Expanded Timeline for After Chaos (AC) Part 13

Year 13 AC
Mysterious ships are seen off the east coast of Taina but never make contact with the natives.  The ships have sweeping lines, are bigger then any ship made in Taina or Ariella.  Rumors follow about wizards of powerful magic, of lost Gods, and raiders from a far off land.  The monks in their cave complex on Ariella are looking for any information on these strange ships and are paying well.

Expanded Timeline for After Chaos (AC) Part 12

Year 12 AC
Karoon is rocked by the ruling council being killed during a closed meeting, along with all their guards.  Not a one escapes and no one knows who did it.  Many believe it is Sarah and her supporters trying to free Carter or at least send a message.  The city is in chaos, some sections burn and warehouses are robbed.  A large reward is posted to find who killed the council.

Expanded Timeline for After Chaos (AC) Part 11

Year 11 AC
An earthquake rocks the Dwarven Islands and refugees land near Goodport in hopes of gathering supplies to help rebuild on the island.  Some of the humans do not like the hard bargaining dwarves and talk against them, causing there to be some harsh interactions.  The dwarves are also looking for help to take down predators that were disturbed by the earthquake, both two legged and four.  They are paying well and don't care if you are  human or dwarf.

Expanded Timeline for After Chaos (AC) Part 10

Year 10 AC
A dragon attacks a caravan on the plains of eastern Taina.  No one takes the rumors seriously, because dragons are the children of Catiana and would never attack unprovoked.  But there are also rumors the caravan had stolen dragon eggs and had slaves.  One man, by the name of Slate, says he was a slave in the caravan and the dragon saved him, but he won't say one way or another about if there were eggs or not.  Many of the nearby cities are trying to find the dragon to find the truth.  They are unsure of what they will do if they have to guard against a dragon or if the rumors are true.

Expanded Timeline for After Chaos (AC) Part 9

Year 9 AC
The next spring most of the fields are able to be tilled, but the farm land near the volcano, (which later becomes known as Varanath) is still unworkable.   Those who had managed to escape the area resettle to the southeast, over the small mountain range to the south.   Because of the volcano eruption some predators have been displaced and begin to hunt humans.  The villages in the area hire mercenaries to hunt them down so they don't lose anymore villagers or livestock.

Expanded Timeline for After Chaos (AC) Part 8

Year 8 AC
The large volcano near the northwestern coast, but about 200 miles inland, explodes.  Ashes fall everywhere, even on the east coast.  The weather becomes colder and crops start to fail.  The winter is harsh and many people, mostly old and young, die.  Brigands become common and mercenaries and fighting men are needed to protect villages and cities so people don't try to steal crops and livestock.

Expanded Timeline for After Chaos (AC) Part 7

Year 7 AC
A group of monks gather at a small cliff riddled with caves near the northern coast of Ariella.  They wish to build a library of knowledge from all over Taina so there is a center of learning.  They bring their extended families to farm and supply them with food, clothes and timber, along with other crafts they need.  Many of the nomads of the area avoid the area thinking the monks are mad.

The caravan from Goodport to Karoon is lost to bandits, though some escape and some of the goods are saved.  An attempt to retaliate against the bandits is planned and many mercenaries and the like are hired.  Mages are also hired, even though many in Goodport don't trust them.

Expanded Timeline for After Chaos (AC) Part 6

Year 6 AC
A northern bay in the upper western reaches of Taina is settled by a group of nomads.  They are forced to settle there because of dry season reduced the herds they were following and they decide to try their hand at fishing in the deep bay which is friendly to small fishing boats.  There are only a dozen families led by a man named Hern Calabay.

Goodport puts together their first wagon train to Karoon to trade with the mighty city state and see if it is something they can do profitably.  The wagon train is huge and heavily protected.  Mercenaries are hired from all over and paid well to protect the train.

Expanded Timeline for After Chaos (AC) Part 5

Year 5 AC
There is chaos in the organization of the city of Karoon.  Some of the lieutenants think they can lead, while others back returning Carter to leadership.  Nothing is resolved, but the city stagnates and trade drops a bit.  There is rumor that Sarah had a son, but the rumor can not be confirmed or denied.

Goodport is attacked by undead and a Wizard.  Many are killed and some of the city is destroyed, but the Wizard is eventually killed.  Those who use magic are looked upon with disdain and hate and will not be welcome openly, if not at all, in the city for some time.

Expanded Timeline for After Chaos (AC) Part 4

Year 4 After Chaos
Carter Thunderhead is taken into custody by his lieutenants for acting irrational.  He was taking fights to Ogre enclaves far a field and risking lives for little gain.  He swears revenge upon his so called "friends" as he is locked up for his own good and the good of the nation.  Sarah escapes with some of Carter's still loyal friends and is pregnant once again.

On the southern tip of eastern Taina a small group of people found the port of Goodport. With good farmland on the plateau to the north and east of the natural cove, the people of Goodport think they can be self sufficient.  They are looking for farmers, fishers, boatwrights, mercenaries and teamsters to help with building the port city.

Expanded Time Line After Chaos (AC) Part 3

Year 3 After Chaos
A group of ogres smashes their way into the Thunderhead compound, trying to kill the leader and his wife.  The ogres are stopped, but Sarah miscarries her baby from a trauma to the stomach.  Carter retaliates and takes out an ogre stronghold in his rage, losing many of his men, but killing ever last ogre.

Elvenhome is finally finished after years of building.  There is great celebrations for over a month and dwarven and human leaders alike are invited.  They are treated more like barbarians, but the Ancient Elves think they are being kind by allowing these lesser beings into their sanctuary.  Some people believe this may cause issues between the races later.

Expanded Timeline for After Chaos (AC) Part 2

Year 2 After Chaos
Carter Thunderhead is married to Sarah Karoon.  The two and their followers settle in the south east corner of the east coast and prepare to gather troops to wipe out the rest of the ogres in the area.  Merchants make the long trek across Taina to sell them goods and the longest traveled trail to date.

An explosion of pixies in Tsalagi Mountains near the north coast occurs.  The nights are lit up with the dancing of firefly like lights and magical occurrences happen to those who are near by.  No one is sure why they have gathered in such numbers, but most rational people steer clear of the area.

Expanded Time Line for After Chaos (AC) Part 1

So I did an expanded time line for just 100 years before the time of the High King's Sword, which is great if you want to be in that time period, but I thought I'd work on some time lines for earlier, so you can have a campaign at every time, just not near my hopefully to be published some day books.  So let us begin.

Year 1 After Chaos
The Ogre and Human War has just ended.  The ogres have been relegated to areas the humans and elves do not find good for farming or logging.  They still attack human settlements and elves still attack ogres trying to rescue slaves.  Some humans help the elves in this endeavor.  Dwarves come to the mainland of Taina in search of new mines and trade.  They help to start expanding the port of Stonecliffs to hold the big belly traders so they can bring in more trading ships.

A human, named Carter Thunderhead, is gathering as many humans together on the plains near the future city of Karoon as he can, in hopes of building a civilization that will hold against the ogres if they attack again.  Carter and his leaders feel it is only a matter of time before the ogres try and attack again.

A Living Campaign

As hard as it is to get an adventure put together, sometimes it's great to go the extra mile.  Sometimes, as you are putting that adventure together, you and your players forget that the characters are part of a bigger world.  So here are a few ideas I have to make your players feel part of a bigger world.

1) Rumors.  Have the bards in the near by tavern your characters frequent talk about the goings on in the nearby, and not so nearby, areas of the world.  This is a good way to sneak in an adventure hook, but also a good way to get your players knowledge of the world.

2) Town criers and newspaper.  Printing presses are rare, but in bigger cities they will be available.  Some of these cities will have local news in small papers.  They won't be like normal papers you see today, (certainly no comics or piles of advertisements), but they will definitely let you get some information out.  Same with the town criers sitting on a corner and shouting the newest news of the day.

3) A primer before you start.  Sometimes you can just give a list of major events that have happened since the last adventure in the world.  A king was crowned here, a kingdom taken down there.  This may give the players a wish to go somewhere new and give you more adventure ideas.

Happy Gaming!

When Gaming Becomes a Chore Part 3

My last thought on making gaming not a chore, but fun, like it should be, is to keep it simple.  I like great story arcs, spanning lots of adventures.  (Thus the writing thing.  Who would have guessed?)  But you don't have to be so elaborate.  Sometimes, just smashing some orcs or saving a group of slaves is enough.  I know when we prepared for exams in college, smashing orcs was always a good way to blow off steam.  I wouldn't recommend this sort of adventure every time, otherwise you're just playing a video game only slower, but on those weeks when you realize you don't have time to really work on a great adventure, throw a couple of random encounters in as the party goes from one point to another.  This is a rough time.  There aren't police and there are lots of bandits in those wide open wilds.  Use that to your advantage!

Happy Gaming!

When Gaming Becomes a Chore Part 2

A quick, easy fix to getting a roleplaying fix in a busy life is to cheat a bit and get a pre-generated adventure.  I know, I know.  I hear the groans from here.  A lot of those pre-generated adventures are awful.  I totally agree.  We refused to use them when we were in college and had tons of time on our hands, (granted we didn't know we had tons of time on our hands at the time...), to work on adventures.  But as time is so valuable, now, they look a lot more viable.  And the pre-generated adventures are a lot better put together, now.  I believe this is because people are willing to spend more money on good adventures and game makers are listening more to their customers to see what works.

Here's an example of what I mean.  My husband is running Rise of the Runelords by Paizo in the Pathfinder system and it is awesome.  Even NPC's that are in there for like a blink of the eye are given great backgrounds and reasons to be where they are.  If you really are into the roleplaying aspect, it's great.  And descriptions and flavor text are awesome.  I haven't got to look at a lot of it, since I'm not the GM, but what we've adventured through has been well done.  The best part is, my husband just has to read the adventure, tweak it a bit to fit our level (since we didn't start out at the start level), and make sure he is ready for any curve we might throw his way.  My daughter is playing a dwarf paladin and she wanted a mount.  There happens to be a lovely war horse, (mistreated, but still alive) in the goblin lair.  So my husband just made sure she was the one who got in there first to talk the horse out of the enclosure it was trapped in.  Instant Paladin mount!

All the XP awards and treasure are all there, (though a good GM makes sure there is treasure appropriate for his player characters), so there is very little work on the GM's part.

More on making things easier tomorrow!
Happy Gaming!

When Gaming Becomes a Chore Part 1

With the way my life is going I feel as if I'm going in five (or more) different directions at once.  When you were in college or single, there was time to game and do everything else you wanted to do.  With kids, jobs and volunteer activities, your life get's crowded and busy.  But if you are like my husband and I, you really want to game, as well.  The hard part is finding time to do so and not feeling as if it's just another chore on your list.  Let's discuss some things we do to still have fun and not feel like we are obligated to play roleplaying games.

My first advice is to try and make a little time every day to work on an adventure if you are the GM.  I don't always take this advice, sorta like I don't always write every day like I should, but if you try and spend ten or fifteen minutes a day on setting up stuff, it won't feel like a chore.  One day I might do a room description, the next make up a main bad guy or his minions.  If you take it a step at a time, it doesn't seem like a time a sink.  I usually do this in between my real chores or volunteer activities, so it feels like fun, versus a chore.

Tomorrow some ideas to help make planning easy.

Game Aide Hints for GMs Part 4

Food!  Gaming just wouldn't be gaming without food.  So here are a few ideas.

1) Have chips/nuts/other snacks on hand.  Soda or other drinks are always a good idea.  Maybe you take turns bringing it or maybe there is a money pool to buy it for the group. For those of you who like coffee, having someone bring creamer and you supply the coffee is always a good idea.

2) Potluck!  This is a good thing to try.  Everybody has to bring something and you can try different and new foods.  During my writing group days we would have potlucks and I learned to like a lot of different oriental foods made the traditional way, not Chinese restaurant ways.  Plus, it gives you lots of food to snack on for the four plus hours you may be playing!

3) Order in.  This isn't a good idea every session, but if you are capable, it is fun.  If you live in the sticks, like we do, then this option may not be so available.  When we were in college we'd order the midnight special from Dominos for 5 bucks and everyone would be ready for another few hours of play.  It does break up the play, but sometimes you need a break to gather your thoughts, whether a player or the GM.

Happy Gaming!

Game Aid Hints for GMs Part 3

Notes are always a good idea.  You have no idea how many times I've run a campaign and one of my players have remembered some obscure detail and I'm stumped.  So here are a few things I've done to help me remember the small things that sometimes aren't so small.

1) Keep a spiral!  Get the big highlights down, for sure, like NPCs you have to make up on the fly, spectacular fight highlights, and names of buildings you add in.  Anything else you can get down is gravy.  After an adventure, I always re-write my notes, whether in another spiral or on a running word document.

2) Have handy a cheat sheet of character stats.  Hit points, AC and saves are a good thing to have on hand so you can fudge if you need to, (though I know Hackmaster fans always let the dice lay), or roll those sneaky attacks or saves as needed.

3) I also keep a running list of ideas or items I need to expand on.  My daughter got side tracked with a disembodied voice in a ruin she wanted to "save" and named Bob, (for all those Jim Butcher fans).  So I kept a note on that and brought the voice in later for some other adventure.  Little things like this show the players you are paying attention and want them to have fun.

4) Cheat sheet of rules.  Most system have a GM screen with the need to know rules, but if not, make your own sheet up.  Simple things like DC for commonly used skills, common feats, and common battle options, (such as attacks of opportunities or attacks/spells that spawn attacks of opportunities), are good to have on hand.

Tomorrow the all important food.

Game Aid Hints for GMs Part 2

Physical aids are also very helpful when running a campaign.  Depending on the genre the aids may change a bit, but most should be consistent.  Here a few we use.

1) Hex mat and miniatures.  We actually have a square mat, but hex mats would probably be best, since that is easier to see diagonal alignments.  All good game stores sell these and if they don't have them in stock, should be able to get you one.  Miniatures can also be gotten at game stores.  There are a lot of pre-painted miniatures, now, so you don't have to paint them on your own, but games stores will also have non-painted ones and paints to make them as you like.  It's fun, after playing a character for a while, to pick a new miniature out for them.  This is a handy aid so players can see where they are in relation to other players and the bad guys and there is no confusion as to where they placed that fireball.

2) Hand drawn maps.  My husband loves drawing maps for ruins and areas, when he has time.  He use to do so when we were college to add spice to where we were going and we loved them.  Granted, you can always mislead, (on purpose or accident), your players with such maps, but they are fun to add.

3) Scrolls and other written material.  Ransom notes, notes on that secret treasure trove, the secret note to the rival noble, all these are fun to get in physical form and not just described.  It adds depth to what your discussing and if you do it enough, sometimes the players may not actually know for sure what is the important part and what is flavor text so you can keep them on their toes.

Next: Notes for the GM