Planescape: Looking Back

I remember when Planescape came out back in 1994, it kind of changed things in D&D.  In some ways this was good, and in others bad.  I recall being a very narrow-minded teen at the time, and my first introduction to anything "Planescape" came in the form of an acquaintance named Joe.  Joe was a power gamer, in the truest sense of the word.  He was min-maxing before there was such a thing.  My group of friends never were really into that aspect of the game.  We always preferred to play characters from the PHB with actual real stats we rolled, with flaws, and who weren't indestructible superheroes.  We liked to focus more on the roleplaying aspect of the game.  As such, we never were big on munchkins entering our sessions.

Enter Joe.  You see, Joe was playing (what else?) a tiefling.  He had been running this tiefling with a few of his friends in the Planescape setting and wanted to enter our campaign.  I had no idea what a tiefling was, and when he told me it was half-demon from the Planescape setting, I immediately put up a mental block for all things involving the setting.  It had, in my opinion at the time, spawned a layer of such cheese that I refused to take it seriously as a campaign world.  Of course, over the years I think the tiefling has developed in the game into something that truly epitomizes what old schoolers hate about the current iterations of the game, going from optional player characters in later editions, to a core race in 4e.

Now, that is not to knock anyone who enjoys playing tieflings.  Truth be told, Joe could have been playing anything and it would have been irritating (especially considering he was toting around a vorpal blade of all things).  My point here being Joe turned me off of the setting years ago because he was a munchkin, and due to my naivety I presumed that if Joe=munchkin playing tiefling from Planescape then Planescape must=cheesy power gamer setting.  Having the chance to look back at it now and review some of the material I've found for it, I hate that I never gave it a shot, because it rocks...a lot.

Sigil, the City of Doors

Sigil, the home base for the setting, is a perfect example of introducing "weird" into a game.  Basically the place at the center of the multiverse, with doors to anywhere in the prime material and outer planes, the possibilities within it are potentially endless.  What really strikes me as amazing is the city's layout.  Shaped in the form of a torus like ring, one can literally look up and see the city wrap around with buildings above them.   The city wards themselves change at randomly making it really impossible to fully ever map.  And of course, there are the doors themselves which lead to pretty much any plane of existence one can think of.  Some being hidden, open, locked, etc.  The possibilities for adventure in Sigil alone seem endless.

I'm not sure if I'll ever get to run Carcosa or not, but if it ends up being a "player dump" into that world, I can definitely see them traveling through Sigil.  So, are there any Planescape gamers out there?  Anyone ever used Sigil or any of the other Planescape elements in their campaigns?

The Blighted World of Zaoth

One of the projects I'm working on presently is a weird science-fantasy homebrew setting I'm calling the Blighted World of Zaoth.  As such, I've decided to create a separate blog to devote to the development of the world, and use my blog here to focus on my thoughts on DM theory, DnD in general, and what have you.  If you're interested, feel free to hop on over and take a peek.  It's a bit bare at the moment, but content will begin showing up quickly.


The Blighted World of Zaoth - Blog

The Ape-Men of Tharr

Deep within the Forest of Tharr dwell the race of ape-men known as the Kuthar.  They make their abodes high among the tree tops in wooden dwellings linked together by rope bridges.  The ape-men are intelligent, but tribal by nature with a distinct warrior caste system.  Fearless and strong in battle, they fashion their own crude weapons of stone and rock, but have developed the keen ability to utilize firearms, laser rifles, and other weapons and armor they have scavenged over the years from civilizations long forgotten as well.

The ape-men are rarely seen outside the Forest of Tharr, and while their pursuits are not those of conquest and glory outside their realm, they are extremely territorial and approach uninvited trespassers with force.

Rare is it to find an ape-man outside of Tharr, but occasionally a select few will end up wandering amongst the realms of men, often met with a combination of fear and distrust.  In most instances, these Kuthar have been exiled from Tharr and cast out of the tribe, cursed to walk among men.  These displaced ape-men often seek out mercenary work as armed caravan guards or, in the rare instance, as adventurers.

Summary of ape-men abilities and restrictions:

Armor: Any
Weapons: Any
Starting age: 17+1d4
Starting gold: 3d4x10
Classes: Fighter, Cleric
Ability score requirements: 12 STR, 12 CON
Stat modifiers: +2 STR, -2 INT and CHR
Bonuses and abilities: Infravision 30', +1 to hit with spears and any firearms, +3 saving throws vs. poison

Gaslite RPG is Here - Pocketmod Download

Gaslite RPG is a weird, fantastic RPG where mutants roam the streets, assassins and rogues skulk in shadowy alleys, airships float along the city skyline, and wizards strike deals with ancient demonic forces.  Quite simply, Gaslite is whatever you want it to be.  It is an intentionally rules lite system designed to be limited only by the imagination of the GM and his players.

This game is presented in pocketmod format similar to Stuart Robertson's Weird West, and is available for you for free to download, print, and share.  If there is significant interest in this, I'll include further supplements in pocketmod format including more spells, a monster list, and an urban setting for the game.  Those items may require a small contribution to download, but the basic system itself is, and will remain, free.  I hope you enjoy.



Download the printable PDF pocketmod version of Gaslite RPG here.
Download the digital friendly version here. 

Folding instructions for the pocketmod version can be found here.

Gas-Lite RPG - Weird Science Fantasy Roleplay

What did you do at work today?  Me? I spent my day at work designing an incredibly rules light RPG (the title is an intentional pun) I'm calling Gas-Lite. It's designed as a weird fantasy game with some steampunk elements thrown in. There are basic rules for three classes: Explorer, Sorcerer, and Technologist.  I also developed some really light rules for combat, some weapons, and a few spells to get those sorcerers right in the mix.

Still not sure how I want to go about presenting it. I would like to make it a small book somewhat in the scope of Weird West, but sadly I think I would have to scale back some of what I have already (which isn't a lot as it is.)  Then again, I might just post the rules here on the blog and let people click that little pdf button on the bottom to print copies out.  I'm going to edit what I have tonight, and hopefully post it up this evening. If there is significant interest, I may further develop certain areas like added spells, creatures of myth, airships, and possibly a campaign setting. 

The game itself is bare bones, but there are significant options to customize it to any style game be it high fantasy, sci-fi, or horror. Personally, I am looking at it as a combination with more of a focus on the weird.  We'll see, but I'm anxious to get input.

**EDIT** - Gaslite is now here in 2 forms: A mini pocketmod version for printing and a digital version for convenient viewing on your mobile device/computer.

Download the printable PDF pocketmod version of Gaslite RPG here.
Download the digital friendly version here. 

Folding instructions for the pocketmod version can be found here.

**EDIT** Thanks for the heads-up there Ohio. Name of the project is Gas-Lite as of now.