ENWorld Blog

I have created a blog on ENWorld and I may, given some thought, do all of my blogging for Esaene over there.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/blog.php?u=34405

Winter's Shadow

The first adventure to be published is called "Winter's Shadow". The design is complete and I'm working on writing it up, preparing it for layout, and identifying art needs.

I'll be running internal playtests this week and, once I get through with any revisions from that, will be sending it out for some external playtests.

In Winter’s Shadow™, the player characters find themselves in the middle of a conflict on the Isle of Deldesheim. The Baron of Deldesheim, Evander Agenor, is getting married in one week to the Lady Keira Morris, a noble from across the sea in Boyden Arbor. One week ago, a host of goblins and other beasts from the feywild invaded. After pushing back the initial assault, the Baron mobilized his troops, supplemented by two companies of troops from the Royal brigade. During the final battle against the fey, the Baron’s only daughter is kidnapped, which could cause the conflict to spiral out of control. Can the players rescue the Baron’s daughter and prevent a full scale war while battling their way through wild goblins, fey knights, and a mysterious gang of kidnappers?

Making adjustments to the setting

Now that I've had a chance to run the game and (finally) play (thanks to Galen at Origins for the great session), I'm starting to make the setting adjustments to fit the world as it is.

The first question is a bit of a hot topic on ENWorld and other forums. What to do with Dragonborn and Tieflings. The change to Dragonborn is really just a backstory one - the Dragonborn are the result of a magical experiment, the mortals emulating the Gods (in that the aberrations were designed to be weapons); the dragonborn were created and bred to be weapons, turned into slaves, and eventually freed by their own power in a revolt that toppled an empire. They never rose to power, splitting up into various tribes and factions.

The Tieflings, on the other hand, actual have some minor mechanical changes to go along with their massive story changes. The infernal thing is something I generally reserve for bad guys or a major storyline, not your run of the mill warlord. Instead, the Tiefling are out and "Cealdara" (Key-al-dara) are in. Cealdara are elves with abilities relating to cold. The Cealdara will be cousins to the Eladrin and Elves. Outsiders won't know the difference.

4E Statement of Acceptance

I've just filled out the paperwork and I should be sending it in soon so that BayonetGames will be able to publish 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons material.

Infrequent update - 4E Madness

I've been busy with "real work" (AKA the work that pays the bills) so I've been spending my free time actually working on things as opposed to writing about working on things.

I have 4th Edition D&D and have run several games (before and after the release, based on the pre-release ruleset compiled by Verys Archon on ENWorld and the pre-release adventure, Keep on the Shadowfell). I ran Into the Shadowhaunt for D&D gameday and that went well - my party, consisting primarily of 10-12 year old girls for some reason, had a great time. They beat the adventure and the follow-up white dragon encounter in three and a half hours.

I'm currently starting 1 4th edition game at work, 1-2 times a week at lunch; I'm restarting my play-by-email game with the current ruleset (adapting EN Publishing's War of the Burning Sky for 4th edition); I'm also planning a semi-regular game at my FLGS (All Fun & Games in Apex, NC) as well.

The plan is, eventually, to start putting the adventure modules and publishable material into these games to prepare for eventual release. The main issue, of course, is that my job and family are very demanding of my time. So I'm not putting any undue pressure on myself. I'm going to Origins this month, DragonCon later in the year, and MACE (a more local convention) in November. Since MACE will be the first convention after the official third party release date, I imagine I'll try to have more official content ready to go by then.

Narrativism vs. Simulationism

I've been seeing a lot of traffic on ENWorld lately about simulating critical wounds, dismemberment, and things like that. I suppose I fall deeply into the narrativist camp when I ask, "Why?"

To me, character-altering things like that should be part of the story, not up to random chance. "Sorry, your guy lost his hand. Sucks to be you." Think about Jaime Lannister losing his hand, or a real-life example of captured English bowman being maimed so they can't draw back their bows. Random stuff happens in real life, but in a story and even a game, random things don't jive well. Anything major has to happen for some reason.

Just my two cents...

Long time

Hey everyone,

I know it's been a while since I updated this and it's been for a variety of reasons. Since 4th edition D&D was announced, I struggled with what direction to take the game. I needed more info to make sure my vision wouldn't be so close to Wizard's vision that it would make my work moot, so I waited and watched.

As it turns out, I like what I see. Based on the plethora of information available from D&D experience, and a few email questions answered from Wizards of the Coast, I've decided to continue forward with Esaene using 4th Edition D&D rules.

The current plan is to have several things ready for demonstration at Origins this year and have them available for sale starting January 1st, 2009.

More updates as we get closer.

-Chris

Update

I'm working on the first publication for Esaene - an adventure along with some setting information (location, groups, NPCs, etc.). Once I get that to a good point and have it all written out (after play tests in February) I'll start on the next one.

Setting

I'm still running my PBEM game at the moment (although participation has lagged in the last two weeks). Things are going pretty well and I've had some time to brainstorm, mostly because I haven't had time to write due to "real work" concerns.

Still, I have had some time to sit down with Brant and go over setting issues. I have a good scheme for areas that should help in multiple ways (both in-game/story and out-of-game/writing).

The biggest issues facing me are as such:
1. Time - I'm working about 50+hours a week, am a hockey season ticket holder, and have two children. You do the math.
2. Philosophy - I dislike the Arcane/Divine divide concerning magic and I'm still working on separating them from D&D Canon.
3. Mapping the known world - this one I solved with some brain-storming. The "known world" is fragmented and small, so maps will exist for individual areas. This has to do with the integration of the faerie-lands into the material plane. In other words, civilization will exist in pockets of faerie; traveling between them will be difficult at best.

Creative decision

I'm playing a wait and see game with fourth edition D&D. In the mean time, I'm spending most of my creative time on setting. I'll try to keep making updates as I come to it.

Augury

Augury allows the character to read omens in order to foretell future events. This can be tracking the stars (astronomy), examining the liver (hepatoscopy) and/or entrails (haruspicy) of a sacrificial animal, interpreting natural phenomena, or almost any other ritualistic form of telling the future or seeking guidance (prayer, tea leaves, tarot, etc.).

Power Requirements
Future time period	Power
Within the next minute	2
Within the next 10 minutes	3
Within the next hour	4
Within the next 24 hours	5
Within the next week	6
Within the next month	7
Within the next year	8
Within the next 10 years	9
Within the next 100 years	10
Any future	11

Prerequisites: Wisdom 12

Attribute: Wisdom

Base Power: 1 + Wisdom Modifier

Base Area/Range: Personal

Base Duration: Concentration

Enhancements: None

Power Effect: The character may attempt to seek an answer to a specific question about the future. The diviner must make a successful Knowledge (Augury) check in order to correctly interpret the omens. The base DC for any Augury is 5 times the Power rating of the effect. If the Augury check succeeds, you receive a short answer to your question. If the question is direct, you will likely receive a simple “yes,” “no,” or “neither” answer. If the question is complex, the answer will be cryptic. By succeeding by 10 or more, direct questions will be answered with additional information, and complex questions will be answered clearly. You can only ask a question once in a 24 hour period. Fail by 10 or more and you cannot ask the question again for a month. Interpreting the omens of another person is a -5 penalty to your check.

The game approaches

I've made huge strides on the game system/mechanics and I have two and a half characters ready to start this thing. Once it begins I'll make regular updates of ongoing progress. So far I have an exile from the south, an army veteran turned mystic, and an ambassador noble with mixed heritage. I'm wanting to get one or two more characters sorted out before we start in earnest.

It should be fun.

Silverford

Silverford is a large town and smack in the middle of Weir Valley, straddling the Silver River along the Shield Road from Silvergate in the east to Shadow Gap in the west. It has a population just shy of 5000 and is the major trading center for goods traveling back and forth between Rone and Amara.

Technically it is ruled by Baron Callis Taljira, an Amaran noble who leaves most of the actual ruling to the elected city council. The council is currently led by Crispin Aldrich, a retired veteran of the now defunct Sixth Legion. Also on the council are Dugan Baxter, the head of the Merchant’s Guild, Edward Brigham the well known smith, weapon maker, and armorer, and Emmett Fletcher, cousin of the wealthy and powerful farmer William Fletcher and prominent land owner in the city. Also on the council, but not elected, is the town constable, Harrison Gage, another former soldier who served with Councilman Aldrich in the Sixth Legion.

For travelers, there are three main Inns – The Lord’s Inn, the Eastgate Inn, and the Silver Fork. The Silver Fork is by all accounts the nicest and most expensive. There are many taverns throughout the city, some linked to gambling houses and other dens of ill repute.

Weir Valley

The Weir Valley lies between two major political foes – the Holy Amaran Empire to the east and the Kingdom (or Kingdoms, depending on whom you ask) of Rone to the west. Technically a province of Amara, it is the crossroads of any travel between the two lands as it is the only pass in the towering Greer mountains.

Twenty years ago, the lowlands of Rone were firmly in the control of Emperor Augustus IV of Amara when a rebellion cost the Empire many of its best legions. Abram Kiros, the High King of Rone, led the rebellion and crushed the retreating Imperial Legions in sight of Shadow Gap, the western pass leading into the vale. No Imperial Army has marched past the fortress at Shadow Gap since that fateful day.

The defeat impacted the Empire in many ways. The path to the Shattered Sea was now cut off, isolating provincial troops throughout the region. The provincial governments fell one by one and the Free Cities were formed as a result. The Empire had never been defeated on the field before that point, causing many to question the leadership of Emperor Augustus and whether or not he had been abandoned by God. The financial impact was devastating, sending the Empire into a depression they are just now recovering from.

Besides the Fortress at Shadow Gap and the matching one, Silvergate, at the eastern pass, there is only one settlement of note within the valley. Silverford, the largest town and capital of the valley, sits astride the Silver River in the middle of the valley. The river itself flows north, from Darkwood Falls at the south end of the valley to the Crack at the north, where the river becomes wild and erratic in dangerous rapids as it twists through a canyon down towards the coast of Rone.

Other than Silverford, there are two smaller fords across the river. Ramford in the north valley gets its name from the primary purpose of the route – moving herds of the well known and expensive Weiran Blacks, sheep from which the valley gets much of its income. In the south is Applecross, a ford in the rich and fertile orchards. Both fords have small villages at the banks to take advantage of the traffic.

There are also smaller settlements throughout the valley, although none more than a few hundred people. Richland is the land of William Fletcher, the wealthiest man in Weir Valley. His farmlands and orchards provide him with his ample wealth. Sawyer’s Mill is a forestry town on the edge of Northwood Forest. Cameron Hill is the westernmost settlement in the valley and has a larger than average Ronish population. Darkwood Falls is near the forest and waterfall it is named for in the south. Finally, Harlot is a little mining town in the northeast that works the last major silver mine in the valley.

Play by Post

I'm starting a play-by-post game with several people soon to go through some setting and rules stuff. I plan on keeping it updated here as we progress.

Snapback

I've figured out a simple system for snapback, something Brant has always liked about the magic. I won't go into too many details now (tweaking), but I like it a lot and it should add some flavor to the magic. It's very simple.

Back home

I'm back from Origins. Much fun was had by all and I got a lot of work done on Esaene. I'll need to collect my thoughts a bit before posting any of it, but things are looking up.

Origins

I'm here in Columbus for Origins. I'll be at the BayonetGames booth - we're sharing it with Lock & Load.

Origins

Brant and I will be at Origins this year, although I don't think we have anything specifically to show. We will spend the time getting some of this game stuff sorted out. Having several days to only work on this will help a lot.

Some thoughts on classes

Looking at what Chris has developed, I'm seeing a lot of tie-in with the original Esaene rules.
To recap: there were only 3 stats: ST, SK, IQ. What I didn't do as well as Chris was balance the classes like he has.

ST: combat-heavy warriors
SK: dextrous and nimble rogues
IQ: smart guys (like wizards)

In between these, there are
ST-SK: Ranger
ST-IQ: Mageknight
SK-IQ: not sure, but bears watching for development...

I'm intrigued to see how the wizard/sorceror dichotomy shakes out, too.