Organizing Campaign Material

I've been looking at my current campaign material and considering ways to organize it more effectively. Usually, I compile a series of campaign documents that I can refer back to during play or as needed outside of play. These are typically:

1. Character Creation (Player's Handbook)
2. Subset of Rules in Play (Dungeonmaster's Guidebook)
3. Manual of Monsters
4. Campaign Setting

These have always worked "good enough" for me, but still turn into some degree of page-turning that can slow down speed of play. So recently, I was looking at alternative options that don't involve money.

My exploration of the subject turned up a couple of options:

• Roll20
• Full Website
• Campaign Wiki
• OneNote or similar software

Of these, I've used Roll20 successfully for gaming before but I'm not sure its campaign management tools were really what I needed for the volume and interrelatedness of the material I have (its mapping capabilities are on point, though, and will almost certainly see future use by myself). OneNote carries a learning curve and still involves having lots of separate documents; I just want to start making material - not learn a whole new platform. A full website would be really cool, but I don't have the experience to do this easily, either.

And then there was one. I've used Wikimedia's platform in the past to organize ideas. Wikis are great for connecting and organizing information. They are easy to add onto. And that's why I settled on this option. Unfortunately, not many sites seem to offer free Wikimedia-based wikis, so I ultimately landed at Wikidot. There's a minor learning curve - the syntax varies a little; tags work slightly differently than categories in wikimedia; wikidot has modules that wikimedia lacks; etc. Still, this is much easier than learning new software and looks like it will serve the exact purpose I need it to.

Cool Things You Can Do

I am still exploring various things I can do with the wiki, but the coolest one I've come up with so far is putting entire dungeon maps and notes in it with appropriate links. This lets me click links and move through the dungeon. It also lets me link to specific monsters, traps, puzzles, etc. as needed so I'm never more than a mouse click from the information I need during a game.

I can also use the wikidot version of a namespace to manage accessibility, so players can see the wiki, but not the GM-only sections. I can also use different layout templates and such by namespace (called categories in Wikidot), if I want. This will also give another layer of organization to the wiki, which I appreciate.

Another great thing about wikidot is that it also offers each wiki its own website and forum. I haven't dug into those features yet, but I think they will help a great deal in making this wiki the go-to for future campaigns.

3D Modeling and Mapping the Dungeon

As you probably know if you have followed this blog lately, I am mapping a dungeon again. Today, I'm going to talk about different approaches I've used to making 3-D maps and representations. But first, there are a few ways to produce these. I'll talk a little bit about them below.

CAD Software

Computer Aided Design Software is software used to create thee dimensional models of things in a computer. There are a great many of these, but the ones I am personally familiar with are SolidWorks and Pro-E. I have a passing acquaintance with SketchUp and access to YouTube, so I'll go out on a limb and claim to be able to use that, too.

The benefits of such software is that you can make a 3-D model of every room in your dungeon down to nails and brackets, if you want. The level of detail is up to you. And then you get move it around, hide walls, take screenshots, etc. SketchUp lets you do walk-throughs. Engineering software lets you do things you will never ever ever need to do like model the voticity of blood flowing through your dungeon. Well. Maybe that might be useful for some...

The drawback to using CAD software is twofold - there can be a rather steep learning curve to such software and it takes a while to produce a good model.

SketchUp

This probably falls under "CAD Software", but I'm going to break it out because it is cheaper, more popular, and doesn't seem to be nearly as sophisticated as the professional CAD programs I'm use to working with. Also, it was originally geared toward architectural applications, and not engineering ones.

SketchUp lets you build 3-D models of just about anything, but it was originally targeting architectural designs - buildings, landscaping, etc. This focus potentially makes for some excellent end products, complete with lighting, shadows, and everything. That can be really cool, if you go ham with it, but doing so takes time. I don't profess to be a SketchUp expert, so I doubt I'm any form of fast, but I can see where you can quickly bang out an important room or locale to get a nice visual for players. Just as with the CAD software mentioned above, I still think it's too cumbersome to use for an entire dungeon, at least unless you just love doing that sort of thing. Then good on ya!

Isometric Maps

These maps offer an isometric view (think Diablo and its clones) of the dungeon. They are fantastic for showing relative heights of rooms, but they require special graph paper - or more talent than I will ever have - to draw really well by hand. I haven't found a computer map-drawing tool that makes these, either, though I am probably just missing it.

The benefits of isometric maps is that they are simple to read if drawn well, display height differences well, and are far faster to make than using CAD software. Drawbacks are that you won't get the degree of detail and versatility as with CAD software, and it takes talent to make these look good. Moreover, some 3-D dungeon designs may not read well, no matter how good you are (try to imagine a 3D maze in isometric perspective).

Is It Worth It?

In my experience, isometric maps just look cool. They can also help give a sense of elevation, which for very vertical maps can be essential to understanding the flow. My only issue with using these is that I suck at drawing them. So I tend to gravitate to a computer-based approach.

I have used both SketchUp and SolidWorks to produce models of dungeon elements, rooms, etc. I am far more familiar with the likes of SolidWorks and Pro-E, so I tend to get faster and better results from those than SketchUp, but I can see where someone versed in the latter-most might be more productive than me.

What I find works well for me is breaking out CAD software to produce images like the one below. I created this to get a sense of scale between the towers, wall, and enclosed courtyard. I now have the dimensions of all of these elements in a way that makes visual sense to me and can begin drawing a map of the keep. I also have a spiffy visual for the players.

This took about 2 hours because I kept fiddling with dimensions to get the sizing just right.

Music as Inspiration

It has been a busy and chaotic month for me, but things are starting to quiet down. I am also beginning a new project that will find its way to the blog soon. All of that said, I have to say I really enjoy poking around the internet for inspirational art and music. I'm not sure what it is about the latter, but a good piece of music creates this mental image pregnant with ideas. I find writing easier, and everything just seems to flow.

Interestingly, I find that this is not genre-dependent, although I find certain types of music work better for certain fictional genres, and I tend to get more from classical music in general for any genre. Still, some prog rock (e.g., Bitches Crystal by ELP, Rainbow Demon by Uriah Heap), industrial, and some electronic music do wonders for science fiction for me, while other prog rock (e.g., South Side of the Sky by Yes, Jerusalem by ELP) and folk music works for fantasy. I also find Led Zeppelin good for science fiction, and I'm not sure if that's weird or not.

What music do you find inspiring and how? I'm always interested in expanding my listening!

Inspiring Images

With my move complete and unpacking as done as it will get until the last of my furniture arrives, I thought I'd post some pictures that are inspiring me today.

Another Set Piece for the Dungeon

I just finished mapping up another set piece for the dungeon, and I think most players will like how I mixed a pair of RPG and myth tropes to get something a little different and potentially terrifying. This set piece is all about ambiance, but that foreboding atmosphere will be backed up with one heck of a level boss.

This time around, I'm trying to make heavy use of the environment, which direction doors open, locked versus unlocked doors, and a general degree of creepiness to keep the players on edge, catch them off guard, and ultimately hit them hard with a single monster that will use the environment to its full advantage.

Granted, a typical GURPS party is horribly deadly when facing a single opponent, but that's where the environment comes in. The players will have their mobility noticeably limited, with any mistake in movement resulting in the sort of debilitating condition that can ravage defenses and leave a PC helpless at a critical moment. I'm piling on top of this doors that open in specific directions and locked doors to make running away more difficult, unless they specifically prepare a path of retreat as they advance.

My hope is that these two things will combine to make for the sort of encounter my players will talk about with horror and gratification (once they get past it!) for years to come.

What sort of things have you done in your games to make a single monster actually effective against a well-prepared party?

A Monster a Day Part II

I've been trying to keep up this pace, but I've slowed down. I honestly don't know how Enraged Eggplant does it over at Generic Universal Eggplant. Making a monsters, crosschecking rules, checking sources, and fitting them to the setting has proven more time consuming than originally anticipated, but still, I have produced about twenty new monsters since I started. I'm hoping to maintain that pace for another month or so, or at least until I have a few areas mapped out.

On the upside, I have statted up 14 mephits and a variety of demons and undead, so there is that. I need to work on some not-so-supernatural baddies, too. I have some ideas for the inhabitants of the local forests and their link to the Abbey, so I'm guessing they'll be next.

Martial Arts in GURPS Dungeon Fantasy

Two Swashbucklers going at it?

Back in 2015 into 2016, I ran a brief GURPS Dungeon Fantasy game in which the party's fighter and I came upon an interesting idea - finding a way to fit Martial Arts Styles into Dungeon Fantasy. It was to that end that we hammered out what a Style Perk should amount to and how to handle things like techniques within the simplified framework that is DF. Even though we didn't get a chance to implement it before university consumed my gaming time, I'll present it here as an untested idea that may prove useful to your own gaming, should you choose to include it.

What Is a Martial Art Style?

Martial arts styles are collections of skills, perks, and power-ups that help define a particular way of fighting. Every style has, at minimum, certain components:

• Martial Arts Style Familiarity
• Core Skills
• Cinematic Skills
• Perks
• Power-Ups

Together, these five components provide a framework for fighting in this style. The core skills are those that the style teaches, and the cinematic skills represent the body of legend surrounding the style. Combat perks are often not restricted by class (see DF 11), but they are listed here for both completeness and as a guide to what is appropriate for the style. Lastly, power-ups those power-ups that can be bought, regardless of template that normally grants access. In fact, many power-ups do are not otherwise available to any class!

Style Familiarity

Of these, the Style Familiarityis among the most important; it grants access to all of the other features of style, regardless of template. It includes a number of benefits as described below:

• Access to all of a style's associated skills, cinematic skills, power-ups, and perks. This only covers access, but does not fulfill prerequisites, such as Trained by a Master.
• The effects of Claim to Hospitality from DF 11 on a roll of 6 or less.
• Stylists gain a +1 bonus to rolls when interacting with co-stylists. This applies to obvious rolls like reaction and influence rolls, but also to the likes of Games, Interrogation, Merchant, etc. Treat this as a very narrow Reputation.
• If you have Style Familiarity for all of your opponent's styles, you know his tricks. Reduce the defensive penalties from his feints and Deceptive Attacks by -1.
• If the GM normally allows character points to be spent by certain templates mid-play, he should definitely allow stylists to spend points in a similar manner on style-related traits and skills.

Techniques as Power-Ups

Tracking individual technique levels, including defaults, and all of the finickiness this would introduce into the game, just isn't thematically appropriate for Dungeon Fantasy. But there are ways around this.

For starters, only those who have points in a technique can use it. Taking this a step further, each technique is bundled into a power-up that raises its score - preferably to that of the base skill. These power-ups also incorporate other traits to keep as many rolls as standard as possible - i.e., rolling at a +0 modifier as much as possible. And wherever possible, they also enhance the flavor and awesomeness of the underlying techniques by adding small benefits.

Finally, these power-ups are not universally available to all delvers. Only those who have invested a point in an appropriate Style Familiarity gain access to the power-ups covered by that specific style. These two tweaks cut down on the number of techniques floating around the game, place them in the same bin as any other power-up that the player has to track and remember how to use, and simplifies rolling by keeping everything as standardized as possible.

Future Work

I am currently continuing to expand my list of power-ups for this system and will be posting them here as they are completed. I hope you enjoy this add-on and will critique my builds in the comments. I always welcome feedback on this sort of thing!