Monster Builder – The Vile Crypt Ghoul

Yes…I spent my lunch hour today playing with the monster builder like all good GM’s should.  And yes, I created a quick monster…a ghoul.  Oh, and yes I really could not think of a better power name than Crypt Juice for his little disgusting burst.

You can see the image based output of the monster stat block below.  I added a lot of different features to him just to see how the software worked.  My initial impression is that the software is easy to use, but does require quite a bit of imagination get the right feel.  I really like that you can drag powers in from other sources and edit them.  Both the claw and the quick bite power are borrowed (from the Ghoul and one of the Gnoll powers).

A few things took me a minute to figure out.  On the Quick Bite it was not immediately apparent that I could type the extra text after free.  There are a lot of description and info boxes in the powers area, and you kinda have to type in each one to see where it displays in the power.  I also was not sure how to get the image file of the stat block (you need to right click in the monster list).  Otherwise, so far so good.

All in all this is a nice looking beta product and a welcome addition to the DDI offerings.  Wizards seems to be moving in the right direction with the tools for 4th edition D&D.

DDI Monster Builder Beta Tomorrow

Wizards of the Coast will be releasing the Monster Builder beta to all DDI subscribers sometime tomorrow.  We got to see some nice pictures of the software a few weeks back, and it appears that tomorrow is the day we get to try it out first hand.

I had a chat with some fellow gamers tonight, one of which has been using the software as a tester, and it sounds like this is going to be a really amazing tool for DM’s.  Hopefully, players will appreciate all of the new creations that come their way.

Personally, I am most interested in borrowing powers from one creature to use in another.  I like this because I understand that the program will automatically scale the power based on the level of the new creature.  Easy to take your favorite level 30 power and throw it on your level 1 minion and have it scale out correctly.  Yet another tool that makes the job of the DM in 4th edition D&D that much easier.

I am sure downloads will be busy (and slow) tomorrow.  Hopefully it releases while I am still at work and can take advantage of the big bandwidth.

Savage Worlds Rippers – Facebook Style

I am not one to play many (any) of the games on Facebook typically, but I heard about a game based on the Rippers RPG from Pinnacle Entertainment and just had to give it a go.

Rippers is a monster hunting game set in Victorian times.  Players are part of secret monster hunting societies that keep people safe from the evil the lurks in the dark shadows.

The RPG uses the Savage Worlds rule set which is certainly one of my favorites. 

I am just getting into the game, but it looks to be pretty well done.  I have high hopes, something to check out if you are a gamer on Facebook.

Rippers on Facebook

40K Space Marines

Update:  I have had some time to think about this, and I am going to make some changes.  I think that the TacSquads are going to stay at 10 man and swap to Rhino’s.  Also I am going to drop the flamer in favor of a meltagun.  Sgt in each squad will also swap for a Power Fist and some sort of ranged weapon (combi most likely).  Just need to re-do the points.

With Dark Heresy up for so many Ennie awards this year, I went back and read through a bunch of the main rulebook last week.  While I was at it, I looked through Necropolis 2350 for Savage Worlds again.  These two settings have some similarities, and throughout the time I was reading them my mind kept drifting to Warhammer 40K.  Eventually my mind drifted far enough that I started reading about the 5th edition of the rules online and some of the changes to the Space Marine codex.  One thing led to another and I stopped by Montag’s (my FLGS) to pick up a copy of the new SM codex.  I read through it this weekend and, well here we are….

I am considering throwing together a SM army, most likely 1750 points, that I could use vs. the old Necron force that I kept from when I used to play (3rd edition).  I am looking for some opinions on the army I am considering.

HQ

Chaplain with Terminator Armour & Melta Bombs

Troops

TacSquad #1 10 Marines, Flamer, Lascannon Sgt. Power Weapon w/ Razorback

TacSquad #2 10 Marines, Flamer, Lascannon, Sgt Power Weapon w/ Razorback

TacSquad #3 10 Marines, Meltagun, Hvy Bolter, Sgt Chainsword w/ Rhino

Elites

Terminator Assualt (5) w/ Lightning Claws w/ Land Raider +storm bolter dedicated
(Chaplain joins this unit)

Dreadnought twin-linked Autocannon

Heavy

2x Vindicators w/ HK Missile

Predator w/ sponson bolters + storm bolter.

I think this comes out to 1750 exactly.  My goal is to make this a stand and grab army.  It seems that missions with objectives are pretty key in 5th edition.  TacSquad #1 & #2 are broken into combat squads.  The Lascannon and 4 marines stay back to shoot and protect the Vindicators while the flamer/meltagun guys head off in the Razorback with the sgt and the remaining marines.The Razorback & crews will start in reserve as they are intended to grab objectives.  TacSquad #3 uses the Rhino to keep the whole squad together and they are there from the get go to grab and hold key objectives.

Landraider with the Termies and Chappy are meant to be a really big speed bump.  They cruise off to intercept whatever looks to be getting too close.  It’s a 600 point speed bump which could be an issue…hopefully they will tear things up pretty well.

The tanks are meant to light things up from afar.  I am focusing on doing as much general damage as I can with the tanks, leaving all the Lascannons in the hands of the Marine units.  Vindicators are placed to cover objectives where they can stay put and, hopefully, in some cover to just pelt any enemies that decide to snag an objective early (also useful for pinning down approaching troops).  As I thought about this more clearly I remembered that the attacker chooses which weapon is destroyed opens up 20 more points to play with elsewhere. HK missiles are there mostly to soak a weapon destroyed roll. Dreadnought’s goal is to shoot or smash anything that gets too close to the tanks, plus use the Autocannon to weaken units from a distance.

So 40k players, how does this sound for a “fun” army?  I doubt I would ever play this in a tournament.  I am planning to write up my own detail on a chapter and provide my own color scheme.  I don’t do well trying to copy the look of an existing chapter.

All constructive comments welcome.

Google Docs Templates for 4e

I am not the worlds greatest designer, but I have been working on a few templates for 4th Edition D&D DM’s.  I have two created thus far and would love any comments or suggestions.

The first template is my Encounter Planner.  It is a simple form that I typically copy into my Google Sites based GM’s notebook.  The template is designed to have monster cards copied in from the compendium.

The second template is a simple combat matrix that I use to track damage and conditions for the monsters and NPC’s in my encounters.  I link to the matrix for a particular encounter in the Encounter Planner document.  It uses some simple conditional formatting to highlight status’s and bloodied monsters.

Google Docs allows people to share templates with others now, and you can find my two templates in the Docs template gallery.

D&D Monster Builder

Wizards gave a little screen shot preview today of what the Monster Builder will look like.  The Monster Builder is the first of a set of tools in the Adventure Tools series.  These tools will be available as part of the Dungeons & Dragons Insider subscription.

 
image © Wizards of the Coast.

The UI looks a bit cluttered, but it would appear that you can easily search for monsters, edit what you find, and create brand new creatures.  You can also build new creatures and “if you saw a power you liked on another monster, you can drag and drop it into your monster.”  One of my hardest things is coming up with new powers, and I would much rather borrow and edit.

The product looks promising, cannot wait to get my hands on it.  I don’t see any indication of a release date, only that more previews will be coming as the release gets closer.

RPG Character Compendium

I was playing around with Google Sites today.  They have certainly made it easy to create sites by combining text, basic layout and gadgets.  It is the gadgets that really make the site shine because they allow you to add data from all over the place.

I made a few new sites today, but the one I worked on the most is a simple site for me to store and showcase some of the characters I have made for 4th edition D&D, Savage Worlds and other game systems.  I was surprised by how quickly I could post the data up that I wanted to include.

I have used two gadgets thus far, a Google Docs gadget to bring in my character background documents and the gadgets from iplay4e which embed a character sheet for 4E into the site.  Worked out pretty well I think.

I have only uploaded three 4e characters thus far, but I am planning to get all of my characters uploaded in the next few weeks.

Sean’s RPG Character Compendium

Kindle on the Cheap?

Image via CrunchBase

Amazon lowered the price on the 6" Kindle 2 yesterday from $359.00 down to $299.00.  I love my Kindle as I think it is a great enabler for people who want to read.  There have been some discussions (here) over the past week about whether or not reading books is dying out, especially among techie types.  My answer is definitly no!  I attribute that answer 100% to the Kindle.  The Kindle makes it so easy to look up a book you are reading about or maybe just saw in a store and buy it right then and there.

If you don't already have a Kindle, but have been considering one, now is a good time to jump at the opportunity with the reduced price point.

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Google OS for Netbooks

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Google announced that they are building a new computer operating system. The Google Chrome OS is a lightweight OS designed on the Linux kernel that is intended to be used on Netbooks and other computers where users want to use primarily web applications. The Google blog article reads:

Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.

As a huge Google fan I am very excited about this news, and 2010 cannot get here soon enough so I can try this new OS out on either my EEE PC or perhaps a new netbook from one of the vendors that have already been announced as working with Google.

As I have thought about this new Google OS a few things have come to mind:

1. My biggest disappointment with the Chrome browser is the lack of integration with Google stuff. Google Reader for RSS and Google Bookmarks for bookmarks would have been very obvious integration bits. I really hope Google includes lots of Integration with the OS. Since Joshua Schachter joined Google, I have been waiting for a way cool new version of Google Bookmarks. Perhaps that integration will come with Chrome OS?
   
2. Jungle Disk, Live Mesh and Pogoplug are my local links to cloud storage. With these three applications I am either replicating data (Mesh), backing things up (Jungle Disk/S3), or simply making most of my data available anywhere (Pogoplug). I hope that Google realizes that getting to this data is important, and either works to provide access to some of these types of cloud services or offers a compelling service of their own (the fabled gDrive). I am storing a few hundred gigabytes on the three services I mentioned, so any gDrive will have to allow that at a price point close to what I am paying now to make me even consider it.
3. My EEE PC is awesome, but part of that awesomeness comes from my ability to connect to the Internet from anywhere. I tether my Blackberry using VZAccess to grab a 3G connection on the go. I almost always tether via Bluetooth. If the Chrome OS does not offer me the ability to use VZAcess and tether my BB it will be much less useful and I would likely just keep what I have and use Windows 7.

I think Google has a real opportunity for the netbook market with Chrome OS. Windows 7 works so well that I am not 100% sure that this OS would have much effect on Windows sales for anything other than netbooks. I certainly don't see anything in what I have read that would make me consider abandoning Windows at the office. I guess there is nothing to do now but wait and see what Google does.

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Gaming and Google

Image via CrunchBase

I doubt it is much of a secret to anyone who games with me that I am a big fan using the various tools the Google offers to plan, note and record my game sessions.  I also use Google for pretty much every thing else I do online as well.

The Dice of Life blog seems to have the same addiction, and has been writing up a series of posts covering how to spice up your gamer life with a dash of Google.  Well worth the read, especially if you are not 100% familiar with how these online tools work.

While many of the Google tools work perfectly together, I am always wishing that things like Google Groups and Google Sites would work better together.   Google seems to be relying on gadgets for their different tools to allow them to be embedded into each other, but that does not work so well where Groups and Sites are concerned.

The software I really miss from Google is Google Notebook, which they no longer support.  It is actually still available, but I don't think I would put any data into it.  Notebook was great for recording small snippets of information and random thoughts.  I am starting to use Evernote for this purpose, but I am not 100% sold that this is the route I want to go.

You can find my campaigns Google Site page here.