Brian Holland – Page 8 – Dungeon World Tavern G+ Archives

For Issue 3 – The Dark Forest I added two more Legendary Artifacts bringing the total to five.

For Issue 3 – The Dark Forest I added two more Legendary Artifacts bringing the total to five. I now have an additional two-page spread to work with, because I need multiples of four.

What would you like to see most:

1) Two additional features (4 currently)

2) Two additional Legendary Artifacts (bringing it to seven)

3) A two-page Q&A example of one of the Legendary Artifacts (I posted an example of using a Legendary Artifact from Issue 2 earlier this morning)

4) A two-page spread about mixing content from different issues of Session Zero. For example, Issue 2 gave us The Wizard’s College (aka the College of Winterhold from Skyrim) but we all know that there is a different sort of Wizard’s College next to the Dark Forest (Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry).

Here’s an example of how I used A Legendary Artifact from Issue 2 of Session Zero.

Here’s an example of how I used A Legendary Artifact from Issue 2 of Session Zero. I picked Spelleater (page 16) out of a hat and we started a new campaign using it Saturday night.

Here are the answers my players gave to the Spelleater questions:

Who was the King?

King of the Elves, Elithil. King of all elves and the Dolathan Forest.

Did the King have heirs?

No… his wife was barren.

Who was the Sorcerer?

Unbeknownst to the all the land and all the King’s court, the sorcerer and the King were one and the same. Unable to produce on heir in proper fashion, King Elithil turned to a dark source of power in an attempt to “create” an heir.

Did the King defeat the Sorcerer?

Being one and the same, the King lead his strongest warriors and sorcerers into his lair and there slaughtered them all. The shield was never meant to be protection against “the sorcerer”, he had it crafted to protect him against his own spell casters.

Where was the Sorcerer’s lair?

Preferring the comfort of trees over a musty cave, Elithil layered himself deep in a smoldering swamp, seated directly over a place of power.

What is the Shield made of?

The shield was made of a swamp wood that, once becoming petrified, actually turns into a hard but malleable metal. In that form alone it wouldn’t grant spell-diffusing qualities, but a fungus native to the swamp is known to have magic-draining effects. A tree with such fungus growing on it before petrification plus the magic of Elvish smithing gave Spelleater the diffusing property.

Who was the smith?

Tomiea was the greatest smith in the Elven forest-kingdom. He descended from a long line of smith’s with abilities substantially greater than the greatest smith’s of Man and Dwarf. It is said that Spelleater could not have been nearly as effective had it not been forged by Tomiea’s hand!

What happened to the smith?

After the shield’s completion Elithil corrupted Tomiea’s mind. Tomiea, completely unrecognizable, became the Warrior of Dark and was defeated by the King’s men early in the expedition to slay the sorcerer.

What happened to Spelleater?

After slaying all of his men, Elithil destroyed Spelleater so that it may never be used against him.

In what book did you learn of Spelleater?

This Rise and Fall of the Wood Elves of Dolathan – Volume III

Note:

Corrupted by the dark magic, Elithil went on to destroy his kingdom and create several “offspring” that are said to still roam the swamp today. Few have dared enter The Smoldering Swamp, and thus none know if Elithil, the once-mightiest of Elven Kings, still exists in it today.

Issue 3 – The Dark Forest for my Session Zero zine is planned and I’ll start writing tonight or tomorrow.

Issue 3 – The Dark Forest for my Session Zero zine is planned and I’ll start writing tonight or tomorrow. If all goes as intended it will weigh in at 28 pages with 14 initial world building questions, 4 features, 9 creatures, wands with options for making them unique, 6 new spells (9 if I can get 3 to a page, which is possible), 3 Legendary Artifacts, some ideas for rituals and a dozen rumors to entice your players to enter The Dark Forest.

This all comes from the Forbidden Forest in the Harry Potter books and movies, but at different times. Grawp and Buckbeak weren’t in the Forbidden Forest at the same time, but they will be in The Dark Forest.

I’m going to be starting a Patreon page for Session Zero. I want to offer great artwork with every issue, so all monies raised will go towards paying for art.

I’m having a lot of fun doing this!

Issue 2 of Session Zero is now live on DTRPG!

Reformatted, better art and (IMO) better content than Issue 1.

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/211129/Session-Zero-Issue-2–The-Barrow

I’m working on concepts for a Final Fantasy based installment of my Session Zero zine (BTW, Issue 2 has been…

I’m working on concepts for a Final Fantasy based installment of my Session Zero zine (BTW, Issue 2 has been uploaded and is awaiting approval by DriveThru RPG).

I want to do “Limit Breaks” from Final Fantasy VII, which were sort of like super attacks in that game that you had to build up to by taking damage. I’m thinking about creating modified versions of the basic moves and some spells which must be “activated” with a point of Break. Here’s what I have so far… any and all comments are welcome!

First, the “Basic Outcomes” of dice rolls needs the following outcome added:

Double ones: Hold 1 Break

Second, the End of Session moves gets modified as such:

When you reach the end of a session, lose all held Break and choose one of your bonds…

Finally I’d have a list of the Limit Break Moves. This is the modified Hack & Slash:

Double Cut ~ Requires held Break to activate

When you make two furious swipes with your melee weapon, expend 1 Break and deal your damage, then roll+STR.

On a 10+, you deal your damage to the enemy again and avoid their attack. At your option, you may choose to do +1d6 damage but expose yourself to the enemy’s attack.

On a 7–9, you deal your damage to the enemy again and the enemy makes an attack against you.

Count 6- as 7-9

If the enemy is unaware or defenseless, just deal your damage again instead of rolling.

A Limit break for a wizard might be:

Meteorswarm ~ Requires 2+ held Break to activate

When you call upon the power of the cosmos against your enemies, expend 2 Break and deal 2d6 X your level damage to all enemies present, then roll+INT.

On a 10+, the cosmos hears your call and your allies are unharmed.

On a 7-9, it rains fire and rock; you and your allies take that damage as well.

Count 6- as 7-9

Noth of these need tweaking, and yeah Meteorswarm can be really powerful, but it requires you to roll 2 “snake eyes” in the same session to charge it…

What are your thoughts?

Session Zero Issue 2: The Barrow – Content and layout is done.

Session Zero Issue 2: The Barrow – Content and layout is done. I want to do a few more editing runs and then it’ll be up on DTRPG later this week.

I changed to 6X9 so that it prints better in booklet form and the text isn’t so dense (thanks for that suggestion Aaron Griffin), and included LOADS more questions for world building, because that’s what this zine is all about (Thanks Robert Doe for encouraging me to include more questions, and sorry I can’t tag you… LOVE G+ sometimes LOL). This Issue comes in at 28 pages with fantastic art.

With 1 issue of Session Zero out and the 2nd nearing completion, I wanted to give a rundown of all the planned…

With 1 issue of Session Zero out and the 2nd nearing completion, I wanted to give a rundown of all the planned issues and seek some feedback:

DONE – Issue 1: The Smoldering Swamp (Fire Swamp from The Princess Bride)

Issue 2: The Barrow (Skyrim)

Issue 3: The Dark Forest (Forbidden Forest from Harry Potter books & films)

Issue 4: The Island Prison (Batman: Arkham Asylum)

Issue 5: The Corrupted Mine (Mines of Moria from Lord of the Rings)

I’m still looking for Caves, a Desert (possibly Dune), Mountain Pass, (maybe 300) a Large City (I had thought of using Batman: Arkham City, but went with the asylum for the Island Prison instead) and a Castle. Any ideas where I can draw my inspiration from for these?

I still want to use Final Fantasy in some way too. What iconic setting or region can I find in a Final Fantasy game? I would like to use FFVII in some way because I have some ideas for Materia, and I think there are all kinds of things you can do with Shinra and AVALANCHE… I seem to remember some wicked caves in FF7, but it’s been a while since I’ve played it.

I need some help refining a concept please.

I need some help refining a concept please. I’m working on Issue 2 of my Session Zero zine, inspired by Skyrim. One prominent thing in Skyrim is potions; they’re everywhere!

I want it to act similarly to – but not exactly – the Barbarian’s Herculean Appetites, but I feel what I have sounds strange. I want the move to include both a good effect and a duration…

For example:

Potion of Strength – Applied, 0 Weight, 1 use, 10 coins

They taste awful, but sometimes the difference between life and death hinges on the right potion at the right time. When you roll for a STR-based move after drinking a Potion of Strength, instead of rolling 2d6, roll 1d6 + 1d8. Treat results of 6- as 7-9, and results of 7-9 as 10+. This effect ends after a roll in which the d6 is the higher of the pair.

It just feels too mechanical (but so does the Herculean Appetites IMO)

Potion of Magic works the same, but would trigger “When you cast a spell”, and something like Potion of True Shot would trigger “When you Volley”.

Is there a better way to say this? Thanks in advance!

Session Zero – Issue 1: The Smoldering Swamp is now available on DTRPG.

I had fun creating it, and I want to give a special thanks to my son (Celebrimbor the Wizard in our one-on-one games) for the interior artwork, and also to Logan Howard for his inspiration and some sage advice!

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/210150/Session-Zero-Issue-1–The-Smoldering-Swamp

Session Zero, Issue 1: The Smoldering Swamp will be available on DTRPG later this week.

Session Zero, Issue 1: The Smoldering Swamp will be available on DTRPG later this week. I had hoped to push it out today, but my son is doing the interior artwork for me (so don’t expect top-notch graphics) and I’m still waiting on four images. I will possibly move towards using stock images for future issues, but it was fun working with him on this and the next issue will be one of his favorite settings: Skyrim. So he will likely illustrate that one as well before I start pulling stock images.

Based on my schedule, it will most likely be Friday when you see it on DTRPG as a PWYW product.