Category: Uncategorized

Personal Update

On By JeanNadiraIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Our internet connection went out a few days ago so I was unable to do the research I wanted to do for this week’s blog.  A technician was supposed to come out yesterday afternoon to repair the connection, but we never heard from him.  We learned (by nearly running over the line with the lawnmower) about ten minutes ago that, yes, he had been here.  I am not happy.  I have internet, yes.  At less than half the speed I’m paying for.  And I have a hazard in my yard, namely the phone cable.  SO … there will be more calls made, which also makes me unhappy.  I’ll be back again next weekend with a real post (internet gods willing).  In the meantime, I wish you Happy Adventures!  May glory and fortune by yours!

~Jean Nadira

Frozen Blossoms

On By JeanNadiraIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

So often these days when we hear the word “monk” we think “martial arts masters.”  But a monk is a person who has dedicated himself to a monastic order and to living by the precepts and tenets of that order.  It’s a spiritual life.  It is often a life of solitude, tucked away from the rest of the world.  In the role-playing games I’ve seen, “monk” is a combat-oriented class, a type of fighter, albeit one that harnesses internal energy to do some pretty amazing stuff.  But one does not have to be a fighter to be a monk.

I was trying to create a sorcerer character in D&D 5e recently, and I was unhappy with both choices for sorcerous origins.  Most of my worlds don’t have dragonborn, and wild magic didn’t fit the character developing in my mind.  So I went looking.  I finally settled on Yokai-kin – people who carry the blood of spirits/demons/gods for whatever reasons.  I’m still working on the mechanics for the character, but in the meantime, I present to you the Temple of Frozen Blossoms, and the sorcerer monks who live there.  Click the link to read the full write-up.

 

Creative Commons License This work by Jean Headley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The City’s Heart

On By JeanNadiraIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I was listening to a song by S. J. Tucker called November and one of the lines really struck a chord with me.  “The city’s heart sings a song for November.”  I couldn’t stop thinking of the heart of the city as a thing alive, it’s own entity.  What if a permanent community was built around an act of sacrifice?  How would that play out?  Would different forms of sacrifice produce cities that had different ambiances to them?

I finally sat down and wrote a vignette – a scene – describing one sacrifice.  For me, Eylithlana and her family are elven, but I deliberately left out all descriptions of them so you may fill in those details as you wish.  Her name is pronounced A-lith-Lah-nah.

Click here to read The City’s Heart

 

And for your listening pleasure, here is the link to S. J. Tucker’s song http://music.sjtucker.com/track/november-2

 

 

Creative Commons License This work by Jean Headley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

the Port of Annan

On By JeanNadiraIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

This week, a quick description and history of Annan’s Port, the starting area for my current campaign, titled The Sons of Moon and Sea.  It’s set on the world of Erde.

Click here to read about Annan’s Port

The map was created using Inkarnate Worlds, which you can find at http://inkarnate.com/

 

 

Creative Commons License This work by Jean Headley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

the Crone

On By JeanNadiraIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

So often modern imagery depicts death as skeletal, or ghoulish.  It presents anthropomorphized death as evil, a relentless hunter who seeks our destruction and then revels in it when he inevitably wins.

In the campaign I am currently running, Death goes by many names, among them the Hunter of Shadows, the Mistress of Ravens, and the Drowned King.  However, should the player characters fall, they will encounter a kindly old woman.

Click here to read the passage I have prepared for my players.

A note: We are playing Dungeons & Dragons™, 5th Edition.  I intend to give this passage to any players whose characters have failed two death saves.  Should they fail the third save and die, the Crone will lead them out of the Forest of Souls.  Companions who survive will have the opportunity to rescue the character(s) from the Otherworld.  Should they succeed their death saves and stabilize, the Crone will light their path back to the mortal realm.  But the characters will have the opportunity, at two fails, to choose to move on.

 

 

Creative Commons License This work by Jean Headley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

 

Creating Characters

On By JeanNadiraIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

This week I chose to talk about my character creation process.  Usually I don’t have any trouble creating new characters. On those rare occasions when the ideas just aren’t there, I use these tricks to get the creativity flowing again.  And sometimes I just have fun rolling up random – really random – characters.

Click this link to read the full post: Character Creation

May the dice always roll in your favor!  Or at least give you really interesting character concepts.

 

 

Creative Commons License This work by Jean Headley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Critical Success

On By JeanNadiraIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Sometimes the dice roll in your favor, and whatever you’re trying to do you do spectacularly well.  In combat, this means you get to open a can of whoop-ass on your enemy.  Unfortunately, sometimes the enemy opens that can on you.

I added the Critical Success table to the Critical Rolls page.  (<– Click the link to check it out.)  It ranges from Maximum Damage, to Triple Damage, with some extra stuff in between.  We haven’t had the chance to test these tables in-game yet, but I’m looking forward to it.

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions about the tables, or about anything else on the Worldwalker’s Guide, please post them.  I’d love to hear from you.

May your dice favor you in all things!

~Jean

Critical Fails

On By JeanNadiraIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

It happens.  It’s okay.  It’s not the end of the world (usually).  Sometimes the dice hate us, and we end up with a critical fail.  I’ve wanted a little consistency in my games, and also a quick reference chart, so I put together a couple of tables for what happens when that dreaded “1” shows its face.  The tables were created with Dungeons and Dragons 5e in mind, but I’ve removed anything that is specific to that game system.  I’ll be adding critical success tables too, at a later date.

Click the link to access the tables: Critical Rolls

These tables are released under a free culture Creative Commons license.  Take them, use them, modify them, share them, do whatever you want with them.  The idea can’t be copyrighted – you’re always free to make your own.  All this covers is the specific wording and the layout. If you use the tables “as-is”, please link back to their page.

Creative Commons License
Critical Roll Tables by Jean A. Headley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

 

 

Rootless

On By JeanNadiraIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I wanted to do something different this week, so I wrote about one of my favorite homebrew classes: The Rootless.  This isn’t a class like fighter, mage, or rogue.  This is a class of people like farmers, merchants, noblemen, or craftsmen.  They are considered holy people, and a little out of their minds.  Like kleptomaniacs can’t help but steal, the Rootless can’t help but explore and learn.  Though the Rootless were created for a fantasy world, they can be adapted to any setting.  In a science fiction world they would be scientists, scholars, and explorers.

You can read all about them by clicking this link: The Rootless

I got the name, and the idea, from a song by S. J. Tucker titled, you guessed it, Rootless.  There is a beautiful sign-language performance of this song on YouTube, here: https://youtu.be/fUvm4FJ92P4

Have a great weekend, and may you discover something new every day!

 

 

Creative Commons License This work by Jean Headley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The Dagger

On By JeanNadiraIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Well, a day late but not a dollar short.  I’m glad I took the extra time to flesh this out.  The Drunken Dagger and the Dagger’s Inn are like characters, and they deserved a good character sketch.  I still don’t have the map – my mapping skills are rusty and I’m going to have to work on it.  In addition, I’ve always had trouble visualizing the layout of the Dagger for some reason, so mapping it is a real challenge.  LOL

Click here to read the write-up on The Dagger

The description is subject to change.  I’ll update it as the map progresses, but what’s written is certainly serviceable.

Tankards all around!

~Jean

 

Creative Commons License This work by Jean Headley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.