Tooleys Underwhelming Projects

[tooley1chris]

Rocking this!

Completed converting Manual of Monsters II this evening. Now working on the layout. 

Curious as to what people prefer. The old school Monster Manual layouts I've done with the other conversations, or more modern with better, larger color pics? I'm in the fence.

[tooley1chris]

Gonna be awhile till I need it but anyone wanna draw up an awesome cover for this monstrous tome? (For free of course)

I'll put your name real big on the cover for credit and also credit you on inside.

Figured I'd give someone a chance to get their art seen instead of using a generic cover.

If anyone has/would like to draw any critters from the old monster manuals I could add that as well if you like.

Edited December 11, 2015 by tooley1chris

[tooley1chris]

Have the layout completed. Fixed a few more errors. I've been in Copy/Paste HELL transferring the conversions to the new format. Since no one commented on preference  (a couple posts up), I'm working in larger, color pics for a more modern appearance. Still time to get custom pics in if anyone is interested. This is gonna be a damn big book.

Kinda feeling alone here on the Magic World thread....

 

Edited December 28, 2015 by tooley1chris

[rsanford]

Does seem kinda quite lately but my group's Magic World game continues to entertain. Hope Chaosium shows Magic World some love once the new BRP is released. A fresh printing with errata would be a good start.

[Chaot]

2 hours ago, tooley1chris said:

Have the layout completed. Fixed a few more errors. I've been in Copy/Paste HELL transferring the conversions to the new format. Since no one commented on preference  (a couple posts up), I'm working in larger, color pics for a more modern appearance. Still time to get custom pics in if anyone is interested. This is gonna be a damn big book.

Kinda feeling alone here on the Magic World thread....

 

Thought there was more time.  Would have contributed some sketches.  Chris, do the critters get the full translation treatment?  I'm hoping to use some of your translations as is when I start running Monster World.

i myself have been somewhat quiet on the forums as I'm kinda having a year from hell.  Gaming has been far back on the back burner.  Really hoping for a turn around sometime soon.

[Sunwolfe]

I check here twice a day--after clicking the Glorantha, Call of Cthulhu, and More From Chaosium>HeroQuest forums "mark[ed] as read..."  . And as I'm presently out of the GM loop having been religated to "player" mode (in WH FRP and SW D6), I've got nothing productive to offer.

Sad :-(

[tooley1chris]

1 hour ago, Chaot said:

Thought there was more time.  Would have contributed some sketches.  Chris, do the critters get the full translation treatment?  I'm hoping to use some of your translations as is when I start running Monster World.

i myself have been somewhat quiet on the forums as I'm kinda having a year from hell.  Gaming has been far back on the back burner.  Really hoping for a turn around sometime soon.

Still some time for sketches. Gonna take awhile to find the couple hundred pictures and arrange them then clean up for PDF. No pressure tho.

Full translation? They are compatible with MW with a few slight alterations like spells and magic resistance. 

[tooley1chris]

There is some really great art online for these D&D critters. This tome is going to look pretty damn neat IMO. May even print it out and bind it to a hard copy eventually. Always wanted to do that.

 

Been thinking about my next project, and while I've still a short list of stuff I'd like to do, I've been thinking about a Darksun campaign setting for MW. 

Any interest?

 

Edit: I dunno. I suppose this would just be MW with Psychic powers from BGB and a slightly different magic system drawing on defiling magic. Probably not worthy of a whole project...

[rsanford]

How about build out of part of the Southern Reaches. Maybe a city a couple of villages and a few plot devices. At the rate you crank stuff out you could probably knock it out in a week :-)

[tooley1chris]

Yeah doing a town (probably Tindale) is on my list of projects. This is actually good advice. I could have a lot of fun with it and pop out adventures for it. PLUS maybe others could write some adventures around it as well!

Edited January 1, 2016 by tooley1chris

[Sean_RDP]

32 minutes ago, tooley1chris said:

Been thinking about my next project, and while I've still a short list of stuff I'd like to do, I've been thinking about a Darksun campaign setting for MW. 

Any interest?

I would definitely be interested in seeing that. I would invest in MW to run that for some locals or for Con folks.

[Mankcam]

27 minutes ago, tooley1chris said:

Yeah doing a town (probably Tindale) is on my list of projects. This is actually good advice. I could have a lot of fun with it and pop out adventures for it. PLUS maybe others could write some adventures around it as well!

Yes, a localised sandbox setting is always a great thing I think. I have fond memories of many old school settings like this; no great over-arching campaign or mega-story, just a place the characters can do stuff and discover as they go.

A small town or village would be excellent, something that could be played 'as is', or re-trapped and plugged into other settings with minimal ease.

Edited January 2, 2016 by Mankcam

[tooley1chris]

I chose Tindale originally because of its proximity to Dwarvenhold (dwarves) and Lake  Nauriel (elves). Not to mention Carmenel Pass (my mega dungeon) and the Counts Court (fey). 

It won't help with ocean adventures but there's oodles of oportunities surrounding Tindale and no lore about it (not even a mention) in the Southern Reaches chapter of MW.

[rsanford]

2 hours ago, Mankcam said:

Yes, a localised sandbox setting is always a great thing I think. I have fond memories of many old school settings like this; no great over-arching campaign or mega-story, just a place the characters can do stuff and discover as they go.

I agree with you with one possible exception.  Seems like there should be some story (Mega?) about the Fey coming back. Perhaps a few adventure hooks about old ruins that Fey are now said to occupy, an otherwise invisible border that when crossed result in an unusual number of "strange" things happening or encounters with strange beings, humans working for the powers to be that seem to have misplaced loyalties and  that are associated with strange cults and strange practices, etc...

 

[Mankcam]

28 minutes ago, rsanford said:

I agree with you with one possible exception.  Seems like there should be some story (Mega?) about the Fey coming back. Perhaps a few adventure hooks about old ruins that Fey are now said to occupy, an otherwise invisible border that when crossed result in an unusual number of "strange" things happening or encounters with strange beings, humans working for the powers to be that seem to have misplaced loyalties and  that are associated with strange cults and strange practices, etc...

 

Yes, something specific like this for The Southern Reaches would work really well, but as long as it's not intrusive and can be delegated to the background or easily edited out if one wants to use the sandbox setting within another campaign setting. The idea of The Fey returning would work perfectly for this.

[tooley1chris]

Perhaps after mapping out and inhabiting Tindale a series of adventures trying to stop the return of the fey or the Cruach Dragon itself. Could be quite epic.

[Mankcam]

That's the stuff, keep the creativity going! 

Enjoying your output mate, a one-man old school cottage industry, it's good to see 

[Chaot]

On January 1, 2016 at 6:32 PM, tooley1chris said:

Been thinking about my next project, and while I've still a short list of stuff I'd like to do, I've been thinking about a Darksun campaign setting for MW. 

Any interest?

 

Edit: I dunno. I suppose this would just be MW with Psychic powers from BGB and a slightly different magic system drawing on defiling magic. Probably not worthy of a whole project...

It depends on how far you go.  I've been brainstorming on and off for a Dark Sun game for longer than is healthy.  Thing is I love half of the setting and loath the other half.  There are also tons of tiny things you can look at through rules systems.  For example.

Preserving/Defiling

Mages on Athas power there spell by the very life force around them, channeling it through the earth, changing it in their bodies and unleashing it to alter the very fabric of reality around them.  Therefore, mages do not draw upon their own reserve of mp.  The mage instead relies on her Constitution score to determine how much energy she can safely channel.  For every mp she channels above her Constitution score she get a Defiling point.  As time passes the residue of magical energies within her body pass and she can again begin to channel magic.

Spells are learned as individual skills and a mage must roll against the skill each time they wish to cast a spell.  A preserver will rely on spell components and rituals to boost their skill %.  If casting a Fireball spell the preserver could use something like ash from a fire to boost the spell by 5%.  She might use an open flame like a torch to boost her skill by 10%.  A bonfire or a container of combustable material might boost it by 15%.  A burning house or some rare ingredient related to fire might give a full 20% bonus.

Defilers often use short cuts, channeling more energy from the earth at a reckless pace to power their spells.  A defiler is allowed to flip flop a spell roll.  If she rolls a 73 she can change it to a 37.  Every time a defiler defiles she gains an additional Defiling point.  These points expand the amount of energy the defiler can channel.  If a defiler has a Constitution of 10 and Defiling 15 the defiler can channel 25 points before incurring another Defiling point.  However, if at any time the defiler flip flops their roll they gain another defiling point.  A mage can choose to defile after they make their roll if they see their roll would succeed with defiling.  Defiling is seductive and dangerous.

How dangerous?  When a defiler reaches Defiling 10 they develop an obsession and a physical trait.  For each additional 10 they gain another trait and obsession.  The reason why people avoid defilers is because they are obsessive, reckless and all around dangerous.  They often act in selfish ways that put them into direct danger.

[tooley1chris]

Chaot, I find it helps me a great deal in brain storming to actually start typing/writing all those ideas down. Before long you can put it in some semblance of order, find a few nice pics on the internet representing what you are trying to put across, spell check it, make it prettier, and *POOF*

You've got a book. Put it here for others to share the joy. 

So...you've got the Darksun idea covered for us? 

Excellent!

 

[Chaot]

At my current writing speed it should be ready by 2025.

[tooley1chris]

So...it will coincide with Chaosiums next official MW supplement release!  Rock on!

 

[Hexelis]

This whole Chaosium-died-and-was-then-resurrected thing has thrown me off a bit, I've been running HotOE and messing with some SW d6. But I'm still here, hoping to do another MW game sometime this year hopefully. Chris, your work here might be what kicks me into gear. Great stuff.

[tooley1chris]

Big Damn Book of Monsters:  Taking a LONG time to find/place pics from internet. I'm on the "M"s alphabetically and chugging along. There is some really great art work by various people and the book should be quite pretty once complete. I'm finding the Pathfinder representations incredibly well done! Wish I could draw 1/2 as good as these guys/gals.

Edited January 18, 2016 by tooley1chris

[auyl]

1 hour ago, tooley1chris said:

Big Damn Book of Monsters:  Taking a LONG time to find/place pics from internet. I'm on the "M"s alphabetically and chugging along. There is some really great art work by various people and the book should be quite pretty once complete. I'm finding the Pathfinder representations incredibly well done! Wish I could draw 1/2 as good as these guys/gals.

I'm sure it'll be worth the work when done. I know I'm looking forward to it!

[tooley1chris]

Done with the pictures!  

Still gotta Proofread, make sure it's all pretty, convert to PDF, post!

As alway, I'm pretty excited (but can't wait to be done)

Kinda/sorta started working on a "Religions of the Southern Reaches" supplement (to break up the monotony of monster book)

It's based on an idea the great Ben Monroe inspired in me awhile back. It will expand the priest /shaman occupations and include a divine magic system similar to the Magic Book as well as give the fey a greater role in the Reaches. 

Edited January 26, 2016 by tooley1chris