Contents
Foreword:
Article: The Power of Organization
Monster: The Babarasu
Profile in Villainy: Erendr of the Ashwood
Afterward: Tell Your Friends!
Welcome to the second issue of the Modular Gameworld Newsletter! I’d like to thank those of you who have joined us since last week, and direct you over to our archive to see our previous newsletter.
This week we are lucky enough to have a second article of ours featured over at Roleplaying Tips Weekly as a Reader’s Tip, so for those of you subscribed to both lists you can see it here first.
Now at Modular Gameworld headquarters we got our hands on a copy of From Zen to Done by Leo Babauta. I’d love to rave about it, but I don’t want to bore all you people. So I decided to theme the afterward of the newsletter with my efforts towards organization and simplicity, both in starting this project and in life. If your not interested in that sort of thing feel free to skip the afterward. For those of you who do read it maybe you’ll decide to take this journey with me.
Enough about me, lets get to the content!
Article: The Power of Organization
by Ronny (ModularGameworld.com)
Have you ever that moment while GMing when you just realize you forgot something important. Not just important, but integral to the plot? You panic for a second while you think up workarounds in the plot to fix your mistake, or simply write it off and fly by the seat of your pants for the rest of the night. You can fix the mistake, but what can you do to make sure it never happens again? Be organized!
Organization seems to be such a dreaded word to some people, it’s like a black hole that sucks in time and energy and emits misery and frustration. I’m telling you now that organizing doesn’t need to be like that. Organization both before and during your session can save you time, make you work faster and easier, and best of all being organized doesn’t take any more time or work then being unorganized.
Here are some of my favorite methods of organization for campaigns.
1. Keep a checklist of your session
Checklists are an amazing way to keep track of your night’s session. Write down all the important plot points, new NPC’s you need to introduce, and encounters the players should have and check them off as the session progresses. Always leave some extra space towards the bottom to write campaign notes on unexpected actions the players took. This checklist gives you a quick look back on what happened or didn’t happen during that session. After the session ends review your checklist and add anything that didn’t happen and is still relevant onto your next sessions checklist. I keep old checklists in my campaign binder, they are an amazing resource to use in longterm campaigns.
2. Outline your session before you start writing
Outlines are just as important when crafting your weekly campaign sessions as they were back during high school in your English class. They help you to see the big picture while you are planning your game, which keeps you from elaborating endlessly on the small stuff and instead concentrate on whats really important. For example once I detailed every person in the inn my campaign started in, just in case my players talked to them. The players ended up spending 5 minutes in the inn, while I spent at least an hour on those details. Use your outline to keep things in perspective, never lose sight of the big picture. After all you can always go back in and fill in the smaller details later on. Remember time is not a renewable resource, we only have so much of it in a day. Spend your time wisely while creating so you can have more to spend doing the important things (like enjoying a good book, spending time with friends and family, or just simply relaxing).
3. Keep a campaign binder
Keeping a Campaign Binder may sound like a very basic item, but there are still GM’s out there who don’t do it. Keeping everything for your campaign in one place keeps you organized and ready to play at a moments notice. Use tabs or folders inside your binder to organize the content. Personally in my campaign binder I keep; a section for up to date copies of my player’s character sheets, a section for my previous sessions outline and checklist (I staple them together so I always know what goes with what), a section for notes and character sheets for NPC and monsters, and a section to keep all my future notes and ideas. I keep the back of the binder filled with loose leaf paper and extra character sheets, so I’m never short on what I need for a campaign.
4. Keep a notebook and pen with you, always
This is as much of a life habit as much as about GMing organization, but I’ve gotten into the habit of keeping a small notebook and pen with me at all times. It allows me to jot down notes about campaign ideas no matter where I am (heck the first half of this article was written while I was on a walk through the woods). Whenever you get home you can add the new ideas to your campaign binder, clearing out your notebook for new ideas! I personally use a moleskine notebook (these amazing little buggers will withstand anything) and a fisher bullet space pen (when capped its half the size of a normal pen but expands to full size, and will even write upside down).
Additional Resources
Chicago D&D Examiner: Organizing Your Campaign for Free or Cheap – This is a great overview of some of the electronic tools you can use to organize your campaigns.
http://www.examiner.com/x-7763-Chicago-Dungeons–Dragons-Examiner~y2009m5d22-Organizing-your-campaign-for-free-or-cheap
Building a New Dungeons and Dragons Campaign Diary #13: Organizing – This is a great example of how to organize a campaign binder, it may not be ideal for you but it can definitely give you some ideas.
http://www.rpgdigest.com/2008/02/25/building-a-new-dungeons-and-dragons-campaign-diary-13-organizing/
GM Binder Tips for the Organized Gamemaster – A gem from Johnn, this is the best resource I have found on creating a DM’s binder. Even if you think your organized now, take a look here and you’ll probably find a new idea or two.
http://www.roleplayingtips.com/articles/ultimate-dm-binder.html
What is your favorite method of gaming organization? Write me back at Ronny@PrincipleFactor.com with your favorite methods of organizing your campaign and I’ll post them in the newsletter!
This week’s monster is a bit differant from our normal format. It was created as part of the Monster Contest over at Chaotic Shiny (www.chaoticshiny.com). The premise was to use her monster generator to get a premise, and build a monster off of that. At the begining of the entry you can see what the premise was, and where I ended up going with it.
If you really like the babarasu head over on Monday to Chaotic Shiny and vote for it (assuming it gets chosen as a semi-finalist).
Monster: Babarasu
By Ronny (ModularGameworld.com)
Original Generated Monster: This tiny hybrid beast lives in places touched by dark powers. It attacks with spikes and acid. It fears certain sounds.
Birthed from the unnatural energies of the Shadowfell touching mortal beasts, the babarasu are tiny shadow-like beasts that attack with barbed spines and acidic vomit. They inhabit areas tainted by the Shadowfell, feeding on any living matter. It is theorized that babarasu digest the very life essence of the creatures they kill.
Babarasu are social beasts, living in a large colony structure dominated by a queen. The colony is kept underground, with tunnels leading to the colony well tended to by drones.
Several varieties of babarasu exist, each serving a different job within the colony. babarasu gatherers hunt in pack and bring food back to feed the colony. Drones keep the tunnels within the nest well tended to, as well as attending to the needs of the queen and gatherers. Bulls are breeders who travel long distances between nests. Several drones and gatherers are found around a bull at all times, protecting these propagators of the species.
Babarasu are midnight black in color except for the purple acid that drips from their jaws. Their body is covered with glossy spines which they use primarily for defense, preferring to use acid for attacking their prey.
* * *
Babarasu Gatherer
Level 7 Artillery (300 exp)
Tiny Shadow Magical Beast
Initiative: +7; Senses: Perception +6; tremorsense
Barbed Spines; aura 1; adjacent enemies who attack the babarasu with melee attacks take 5 damage with each strike.
HP: 64; Bloodied: 32
AC: 19; Fortitude: 19; Reflex: 20; Will: 18
Resist 5 necrotic; Vulnerable 5 radiant
Speed 7; Action Points: -
Alignment: Unaligned; Languages: -
Str: 15 (+5), Con: 19 (+7), Dex: 19 (+7), Int: 4 (0), Wis: 14 (+5), Cha: 16 (+6)
Corrosive Barrage (standard; at-will) ~ Acid
Reach 10; +12 vs Reflex; 1d8+5 damage, and ongoing 5 acid damage (save ends).
Quilled Strike (standard; when first bloodied; encounter)
Reach 10; +12 vs AC; 4d8+5 damage.
Burrow (standard; at-will)
The babarasu burrows under the surface of the ground, giving it superior cover while being unable to use it’s Corrosive Barrage. An adjacent enemy can spend a standard action to dig up the Babarasu, this action counts as a melee attack and is affected by Barbed Spines.
* * *
Babarasu Gatherer Tactics
Babarasu Gatherer’s hunt in groups of 6 to 8. Once they find their prey the gatherers silently surround them before attacking. They spread their attacks out to get ongoing damage on all their opponents before focusing on a single target. They generally single out the smallest opponent as their first target. They use their mobility to keep enemies from closing into melee range. When an enemy gets a melee attack off the gatherer burrows under the ground, waiting for it’s brethren to drive the attacker away before resurfacing to continue the assault. Whenever a loud noise (such as an explosion or thunder attack is used) is heard all babarasu gatherers immediately burrow, emerging 1d4 rounds later. A bloodied gatherer will immediately lets lose it’s quilled strike before burrowing, waiting until the battle ends to resurface.
* * *
Babarasu Bull
Level 8 Elite Brute (700 exp)
Small Shadow Magical Beast
Initiative: +7; Senses: Perception +5; tremorsense
Barbed Spines; aura 1; adjacent enemies who attack the babarasu with melee attacks take 5 damage with each strike.
HP: 220; Bloodied: 110
AC: 22; Fortitude: 23; Reflex: 22; Will: 19
Resist 5 necrotic; Vulnerable 5 radiant
Speed 6; Action Points: 1
Alignment: Unaligned; Languages: -
Str: 20 (+9), Con: 20 (+9), Dex: 17 (+7), Int: 6 (2), Wis: 13 (+5), Cha: 14 (+6)
Barbed Strike (standard; at-will)
+11 vs AC; 2d8+5 damage.
Skewering Charge (standard; at-will)
The babarasu bull makes a charging attack: +11 vs. AC; 2d6+5 damage, and the target is weakened (save ends).
Spine Volley (standard; encounter)
Close burst 3; all enemies take 3d10+5 damage. Used when first bloodied.
Enrage (immediate reaction; recharge 5/6)
Whenever a loud noise (such as an explosion or a thunder attack) occurs the babarasu bull enrages, gaining a +2 to hit until the end of his next turn and making a Skewering Charge on the source of the attack as a free action. If there is no apparent source he will charge the first visible enemy.
* * *
Babarasu Bull Tactics
A bull travels between nests with a small retinue of babarasu. When a bull senses an enemy he immediately charge in with skewering charge. The bull focuses single-mindedly on it’s original target until it is dead, then moves on to the next. His drones and gatherers focus on any other enemies, distracting them from focusing fire on the bull. Unlike when fighting gatherer’s singly, babarasu gatherer’s traveling with bulls do not burrow when they become bloodied. All babarasu with the bull will give their lives to keep it alive.
If the enemies make a loud noise (such as an explosion or a thunder attack) as all the other babarasu hide the bull enrages, attacking the source of the sound exclusively. If the source of the sound is not readily apparent he will attack the nearest enemy.
* * *
Babarasu Drone
Level 7 Minion (75 exp)
Tiny Shadow Magical Beast
Initiative: +7; Senses: Perception +2; tremorsense
Barbed Spines; aura 1; adjacent enemies who attack the babarasu with melee attacks take 5 damage with each strike.
HP: 1; missed attack never damages a minion.
AC: 21; Fortitude: 19; Reflex: 20; Will: 15
Resist 5 necrotic; Vulnerable 5 radiant
Speed 7. burrow 7; Action Points: -
Alignment: Unaligned; Languages: -
Str: 10 (+3), Con: 16 (+6), Dex: 19 (+7), Int: 4 (0), Wis: 8 (+2), Cha: 8 (+2)
Corrosive Barrage (standard; at-will) ~ Acid
Reach 10; +11 vs Reflex; 6 damage, and ongoing 5 acid damage (save ends).
Save the Queen (free, special; encounter)
This is used when the drone first becomes bloodied or when the queen first becomes bloodied if she is within 10 squares. The drone gains +10 to damage and her defenses are reduced by 5 until the end of the encounter.
Earthen Burst (standard; at-will)
The Babarasu Drone moves up to its burrow speed just below the surface of the ground, avoiding attacks of opportunity as it passes underneath other creature’s squares. As it burrows beneath the space of its target, the drone makes an attack against the creature: +11 vs. Reflex; on a hit the target takes 10 damage.
* * *
Babarasu Queen
Level 11 Elite Controller (1200 exp)
Medium Shadow Magical Beast
Initiative: +3; Senses: Perception +7; tremorsense
Queen’s Fury; aura 10; All babarasu within 10 squares gain a +2 to hit any enemy who has attacked the queen this turn.
HP: 234; Bloodied: 117
AC: 27; Fortitude: 27; Reflex: 22; Will: 25
Resist 5 necrotic; Vulnerable 5 radiant
Speed 4; Action Points: 1
Alignment: Unaligned; Languages: -
Str: 18 (+8), Con: 21 (+9), Dex: 8 (+3), Int: 17 (+7), Wis: 17 (+7), Cha: 11 (+4)
Corrosive Barrage (standard; at-will) ~ Acid
Reach 10; +15 vs Reflex; 2d6+5 damage, and ongoing 5 acid damage (save ends).
Acidic Spray (standard; recharge 5/6)
Close burst 3; all enemies take 4d10+5 damage.
Noxious Blast (free, when first bloodied; encounter)
Close burst 10; +15 vs. Fortitude; all enemies become dazed until the end of the queen’s next turn. All babarasu may shift 3 towards the queen.
Spawn Babarasu (standard; recharge 4/5/6)
The queen spawns additional babarasu to fight for her. Roll a die, if it lands on 1-3 she spawns a drone, 4-5 spawns a gatherer, 6 spawns a bull. The newly born babarasu is weakened until the end of its first round of combat.
* * *
Nest Tactics
When an intruder attacks the nest all drones converge on the queen, while gatherers within the next hold off the intruders using hit and run tactics. If the intruders reach the queen’s chamber they will immediately be assaulted by drones. Every a drone should be using earthen burst on each intruder, while the others use corrosive barrage. The queen will also use corrosive barrage until surrounded, when she will let off an acidic spray.
When the queen becomes bloodied she will let off a noxious blast, and all the drones will activate Save the Queen, becoming nigh suicidal in their protection of her.
When babarasu begin to die the queen will start to spawn on every turn she is able, using her action point to continue attacking with acidic spray while she spawns.
* * *
Encounter Groups
Babarasu gatherers are usually part of a hunting group while outside of the colony, while bulls travel with several drones and gatherers. Inside of a colony encounters of any type could occur.
Level 8 Encounter (XP 1800)
*6 babarasu gatherers (level 7 artillery)
Level 8 Encounter (XP 1740)
*1 babarasu bull (level 8 elite brute)
*2 babarasu gatherers (level 7 artillery)
*5 babarasu drones (level 7 minion)
Level 11 Encounter (XP 2980)
*1 babarasu queen (level 11 elite controller)
*3 babarasu gatherer (level 7 artillery)
*10 babarasu drones (level 7 minion)
* * *
Babarasu Lore
A character knows the following information with a successful Nature check.
Nature DC 15: Shadow-like nocturnal beasts born from the Shadowfell, babarasu often attack in lone travelers at night. They live in large underground colonies, with variations of the species forming different castes within the colony. The only effective defense to drive away babarasu are loud noises. This is most effective on the smaller varieties, but seems to enrage the larger ones. Babarasu can regrow used spines after only a few minutes rest.
Nature DC 20: Babarasu gatherer find food for the other castes. They range up to several miles from the colony looking for food, hunting in small groups. They attack from a distance with spines and acid. They hide whenever enemies get too close, being frail to concentrated attacks. Babarasu gatherers are incapable of true tunneling, eschewing a drone’s shovel-like claws for faster movement.
Nature DC 25: Babarasu bulls travel vast distances between nests to breed. They travel exclusively at night. These miniature behemoths have unnatural strength. Instead of spewing acid, the bull’s two forward facing spines are coated in a potent poison, weakening their prey when skewered by them.
Nature DC 30: The queen is kept deep within the colony, giving birth to all the other castes. The babarasu queen, unlike other babarasu, have no spines and are instead protected with thick layers of fat, oily hide, and her babarasu drone attendants. When in danger she can spawn at an incredible rate, creating more defenders for the nest. When not protecting the queen, babarasu drones burrow out the nest and tend to the needs of the gatherers.
Nature DC 35: Once the area the hive is in has been stripped of all nutrients, the colony swarms. During a swarm the queen gives birth at an incredible pace, sending out thousands of babarasu traveling in every direction to find a new nesting location.
Profiles in Villainy
For every great hero you need a great villain, a foil who frustrates your players at every turn, so that their triumph over him become far more meaningful.
Saruman the White, Kitiara Uth Matar, Voldemort, and Vecna are all literary villains that we remember to this day. Some are sympathetic, and others satanic but it’s hard to deny the strength a deep, vibrant villain brings to your campaign.
Profiles in Villainy is all about bringing you inspirations for classic villains. Just switch a few setting details around and you’re ready for your next session.
Each Profile will end with the premise that inspired it. The premise is generally a sentence or very short paragraph showing what I started out with that expanded to form the completed villain.
On a side note I’m not providing stats for Profiles in Villainy as most of these villains could be used across a wide range of levels (or game systems for that matter). If there is enough interest in seeing stats for these characters though I might add them to future newsletters/or the website.
* * *
Profile in Villainy: Erendr of the Ashwood
By Ronny (ModularGameworld.com)
Erendr of Ashwood, also known as Erendr the Exiled, is a powerful druid banished from her order. Her goals are alternatively to prove her choices were correct to those who exiled her and to protect the natural world from the ‘legwalkers’ at all costs.
Personality: Erendr is a very unpredictable enemy to put up against your players. She has a very volatile personality, tempered with an amazing ability to plan out complex schemes. Though she may violently lash out when her plans go awry, she often has several backup plans already moving. This dichotomy in her thought can lead your players to underestimate her, encourage that. She rarely has any trusted cohorts, preferring to use disposable minions she can easily dump when her plan goes wrong. She is entirely remorseless, killing not only without guilt but without even a pang of regret. To her those she kills are nonentities.
Typical Uses: Erendr is a perfect villain to throw against any urban group, or any group invested in a certain location (such as a group that uses a certain town as their home base). She only targets those she feel have injured nature, but her definition of injured is wide. This, combined with her lack of compromise, means she frequently creates large-scale problems in any area she passes through. Her punishments rarely are in scale to the crime, and death is her most common punishment. Cutting down parts of a forest to build a farm, damming a river to provide more space to build, or hunting dangerous animals for protection are all death-worthy offenses. She is a great foil to primal characters, showing them what can happen if they take their philosophies too far.
Potential Powers: Erendr is a powerful shape-shifter, and often uses innocuous forms such as mice or cats to watch her plans unfold without being noticed.
Sample Plot Hooks
1). Hunters from a nearby town are going missing. Out in the wilderness Erendr is having fun playing a game of cat and mouse with the captured hunters, showing them how their prey feel. She intends to sacrifice them all during the full moon, though her rituals intentions are unclear.
2). A strange cat has been following your party for awhile, sometimes helping them escape from bad situations (such as by chewing through rope bonds) and sometimes hurting them (such as revealing their location to enemies with a load meow). Play the cat up over a period of time and see how your players respond. The players had caught the attention of Erendr and she has decided to watch over them. Her motives for watching over the players are most likely anything but altruistic…
Brief History (Bio): The Druidic Order of Ashwood is an ancient institution, with oral records and hymns dating back thousands of years. Only the brightest and most devout of initiates are brought to the order for training, and at 10 years old Erendr was their most promising pupil. Her devotion was unwavering, as was her almost unnatural skill in manipulating the natural world. Her compassion was lacking though, as were the basics of human decency. Nevertheless her mentors felt they could make her realize that humanoids also had a place in the natural order.
Five years later she faced her initiation as a member of the order, the youngest they had ever had. She was sent to a town that was clear-cutting an ancient forest as an ambassador from the order, they intended it as a moral challenge for her. The town had lost nearly half of it’s buildings recently in a massive fire and was cutting the forest to help rebuild, the order felt seeing the suffering within the town and the necessity of their need would make her understand compromise and work with them to find another solution.
It is unclear what transpired in the town once she arrived, but by the time one of the order arrived back in town during the next full moon the town was in shambles. It was deserted with trees growing through houses and animals roaming the streets. Erendr sat in the remains of the town hall, with a contented smile on her face.
Once brought back to the order and questioned, she responded succinctly “I stopped the cutting.” Afterward the elders convened and unanimously voted to strip her of her status and banish her.
Since her exile she has traveled aimlessly, seeking the higher purpose denied to her in her banishment. She gravitates quickly towards plans and projects, but abandons them with equal speed. She has no clear purpose, but if manipulated or coerced she could be a powerful ally for a greater evil.
Premise: A crazed eco-terrorist druid.
Afterward: From the Gamer Lifestyle to Zen to Done
Welcome to the afterward!
Now some of you may be asking ‘What is Zen to Done’. Well ZtD is a simple productivity system, which in plain english means it helps you organize and set goals to achieve what you want in life.
I never thought something so small could change your life as dramatically as people were saying. And I was right. Zen to Done isn’t a magic bullet or a miraculous pill that makes everything easy. It is your willpower, your drive, and your hard work that makes your dreams comes true. Zen to Done simply gives you the tools, knowledge, and direction to start on the path to your dreams. It encourages you not to wait for the ‘perfect time’ to achieve your dreams, because that perfect time will never come.
The Modular Gameworld is my chance to achieve my dream, and I’m gonna take this ride as far as it will go. It’s great to have you guys along for the ride.
Now I suppose would be a good time to talk about how I came across ZtD. Myself, as well as my partners in Principle Factor Games, are members of the Gamer Lifestyle which is a project created by Johnn Four of Roleplaying Tips Weekly and Yax of DungeonMastering.com to help people break into the roleplaying industry. Among their recommended reading was Zen to Done, an ebook I’d never heard of before. After doing some research (research for me is a glorified term for googling reviews on it) and hearing the rave reviews I decided to pick up the book.
Each week on the afterward I’ll chronicle my journey through the Zen Lifestyle towards a better, more organized life. I’ll also be talking about Leo’s other ebooks, which I have just picked up as I am writing this but have yet to read.
For anyone who wants to take this journey into the Zen Lifestyle with me over the next several months click below and grab yourself a copy of Zen to Done.
I will disclose right now I am an affiliate so I do get a commission if you buy the book through my link. I see being an affiliate as putting my money where my mouth is, I feel his book is good enough to spend my money on and I feel confidant enough to use it as one of the few ads on Modular Gameworld.
I think ads work best when they are about something you are passionate about, something you think believe your customers need. That’s why I avoid google adsense and other (relatively) untargeted ads, as they may make me a little money in the short term but I’d rather offer you products I personally believe in.
We at The Modular Gameworld feel that the best advertising is word of mouth from people like you. If you enjoy our newsletter please share it with your friends or send them to our website ModularGameworld.com. We promise to treat them well.
As always please e-mail your content, ideas, or concerns to ronny@principlefactor.com. I would love to hear your ideas and we may feature you in our newsletter!
Well that’s it for the second issue of the Modular Gameworld Newsletter! It’s always a pleasure having you with us, good gaming!
-Ronny