small hands? try on some small gloves, big feet? try on some big shoes, big hart? try on some pants. sideways <3 wtf does it mean? it's a meme about average menes.

On short-lived games

As a GM, I have trouble keeping a game, and I think I may have discovered why. I keep running games for the same small group of friends that I've been running games for for ages. Currently they're in an interesting Jurassic Park meets Lost in Space type game under the FATE system that I'm enjoying, but I really can't tell how many of them are sincerely interested.

Soon, I'll be running a superhero meets lovecraft game for some kids at the local library, and I think that could go very well, but I definitely need to expand who I run games with.

On Carcosa

So I wrapped up Penumbra, but I don't feel like I did it very well. It had been a while without a full session, and when it came time to prep, nothing was coming to me. However, I've discovered the answer.

Dungeon World.
I bought Dungeon World recently, and it is a fantastic game. It offers much more creative freedom than d&d, and will hopefully get my group to be more engrossed in the game. I've ran a few small sessions with it before, and have been consistently pleased by how they turned out, so, it's coming to my home game table. It's the kind of game where it's a better idea to come to the first session without a plot planned out, but this time, I have a bit of framework I'd like to start it off with.

You see, my game will be taking a few pages from the Cthulhu Mythos. Now, I'm not running a Call of Cthulhu investigative game (I don't think that kind of game is really up my group's alley), I will take some of it's unearthly horrors. Specifically, Carcosa.

Before the first session begins, each of the characters will have a dream. In the dream, a figure will appear, in tattered yellow robes. They lead the characters through an unearthly vista, or appear to them on a stage, then chant a strange poem.

Along the shore the cloud waves break,
The twin suns sink behind the lake,
The shadows lengthen

In Carcosa.

Strange is the night where black stars rise,
And strange moons circle through the skies,
But stranger still is

Lost Carcosa.

Songs that the Hyades shall sing,
Where flap the tatters of the King,
Must die unheard in

Dim Carcosa.

Song of my soul, my voice is dead,
Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed
Shall dry and die in

Lost Carcosa.

On combating the Shadows

Shadows are pretty powerful monsters, and can drain ability points. I figured if I'm throwing so many of them at the players, I should give them something to at least mitigate the ability damage. However, an Item like this does have it's drawbacks.

Amulet of The Sun:

(wondrous item, rare (requires attunement))

This device is found with a number of charges on it, typically 25 when created. When the wearer takes any form of ability drain, this amulet loses charges instead of the wearer taking ability damage. As the amulet loses charges, the light inside of it gets dimmer and dimmer. When the last charge is expended, the amulet drops off of the wearer’s neck, and becomes a Shadow (mm 269). 2 charges can be spent to give the wearer resistance to necrotic damage for a minute.

Charges: 6d4 when found.

Base Price:

5000 gp

Creation Requirements: 6th level

Creator must know the spells Remove Curse and Revivify.

These amulets were crafted by the wizards to mitigate the draining effects of the shadows involved in their work, however, when the shadows became more substantial, the amulets became a breeding ground for new shadows.

Sunstones

Here're the stats for sunstones, super simple little magic "flashbangs". These will pop up a lot in my campaign, as they're easy ways of dispatching the soon to be massive amounts of shadows the party will face.

Sunstone:

(wondrous item, common)

Sunstones are small glass globes that shed bright light in a 20 foot radius, and dim light for another 20 feet. Sunstones can also be thrown, with a range increment of 20 feet. When it strikes a hard surface, or is struck hard, it shatters, creating a wave of bright light in a 40 foot radius that is treated as a radiant attack. Creatures in this radius must make a Constitution save, DC 15, or be blinded for 1 minute. At the end of each affected creature’s turn, they may make this save again. If they succeed, the blindness ends. If an undead creature is in the radius, they take 1d6 radiant damage instead of being blinded. PS. This light is treated as sunlight. PPS. You can throw it at a square, treat it as AC 5.

Base Price:

100 gp

Creation Requirements: 3rd level

Creator must know the spells Light and Blindness/Deafness.

Explorations in Penumbra

I've always had trouble getting a campaign to "take root", and actually grow past the first few sessions. I've read a bunch of gaming blogs, looking for tips to keep a campaign running and stay engaged, and I figured I should probably just write it down. What better way to get information to stick than write it down?

So, this blog will be for writing down my thoughts and ideas about my current campaign, as well as about games in general. Additionally, some of my friends may post ideas of their own. My goal is that this'll help me keep Penumbra running.