Ernie Noa's RPG Blog

I'm busy but cranking out a bit of content here and there, mostly maps. I'm getting a better feel for producing maps with AutoRealm, Dunjinni and Paint.Net If it were just for me, something more crude would suffice, but I'm trying to make them look nice.

I've made some progress over the past week or so. I wrote my first custom trap last week, I'm cranking out a few maps of different styles and today I wrote my first combat encounter. If this were a first or second edition encounter I could probably write it without cracking the cover of a book. However, I carefully looked at how they were printed in pubished modules, balanced the encounter according to the encounter level guidelines, and copied info about the monsters carefully into the encounter. It's a lot of copy work, but I'm sure it will go faster as I get used to it. I can see how the system is very convienent and valuable for the DM. All the info is right at his or her fingertips. I did loose any opportunity for productivity yesterday. We had a bit of an issue at the house. You can read about it here if you are curious: Broken Toilet and Water Damage Part 1 Broken Toilet and Water Damage Part 2

I got a little hung up on maps today. I spent several hours creating my first interior map. I used to do them all by hand, but looking at what's out there I'd like to create something a little nicer. I picked up a copy of Dunjinni after playing with the demo for a while. It didn't work out for my first map but I have high hopes it will be useful later in the process. I used AutoRealm and Paint.net to create my first interior. I did eventually get through it, and start a written key for the area. Hopefully future maps will go further. Although I have not written a combat encounter, it's really starting to feel like I'm really writing this thing now.

My copy of the 4th Edition Monster Manual arrived. I also downloaded a copy of Keep on the Shadowfell, a 4th Edition Module. This has given me a better feel for how new modules are laid out. I started writing the introduction and plot synopsis for Hythum, I'm going to turn that into a very large module or set of modules for 4th Edition. Not much meat an potatoes yet, but I have the pieces coming together, I'm most worried about balance. 1st and 2nd edition, no problem. 4th edition, they have some clear guides, but I haven't played, and it's unlikely I will have time in the near future. It was a nice creative outlet.

I've done a modest amount of work. I've started roughing out a map or two and I've compiled my plot outline and locations in Free Mind . Free Mind is a great program, definately worth checking out. I downloaded a copy of an official 4th E module to read and I'm eagerly awaiting my copy of the Monster Manual. Work should begin in earnest soon. It's nice to be having this creative outlet again.