FOURTHCORE TEAM DEATHMATCH

November 17, 2012

APOTHEOSIS: Kaddim

KADDIM
god of knowledge, light, madness, reason, and trickery


This post discusses one of the ten new gods that have ascended to divinity and formed a new pantheon, following the destruction of the Heresiarch at the end of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch. Click here to learn more about this process.

November 16, 2012

APOTHEOSIS: Oros


Oros
god of darkness, destiny, doom, and strength

This post discusses one of the ten new gods that have ascended to divinity and formed a new pantheon, following the destruction of the Heresiarch at the end of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch. Click here to learn more about this process.

November 15, 2012

APOTHEOSIS: Talon

Talon
god of destruction, perfection, skill, and thought

This post discusses one of the ten new gods that have ascended to divinity and formed a new pantheon, following the destruction of the Heresiarch at the end of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch. Click here to learn more about this process.

November 13, 2012

APOTHEOSIS: Nettle


Nettle
god of love, nature, peace, protection, and the wilderness
This post discusses one of the ten new gods that have ascended to divinity and formed a new pantheon, following the destruction of the Heresiarch at the end of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch. Click here to learn more about this process.

November 10, 2012

APOTHEOSIS: Nelson


Nelson
god of change, freedom, hope, justice and luck
This post discusses one of the ten new gods that have ascended to divinity and formed a new pantheon, following the destruction of the Heresiarch at the end of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch. Click here to learn more about this process.

November 3, 2012

APOTHEOSIS: Brand


"I like how when I'm answering a question, I think of something I want to include in the emblem, or when I'm drawing a piece of the emblem i think of an answer to a question.  This whole process is surprisingly inter-connected.  Kudos to it!"

Brand
god of conflict, stars, the sun, and vengeance
This post discusses one of the ten new gods that have ascended to divinity and formed a new pantheon, following the destruction of the Heresiarch at the end of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch. Click here to learn more about this process.

The Symbol
A radiant sun wreathing all things in protective light, and burning all enemies with Its ring of flames.  At its center lies the swirling chaos of war and conflict, led by the sword reaching ever outward as a sun’s rays reach toward the horizon.  Finally, the Eye of Vengeance watches over all things, and meets transgressors with unyielding retribution. 

November 2, 2012

APOTHEOSIS: Xann

Xann
god of storms and tyranny
This post discusses one of the ten new gods that have ascended to divinity and formed a new pantheon, following the destruction of the Heresiarch at the end of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch. Click here to learn more about this process.

November 1, 2012

APOTHEOSIS: Tordek

TORDEK
god of civilization, creation, and life
This post discusses one of the ten new gods that have ascended to divinity and formed a new pantheon, following the destruction of the Heresiarch at the end of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch. Click here to learn more about this process.

Tordek's symbol is an abstraction of his three domains: life, civilization, and creation.  As the 2080 year old dwarf has experienced and tore down many civilizations throughout life and unlife, it seemed appropriate.  The symbol represents the hilt of a blade with the cup of life perched above it.  This serves as a reminder to all that life and civilization were built by the blade, and must be maintained by its force as well.

October 29, 2012

SND-02: Divinity (fate)


Ross sits down for some tea.
Now that the Divine Domains have been decided by your guiding hands, we will continue on our journey through the sacred. Mystic symbols have been chosen for the dungeoneers by fate and destiny, and deep questions must be answered.

Players: Two images have been randomly determined for each dungeoneer. Take these two symbols and combine them into a new, unique image to represent the symbol of your last living dungeoneer. You can us ethe shape, what it represents, being as literal or a figurative as you desire. Get creative.

Describe what this new, combined symbol represents. Some images will be simple and obvious. Others will be more difficult, but also more rewarding as we unravel the mysteries and bizarre will of the gods. Take these images, draw your new symbol by hand (no simple Photoshop tricks!), and send the picture to Dungeon Master Ross along a description of the symbol and your answers to the Six Divine Questions below. Your new god will then be displayed here on DMG42 as a monument to your achievements.

Once you have submitted your new god, you may then choose to post in the Comments your claim to create one of the remaining four gods of the dungeoneers who fell to death and darkness before entering the Heresirach's Sanctum.

October 26, 2012

SND-02: Divinity (choice)

The end is nigh. It is the eve of the final confrontation with the Heresiarch itself and the end to a 2-1/2 month long play-by-post adventure. The Heresiarch has gathered forth the divine energies of the multiverse in a grand ritual of transformation and divine apotheosis. Ten brave Crusaders have steaded this dark Fane to stop the ritual and save all Humanity.

If successful, those dungeoneers (both alive and dead) will be elevated to the statues of immortal being and bathed in the unknowable light of the divine, creating a new Pantheon to watch over the affairs of the mortals races below. Here, we will use a combination of fate and choice.

Join us, readers, as we conclude our adventure and create a Pantheon of gods.

For the players: There are 22 domains of influence in the world. Their fate has been randomly assigned to each of you. Using the Comments below, tell us all which of the 10 dungeoneers of this delve will receive which of your domains, and why. Tell us a tale of past triumph and defeat. Since Fane of the Heresiarch encompasses but a single sitting, you will clearly need to draw on fictional past adventures of the dungeoneers. The aim of this exercise is to force players to create interesting and surprising choices, growing the tale in the telling. Lastly, let’s keep an eye out to make sure each dungeoneer receives at least one domain.

Megadungeon: Equipment

I don't like the standard D&D system of equipment on multiple levels. In general, the equipment and magic item rules in 4E D&D are pointless and tedious.

In actual play, I find that the 4E magic item distribution rules encourage hoarding of consumable items, which essentially removes those items completely from play as the dungeoneers are always holding onto them for some non-existent "Final Need".

I don't like tracking encumbrance; at best it is tedious, at worst it is ignored. An ignored rule has no effect on the game and thus might as well not exist.

Badass.
Additionally, I find that wealth and coinage in D&D is almost entirely pointless beyond magic item creation, a subject I'll be getting into at another time. Mundane equipment and almost all Rituals are laughably cheap. If everything can be bought with no trouble, why bother with wealth at all?

Finally, there is the 4E "Magic Item Arms Race", a subject I've spoken on before, which irks me to no end by removing the wonder and excitement from magic items.

Here's how I fixed these problems for my Fourthcore Megadungeon.

October 12, 2012

SND-02: WATCHTOWER

At long last your efforts to penetrate the Heresiarch's citadel have paid off. After stepping through the mystic red smoke outside of the Heresiarch's demense, you find yourselves at the apex of a watchtower jutting from a deep hole in the surface of the Underworld. Carrion birds circle feebly through the air, viewed from a distance.



October 9, 2012

SND-01: CHAOS MAZE (Sidebar)

The following is intended for the play-by-post delve of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch.
Vitals Crusaders Chaos Maze + Score


A half-manticore, half-minotaur marauder stalks the shadowed halls of the Chaos Maze and descends upon the dungeoneers! Slaying the beast is now their only way out!


Roll initiative!

October 8, 2012

Megadungeon: Character Death


After the introduction into my Fourthcore Megadungeon (linked here), the question was asked of me:

"Dear Mega-Dungeon Master Ross,

How do you run an extended [Fourthcore] campaign with all the dying? Doesn't that get old/boring/difficult to maintain continuity/messy?"


and here, I shall reply with a quote:

" Without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing."

-Tyler Durden


LET ME EXPLAIN FURTHER

October 1, 2012

The Great Fourthcore Megadungeon


BADASS DUNGEON CRUSHERS (BDC) is the tongue-in-cheek name given to my currently running Fourthore Megadungeon D&D campaign. The name stems from the Dungeon Bastard post awhile back (linked here) and captures the spirit of competitiveness and struggle in our games, and also meshes perfectly with the level of self-awareness my group has for how ridiculous even the most "serious" of roleplaying games are. This campaign started up as a series of responses to problems I had been having both in and out of the game world. This series of posts on DMG42 will be going through those problems and the solutions we came up with in the hopes that you, the reader, can take our example and improve your own games.

Synergies and verisimilitude of the system, both mechanical elements and the campaign world, were very important to me and at the forefront of my thinking during design  Synergies help create a unifying sense of immersion in the game. With each piece of the puzzle that interacts and fits with the other pieces  the whole of the campaign is strengthened. So, I'll also be talking about how each of these pieces interacts with the others.

Today's post will talk about some of the overarching goals and big picture design ideas I had in mind for this campaign.

SND-02: BLIGHTED GROVE




August 25, 2012

SND-02: Tournament Scoring

The following is intended for the play-by-post delve of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch

Fane of the Heresiarch is a competitive adventure, with each team of dungeoneers not only trying desperately to kill the Heresiarch and rid the world of its evil, but also to do so in the most grandiose way possible. Dungeoneers are awarded points for uncovering hidden treasures, completing quests, and defeating the Heresiarch in record time. Dungeoneers are penalized for each member killed, even more so if the death was due to their fall from grace in taking too much Blight.

FINAL SCORE: 1,090 points
Bishops


August 24, 2012

SND-02: CONFESSIONAL


SND-02: Crusader Cards

The following is intended for the play-by-post delve of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch

The crusader cards represent the various sordid backgrounds and occupations from which each character hails. A crusader card grants the character that drew it a special ability that will aid them during the delve.

August 22, 2012

SND-02: Brother Oros


The following is intended for the play-by-post delve of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch.

Good is not good. Among the empires of humanity, war is unceasing, law is draconian, and trade is impossible. Society is fractured along lines of class, race, gender, and faith, with oppression and violence justified through appeals to national unity and the will of the gods. Though hatred, fear, and need are powerful motivators for such behavior, the jingoism of the mortal cultures is driven foremost by a lust for power in a world in which mankind is truly and utterly powerless.

These few daring individuals have broken through the barriers of society and culture, united in the pursuit of this most clandestine quest.
Their number are few. Their errand is dire. They do what must be done, and these are their stories.


August 21, 2012

SND-02: Brother Kaddim

The following is intended for the play-by-post delve of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch.

Good is not good. Among the empires of humanity, war is unceasing, law is draconian, and trade is impossible. Society is fractured along lines of class, race, gender, and faith, with oppression and violence justified through appeals to national unity and the will of the gods. Though hatred, fear, and need are powerful motivators for such behavior, the jingoism of the mortal cultures is driven foremost by a lust for power in a world in which mankind is truly and utterly powerless.

These few daring individuals have broken through the barriers of society and culture, united in the pursuit of this most clandestine quest.
Their number are few. Their errand is dire. They do what must be done, and these are their stories.


SND-02: Vital Statistics

The following is intended for the play-by-post delve of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch.

SND-02: Brother Brand

The following is intended for the play-by-post delve of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch.

Good is not good. Among the empires of humanity, war is unceasing, law is draconian, and trade is impossible. Society is fractured along lines of class, race, gender, and faith, with oppression and violence justified through appeals to national unity and the will of the gods. Though hatred, fear, and need are powerful motivators for such behavior, the jingoism of the mortal cultures is driven foremost by a lust for power in a world in which mankind is truly and utterly powerless.

These few daring individuals have broken through the barriers of society and culture, united in the pursuit of this most clandestine quest.
Their number are few. Their errand is dire. They do what must be done, and these are their stories.

SND-02: Sister Carefia

The following is intended for the play-by-post delve of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch.

Good is not good. Among the empires of humanity, war is unceasing, law is draconian, and trade is impossible. Society is fractured along lines of class, race, gender, and faith, with oppression and violence justified through appeals to national unity and the will of the gods. Though hatred, fear, and need are powerful motivators for such behavior, the jingoism of the mortal cultures is driven foremost by a lust for power in a world in which mankind is truly and utterly powerless.

These few daring individuals have broken through the barriers of society and culture, united in the pursuit of this most clandestine quest.
Their number are few. Their errand is dire. They do what must be done, and these are their stories.

August 20, 2012

SND-02: Brother Talon

The following is intended for the play-by-post delve of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch.

Good is not good. Among the empires of humanity, war is unceasing, law is draconian, and trade is impossible. Society is fractured along lines of class, race, gender, and faith, with oppression and violence justified through appeals to national unity and the will of the gods. Though hatred, fear, and need are powerful motivators for such behavior, the jingoism of the mortal cultures is driven foremost by a lust for power in a world in which mankind is truly and utterly powerless.

These few daring individuals have broken through the barriers of society and culture, united in the pursuit of this most clandestine quest.
Their number are few. Their errand is dire. They do what must be done, and these are their stories.

SND-02: Brother Nettle

The following is intended for the play-by-post delve of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch.

Good is not good. Among the empires of humanity, war is unceasing, law is draconian, and trade is impossible. Society is fractured along lines of class, race, gender, and faith, with oppression and violence justified through appeals to national unity and the will of the gods. Though hatred, fear, and need are powerful motivators for such behavior, the jingoism of the mortal cultures is driven foremost by a lust for power in a world in which mankind is truly and utterly powerless.

These few daring individuals have broken through the barriers of society and culture, united in the pursuit of this most clandestine quest.
Their number are few. Their errand is dire. They do what must be done, and these are their stories.

August 19, 2012

SND-02: Rumors


None know from where the Heresiarch first came, but all remember the night that it did. It rode down from the bleeding stars on a great serpent, hurling bolts of obsidian lightning that shattered the monuments and capitols of every nation. Its infernal army swept aside the defenses of the mortal empires in a single hour, decimating legions once thought to be the invincible fist of humanity's god-kings.

Faceless priests - each bearing the symbol of the trident - drifted through the fallen cities and scorched villages on a frigid wind, and when they rose to greet the huddled men and women ringed by their festering, bloated dead, they spoke a single, simple offer: worship the Heresiarch or die.

August 10, 2012

SND-02: OOC

Starting Monday August 20th, DMG 42 will be hosting a play-by-post delve of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch.This post will be used, starting now, for Out Of Character discussions by the players. It is done here in public, as opposed to private emails; for the amusement of the adventure's author, the Dungeon Master, and those Fourthcore Fanatic whom are lurking among the shadows. I will be periodically shifting the post date to stay one step behind the most current PbP room.

UPDATE: The Comment limit has been quickly reached! In lieu of creating many many OOC posts for the remainder of the adventure, the dungeoneers are now simply emailing each other for coordination. Sorry, lurkers! It's just too much hassle.

July 12, 2012

The Lost Crown of Tesh-Naga (2012 Gold Edition)


from http://jrients.blogspot.com/
The following is an adventure I've been writing, tweaking, and fine-tuning since the Spring of '05. An entertaining diversion for a night's worth of fun, that not only provides pregenerated characters, but requires them. It is near and dear to my heart, as I've played it many, many times; all to great success. The replay value is very high on this, and so many of my delves had involved repeat customers.

That said, it's still a little rough. By that, I mean that it is certainly not professional level quality in its layouts of some of the (what I consider) extranneous fluff of a typical adventure.

This adventure is a simple delve that puts a new twist to the standard.

July 4, 2012

Fane of the Heresiarch

If you're not already watching Save Versus Death like a hawk (and if you read this blog ... really?), then I can't say enough that you should click over there right now and download the newest free Fourthcore adventure: Fane of the Heresiarch.

'Fane' is an amazing adventure, taking the ideals set forth in last year's Revenge of the Iron Lich and amping it up to 11. It's an ultra deadly psychological journey of discovery through the nature of religion and faith. You also kill badass monsters and loot their awesome stuff! I'd love to say more, but I don't want to spoil all the surprises in store for you.

Lastly, I wrote the Pregen Character Sheets to it. If nothing else, go over there and see how an expert D&D player puts hard work and skill into their craft.

June 25, 2012

Lost Crown of Tesh-Naga: Epilogue




Kulimvorith triumphantly returns to his tribe and is crowned the Dragonborn Emperor.


All kneel before the red-scaled leader, save a handful of dissidents who are caught and shackled by the Imperial Jailer, Grimlock.


The first task at hand is completed swiftly: the complete extermination of the Dhakaani. The years of imprisonment still burning on his soul, Emperor Kulimvorith burns every Hobgoblin village to the ground.


With his leadership and the power of The Crown, a renewed Council of Wyrms then sets out to conquer and enslave all of Droaam,







and in time, to reconquer the lost lands of the ancient dragons, spanning the entirety of Khorvaire. 







June 22, 2012

Player-Created Ocean Map

A little while ago, I talked here about one of my successful Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. In it, the players sailed from island to island in a vast ocean, encountering a menagerie of isolated cultures and fighting against the oppressive clutches of an Arkhosian Empire (not too dissimilar to Chris Perkins' Iomandra Campaign). Exploration was at the heart of the campaign, and the table centered around charting out new islands on a giant 30" map we drew up. While cleaning out some stuff, I found the map among my various folders and scraps of paper and decided to share with you the interesting sketches and doodles that a 9-month nautical campaign produces.
(Be sure to click on the images for a larger view.)

June 13, 2012

LCTN: Let's Do This

THIS IS SCENE #7 IN A PLAY-BY-POST D&D GAME

Many elements of it are unique and innovative, with several key twists that will catch the players by surprise. The adventure is deadly and devious, with victory going only to those clever enough to take it. Though it may not be a traditional Fourthcore deathtrap dungeon, I assure you, dear reader, that it holds many of the ideals of Fourthcore close to its heart.

I will keep these posts easily collapsible, so that readers may easily skip past them if they wish. Although, really, you'd be missing out.

June 4, 2012

LCTN: The Dwarven Dead

THIS IS SCENE #6 IN A PLAY-BY-POST D&D GAME

Many elements of it are unique and innovative, with several key twists that will catch the players by surprise. The adventure is deadly and devious, with victory going only to those clever enough to take it. Though it may not be a traditional Fourthcore deathtrap dungeon, I assure you, dear reader, that it holds many of the ideals of Fourthcore close to its heart.

I will keep these posts easily collapsible, so that readers may easily skip past them if they wish. Although, really, you'd be missing out.

May 28, 2012

Twilight of the Gods: Mena

The other day I described how our Dungeons & Dragons group did the impossible and ascended into true godhood. This week, I will be showing off the new pantheon of our campaign world one deity at a time.

Today, we delve into the character that was most central to the campaign's story, and arguably the most important dungeoneer overall: Mena.

May 25, 2012

Twilight of the Gods: Cicero


The other day I described how our Dungeons & Dragons group did the impossible and ascended into true godhood. This week, I will be showing off the new pantheon of our campaign world one deity at a time. 


Today, I give you the lord of nature, rebirth, and vengeance: Cicero. Through the use of our divinity cards, the player of Cicero took an Elf Avenger and made him the patron god of creation and life. The gods act in mysterious ways.

May 24, 2012

Twilight of the Gods: KV-1S

The other day I described how our Dungeons & Dragons group did the impossible and ascended into true godhood. This week, I will be showing off the new pantheon of our campaign world one deity at a time. 


Today, I give you the lord of perfection, madness, and knowledge: KV-1S. Through the use of our divinity cards, the player of KV-1S took a Warforged Fighter and made him the patron god of dragons, hatred, and storms. The gods act in mysterious ways.

May 22, 2012

Twilight of the Gods: Quidom

The other day I described how our Dungeons & Dragons group did the impossible and ascended into true godhood. This week, I will be showing off the new pantheon of our campaign world one deity at a time.

Today, I give you the lord of perfection, madness, and knowledge: Quidom. Through the use of our divinity cards, the player of Quidom took a Deva Wizard and made him the patron god of monks, rakshasa, and the insane. The gods act in mysterious ways ...

Twilight of the Gods: Erishti

The other day I described how our Dungeons & Dragons group did the impossible and ascended into true godhood. This week, I will be showing off the new pantheon of our campaign world one deity at a time. 

Today, I give you the lord of judgment, peace, self-loathing, and contradictions: Erishti. Through the use of our divinity cards, the player of Erishti took a Shardmind Invoker and made him into a bizarre reclusive god, an ungod, whose personality is truly haunting in its mania.

May 21, 2012

More Doors


Having finished running through my 4E conversion of Chris Perkins' adventure Lich-Queen's Beloved, I've learned a few lessons about dungeons and adventure design. One of these is the importance of the architectural environment and the very elements of the dungeon itself. In Lich Queen's Beloved, the environment of the dungeon takes on an interesting role and challenge in and of itself in the adventure, namely in the types of doors that are encountered. Doors, I feel, are an oft overlooked source of hazards, terrain effects, challenges, and provocative dungeon dressing. At the end of this post, I also briefly touch upon a way in which we can all design dungeons with better (ie. more fun) secret doors.

What I'm trying to say is that we simply need more doors.

May 20, 2012

LCTN: Side Passage

THIS IS SCENE #5 IN A PLAY-BY-POST D&D GAME

Many elements of it are unique and innovative, with several key twists that will catch the players by surprise. The adventure is deadly and devious, with victory going only to those clever enough to take it. Though it may not be a traditional Fourthcore deathtrap dungeon, I assure you, dear reader, that it holds many of the ideals of Fourthcore close to its heart.

I will keep these posts easily collapsible, so that readers may easily skip past them if they wish. Although, really, you'd be missing out.

May 19, 2012

Magic Item: Blessing of the Beast

H2: Thunderspire Labyrinth is one of the better written 4E adventures to come out of WotC's offices. That said, it has a number of flaws and many areas that had a lot of potential that weren't fully realized. I've done a few things here on DMG 42 to tweak that up, not to mention the excellent work by 11 ft. Pole and The Demon Prince of Undeath. Taken all together, it's pretty top-notch.

One of the background elements to the adventure that I enjoyed was the theme of Baphomet the Horned God and his presence on the extinct culture of Minotaurs from the labyrinth. To help reinforce this idea on the dungeoneers, I added a Divine Boon to a few shrines in the adventure. Dungeoneers paying their respects at several strange altars were rewarded with a lasting reminder of the story of the dungeon and how it came to be, who passed by here before them, and why this place was unique.

Lastly, the boon has a mechanic to discourage the 5-minute adventuring day. This boon in and of itself would probably never make a dungeoneer think twice about taking a needed rest, but the design philosophy extended to multiple items and coupled with magic rings and the like which gains benefits from milestones, starts a growing incentive to make the difficult decision to keep pushing forward into the dungeon despite a dwindling supply of healing surges and daily powers.