4th & Dragon : Dungeons and Dragons...and stuff

Rainey, yeah, that is a good point. I will stick with my sword. Fits an officer well and so on.
I could always retrain it later if I feel I need to.

FrostNumenor: Yeah, that would have been quite poor.
Beacon is really really nice IMO, since it weakens enemies in a burst AND heals AND buffs your healing ability for the whole combat. Those are not depending on hitting enemies either, so it is a guaranteed bonus every time you use it.

Yeah after rereading it, I decided it fit very well with what I was going for.  Glad you recommended it.

Ok guys, well we are missing Sassaroth.  And no offense to him but his showing up and posting hasn’t been too frequent on the board.  So I think it is time to start this baby up!  So everyone, lets do this I’ll be posting stuff as I see fit (and someone please point out if I make a mistake or don’t see somewhere I should have said something or what I make up just sounds corny )

On a side note, if Sass comes back soon and gets his character posted up (like the next day or so) then we can roleplay him in.

So let’s have em at it, and I promise to try and spend as much time as I can on this with school just starting (should be able to give it a decent amount of thought, workload isn’t too bad) I apologize if I cannot update all the time, MWF are my big days so maybe twice a day then at most (sometimes less if I have a big day) but tuesday and thursday should be good and clear, along with some on the weekends

Ok, so I have to go turn in some paperwork and such, but I will be back in about half an hour to read over everyones background and put up my first post.  Sorry for the delay, first day of my MWF classes and those are my big days.  Expect it soon though Already got ideas

[EDIT]

Ok, just read the backgrounds and they all look good.  But I would like to take a second to give a shout-out to my man Raineym.  Holy (Gibbering Mouther Ate Your Word!) on the all out effort into that backgrounds.  Major kudos to you man, that was some good reading there.

Q: How does the range on commander’s strike work?

A: Commander’s strike (PH p145) is a melee weapon attack. Because of this, it has the range of the warlord’s melee weapon reach. Normally this will be 1 square, but weapons such as long spears may increase this. The target of commander’s strike must be within melee reach of both the warlord and the chosen ally who will make the basic melee attack.

This is from the Wizards Q&A...I don’t know if this is how we should/will use it though.

Well I am fine with just keeping it how I stated earlier.  But I don’t wanna unbalance anything if this is how it was intended.  So, as usual when I don’t know/can’t decide, let’s vote

OK, as we talked about it in the thread before, it was proposed it now has a range of 5 (or hearing range, whichever is shorter).

My interpretation would then be that it simply has an
“Effect: An ally withing hearing range (max 5) makes a basic attack and gets a bonus to damage equal to your int bonus.”

If we want to discuss/vote on this again, so be it.

I just want to reserve the right to then switch to a reach weapon if we go for the melee range option.

I am fine with what we already have decided on, just thought I’d point out the quote in case others didn’t agree.

Well I don’t think that anyone said anything against it.  So I guess in keeping with how I decided on it, and because it will be easier to not change anything, let us all stick with my supreme (kinda) ruling

Ok guys, so you stuck me on the map

I am still searching for a map making program (or something to help make them look professional) so any suggestions are welcome.  I will start scouring the internet now since I haven’t really had a desperate need up to this

So give me til later tonight (and possibly in the morning) to find something and make a map.  I will at least post in here tonight telling how progress is going

You can just describe to us what clues we can dig up. An actual picture of the map is cool, but not in any way necessary if you already know roughly what will be there.

Ok, well I have an idea of how I could do that.  But I am eventually gonna have to find a map maker anyway.  Even if I can’t find one yet it still gives some other people a chance to post if they want

two words.

Campaign cartographer.

might be able to find free, trial or other of it.

Have used full versions before:
Campaign Cartographer 14 day trial
Dundjinni Limited version demo

Ones I haven’t used before:
Dungeon Crafter III seems to be free
Fractal Mapper limited version

I also found someone talking about this stuff on another forum:

1.  AutoRealm
Offical Description (From the Website) - AutoREALM is a Free GNU mapping software (a “cartographer") that can design maps of castles, cities, dungeons and more. AutoREALM is generally used by Role-playing Game practicants who enjoy doing their own maps. But it could fits the needs of other people. If you are a Role-Playing gamer or else, you are cordially invited to join the AutoREALM community: fellows gathered around a free hobbyist map tool. Originally made by Andrew Gryc (say “grits"), AutoREALM is now Open Source, creating a unique opportunity for the RPG world to mix graphics and computer programming.

My View - After looking at the site, and the various images and such it appears to be a very clean and simple interface, for those of us who are used to PCs that is.  One of the benefits I can see is it being open source.  I am rather impressed by its look, and I intend to give it a more in depth review once I have a day off (I am gonna download it and try to use it and see just how easy it is)

2.  Campaign Cartographer 3
Offical Description from the Website - CC3 is the fastest and most powerful map-making software for gamers. So if you’re a busy person who wants the best, this is the software for you. In minutes you can learn all you need to rapidly create beautiful maps for campaigns, games and even real-world applications.

My View - Once again, after looking at the site, it appears that this program has amazing potential.  With a large slew of possible expansions, and the ability to make high quality maps, its a map makers dream program.  However, it does not appear, at first glance, to be that easy to use, and is not the cheapest option there is.  The basic program is $44.95 and each little upgrade is more money.  Also, it doesnt appear that they have a demo of the program available.

3.  Dundjinni
Offical Description - Dundjinni is a full-featured fantasy map creation program. It allows users to create walls and floors, place objects, insert text, and more. It boasts an intuitive interface and an impressive selection of objects and textures (over 190 images). It also allows you to author d20 adventures in a simple yet elegant way.  Available for both PC & Mac.

My View - I actually tested the demo for this yesterday, and personally I was not impressed.  The tiles didnt even appear where I tried to place them.  Strangeness.  It boosts a nice community and people appear to like it, so maybe the demo is just broken or an older version, I dunno.  But I am not willing to drop $39.95 on something that MIGHT work.  Also, the interface was not pleasant to me.

4.  MapTool
Offical Description - MapTool virtualizes the battle map, miniatures, and wet-erase markers. In combination with Voice over IP software this allows GMs and Players to get together virtually and interact much like they would at a session around the table.

The virtual tabletop in MapTool can do things that the classic battle map couldn’t easily do. Prepared maps from other software can just be dropped into the background and tokens moved over the top. You can also save the entire campaign at any point to resume later.

My View - It appears to me that it is more of a virtual tabletop then an actual mapping program.  It may be useful for people who play online, but as a pure mapper I think there are better options.

5.  Dungeon Forge
Offical Description - Dungeonforge is an easy-to-use map creation program for Role Playing Games. It is fast and flexible and can produce maps in the style of Dungeoncrafter and Dundjinni (as well as using the same range of art).

The maps can be printed for tabletop use or used in online games.

My View - Its free for one, and boosts some decent features, however it does not appear to have been fully updated in a LONG time, and so may have some bugs and other issues with it.  I am going to try this out along with AutoRealm and give a more in depth review.

6.  Fractal Mapper 8.0
Offical Description - With Fractal Mapper, creating worlds has never been so easy! Fractal Mapper is a high-powered mapping system that lets gamers create a wide variety of of maps - dungeons, continents, cities, and more! With it’s easy to use interface, powerful features, and unique capabilities, making high quality maps with Fractal Mapper is a breeze!

My View - Now this program has me interested.  After looking at all the various screenshots I am impressed by how neat the dungeon AND overland maps look.  Its on par, cost wise, with both Dundjinni and CC3, at $34.95 (it is cheaper by a bit), and also offers a free trial, which I shall try of course!

7.  Microsoft Excel / OpenOffice Spreadsheets - Not technically a “mapping program.” However the latest Treasure Tables Blog Entry has a link that deals with using Excel (and thus OpenOffice) as a Mapper!  Check out Excellent Maps.  I am going to test this method out as well.

Ok well I will look into these, but busy with school stuff right now so I will work on a map later cause I don’t know exactly how things will be set up anyway Not a full scale island map so far