In chronological order, these are my personal top 10 posts of 2011. They are't necessarily highly viewed, highly commented on posts, they're just my favorites.
Dogs in the Dungeon
Old Man of the Dungeon
Wheaton’s Vicious Cockpunch of Furious Anger
O is for Orphan
Megadungeon Binder
Tim Curry Tuesdays - Darkness
Wire Wolf
Fey Thoughts
On Dragons
Zombie Mice
I hope you all enjoy what remains of 2011, and hope that 2012 brings you peace, and prosperity, and gaming!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Looking Back - The Stats
Today, as 2011 comes to a close, I want to take a moment and see where things stand.
As of now, I have had over 131,000 page views, with December of this year being my best ever with almost 14,000 page views. I have 144 followers and 215 subscribers according to Google reader. I'm sure there is some (a lot of) overlap, but I have no way of determining what it is.
The people that come to my blog do so from a wide variety of places around the world.
Most of you use Firefox, but a shocking number of you use IE.
Readers find my blog with the following search terms:
This flows rather well into my most viewed posts:
Counting this post and the one that will follow, I have posted 328 posts this year. My most commented on post was the Blog Carnival post (19), and then the WotC-Fail - Girls & D&D (13).
As an aside, I hate how blogger messes up the ampersand
As of now, I have had over 131,000 page views, with December of this year being my best ever with almost 14,000 page views. I have 144 followers and 215 subscribers according to Google reader. I'm sure there is some (a lot of) overlap, but I have no way of determining what it is.
The people that come to my blog do so from a wide variety of places around the world.
- United States 71,311
- United Kingdom 11,051
- Canada 6,917
- Germany 4,047
- Australia 3,187
- Italy 1,629
- France 1,271
- Spain 998
- Brazil 929
- Russia 904
Most of you use Firefox, but a shocking number of you use IE.
- Firefox 51,773 (39%)
- Internet Explorer 34,981 (26%)
- Chrome 23,836 (18%)
- Safari 13,778 (10%)
- Opera 2,282 (1%)
- Mobile Safari 1,651 (1%)
- Mobile 514 (-1%)
- chromeframe 380 (-1%)
- (FlipboardProxy 307 (-1%)
- OneRiot 138 (-1%)
Readers find my blog with the following search terms:
- pennywise 4,245
- dragons 1,176
- end of the world 490
- pennywise the clown 426
- dungeons and dragons 166
- fey corgi 152
- sharkbear 107
- bastard sword 82
- queen 79
- book name generator 65
This flows rather well into my most viewed posts:
- Tim Curry Tuesdays - Pennywise
Jun 28, 2011 10,129 Pageviews - This is Dungeons and Dragons!
May 13, 2010, 1 comment 3,678 Pageviews - Racial Weapon Styles: Humans, Dwarves, Elves
Mar 19, 2010, 4 comments 2,071 Pageviews - WotC-Fail - Girls & D&D
Jun 17, 2011, 13 comments 1,486 Pageviews - On Dragons
Nov 22, 2011, 7 comments 1,329 Pageviews - Off for the weekend
Aug 26, 2011, 1 comment 912 Pageviews - The Best D&D Race is the...
Feb 26, 2010, 4 comments 736 Pageviews - Busy week = Lazy Post
Dec 12, 2011, 1 comment 662 Pageviews - Racial Weapon Styles: Dragonborn
Mar 30, 2010, 2 comments 469 Pageviews - The Book of Vile Darkness: The Movie!!
Jul 20, 2011, 2 comments 455 Pageviews
Counting this post and the one that will follow, I have posted 328 posts this year. My most commented on post was the Blog Carnival post (19), and then the WotC-Fail - Girls & D&D (13).
As an aside, I hate how blogger messes up the ampersand
Friday, December 30, 2011
Phenomenal Cosmic Power!
My favorite character class has always been the Magic-User/Wizard/Mage. This is a confession which should cause no surprise. The ability to warp space, time, and the very fabric of the universe, even if only in small ways, has always been way cooler than any sword swinger, back stabber, or prayer slinger.
Because of this I’m always on the lookout for things that can make a wizard, especially a low level one, a little more fantastic, and a little less squishy.
Bat of Ancient Vaults created the Staff of the Arcane. It’s a fairly potent item, yet not wildly powerful. It’s just the sort of thing that you could drop into the hands of a 3rd level wizard.
If you’re worried that it’s too powerful, you could always limit the level of spells stored within it, or cause the use of the knockdown power to use up one of the spellslots (limiting it to 3/day)
In a similar vein as Shields Shall Be Splintered, Telecanter of Telecanter’s Receding Rules suggests the possibility of Wands Shall Be Broken. Now, wands and staffs (in most campaigns) are orders of magnitude rarer than shields, so this is a rule that would see little use, but it could be worth it if it’s an almost certain instant death sort of situation.
Depending on what rules you use to create magic items, the requirements can sometimes be silly. For example, creating a fully charged wand would require casting the same spell 99 times all at the same time. Grognardling had an idea that would address that issue, at least to a certain extent.
Personally I don’t see why item creation can’t take an extended period of time, rather than involving dozens of casters, but his rule idea isn’t a bad one.
Of course not every mage is a paragon of virtue. There is a certain temptation when you can hurl fireballs and raise walls of ice to ignore such trifling concerns as honor or ethics or social norms. It isn’t even entirely an internal temptation, as there are lots of beings (mortal and otherwise) that would be happy to see the spellslinger walk the dark side. The Grimoires of the Pact Insidious are a tool to aid a wizard down that dark path.
Because of this I’m always on the lookout for things that can make a wizard, especially a low level one, a little more fantastic, and a little less squishy.
Bat of Ancient Vaults created the Staff of the Arcane. It’s a fairly potent item, yet not wildly powerful. It’s just the sort of thing that you could drop into the hands of a 3rd level wizard.
If you’re worried that it’s too powerful, you could always limit the level of spells stored within it, or cause the use of the knockdown power to use up one of the spellslots (limiting it to 3/day)
In a similar vein as Shields Shall Be Splintered, Telecanter of Telecanter’s Receding Rules suggests the possibility of Wands Shall Be Broken. Now, wands and staffs (in most campaigns) are orders of magnitude rarer than shields, so this is a rule that would see little use, but it could be worth it if it’s an almost certain instant death sort of situation.
Depending on what rules you use to create magic items, the requirements can sometimes be silly. For example, creating a fully charged wand would require casting the same spell 99 times all at the same time. Grognardling had an idea that would address that issue, at least to a certain extent.
Personally I don’t see why item creation can’t take an extended period of time, rather than involving dozens of casters, but his rule idea isn’t a bad one.
Of course not every mage is a paragon of virtue. There is a certain temptation when you can hurl fireballs and raise walls of ice to ignore such trifling concerns as honor or ethics or social norms. It isn’t even entirely an internal temptation, as there are lots of beings (mortal and otherwise) that would be happy to see the spellslinger walk the dark side. The Grimoires of the Pact Insidious are a tool to aid a wizard down that dark path.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Fieldstone Bell Tower Finished!
While I was distracted by finishing the semester and then the holiday season, I finally got back to it yesterday.
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| with flash |
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| without flash |
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| slightly different angle |
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
RPG Loot!
The only gamer loot I received from Santa was this awesome t-shirt.
Yesterday however, we stopped at the used book store, I found some unexpected goodies. First up is the AD+D Dungeon Builders Guidebook and the Star Wars Game Master Handbook. I've been wanting the Dungeon Builders Guidebook for a while now, especially as I want to get back to working on my megadungeon. As for the GM's Handbook? I just enjoy reading them, and I like the d6 system.
The really amazing finds of the day were Mutant Future and Sorcery and Super Science!
I never expected to find either of these in a bookstore!
Yesterday however, we stopped at the used book store, I found some unexpected goodies. First up is the AD+D Dungeon Builders Guidebook and the Star Wars Game Master Handbook. I've been wanting the Dungeon Builders Guidebook for a while now, especially as I want to get back to working on my megadungeon. As for the GM's Handbook? I just enjoy reading them, and I like the d6 system.
The really amazing finds of the day were Mutant Future and Sorcery and Super Science!
I never expected to find either of these in a bookstore!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
When the nights grow long...
The adventurers rode slowly toward the snow covered town, the sound of drums and horns could be heard well before they reached the gate. The town had the air of a festival, with musicians, food vendors, and seemingly the entire populace lining the main street through the town, looking in the direction of the far gate. The last rays of the sun leaving pastel streaks across the clouds.
“This feels odd” Allianora said, leaning toward her companions.
“What do you mean?” Rathgar asked. “It’s a solstice festival.”
“No, Allianora’s right” Nimble said. “Look around... look at the people.”
“No one is smiling.” Feris noted.
“Right” Nimble nodded “Whatever’s going on, these people aren’t happy about it.”
As twilight faded into darkness, the drumming swelled. A knee deep ground fog began to roil into the town from the far gate, and the crowd’s nervous energy seemed to spike. Flickering torches appeared beyond the gate as demonic beings lurched their way into the town. Each being was different, yet all were covered in wild fur, with bestial mouths and tongues that perpetually hung out of their mouths. All had horns, some straight, some curved, some with multiple sets. They carried whips, staffs, torches, chains, and leather sacks.
The children of the town were pushed to the front of the crowd, and the demons began to sniff, touch, lick, and taunt them. The adventurers watched as a boy was pulled into the middle of the street, and thrown to the ground. He was kicked by several of the beasts as they walked by, and whipped by another before he scrambled back toward the crowd. A little further long a little girl was dragged by her hair screaming away from the crowd. Two of the beasts shoved her into one of the leather sacks, cinching it tight before giving it a few jabs.
Allianora stared horrified at the spectacle, seemingly frozen as the demons approached the adventurers. Rathgar fingered the hilt of his sword, and Feris subtly drew a wand and hid it beneath his cloak. Feris’ horse stood alone, tied to a post, but no one noticed.
Snapping out of her horror, Allianora slipped from her horse, pushed through the crowd, and stood before the creatures. The entire town paused. The crowd seemed to hold it’s breath, and fear bordered on terror. The demons waited, and looked at her, their tongues lolling.
"Let that child go."
"Why?" the demon hissed.
"I'll give you this" in her outstretched hand was an orange.
I hope you've all been nice this year...
“This feels odd” Allianora said, leaning toward her companions.
“What do you mean?” Rathgar asked. “It’s a solstice festival.”
“No, Allianora’s right” Nimble said. “Look around... look at the people.”
“No one is smiling.” Feris noted.
“Right” Nimble nodded “Whatever’s going on, these people aren’t happy about it.”
As twilight faded into darkness, the drumming swelled. A knee deep ground fog began to roil into the town from the far gate, and the crowd’s nervous energy seemed to spike. Flickering torches appeared beyond the gate as demonic beings lurched their way into the town. Each being was different, yet all were covered in wild fur, with bestial mouths and tongues that perpetually hung out of their mouths. All had horns, some straight, some curved, some with multiple sets. They carried whips, staffs, torches, chains, and leather sacks.
The children of the town were pushed to the front of the crowd, and the demons began to sniff, touch, lick, and taunt them. The adventurers watched as a boy was pulled into the middle of the street, and thrown to the ground. He was kicked by several of the beasts as they walked by, and whipped by another before he scrambled back toward the crowd. A little further long a little girl was dragged by her hair screaming away from the crowd. Two of the beasts shoved her into one of the leather sacks, cinching it tight before giving it a few jabs.
Allianora stared horrified at the spectacle, seemingly frozen as the demons approached the adventurers. Rathgar fingered the hilt of his sword, and Feris subtly drew a wand and hid it beneath his cloak. Feris’ horse stood alone, tied to a post, but no one noticed.
Snapping out of her horror, Allianora slipped from her horse, pushed through the crowd, and stood before the creatures. The entire town paused. The crowd seemed to hold it’s breath, and fear bordered on terror. The demons waited, and looked at her, their tongues lolling.
"Let that child go."
"Why?" the demon hissed.
"I'll give you this" in her outstretched hand was an orange.
I hope you've all been nice this year...
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