Archives - April to December 2002
Note: Links below may have broken since they were originally posted.
| 12/21/2002 |
This month's additions:
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| 11/9/2002 |
I've uploaded a new set of TableSmith tables, for treasure generation in 3E. At the moment, it's pretty much the standard generation method
as outlined in the DMG, but I have added a couple of features. The first is that you can restrict the total value of the treasure based on encounter
level. The other feature converts the coins that are generated (which are always of one type) into a variety of denominations. More plans on the
way for this set of tables.
I've also updated the Town Generator, fleshing out the "Buy/Sell Factor" table a bit (now you can vary the Buy/Sell inital factors on a per-business-type basis, or even for individual shops). Both sets of tables can be found in the "Table Gallery". |
| 11/2/2002 |
I've uploaded a revision of the "House Rules" document (in the World Guide section). I went through and re-evaluated
what we're using in our campaign, mainly culling out a lot of prestige classes; many of the classes just didn't fit my vision of Mythosa, and
world-specific prestige classes are on the way as it is.
Beyond that, nothing new at the moment. I have a variety of ideas, so we'll see what happens in the coming weeks. With the holiday season coming soon, I don't expect to get a lot done; but, I'll do what I can. |
| 10/13/2002 |
Two minor updates. First, the Gazetteer has been divided into multiple parts, for those folks who may have trouble downloading the single
7MB file (that's still an option, though). I'm not sure if most ZIP programs will recognize the multiple files; I used
WinZip 8.1, I'm not sure if other programs will work.
Second, I updated Sage to 3.2. The "Express" page is now case-insensitive, which I discovered was necessary after running into an aggravating problem with it earlier today. |
| 10/5/2002 |
Lots of updates today. The first and biggest: the Mythosa Gazetteer is finally done! The Gazetteer covers all aspects of the revised
Mythosa: history, kingdoms, religions, etc. The ZIP file contains both the Gazetteer as well as a JPG of the new map, which has been
previewed on this site in the past. The ZIP file is a little large (~7 MB), but I think it turned out quite well and is worth downloading.
I've removed the old site, since that material is now obsolete (though some of it may re-appear in the future in some form, re-fit to the new world). I've also updated The Divine and the Devoted, to accomodate the state of Mythosa as it is now. Both of these sourcebooks can be downloaded from the "World Guide" section, accessible via the menu to the left. I've also updated Sage again, to version 3.1. I've fixed a few typoes, broken links, etc., and I've also simplified it a bit by putting all the Charts into an XML file, so technically that part of Sage works the same way as the Spells and Monsters already did (though this should be transparent to most users). The other change is the addition of an "express" page which allows QuickSearch access to everything from one page. I use Sage on a laptop when I'm DMing, and I found that having to switch to the different pages was cumbersome when trying to quickly find something (say, looking up a monster when you're currently viewing the spell page). The "express" page gives you access to all Sage's data; you specify what type of thing you're looking for by typing in a "special" character first in the QuickSearch box, then the thing's name. So, if you wanted to look up the "magic missile" spell, you'd type "/magic missile", since "/" means "spells" to the express page (";" is for charts, "'" is for monsters). There is no filtering on that page; I figured if you are taking the time to filter, you have time to use one of the "regular" pages. In place of filtering, I'm planning on adding a history section to that page in the future. Finally, I put some pictures in the Miniatures gallery. Not a lot, but enough to get things started. |
| 9/29/2002 |
I've uploaded a new version of Sage 3 now that the d20 spells are officially released. As you may or may not know,
WotC decided to remove wizard names from any spell names that contained them
(for example: What used to Tenser's Floating Disk is now just Floating Disk). However, a few folks out
in d20 Land have released spell compendiums that contain these spells, with new names that are similar to the old ones,
but which are open content and thus re-usable. So, I've modified the spell data in Sage 3 to both conform to Wizard's
official release (by not using their wizard names), as well as use one of the compendiums (so the new names are very
similar). My preference is for the one published by Necromancer Games,
so that's what you'll find in the new 'Spell.xml' file.
More updates should be coming in the next couple of weeks... |
| 9/12/2002 |
Two updates today. First, I've revised my calendar generator; I've removed the journaling feature (which I never used myself), and changed
the generator so it displays months in a standard grid-style, rather than the diary-style I used before. I've also added numerous parameters,
so you can generate a partial year or multiple years, specify starting moon phase information, and choose climate and latitude for the weather
generation in the calendar. Currently the only worlds featured are Earth (which could use some tweaking on the moon phases) and Mythosa. I'd
like to do more, but I don't have the time right now (but that doesn't mean that someone else can't modify the Earth table for other settings).
Click here for an example of a year I generated for my campaign.
UPDATE: I neglected to mention earlier that this is a revision to the TableSmith calendar generator tables. You can get this new version in the Table Gallery. I'm also happy to say that the text and layout of the Mythosa Gazetteer is finally done! I need to do some editting as well as put in the interior art, so we're still a few weeks away from release. In the mean time, here's a preview of the cover. |
| 9/2/2002 |
The new versions of TableSmith (v4) and Campaign Sage (v3) have been posted! TableSmith's new functionality is listed below:
In other news, I've finally finished the text for the Mythosa Gazetteer! It's undergoing editting right now, but the next step is to start working on the layout and get the artwork lined up. So, it's slow in coming, but progress is being made. Also, the Ravensgate Gazette (our campaign newsletter) is pretty much done. However, we've started a new campaign, so expect to see the chronicle of that game soon. |
| 8/11/2002 | Back from Gen Con. Things should get back to normal around here over the next week or so. |
| 7/31/2002 |
I've added a search capability to the site on the home page (look in the lower left of your browser). It's a simple technique using
something called "Google" (I'm told all the kids are into it these days). Looking at the HTML for
it (which I've see on numerous Web sites), it makes wonder why I didn't do it sooner.
Taking a slight break from the gazetteer right now, though I should be back to the next chapter by the weekend. A new feature is coming for TableSmith soon (one that should open it up to a lot more potential), and the replacement for Campaign Sage (or the next version, actually) is coming along nicely. This one will not be a standard program, but so far looks to be something written entirely in HTML, Javascript, and XML/XSL. You'll only need your browser for Sage 3 (assuming it's IE). |
| 7/28/2002 | Finished the Geography text for the new Mythosa Gazetteer today; only two chapters left (for content; layout and artwork obviously will need to be done). Since I know it'll take a while to get this done, I've posted a couple of previews on the "World" page. One is the new Mythosa map (which has been shown here before), and the other is the text for the History chapter in the gazetteer. Enjoy! |
| 7/20/2002 |
I've posted version 3.96 of TableSmith to the "RPG Utilities" pages. It's not a major update; I've enhanced the "Plural" function
(the plural of "Staff" now returns "Staves" rather than "Stafves") and added functions for associative arrays (collections which
keys to reference values). Vance Reed has updated his "Jumping Table" for D&D 3E, and I've added this to the "3E Generators" pack
in the Table Gallery.
I also ran across a good article for Gamemaster's at Game Grene earlier today. The article is a few weeks old, so some of you may have seen it already. It's worth checking out if you haven't. |
| 7/18/2002 | Posted issue #3 of the campaign newsletter to the "Articles" page. |
| 7/13/2002 | Updated the links page today. Added a new link to Fantasy's Realm, and removed a number of dead links. I also removed a couple of valid links, from people that approached me to exchange links, then didn't keep mine on their site. For the record, I find that very annoying. I used to let people know when I noticed that, but I don't have the time for that anymore - I simply remove the link to their site. Whether it's a simple oversight on their part, or a deliberate ploy to pull in visitors without returning the favor, I can't say. But please keep that in mind - if you want to exchange links with me (assuming you have a gaming site or something similar that visitors here would care about), I'm more than happy to do it, but don't expect me to continue linking to you if you don't link back to me. |
| 7/11/2002 | Uploaded issue #2 of the campaign newsletter. You can find it with the first issue under "Articles". Progress continues on the gazetteer, though very slowly. |
| 6/28/2002 | I've started up a campaign newsletter for my 3E campaign, inspired by Roleplayingtips.com. I don't know that it'll be very interesting to other folks, but you might get a kick out of it. You can find the first issue under "Articles". |
| 6/23/2002 | Continued delays can be attributed to Neverwinter Nights. 'Nuff said! I did post my campaign's house rules on the "World Guide" page, if you're interested in checking it out. |
| 6/1/2002 | Just an update to let you know there is no update! May was a very busy month, and I haven't had time to get anything posted. However, I'm just about finished with the "Kingdoms & Empires" section of the new Mythosa Gazetteer, so progress is being made in that regard. I'm also planning on releasing a minor update of TableSmith sometime this month. I'm not sure exactly when; things are still hectic, and will be until around mid-month or so. |
| 4/7/2002 |
Welcome! If you're a return visitor here, you can see that this site has undergone a complete makeover - if
this is your first time, thanks for coming!. I had the old site design for quite some time, and I felt that
something new was in order. I've gotten rid of some things that I didn't think were needed or used (such as
the message board and the FAQ), I've added a thing or two (such as the yet-to-be filled Miniatures area),
and moved some things around to be more accessible (like the Table Gallery).
The old World Guide is still here, until I finish the Mythosa Gazetteer. World information will still be available after it's done, but it will be both updated and summarized. The majority of information will be in the Gazetteer (which will be in PDF format), but the Guide pages will contain enough to show you what Mythosa is all about. It'll also be a repository for supplemental information that isn't in any of the current Mythosa sourcebooks. The World Guide will be different, but I believe the end result will be better. What else is coming? Well, I plan on putting up some pics of my miniatures in the "Miniatures" area, and hopefully get some articles/essays/rants posted in the "Articles" section (something which never happened in the old page). PDF sourcebooks as I mentioned earlier, more TableSmith tables, and possibly...well, let's just see what happens... Unfortunately, progress in the near future is going to be very slow. Blame the good folks behind Dungeon Siege (yes, I know that includes Microsoft as well as Gas Powered Games, but hey, credit where credit is due ;). |
Copyright 2008, Bruce A. Gulke