Archives - January to December 2003
Note: Links below may have broken since they were originally posted.
| 12/14/2003 |
TableSmith 4.3 is now available on the Utilities page. The new features of 4.3 are listed
below:
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| 11/23/2003 |
I've uploaded a variety of things today; it's a busy week (with Thanksgiving coming up), so I'll get right to what's new:
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| 11/15/2003 |
I've modified how the raise dead/resurrection spells work again. I've never liked the level loss element of the spells, but obviously there
needs to be some sort of limiting factor - people are being brought back from the dead! The basic system is still the same as it had been
(including the effect of Meera on raise dead), but it's a bit more flexible now while still being having...consequences. The updated
system is in The Divine and the Devoted. Originally, it was going to be an article on the "World" page and get put into DatD later,
but I discovered some major errors in the book that needed correction (like where the prelate of Lyranis was listed as being LN!).
I've also done some minor updates to the House Rules and added a new entry to the Gems and Ores page. There's also a new climate map, a simple map showing where the three major climatic zones are across Ryh'ardha (now I just need to get together the wilderness encounter tables). TableSmith 4.3 is on the horizon and should be released in a few weeks. |
| 11/5/2003 |
After a month of being quite busy, things seem to have returned to normal. And with a return to normalcy comes another site update.
The most obvious update to the site is the layout. To be perfectly honest, I hated the last layout. My primary concern with that one was conformity to "web standards", without a lot of regard to the visual look of the site. After standardizing the site, I realized that it looked pretty horrible. So, I re-did the site again. I'm still using CSS and adhering to XHTML Strict, but now it looks a lot better (in my opinion, at least). Fortunately, it only took me a couple of hours to re-do the site, primarily due to using web standards (mainly because of CSS). New things this time around include a new page detailing the 3.5 mechanics for Nethermagic, updates to the House Rules, and an updated Dungeon Magazine index (now current to issue #105). As always, more to come. What and when remains a mystery (to me as well). |
| 10/5/2003 |
I finished Temple of Elemental Evil yesterday. For the most part, it was fun,
but buggy as hell. If you're interested in this game, I'd wait at least until the first patch is out, and then get it for no more than $35-$40.
I also picked up a starter pack of WotC's new D&D miniatures. These are the pre-painted plastics that are apparently supposed to be competing with Mage Knight. I was leery of buying them, as what I saw in the ads wasn't very impressive. I have to say, though, that I was pleasantly surprised. They aren't terribly well-done, but most of them aren't that bad. Certainly nothing that a little dry-brushing wouldn't fix. I prefer properly painted metal figures myself (mainly Reaper Miniatures), but adding a few of these to the game table won't hurt. My biggest gripe is that WotC is doing these as collectibles, rather than individually (though they are supposed to be coming out with some non-random packs, like an "Orc Warband" or something). They also come out to about $1.25 (USD) a figure, which isn't a bad price for a painted figure (Dwarven Forge has some that range from $3.90 to $5/$6 each, though their paint jobs are far better). The House Rules in the World Guide have been updated as well (catching up to the changes in 3.5). |
| 9/24/2003 |
Today's update includes:
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| 9/6/2003 |
New Web Design - Quite a different look from last month, eh? The obvious question is "why", of course. Well, a couple of weeks ago I finally decided to
break down and update the site so it adhered to
web standards (specifically XHTML 1.0 Strict, if you're wondering). There are a number of reasons why this is good; follow that
link if you want to read what they are. Basically, it keeps the pages working in any browser that uses web standards now and in the
future. I also shifted the layout elements of this site to style sheets; again, that link explains why those are good as well.
So, following "web standards" requires my site design and layout to change...? Well, not really. There are two reasons why the site is different. The first is that it was just easier this way. I originally was going to convert the original pages so they followed the standards, but it turned into far more work than I'd realized it would be. I got to the point where I realized it would literally be easier to simply start from scratch than try to adjust the pages I already had. So, that's what I did. I also made the new layout a bit less complex so it would be easier for me to update. Speaking of updates, there aren't any this time around - the Web site conversion was enough work as it was! But now that it's out of the way, more material should be forthcoming. Viruses - In the name of all that's holy, check your PC for viruses, people! I'm specifically thinking of the "Sobig" virus, which has been wrecking havoc for awhile. I've been getting so many infected e-mails with "Sobig" attached that I've had to tell my ISP to simply delete any "suspicious" e-mail that comes in before it gets to me (otherwise, it would clog my inbox and I wouldn't get any mail - legitimate or otherwise). The other problem with this virus is that when it sends out its infected messages, it "spoofs" the sender's address, so you don't know where it's coming from. I get numerous messages daily from systems, usually Internet providers or corporate networks, telling me the message "I" sent was rejected because it was "suspicious" or "contained a virus". Problem is, none of these have come from me, nor do I recognize who they originally went to. And, yes, I've run my anti-virus software and I know it's not coming from me (it'd have to get around my firewall as well). If you haven't checked your PC for "Sobig", Symantec has a tool you can download for free that will scan for "Sobig" and delete it. Given how much mail I've been getting from this stupid thing, I can only imagine what's happening to other people. "Sobig" is the most problematic virus I've run across since "SirCam", which grabbed random files from people's hard drives and mailed them out (sometimes, these things were many megabytes in size). And things are going to get worse, not better. You've got to make sure your anti-virus software is up-to-date and if you're using broadband (DSL or cable), make sure you have a firewall of some kind. And don't open attachments from people you don't know, or even from people you do know if the attachment looks odd or seems suspicious! Between viruses and spam, it's not surprising that some people are looking for alternatives to e-mail. |
| 8/16/2003 |
Handful of updates:
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| 8/2/2003 |
I picked up Knights of the Old Republic for my XBox, so don't expect a lot of
updates this month :) This game has received very high ratings on a number of sites, and with good reason - it's an awesome game. If you have
an XBox and like Star Wars or RPGs (this game is based on the Star Wars
RPG from Wizards of the Coast - i.e.; the d20 system), I'd highly recommend picking this up.
In any case, I've updated the Dungeon Index to issue #102, added a new set of user-created tables for the WFRP game (Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay; good fantasy RPG), and re-vamped the Town Generator for Revised 3rd Edition. I also re-did some of the Town Generator to take advantage of the new "Generate" function in TableSmith 4.2. Now, instead of every business being generated each time you create a town or city, the table just displays how many of each type there are, with a clickable link. Click the link and then those particular businesses are displayed. Speeds up town generation immensely, and it's far more practical (I have yet to run a party that really needed a cobbler or cheesemaker, so no sense in always generating them; but if I need to, I still can). There's a demo town available at this link (remember, the clickable links mean nothing in a standard browser; they only work inside of TableSmith). That's all for now. In the meantime, I'd suggest checking out Mozilla Firebird, if you're looking for a good browser and an alternative to Internet Explorer. I used to use Mozilla, which is good, but in my experience so far, I think Firebird is better. Tabbed browsing and automatic pop-up prevention alone make Firebird (or Mozilla) worth using over IE. |
| 7/27/2003 | Made a quick update to the TableSmith installation; there was a bug in one of the install files that put the "Archives", "Data", "Graphics", and "Help" directories in the wrong spot. To correct this, you can either re-install TableSmith from the current (fixed) installation, or simply go to your existing installation and copy those directories from the "TableSmith\Tables" folder to the "TableSmith" folder. Sorry for any inconvenience! |
| 7/23/2003 | I've updated the resources in the World Guide to be compliant with the revised d20 SRD (i.e.; version 3.5 of that fantasy RPG many of us play). The Divine and the Devoted has received some tweaking, as well as our House Rules and some of the other articles. Not a lot of changes, but a few necessary ones. I've also removed a couple of dead links, as well as one that is no longer reciprocating a link here (I've said it before, I'll say it again: if you ask me to link to your site, I'm more than happy to do so - as long as you link to me, and you continue to link to me; don't try to use me to get traffic without returning the favor). I also pulled the e-mail addresses from the table authors in the Table Gallery. If you want to contact an author, their e-mail should be in the tables they wrote or in a text file in the ZIPped table pack. Leaving the addresses on the page just makes them easy fodder for spambots. |
| 7/17/2003 |
The latest version of TableSmith - 4.2 - is now available in the RPG Utilities area. The following new features have been added:
That's all for this update. As always, more is on the way... |
| 6/27/2003 |
It's been about a month since my last update, but I've managed to get something posted for June! Of course, we're almost to July...
I've added two new items to the World Guide. One is a piece about runegates, mystical portals that may found in places around Mythosa. The other is a section devoted to new spells from Mythosa. Currently there is only one spell there, but it will expand over time. I've also added to or updated a couple of table packs in the Table Gallery. Things on the horizon: the kingdom page for Shesada, updates for TableSmith and Campaign Sage, and more... |
| 5/28/2003 | My site has been moved to a new server (same host), and I've had to upload everything again. So, if you find anything broken, please let me know. Thanks! |
| 5/20/2003 |
It's been awhile since the last update, mainly because I've been busy with the religion revision. I didn't realize how ingrained the religions were in
everything I've put together for Mythosa; granted, I should have known! I don't plan on doing something like this anytime soon - the time
commitment could have definitely been used for other Mythosa development. I felt this was necessary, though.
At this point, the entire World Guide page should be up-to-date. The Divine and the Devoted eBook has been updated and expanded, as well as being re-formatted to match the style of the Gazetteer. The articles on the page have been updated as well. Some of them, like the Cartulary, have been removed; these are now in the eBook. I've also updated a couple of table packs in the Table Gallery. Finally, I've uploaded an index for Dungeon Magazine in Excel format. I created it mainly for my own reference, but I figured others might find it useful as well. You can find it on the RPG Utilities page. |
| 4/28/2003 |
TableSmith 4.1 is now available in the RPG Utilities area. The updates for 4.1 include the following:
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| 4/17/2003 |
TableSmith 4.1 is now available in the RPG Utilities area. The updates for 4.1 include the following:
The inactivity on the site has been due partially to one of today's updates. I've uploaded a new version of the Mythosa Gazetteer, which has the basic information on the new Mythosan pantheon. I've never been entirely satisfied with how I'd originally set up the Mythosan gods, so I figured now was the time to change them before I get deeper into new projects. The new pantheon is similar in ways to the one found in the Scarred Lands setting, though many similarities are actually just due to the way I rearranged things, which was coincidentally similar to that world. My next step will be to re-vamp The Divine and the Devoted, of course. The new version will include some of the articles from the World Guide page, since they are directly relevent to Mythosan religion. I've also updated Vance Reed's "Jumping Chart" table (found in the "3E Generators" pack in the Table Gallery); Vance sent me a new version which fixed an existing bug. On a closing note, if you're a game writer (or aspire to be one), make sure to read this article by Monte Cook on how to deal with product reviews. I just read Jim Ward's latest "900 Words" and found it particularly annoying. Jim raises a number of good points, but some of his comments and overall tone sound too much like someone whining because his company has gotten bad reviews (there are reasons why Fast Forward has a bad rep among the d20 community; check out ENWorld, or any number of other forums, newsgroups, etc. if you don't know why). Monte, on the other hand, offers some good advice on how to deal with criticism. I bring this up simply because of the less-than-professional attitudes that are becoming more common among game writers and publishers; many of them seem to think that their target audience is only other game writers, or that someone isn't "qualified" to write a review because they haven't been published themselves, or that because they've cranked out a PDF for d20 they're somehow above criticism. That's not to say that everyone is like that; just enough to be annoying! Once you put something out for public consumption, whether it's a hardcover campaign supplement, a piece of gaming software, or a free Web site, you've got to expect commentary, and you need to realize that not all of it may be positive. That's just how things are. Deal with it appropriately and you'll look professional; debate angrily with the reviewers and critics and you'll look like an amateur "fanboy". I could go on, but I'll save that for a rant elsewhere :) Until next time... |
| 3/29/2003 |
There is now a Brief Cartulary in the World Guide area. This article discusses
the types of religious settlements in Mythosa as well as the locations of their temples and miscellaneous other detail.
That's all for this week (two weeks since the last update - I must be slacking :)... |
| 3/15/2003 |
As I alluded to last week, I've updated our campaign's House Rules to reflect the inclusion
of Savage Species. I've also finally updated Campaign Sage to remove the monsters that
WotC expunged from the d20 SRD (things like the mind flayer, yuan-ti, etc.). If you notice
any I've missed, please let me know so I can make sure Sage is d20-compliant. Also let me know if I dropped something that I
didn't need to!
Besides those updates, I've posted The Economy of Magic, which is an article discussing the buying and selling of magic items in Mythosa. |
| 3/8/2003 |
Two quick updates today. First, I've updated our campaign's House Rules again, though I'm
sure another update will be coming in the not-too-distant future. I recently picked up Savage Species, and some of
that material will be "sanctioned" for Mythosa. Not necessarily all of it. I'm not a big fan of more-and-more mechanics
(called "crunchy bits" by some), and I think our group already has more than enough rules for its game (I think we're
using...thirteen books or so at this point). That's part of the reason I don't buy that much d20 material - I simply don't
need even more feats, more spells, more prestige classes, etc. I think the core books and some of the
supplementary material is fine, but at a certain point more piles of rules just bog down the game for me. However, I don't
have a problem if those rules are driven by the campaign setting, which is why we'll be using Savage Species. Elves,
dwarves, gnomes, and halflings don't exist in Mythosa (at present, in any case), so players using the Player's Handbook
are limited to humans, half-elves, and half-orcs. On the other hand, Tauroks (minotaurs), Viss'takh (lizardmen), and other
non-human races are dominant species in my world, so it's likely there would be adventurers of those races running around. I
also like the "monster class" progression rules the book contains, both for players (they can play more powerful races earlier
than later, obviously weakened to balance things out) and for the DM (you don't need to wait until the PCs are level 11 to
face a vrock). Granted, I have developed rules for this sort of thing on my own. But given my huge "to-do" list for Mythosa,
I'd just as soon let someone else do the work. Which, really, is why most of us buy most of the gaming material we do...
I've also uploaded the map of Erenor, a barony in western Ilmara. I may end up revising it again (looks a little too "settled" for my tastes). One note: the campaign newsletter won't be updated for awhile. Our group is currently involved in a project that will take up our time for a number of weeks, so the campaign has been put on hiatus. I'll continue to update the site, of course (the newsletter is only a small portion of it), but I just wanted to mention that in case anyone wonders about the lack of new issues. |
| 2/28/2003 | I've posted the latest campaign newsletter, as well as a Quick Reference sheet PDF I made for Mythosa. The reference sheet was originally intended for both myself and the players in my campaign, to help remember things like which season each month falls in or what languages are spoken where. |
| 2/20/2003 |
Today's updates include a new Villians & Vigilantes table as well as the fourth
issue of the campaign newsletter. I've also uploaded the kingdom write-up for
Talīsmarr.
By the way, if you're a Lovecraft fan, check out this site. The "H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society" has put out a CD from their {ahem} musical "A Shoggoth on the Roof". I ordered one of the CDs and I have to say this thing is hilarious. If you aren't an HPL or Cthulhu Mythos afficiando, you probably won't get it, but if you are, you'll enjoy it. If you're familiar with "Fiddler on the Roof" you'll probably like it even more. |
| 2/7/2003 |
Two more updates today. First, I've uploaded a set of tables for the Dying Earth
RPG, sent to me by Simon at Pelgrane Press. There are
tables for character generation, Dying Earth names, and more. If you play the game (or are a fan of the books),
check these out!
I've also posted the latest issue of my campaign newsletter. Things have gotten a little more interesting since the party's last session of escapades... |
| 2/1/2003 | Two updates today. I've posted a page in the World Guide on how resurrection spells are handled in Mythosa. In addition, I've uploaded Campaign Sage 3.3. I've changed the "Express" page so you don't have to enter any special characters before your query; just type what you're looking for and it'll be displayed. I realized that it really wasn't necessary to specify the "category" you were searching for. |
| 1/25/2003 | I've added a new table to the Table Gallery. It's a "Magic Shop Inventory" generator. It's tool to generate what inventory a magic shop may have in stock as well as what they can lay their hands on. The table is something I created for my campaign, but I figured other people could have a use for it as well. You can find it in the "3E Generators" ZIP file (mainly because it requires the various magic item tables contained in that ZIP). |
| 1/22/2003 | Posted the latest campaign newsletter in the Articles area. |
| 1/18/2003 | Today's update is the revised Ilmara kingdom page, found in the World Guide area. I've also re-worked the layout of he kingdom pages a bit (all two of them, though more are on the way), as well as adding a little "locator" map for each (not an original idea; I got it from David Roomes' Khoras site). Yar and Talīsmarr, which originally were on this site, will return shortly. The first new kingdom write-up I'm planning on is Shesada, and after that I'm hoping to work my way through the rest of the Emerald Coast (though fickleness may prevail). |
| 1/15/2003 | A couple of quick updates: I've uploaded a couple of updates for my current campaign (the first newsletter as well as updated House Rules), which may or may not interest anyone. More importantly, though, I've uploaded a new copy of the Mythosa Gazetteer. I didn't realize when I revised it for timeline accuracy, I forgot to recreate the bookmarks in the new PDF. That's been corrected. |
| 1/11/2003 |
A veritable plethora of additions today. First off, I've uploaded version 4.03 of TableSmith. Nothing major has
been added, just a lot of little things:
I also posted an editorial on campaign worlds in the "Articles" section. I was thinking about some of the fantasy settings I've used or read about in the past, and thought I'd jot down my thoughts on some that I've really liked. |
| 1/1/2003 |
A couple of quick updates: I've uploaded a couple of updates for my current campaign (the first newsletter as
well as updated House Rules), which may or may not interest anyone. More importantly, though, I've uploaded a
new copy of the Mythosa Gazetteer. I didn't realize when I revised it for timeline accuracy, I forgot to recreate
the bookmarks in the new PDF. That's been corrected.
More new additions:
There's a lot more to come in 2003! Nothing I really can talk about yet; not because I'm trying to get people exciting and guessing about some new "secret project", but rather, because I personally don't care what someone is planning - impress me with what you've done, not what you say you're going to do... |
Copyright 2008, Bruce A. Gulke