I can see a couple of variations on this.

1. More than one person can receive the skills at any given time, letting a tyrant build an army of crack soldiers out of peasants.

2. The knowledge leaves the shrine once taken up by the recipient. In order for the shrine to be used again, the knowledge must be willfully transferred back through a nonmagical ritual. Go to Comment

Perhaps the runic carvings disappear from the stone while injecting themselves upon the recipient's skin as tattoos. Through another ritual, the tattoos could then be returned to the stone, or possibly shifted directly to another person (all that's needed is the tattoo-marked skin.) Go to Comment

Used by farmers, you say? Sounds like a wizard collecting material for a specialized form of golem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEdOqYEwcT8 Go to Comment

Only voted Go to Comment

:) Go to Comment

Only voted Go to Comment

What a fun collection. If I ever get some games going again I can see using some of these as plot seeds and others as just plain evil ways to mess with the PCs. Go to Comment

Hmm, I can't quite put my finger on it but there's just something about this stub that makes me really like it. Go to Comment

The core idea sounds a little too much like the Blood Sea of Istar from Dragonlance for my comfort. I would possibly vote higher if you put a spin on it and made it your own. The myths surrounding it could use some fleshing out as well. Go to Comment

Had he lived, no doubt Dr Wooden would have been able to control the birth rate and only produce as many of the creatures, and variants, as he wished. He was reckless, however, being in love with his own ego, and did not foresee some "difficulties."

As far as the resources required, I imagine that the rich would perceive that as a problem of too many poor. They would be more than willing to take whatever they desired by force to maintain their own comforts while "encouraging" the poor to die off (a bit like Zardoz, I suppose.) Go to Comment

Being as large as it is, the claws would be quite effective weapons on their own. It can also use its tentacles to help hold onto prey while its massive jaws render flesh or its special fangs inject a painful and paralyzing poison. Go to Comment

I love those ideas! Go to Comment

This idea can be useful in a number of ways. It provides good flavor and is effective in making important NPC's more noticeable. PCs with the appropriate skills will be able to glean more information from the heraldry. Proud PCs can be divested of extra loot as they decorate their gear. I like the specific examples given. They create a sense of real places and people. Not all of these need be serious, of course. I am reminded of inscriptions found on ancient sling stones: "Take this," "Ouch," "Catch!" or "For Pompey's backside" (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sling_(weapon)#Ammunition)

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I really like this. It's focused yet full of good advice and detailed explanations that really get the idea across. The examples are specific to standard fantasy, but that is ok. It is enough that I can extrapolate it out into different settings and genres.

As I was reading it I realized that I am often guilty of not following this advice. I like to jump into the action as the GM and keep things moving. However, that means I tend to forget to describe the larger setting; just because I can see it in my mind doesn't mean that the players can see it in theirs. (In fact, I believe someone said as much when I was running Hollen's Prize.)

Good article and one that I will have to keep in mind for future sessions. Go to Comment

Certainly a good start. Many of those seem like the beginning of adventure hooks. If I feel inspired I may add a few ideas of my own. Go to Comment

I am always impressed when someone manages to fit a complete idea in such a short space. Go to Comment

I like the idea of the cockatrice and how it fits in with the place. It gives it a distinctive feel over what could be just another tavern. The bit about the lawyers is fun, showing that their motives were strong, if not altruistic.

I do think that there could be more. Perhaps divided into sections, with one for the history, another for the description and the cockatrice head, plus another with some detail about the regulars (even if only in passing for those who might get their own sub), A few quotes and fluff/descriptive text couldn't hurt either, although that's just a personal preference. If you ever expand this piece, let me know and I will revote.

In any case, welcome to the Citadel, and I hope to see more. Go to Comment

Only voted Go to Comment

Only voted Go to Comment

This seems like a good introduction to a specific setting within this world. I find the ScrasTech entries very fascinating. Go to Comment