Design Day: Rebuilding the Monk, Part 1

A while ago, I mentioned that I was working on a total rebuild of the monk. Well, today we’re taking our first step toward that goal, today. And, when you’re rebuilding something that you think is broken, your first step should always be the same.

Identify the problem.

And that is exactly what we plan to do, today.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Unfortunately, no Design Day today...and no Flavor Friday tomorrow (Aww....again?). But Happy Thanksgiving to all! I plan to spend all my time moaning tomorrow about how I ate too much...then I plan to eat left-overs and ruminate on what a nightmare the upcoming christmas season is.

But be sure that I have something special planned for next week.

-Chris

Design Day: The Guardian of the Green

And now we’re back for Design Day number 7. Today’s piece was inspired by this thread on the Paizo messageboards. It’s something I’ve been wanting to accomplish for a long time, and now I’ve finally put my mind to it and made it happen.

It’s an archetype. Specifically, a nature-based paladin. Some might claim that the ranger acts well enough as a natural warrior, but I thought I’d take it one step further and create the Guardian of the Green, a true defender of nature and the natural order of things.

Weekend Recap: Samurai vs. Ninja

Recently, my group and I started running the Carrion Crown adventure path.  I’m GM of this particular campaign, and we’ve decided to utilize the house rules that I’ve posted before on this blog (here, here, and here). Something very fun and interesting happened this weekend (we usually game on Saturday or Sunday), and I thought I’d share it with my “fans”.

I’ll try to keep it spoiler-free.

The New Look!

I decided to update the look of my blog. Before it was...eh, a bit hard to look at. This, I hope, will be a bit more appealing to everyone.

-Chris

Flavor Friday: Re-Interpreting Flavor

Welcome back to Flavor Friday! I know last week I didn’t have anything posted. And while I did have an excuse, that was no reason to leave you guys hanging. So, this week, we’re going to examine what we should have looked at last week. Now, if you remember, last week (and Tuesday this week) was considered House Rule week. I was presenting changes to the basic rules that I utilize in my home games. Now, I want to present some of the changes in flavor that I utilize.

Design Day: Chase Scenes!

Aaaand we’re back! Welcome to Design Day, where I present YOU with something fun to use in your games. Today, we’re taking a turn away from the usual. No NPCs, no magic items, no house rules. Today, we’re looking at a new set of Chase Rules that I designed this weekend during our weekly game. At first, these rules were pretty on-the-fly. One character was fleeing from another (a drunk barbarian from an over-zealous samurai), and I had to come up with a system to use at that moment.

Now, I know some of you are going to ask “why not just use the chase rules in the Gamemastery Guide?” Well, I don’t know those rules off the top of my head, and from what I can remember they’re fairly complex (requiring obstacles and a deck of cards to use). I thought I’d throw something simpler together.

To use these chase rules, all you need is a d20, a piece of paper and a pair of characters that are…well, running.

Design Day: House Rules: Classes

So…I lied. There was no Flavor Friday last week. I do have an excuse, however. I’ve been playing Skyrim for nearly 4 days straight, and Thursday night (when I planned to write the entry, procrastinator that I am) saw me getting dinner with a buddy, watching Death Race at his place, and then standing outside GameStop (freezing my buns off) waiting for the midnight release.

But enough about my failures as a human being…let’s get to design day!

Today, I’m going to continue with House Rule Week (now weeks, I suppose), this time giving my alterations to the current core classes in my games.

Design Day: House Rules: Skills and Feats

…And we’re back with another exciting design day! Today is Thursday and this week is House Rule Week. Today, we’ll be talking a little bit about Skills and Feats. Two major parts of the game.

Design Day: House Rules: The Basics

Hello and welcome to my third design day! Sorry it’s a little late. I’ve been…well, not busy, but I recorded Walking Dead and Hell on Wheels last night and…yeah.

But now I’m here. And this week, I’ve decided, is going to be House Rule Week! Today and Thursday, I’ll be posting some of my favorite, crunchy house-rules. And on Friday, I’ll have some of my more flavorful rules on display.

First off, we’ll start with some game basics. The constant stuff that affects everyone.

Design Day: The Hand

Hey! It’s Thursday, and you know what that means? Design Day! Today, we’ll be looking at another major member of the White Hand, my undead apocalypse-cult presented last Friday. In fact, we’ll be looking at the master of masters—the Hand himself.

Design Day: Tanaya, The Damned Queen

Welcome to my first Design Day! Here, I’ll be posting something design-centered every Tuesday and Thursday, whether that means an NPC, a monster, a spell, a magic item or anything else I can think of. The point of these is to present you with something you can enjoy and maybe use in your home game. And I can’t lie: it’s also good practice for myself.

Today, we’re going to go deeper into the White Hand, the organization I presented on Flavor Friday, and we’ll be examining one of its key members.