on a bridge.  So far she's only tangled with 4 or 5 zombies total having avoided to roaming hordes and notgotten pinned down by zombies in the edge of Goffstown just yet. 

I've probably jinxed her by typing about the game here but its good fun and I wanted to clue anyone in who may have similar interests to me but managed to not know about the game yet. 

Here's the wikipedia page about the game https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataclysm:_Dark_Days_Ahead

and the actual page for the game: https://cataclysmdda.org/

Post Apocalyptic Kid Shows

 Living through a dystopian 21 century global plague isn't all bad, I've had the opportunity to watch 2 netflix post-apocalyptic kid shows with my youngest son.

We recently finished off the most recent season of "The Last Kids on Earth". It isn't very serious at all and is full of cartoon gadgets, monsters, and inter-dimensional magical forces and zombies. Every now and then the main characters get a tad upset about everyone being dead or possibly just gone but have plenty of time for goofy adventures to improve their community or save the world. It's not very deep or serious but it's good simple fun with giant monsters, ruin scavenging, and zombies. I may have talked about it before butt it is entertaining enough to mention again.

https://www.netflix.com/title/80219119

The show is based on a book series my son read the first of a year or two ago. It's light reading with a little bit of good cartoony art. I've always been a sucker for kids books with a bit of eye-candy.

http://www.lastkidsonearth.com/

Another netflix post-apocalyptic kid show my son and I just started watching is "Kipo and The Age of Wonderbeasts". Only a few episodes in and while the show is extremely cartoony it feels a tad deeper than The Last Kids on Earth. Kipo is a a vault dweller who is out on the surface discovering the ruined world of talking mutes (mutants) that are a host of riotously comical animal mutants. There are bad guy frogs, lumberjack cats, rocker snakes, and colossal titanic mutants (the Megabeasts) that shake up everything now and again, imagine Gamma World "wahoo" style being a "9" on a 1 to 10 scale, well crank that up to 11 and you have Kipo and The Age of Wonderbeasts. We're only 4 or so episodes in and I am looking forward to more.

https://www.netflix.com/title/80221553

 These post apocalyptic kid shows make the future look a lot more fun than the apocalypse has been so far.

Where have I been?

Hello gentle reader I noticed I've gone some time now in failing to update this blog I have regretfully been busy getting involved with local and state politics.   I am currently running for the position of State Representative of Rockingham 4 here in New Hampshire.  

The state of politics nationwide and here in New Hampshire has motivated me to run as a Libertarian.  This is the first year in many a third party has gained access as a major party here in New Hampshire and I wish to support the option for voters to have a choice outside of the two parties that have dominated our politics for far too long.  There are many fine Republicans and Democrats in this country in office and among the general population that are not being well served by the parties they have supported and I feel fighting to open and maintain options is essential. 

So I'm taking the opportunity presented by the upcoming special election to be held on September 25th to run as a State Representative for Rockingham 4 as a Libertarian. When I win I'll be joining members of three political parties who each serve approximately 3300 citizens in their local district. Helping represent my fellow citizens while also contributing to the future shape of politics in this state and the country at large is an opportunity I relish.

My campaign page:
https://jdsivraj.wixsite.com/jarvisrockingham4

My campaign facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1097156713761775/


This blog isn't going to get overrun with political posts, this could be the last mention I make of it here prior to the election. I felt motivated to share this with the many people who have read this blog so they know I have not given up on gaming or on communicating with them.

Caving Panoramic Tours

while doing some research on space and ceiling heights I got curious about the language of cave heights and stumbled across a number of links to Panoramic Cave tours on wikipedia.

A dozen goo panoramic cave right here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caving

Describing such places or mapping them in a useful fashion for a RPG caving adventure would be a challenge. While caves have come up over the year in various publications it is curious how little time and language we commonly use that would apply to describing or navigating such a place.

Go check out those panoramic tours. 

Pot Familiar

A quick piece of 3-d art inspired by the amazing work of Cedric Plante and fellows in issue #1 of Chromatic Soup. It's a pretty awesome rpg zine.

Learn more bout it and get links to the zine itself here: http://chaudronchromatique.blogspot.com/2017/03/chromatic-soup-01.html

The Castles and Habitations Chart pdf is available on Drivethrurpg as a PWYW.

The Castles & Habitation Chart pdf is available on Drivethrurpg as a PWYW.  It's editable and vector art so any higher end software should allow folks to pull off any symbols they should like for use on their own maps.

Link:
Castles & Habitations Chart



They let it go live last night so folks got it before I knew they could.

My 2nd Grader's First Computer Game

My 2nd grader has made his first computer game. It's a simple 2d shooter all whipped up by my son.  It's not slick,it's not complicated, it's not polished but it's ALL by him.  It will only run on windows machines but hey it's his first game.

I'm a proud dad.

http://robogryphongames.doodlekit.com/home

Elementals Are Boring

This post here http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com/2016/10/temple-of-elemental-bickering.html discuss how elementals are boring, and they are. So are lot's of other monsters that have no consequence to the campaign, the link mentions a cool way to make sure there is a consequence even a brief one, when using a tool to upset the fabric of reality.

What are elementals anyway beyond a fragment of reality, just an incomplete sliver of what is and can be. All the genuine responses of an elemental should be rooted in their elementalness. A fire elemental is all about fire just like gravity is all about gravity, no one ever seems to spend much time wondering about the goals of gravity but it's always there, it's a building block of reality. Elementals are an embodiment of a predictable and known force. What is ultimately important and interesting about elementals is how they are used by DM's and players.

All monsters and NPCs are no better than what is put into them by the people playing the game. I'm a fan of monsters but the place of each should be considered if one wants to have a complex and involved campaign.

That fire elemental is pretty boring, if it is going to have a conversation at all it's likely (almost certainly) going to be about fire. Setting you on fire isn't good or bad to a fire elemental, it's all about fire. The consequences of the presence of the fire elemental is the interesting part.


---

I should have gotten more of this into my reply over at the blog in question but I didn't want to be rude and double post.

Digital Dark Future

An old boardgame is getting a remake as a digital title:    http://www.darkfuture.info/blog

I think there's great opportunity for "Dark Future Go" where players can give their real world vehicles digital skins for virtual reality enhanced auto battles with their real cars... what could possibly go wrong with that. 

I hope the actual game is cool and fun. I have no idea myself why there isn't a Car Wars 8 that this would be competing with.

Nerve Tapping Neuronauts.

The nerves of Xor are ever-growing and shifting communicating a vast array of stimulus to an incredibly complicated body. These nerve signals carry every sensation and convey a wealth of information beyond what most immortals imagine a simple structure like a nerve would. There are those upon and within Xor that tap into this flood of information and sensation for the enlightenment and revelation provided.

Tapping into a nerve requires cutting into the flesh and tissues of Xor this alone is not without it’s dangers and when the nerve itself is found it has to be cut and spliced in with the nerves of the neuronaut.  The flood of pain that must first be dealt with can overcome even and experienced neuronaut and the sensations that follow have to be sorted out. An individual neuronaut opens themselves to all others that have tapped into the nerves of Xor and to the body of Xor itself; getting lost in the neural-space of Xor is a serious threat to the nerve tapping neuronaut.


The neurospace of Xor is the unconscious physical reality begin communicated to Xor it is a personal hommunculi of immense complexity and scale and while it is not always completely accurate it does contain a vast array of insight and information. A neuronaut is able to sense the world as a subset of Xor does at an organic level these insights can appear to function as extra-sensory perception does to unconnected beings and is initially all that is sought by fledgling neuronauts. Those able to clamber about within the neurospace can find out secrets that would be difficult or impossible to discover otherwise.

Many of the insights discovered by neuronauts would best be described as being similar to he effects of magical powers and psionic abilities similar to clairvoyance, and clairaudience. Detection of magic and invisibility is well within the range of sensations that can be sussed out and realized by a neuronaut along with remote-viewing mentioned above.

The neuronaut has to be cautious because exposing their limited self to the flood of sensations Xor exposes itself to can be overpowering. Everytime a neuronaut taps into the nerves of Xor they are exposing themselves to sensation on a cosmic scale and the pain, pleasure, and irritation conveyed can simulate a “bad trip” experienced by a durg-user or far far worse as the limits of self most mortal men experience are not shared by the scale of a being such as Xor.


A neuronaut is also limited by their ability to tap into the nerves themselves. A nerve must be tapped and spliced into the actual nerves of a neuronaut at first simple contact allows for insight a neophyte can bear but as one is more and more experienced thichekd nerves are thought out and the connection must be dearer with nerves being joined at the spine or even directly into the brain; the physical procedures required are difficult and dangerous. While the neuronaut is tapped into Xor they are indeed physically tethered to Xor despite the ability of their consciousness to explore the neural space of Xor and this can be dangerous due to the host of parasites that would gladly fall upon an unwary neuronaut and the defensive systems of Xor itself reacting to the physical intrusion.


—




Just a general description of the concept for now, I've been pondeirng on how to express this since I wrote the cults post a couple days ago.  So what would it take to fit nerve-tapping neuronauts into a campaign upon and within Xor? How can one avoid the tedium introduced by hackers and net-runners in some games?  Should the Neuronaut be a magic-user, a psionic, is nerve-tapping and journeying in neuro-space a skill based option, should it have its own character class or can anyone daring and foolish enough tap in once they gain enough knowledge on how to do so? Is neuro-space best expressed as an alternate astral/ethereal plane within Xor?


My inspiration and more Xor here: http://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com

8 types of factions and occupants of Xor

Here are 8 additional factions/tradesmen/oddballs that may be found on and within Xor. Factions are not cults in any traditional or religious sense but they may still exercise customs as fervently as zealots adhere to their faith.

Tumor Grooms: This faction seeks out, nurses, and protects tumors of Xor until they are deemed ready  to harvest. The odd tumors of Xor are rumored to have unique properties and flavors which most attribute to the reasoning behind the practice of the Tumor Grooms.

Scabrous Sculptors: these artsists cut into the flesh of Xor to release blood and other vital fluids which are directed and shaped as they harden over the inflicted wounds into a variety of esoteric sculptures.

Lice Whisperers: small bands of Lice Whisperers roam about claiming to be able to charm the lesser vermin of Xor and use them as scouts and minions. Lice Whisperer bands will work spells and sell talismans to ward against lice infestation and attacks; curiously enough those that purchase such spellworks are seldom attacked by lice soon afterward.

Skin Crawlers: these folk believe it is uncouth to walk about in one's own skin and fashion garb from the skin of Xor and the host of other creatures that dwell within and upon.  The more grotesque a mask, the higher a peaked hood, the grander a cape, and the longer a scarf are all goals and signs of status among Skin /Crawlers.  They find cloth contemptible and nonsensical in the presence of so much skin.

Womb Wardens: this faction of tradesmen has learned how to transplant a living fetus and see it brought to full term within a specially formed pocket-womb within the flesh of Xor. They guard the wombs from predators and charge a fair price for the overall service.

Mawpicks: scavengers that survive by picking the remains caught in the teeth of the many maws of Xor. Some carry the practice so far they will only dine upon beings they have captured and hurled into a maw.

Tickherds: the plentiful vermin that infest the skin of Xor are a resource that some depend upon and a variety classified as ticks have come to be herded as med off-Xor herd goats or sheep. The Tickherds dine upon the flesh of the ticks, "milk" the blood harvested by them, and fashion much of their gear from tick carapace.

Sweatmongers: these peddlers know how to collect, store, and mix the vast array of Xor fluids. They can seem as simple as water bearers or as erudite and schooled as alchemists depending upon their their personal range of lore and talents.  Some groups of Sweatmongers maintain breweries that draw customers from far afield.


----

Yup I was infected with creativity upon reading the original Xor post.  A pocket-campaign setting like Xor can fit in to liven up any boring spot of a more familiar campaign setting like the Dale Lands, Darokin, or pretty much anywhere on Krynn in addition to fitting in very well with Carcosa or somewhere outside Denethix.  A Gamma World/Mutant Future campaign within and upon Xor would also feel fairly different from the more familar ruin strwen wastelands.

6 Cults of Xor

Among the host of visitors, parasites, and scavengers that trod upon and within Xor there exists a number of cults seeing a connection with the divine. These cults can be alien and just as dangerous and zealous as any cult worshiping the gods with unseen bodies.

The Eternal Flesh- disciples of the eternal flesh preach of the immortality that comes with bonding with Xor and becoming of Xor. The Surgeon Acolytes of the cult of The Eternal Flesh take the infirm and connect their bodies with the sacred body of Xor, the blood of Xor is redirected to flow into the undying vessels, the flesh and other tissues of the undying vessels is peeled back and grafted onto Xor. In time the undying vessels lose all physical vestiges of their personal identity becoming one with Xor, never to die, never to be apart from the cult.


The Scriveners- this cult seeks to inscribe all knowledge upon the flesh of Xor with massive and elaborate encyclopedic tattoos that can wind of virtually for miles, some of which can only be truly appreciated or comprehended from afar or by those with extra-human observational skills. The cult can be found looking for ideal locations to lay down these tattoos, searching and brewing choice pigments, and fashioning implements to properly lay down the wisdom.


The Milkmen- many have mistaken The Milkmen for xor-dwelling nomads because they do not understand the complex physical and (according to the cult) spiritual voyages that The Milkmen take to travel from teat to teat do draw upon the milk Xor. The Milkmen will travel in small vagabond troops singing and engaged in bizarre dance empowered by the milk of Xor. They will trade in the Milk (and in their songs) but seek and see little profit from it seeming to settle for just enough to continue on their unending pilgrimage.


The Thirsters- the thirster clans are dangerous zealots who seek to draw upon the liquid of xor and return all liquid onto xor that have been stolen by parasites and scavengers (as they view them). Any who ever partake upon any of the myriad fluids of Xor that are not of the Thirsters are considered blasphemers. Clearly The Milkmen and The Thirsters will never get along unless the two cults somehow join together, such an aspiration would be heresy among many of The Thirsters but as each clan is led by an ancient charismatic elder the specifics of how each clan functions is variable.


Fleshweavers- the flesh weavers seek to expand upon Xor by bestowing the worthy with grafts form the body of Xor. Fleshweaver saints, guardians, and champions will grow to massive proportions as they accept multiple grafts over their lives for the faith. Among the Fleshweavers there is some contention to the end goal of the weaving and sects have not all agreed if the goal is to become a worthy offspring of Xor, to become a brother ox Xor, or to become a mate of Xor. Some of the less reputable shrines have been known to sell the Holy Grafts to those outside the cult sometimes reasoning it away by pointing out that Xor clearly approves when the graft is successful.


Droning Dreamers- this cult of xor is easy to spot as practitioners will seek the high points upon the body of Xor to perch upon and engage in lengthy droning hymns that if done properly will be rewarded with a meditative dream-like state full or euphoric and prophetic visions.


Inspired by this post: http://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-quivering-flesh-pits-of-xor_3.html

Ever read The Postman?

You might have seen the film the Postman but have you read the book it was based on?  I read it in hardcover 30 years ago and recently dipped back into it and while there are some differences from the film the stories aren’t too far removed in spirit, the strangeness is turned down a few notches in the film for the economy of story telling that is often forced on a film based on a novel.

It’s got a lot of great post-apocalyptic undercurrents going for it. We’ve got a community controlled by a computer (not in the film), rampant pollution and mutation (not in the film), rebuilding of civilization around symbols and ideals. It’s a tale of hope.

There’s great insight into the film from the author of the novel here:
http://www.davidbrin.com/postmanmovie.html

I think the a campaign set in the world (worlds) of the postman could make for a decent post apocalyptic RPG campaign and such a setting with a hint of hope can be rewarding. Ragtag survivors and communities struggling to get by in a world gone mad coming together in the name of hope despite the brutal needs of survival and the ambitions of the ruthless .Give it a good read.

Troublesome Elves

A encounter table Inspired by this post on elves at Elfmaids and Octopi.  I agree elves should be made more of a nightmare or exotic menace than they have been generally presented many an RPG game and campaign. The Following is a minor contribution to that end.


Troublesome Encounter with Wicked Elves

1d50
1	A Spelte Vaettir Herald decked in elaborate Orachalcum Armor arrives to demand tribute that has been unpaid by the locals for decades.
2	An angry flock of blood drinking owls descends on a field during harvest while a half dozen Spelte Vaettir watch and wait.
3	A Spelte Vaettir Harvest Knight and a score of lesser kin we idling a host of exotic pole-arms escort a train of Drolde slaves carrying goods back to their domain.
4	A maiden and a Harvest Elf Green Jack engaged in a romantic triste.
5	A dozen intoxicated Harvest Knights on a rand are sweeping the countryside; anyone foolish enough to join in will likely be swept away and never seen again.
6	A Harvest Knight on a black steed delivers the body of a missing nobleman’s child.
7	Nearly a dozen Spelte Vaettir have stopped by a forest pool to bathe, leaving their arms and armor on the shore. All the gear is likely magical but will rust away as autumn leaves and vanish by the next spring.
8	A raiding part of Harvest Elves is racing across the area, woe to any who try to sate between them and their goal. The raiding party will be heavily represented by those of level in classes such as fighter, druid and Ilusionist.
9	A band of Harvest Knight and Green Jack are battling a larger but less prepared number of Rotwood Elves. Both will gladly except help but the rewards they offer may not be that they seem,
10	A Green Jack with a pair of Trow servants is traveling to a local village to samples the goods of the local ale wives.
11	A Spelte Vaettir bound in crude iron chains is being dragged along by a trio of trolls.
12	A pair of oafish villagers carrying piles of goods are pursued by a number of jeering harvest elves who will surly set upon them at any time.
13	A pair of Trelfs in brass leaf-scale armor guard a door in a hillside.
14	A Drolde and pathetic Drauth haggle with a small band of Boggarts over some Drolde-wrought arms and lowly Drausckap.
15	A Drauth slowly growing larger in a stone grotto surrounded by a thorn hedge.
16	A Drauth handmaiden skulking away carrying a babe in arms having left a false changeling in place in a nearby village.
17	A trio of beautiful Drauth Maidens will invite travelers to enjoy their company and passions for a night. All will probably go well unless one of their guests is foolish enough to depart with a token or flask of Drauth wine.
18	An entombed Drauth screams in madness and rage so loudly it can be heard above the ground.
19	A Drauth Warrior (his sword stollen) sits against a tree bound by iron chains.
20	A Drauth Wizard and famulus summoning an elemental in a stone circle.
21	Rotwood Elves decked in heavy (but filthy) robes and breathe-masks are spraying the wood with a mist of spores from strange bellows.
22	A Rotwood maiden is harvesting hens of the wood, she may attempt to seduce one or two human men back to her lair.
23	A crone seemingly talking to herself is gathering mushrooms in the forest. She is begin guided by an invisible Rotwood Elf.
24	A half dozen Rotwood Elf swordsmen will nto allow any to pass over a small bride across a stream without a challenge and contest. They will lose easily if the contest is not to the death, their gear is infested with spores that will sprout madly in 2 or 3 days consuming all organic matter it is in contact with (treat as green slime).
25	A small band of Rotwood Elves is tracking a thief who made off with a number of potions. They will split the goods with any who aid them.
26	A pair of fungus ridden zombies led by what seems to be a child is seen carrying armloads of goods along a remote trail. The child is a glamoured Rotwood Elf or perhaps a Drauth that has stolen some of their secrets.
27	Four sickly jaundiced elves seek assistance in healing a wounded companion. They bear a goodly amount of Drauskap arms (recently won in battle).
28	Rotwood Elf bandits in fungus laced trees will drop down foul grenades of choking spores and flesh-devouring molds to any who pass that will not readily surrender adequate wealth.
29	A stange languid Elfin Princess in procession with Mushroom Headed Bug-a-bears, fungus ridden dwarves, and mold covered centaurs who is waited on by seemingly sickly elfin maidens will attempt to add any who bother her to her ranks of servants,
30	An aggressive patrol of Rotwood elves accompanied by a fungus laced Treant and a drug-addled Traelf warrior will attempt to destroy or capture any in their territory who do not offer proper recompense for trespassing.
31	A pair of Moon-Elf knights mounted upon ghastly steeds are racing each other across the countryside, neither will appreciate interruption.
32	A Moon-Elf Magus and Crystal Sevitors leading a frothing Wamp back to a moon-gate.
33	A Moon-Elf exploratory party decked out in exotic lunar garb, sporting breathing tubes and a host of oddly devices is collecting terrestrial samples in floating bubbles.
34	A circle of witches engaged in an orgy with a number of Moon Elves will attempt to seduce any who stumble upon them but woe to those who join in as their blood will be spilled to nurture the children to be born afterward.
35	A large band of Moon-Elves constructing tripedal warmachines. They will be ready at the next full moon.
36	Molemen slaves recently escape through a Moongate with a smattering of Moon-Elf devices, they will attempt to barter a single device and knowledge of how ot use the Moongate to get gretater wealth (and likely be captured by Moon Elves in their own domain).
37	Moon-Elf Nobles visiting their Terrestiral Cousins riding upon palanquins carried by a host of molemen. They are guarded by a platoon of Moon Elves mounted upon Giant Moths.
38	Two Moon-Elf hunters are tracking a Mothman in the wood. The Mothman is actually a MoonElf lycanthrope of sorts they wish to capture alive. they may pretend to bribe terrestrial men into as siting them.
39	A Troop of Moon-elves setting up elaborate lunar cannons to blast their way into a gate leading to a Hurdle-Folk hill.
40	A mysterious gateway in the wood leads to Moon-Elf graveyard on the moon. Woe to any who are not prepared to breathe the rarified lunar air or deal with the scampering Lunar Ghouls that lurk in the dark corners of the Graveyard.
41	A Liger stalks a pair of hapless lost Moon-Elves.
42	A small Band of Moon-Elves and Wood Elf cousins hunt a pair of Were-wolves. If they are bored or annoyed by humans in their way they may just add them to the ranks of the hunted.
43	A Troop of Wood Elves hunting for the woodmen who did slay their Dryad queen.
44	A score of a Sprites burst from a trunk of a tree. They will be hungry and seek to drink the blood of any animals they encounter for the next three nights. They can be calmed by Wood Elves.
45	A hollow-backed Elfin maiden sitting in a wooden glade will attempt to seduce any male who enter the glade. Her breast milk is poison that will enthrall those who drink. Elfin men and women are immune to the charms of this Wood Elf vampire (of sorts).
46	A wild hunt of Wood Elves and Enchanted Beasts led by an Oak Lord sweeps through the countryside all variety of men and animals are considered fair game if they lack Elfin charms that would allow them to join the hunt.
47	A Small Band of Wood Elves battles a cult of Witches emboldened by troublesome Drauth.
48	In a secreted glade a Wood Elf Master Archer with a golden bow challenges any bowmen he meets to a contest of archery, the winner is acknowledged to be the champion and will be given the golden bow and will be cursed to stand in the glade until someone can best them in a fair contest of archery.
49	A Trio of wicked Wood Elves is using a kidnapped maiden to hunt a Unicorn.
50	A troop of Wood elves will taunt and harry any who have trespassed onto their territory. They will use magic and be a nuisance but not cause violence unless met with violence.

Spelte Vaettir (Harvest Elves): Self proclaimed masters of nature’s bounty demanding tribute from the younger races. Harvest elves are tall (6-1/2 ft) and very slight with sliver-grey skin not unlike moonlight, despite their slight frames they are powerful and violent typically decked in autumnal colors of deciduous forest and fields.

Trelf: Tragic crossreeds of Elf and Troll that favor the elfin parent.

Trow: Originally slave soldier half breeds of dark elves and troll.

Drolde: Brutish magically fostered crossbreeds of dark elf and troll that despite their barely sentient nature are capable of fashioning exotic and exceptional large arms.

Traelf: though tot be a cross breed of Elf and Treant that protest the faierie domains but also possibly a stage in the Dryad/Treant life-cycle.

Drauth: A wicked, jealous,greedy, and gluttonous race of dark elves that primarily dwell beneath the earth. These shape changing folk are naturally gaunt (even skeletal) and workers of awful violence made even more terrible by their Drauskap (the magical craft of the Drauth).


Rotwood Elves: Not all elves of the woods are bound to the green some are jaundiced or grey servants of the riotous rot of fungus that would overrun the woods of the world.  Their alchemy and magic is shaped by their intimate knowledge of the spores and molds of the wood.

Moon-Elves will appear to be nearly naked in their scant translucent robes and bizarre crystal helms. They are visitors from remote domains upon the moon and sport exotic devices and goods for trade and defense along with beasts and slaves from their homeland.  They will treat men with any but the strongest of magical skills as simple brutes to be ignored or used at their whim; it is rumored they bend and shape men with wands that emit lycanthropic rays.  (inspired to be weirder than i originally thought by this  http://chaudronchromatique.blogspot.com/2016/02/moon-elf-of-yngarr-with-herhis-oculus.html)

What's going on in the Domain?

Konsumterra of Elf Maids and Octopi has an excellent post Year on the Domain here:  http://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com/2015/07/year-on-domain.html

A handy month by month break down of what folks are doing, simple weather, and flavorful seasonal encounters/events for a rural domain.

This guy posts some pretty cool tables for encounters, filling in details, or shaking things up in a campaign get on over and take a look if you have not done so lately, or at all.

Dungeon Encounter

Just having some fun with the silhouettes from Telecatner's receding rules.   A gnomish dungeon expedition has bumped into a demonic dandy with two half-breed ocean spawned minions.

Time for a reaction check.

The silhouettes are public domain and I've used them a couple times in the past. There's a fair amount to pick from and a little editing and there's a whole bunch more to illustrate house rule docs and blog postings.

Alignment can have it's place

Erik at Tenkar’s Tavern asks if alignment is better left out of the game. I think the answer lies in how the game and campaigns deals with alignment along with the GMs understanding  of how alignment works within said game and campaign that provide the answer.

Here was my reply to Tenkar’s Tavern commenting from my phone:
Alignment works well when it is defined as a general tendency or alliance and not a straight jacket for individual behavior. When there are few if any game mechanics that deal directly with alignment and and alignments are treated as something to impose it's un-fun. When mechanics support and give meaning to alignment choices and present themselves as a challenge to be mastered instead of avoided thegame is better.
Whether the game has 3 point, 5 point, or 9 point alignment is irrelevant if the DM and campaign don't support the relevance of the alignments. In AD&D the rules for alignment restricted access to classes and were a factor in measuring player performance as their. character and would have an impact on training costs, most DMs seem to have ignored this over the year So alignment had little relevance beyond "mother may I" to retain membership and advancement in a class.
Give alignment a wider and clearer role in a campaign and it is useful and campaign enriching.

To elaborate on the above: alignment is significant and useful if it means something in the campaign and provides a means for superior players to shine instead of begin used as a stick to punish wayward murder hobos.

Alignment as faction i pretty easy to understand you got the Lawful folks here and the Chaotic ones there: lets fight!  The neutrals can be bought but are self-serving jerks. Not very complicated is it? That’s how alignment started out in RPG and it can still be applied today in just that fashion. If adhered to it is entirely useable and campaign shaping, players shouldn’t have a hard time dealing with it. Sure there might be silly things like the gods and all decent folk expect Lawful folk to keep to their promises, like the real world works ideally (if not in truth), its simple but it works. No one really trusts the neutral mercenaries and the others are the enemies.

Alignment as personal morality can work as well but when the GM starts telling someone the personal morality they are claiming and enacting don’t mesh up and hits them over the head with the consequences it can be troublesome as it is a a situation that is no longer personal. Alignment as personal morality should be a guideline not a straightjacket players should be rewarded for role-playing well when adhering to alignment ideals not flat out punished or told…no you can’t do that you are Lawful Good.  Lawful Good isn’t Lawful Stupid, LG characters can steal, lie and murder but how they deal with the personal consequences is what should matter folk that turn themselves in to the authorities for their crimes are begin lawful, those seeking redemption of their sins are being lawful and good. A LG PC that kills in cold blood and is played as if troubled and seeking redemption for their crime is being played well not poorly, personal trials and tribulations are being played out and that’s excellent role-playing.

Alignment as cosmic force is a little trickier as it does present a degree of “mother may I” that some folks find distasteful. When alignment is a cosmic force it makes sense some folks get screwed over for certain decisions and there may be entities out there keeping score. When alignment is a cosmic force it needs to stay relatively impartial and game mechanics should support that with wider application of the cosmic force. Some spells in a campaign where alignment is a cosmic force work differently when cast by magicians of certain alignments or are entirely un-castable. Spells may impact folks of different alignments differently depending on inter-relations. PCs may drift between alignments based on their behavior or be forever cast in a mold to gain the benefits and damnations of alignment selection and as long as alignment matters in a tangible way alignment as cosmic force works.

Alignment as vague ethos gets a bit trickier, here alignment would deb predictive and possibly an means of identification but aside form some odd psychological reactions there should likely be few mechanics that function in regard to alignment. Players who constantly adhere to the ethos should likely gain a benefit for playing well but restrictions and judgements against those that deal with their professed alignments poorly are likely out of line. Sure lawful folk in a campaign where law is a loose ethos support groups and order and may be respect by other lawful folk but they are not bound to other lawful folk by more than explicit contract and actions. Alignment as vague ethos makes cackling evil or goodie-two-shoes benific good ridiculous factors to enforce and even have much mechanical impact outside social interaction within the game but again it has a place if the place is understood.

Leave out alignment if you just don’t want to bother but it is my opinion that if well understood by the GM and supported by game mechanics actually put to use consistently alignment can be a useful (but not absolutely required) tool in role playing games that offers the GM an ability to define the campaign and give players a means to identify the role of their PCs and gives players another way to shine within the game.

Space Monkey PDF Available

The Space Money Player Character meant for The White Star White Box Science Fiction Roleplaying game and compatible RPGs is availbale as a Pay What You Want title on:

DriveThru RPG:   http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/149083/The-Space-Monkey-Player-Character

and

RPG NOW: http://www.rpgnow.com/product/149083/The-Space-Monkey-Player-Character

It's the first of many titles, many of which will be PWYW so people can sample my wares even if they aren't a reader of this blog and would like to contribute to my being able to write more on a wide range of mostly old-school RPG titles and subjects.