This is the first side-board movie novel that interests me, predominantly because of Jared’s review. It seems like something that gives a fuller backstory to events that will be talked about in Honor Among Thieves, while not giving away the plot of the movie. Read Jared’s full interview.
What Do I Know About Books? Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves-The Road to Neverwinter | What Do I Know?
-
Reblogged: What Do I Know About Books? Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves-The Road to Neverwinter | What Do I Know?
-
That d20 in my pocket
There’s been a d20 in my pocket for quite some time.
I don’t remember why it started or how.
The meaning then is probably not the meaning now.
Maybe by putting a die in my pocket I feel I control chance.
Maybe it was to remind me that once I hid my nerd and now I don’t. Maybe it was because I want physical reminders of my passions.
Over time the d20 became part of a routine. One of my many d20s is in my pocket. There are times I pair the die with the day’s planned events — blue and green for Sounders, black for Defiance, gold for weddings, etc.
There’s also a shield in my pocket. I know why I have the Hope Shield. I have the Shield because it is dangerous to go alone – Take This.
The support of Wyrmwood and other gaming accessory companies for Take This is needed. Take This severed ties with Wyrmwood in late February. I support that decision.I still carry the Shield in my pocket and will find other ways to support Take This in the future. Everyone needs to know that they are supported.
My Hope Shield is there to remind myself that there is support when it is needed. Sometimes I’m the one that needs the support and sometimes I am the supporter. We don’t go alone, so I take this shield with me as a physical reminder that life isn’t a solo project.
This penchant for charms and pocket things almost certainly rose because of my time in the Army and the tradition of challenge coins. Unfortunately my two most important challenge coins are gone (5th Special Forces Group, 1998 DLI Language Olympics). But the tradition and the need for symbols didn’t disappear just because I gave away and lost those coins.
So now I have a d20 and a shield with me, because I still need symbols of community.
-
Using ‘third places’ to add cultural depth to your D&D campaign or character
The trope that starts nearly every Dungeons & Dragons campaign is “So, you meet in a tavern.” Which is fitting. For most campaigns start with a diverse group of characters who don’t have strong connections throughout the group. They are a cross-cultural, cross-class, cross-Class, cross-everything group that wouldn’t meet at most places in the medieval-Renaissance-ish fantasy world that is D&D.
But the tavern, via the trope, has become a third place. It’s not home (though it often becomes that). It’s not work (though it often becomes that). It’s the place between. And these places between are frequently where subcultures within a society connect.
Various cultures have had different third places. For modern America it is now the coffeeshop and used to be bowling alleys. In the Ottoman Empire in the classical age had its cafes, where philosophy, music and political debate occurred.
In New England during the American Revolution public houses were the gathering point, for many at that time the first place was a co-located home with work and the second were churches.
The Greeks gathered on the steps of temples. Finns and Russians gather in bathhouses.
Sporting venues have been third places, before they became economically stratified. Travelling carnivals and festivals can be a third place.
No matter the type of third place, it tells you a bit about the culture.
Using third places as a character backstory tool
When creating a PC think about the place where you mingled with peoples unlike you. Where did your dwarf first meet an elf? Where did your farmer first meet a noble? Where did your follower of Lathander meet an unbeliever?
This decision will help tell you about your own history.
It will connect them to a place and associated behaviors that aren’t mechanics, but are fuel for the social pillar. Their own stories about a trip to watch a great debate between philosophers, a visit to the library, or the type of ale they enjoyed at the pub are stories that add more depth to the shared story that is D&D.
Adventurers have the place where they sleep (a cave, a cove, an inn), the place where they work (dungeons), and the places where they spend time meeting strangers with odd quests. Once they start their adventure they have the third place that was cross-cultural communication when they were growing up and now the place between — and that’s up to the whole party of different peoples.
Using third places as a world building tool
Dungeon Masters generally are more active in creating the world. There are a few ways they can use third places in that world.
- Collect each players’ third places in your notes. Give them the opportunity to revisit them in new lands.
- Start the campaign at the typical third place for the origin culture of the campaign. “So, you meet on the steps of the temple.”
- When the group comes to a new land and looks for their comfortable third place (the tavern) demonstrate how that locale is different from their expectation and what the unfamiliar culture would use as their non-stratified place that welcomes outsiders.
- Use maps of abandoned third places to show how different the older ages were from the one in which you campaign.
- Have an NPC name-drop their favorite third place. This can show how they are familiar to most of the group, or different. Each NPC can have their own place, they should!
- Have two third places in the same town share similarities but still be unique beyond their name. Maybe the Rusty Clam is a working pub and the Silver Nail is for the merchant class — and yet the players are welcomed at both.
These are flavor elements, but flavor is story in D&D. And story is what tables build together, usually because Dungeons and Dragons is now our third place.
-
Goltoppa, a Mehmdian sport in the World of the Everflow
Fantasy sports can be a fun way to add depth and cultural to a campaign world. One of my players in Uprising & Rebellion is playing a character from Mehmd and invented the sport of Goltoppa. He adapted some of the cultural touchpoints from the hidden empire, placing them into the common state of the game and has asked for it to be featured in a session soon. The character in question is not a Goltoppa player or coach.
Goltoppa
Playing Surface:
A goltoppa field created using Dungeon Scrawl The game is played on an open, flat, dirt field, generally free of rocks & debris, that is 360 feet long by 144 feet wide. The field is split lengthwise down the entirety of the center into 72 feet wide halves, and crosswise at 120 feet intervals. These six resulting areas are marked off with white paint borders. Particularly enterprising/wealthy teams have been known to pay to have the sections magicked to different colors. Straddling the centerline at each end of the playing field is a netted goal, 9 feet wide by 3 feet tall. One narrow end of the field is to be facing North, indicating the “head” of the field. Three referees patrol the playing surface to control the action during the run of play.
Players:
Goltoppa is played by two opposing teams, consisting of 9 starting players on each side. Teams are permitted to ‘dress’ 3 bench players for each contest, to be subbed into the game in the event of injury. Players may not be subbed into the game for strategic reasons or in the event of a player’s expulsion from the contest. A player’s uniform shall consist of a sleeveless tunic, belted at the waist & extending to mid-thigh, in the primary color of one of the six teams currently representing the league’s six social strata: Noble (violet), Military (red), Religious (white), Artisan (gold), Farmer/Fisher (green), Merchant (blue). Note that players are recruited to represent these strata, and need not be members of them. Additionally, players shall wear sandals that wrap up around their calves, with linen padding over their shins. Each team dresses one Left & Right “Slasher,” designated by a black sash that goes diagonally from either left or right shoulder to opposing hip, with the shoulder covered indicating which side of the field they may patrol. Players may wear short pants as well.
Play:
The game is played in two 36 minute halves. At the start of the game, a coin toss determines initial possession, which begins via kicking a ball onto the field from a position to the left of the goal which the possessing team is defending. The ball is traditionally made from a treated cow’s stomach filled with air, or a leather ball of approximately the same size . There are no goalies; all players may attempt to kick the ball toward or away from the goal, or to a teammate. Additionally, each team’s Slashers are allowed to catch the ball on the fly in their hands and run with it to the border of whichever section of the field they currently occupy, at which point they must kick the ball themselves unless trying to place the ball in the opposing goal. A Slasher with possession of the ball may be leg tackled by the opposing team. A successful leg tackle means the Slasher must kick the ball to a teammate (only) from the spot of the tackle. Tackling with one’s arms, striking a Slasher above the waist, or attempting to strip the ball from a Slasher’s hands by a player other than an opposing Slasher is not allowed. A ball that goes out of the field of play results in a change of possession, with the new possessing team kicking the ball into the field of play from the sideline spot where the referees determine the ball crossed out of the field.
Scoring:
A score happens whenever the ball is put into the net during the run of play, A ball kicked into the net scores 2 points; a ball placed into the net by hand scores 5 points.
Penalties:
Rough Play: Arm tackles; deliberate leg tackles of a non-Slasher; headbutts; intentional hands to the face or back of an opponent – Offending player off the field for 3 minutes.
Stripping: An attempt to pull the ball from the hands of a Slasher by a non-Slasher – Offending player off the field for 3 minutes.
Catching: Non-Slasher making deliberate contact with his hands to the ball, especially with an effort to control the ball – Offending player off the field for 2 minutes.
Scooping: Slasher attempting to pick the ball up off the field, rather than catching it on the fly. This includes a ball that bounces before being caught – Offending player off the field for 1 minute.
Offsides: Slasher maintaining possession of the ball beyond the area of the field where he caught it, or crossing from his designated half of the field – Change of possession from the spot; no kick to inbound the ball needed.
Belligerence: Fighting; intentional physical contact/intimidation toward a referee – Offending player ejected.
Playing Goltoppa at the table
There will be a series of contested checks to determine scoring. These will use the Tool Sports: Goltoppa and have a few skills that can connect to them.
My first thought is a way to generate scoring similar to what is described by JayDubTheGamer would be to have five contested checks by half. That’s a lot of rolling, but provides some variety of results and capability of multiple players participating.
Winning a check by 1-5 results in two points. Winning a check by more than 5 results in 5 points. Winning a check by more than 10 results in seven points and winning by 15 or more is good for nine points.
Losing a check by less than 5 results in two points for your own team. Any natural 1 means that you have given up a five-pointer or have committed a foul, rolling their next challenge at Disadvantage. Any natural 20 means that you have scored a five-pointer.
This should generate scores that look a bit like early 20th century American football or current rugby.
Applying skills
Acrobatics and Athletics will be the most used skills, most frequently connecting to Dexterity and Strength. It would also make sense for someone in a coaching position to use Intelligence with one of those and for a character playing the captain to use Charisma.
I would allow up to one role to use Deception in order to get away with a foul. That team would have Advantage on the next check, but if they lose that roll their next roll would be at Disadvantage.
An example:
Violet team Blue team Score 13 7 Violet 5: Blue 0 16 20 (natural) Violet 2: Blue 7 9 15 Violet 0: Blue 5 12 12 Violet 2: Blue 2 4 15 Violet 0: Blue 7 1st half 9 points 21 points 2 9 Violet 0: Blue 5 20 (natural) 7 Violet 12: Blue 0 14 11 Violet 2: Blue 2 18 6 Violet 7: Blue 0 3 9 Violet 0: Blue 5 2nd half 21 points 12 points FINAL 30 points 33 points Yes, that’s ten rolls for a non-combat encounter. Which feels like a bit, but the descriptions are at most two sentences, show the shifts in momentum, and feel like watching a sport when including those descriptions especially around the nat 20s.
We’ll see how it runs at the table.
-
When your escape is also darkness
I think my creative nature, both writing and D&D, started during my parents divorce. I turned towards stories of hope, or rising from darkness and fellowship. These were the things I enjoyed in fiction and helped me during those times. In my youth I was at my most creative during high-stress periods — then, high school, the Army, my mother-in-law’s cancer diagnosis and eventual death.
My creative energy was often an escape from reality.
I think that’s typical of artists, if I can call myself that. For me writing about Sounders soccer and D&D and the things that I enjoy have been that escape for various points of my multi-classed life. Currently I help market a news-as-security service. I see a lot of bad news. For the past year that’s meant that I have been writing more, crawling out of the darkness that was so deep during the various phases of pandemic jobless and deep despair.
The last year was a good balance for my creativity — not too dark, but enough that I needed to write still.
A funny thing happened over the past few weeks though. The hobbies that I use for an escape were also covered in shadow. The whole thing around the OGL with D&D ended my motivation around Dungeon 23. For the Sounders there is a sponsor that has so many of my friends and fellowship angry.
Sourness eroded my interest in putting words to blank screens. These unnecessary community damaging decisions harmed my ability to escape.
I didn’t want to rage, because my writing isn’t about rage (any more, now that I’m middle aged).
I wanted to not think about the decisions that didn’t bring me joy. Instead of creating 365 nuggets of lore and place in my fantasy world, instead of sharing the joys of Renton being the Sounders second home, instead of being hyped for player signings, a new book, a movie I just stared at the blank pages.
They weren’t a way to escape darker feelings.
Friday some of that changed. Wizards of the Coast repealed many of their most controversial decisions, now releasing a thing called the 5.1 System Reference Document in the Creative Commons as CC-BY 4.0.
I cried tears of joy.
A darkness turned brighter. An emotional night had a beacon of light.
Then I called the Tacoma Stars versus Empire Strykers MASL game for Sirius XM FC. It was a thrilling game with a supernatural performance by the Strykers goalkeeper. Seeing the coaches before the match, Toth after the match, the players meeting fans on the floor after it — all of that reminded me why I love creating around soccer.
Writing is a funny thing for me. It’s what I do professionally and semi-professionally. It demands parts of my soul and parts of my mind be clicked together like a puzzle. Much of my process is a puzzle without a guide to what the result is going to be. I work through iterations in my head, but what if those iterations are blocked by a negative ooze?
I pause.
Writing doesn’t happen. It slows. I do the labor, but without the passion. I read my passion. My best works are those where my soul is exposed with fellowship and joy rushing out.
And because emotions are what they are, reactive to outside influences, having brightness in my hobbies is vital for my creativity. The full moon of storytelling seems to be back. Now, I wonder what the next story is.
Full Moon Storytelling is brought to you by Kristin Clark of Keller-Williams Lake Washington
If you are looking to buy or sell a home in King or Pierce County, Washington support Full Moon Storytelling by supporting Kristin.
Here’s a wonderful 3-bed townhome in the Totem Lake area you should consider.
She’s my partner in everything I do.
