Video Games or Pen & Paper Games?

I was discussing this topic with a few peers the other day and was wondering if there are as many people getting together with their friends to play pen and paper, face to face RPG's,or are we in a life that is so busy, hectic, and encouraging in its need for immediate gratification, that video games are the only thing we do these days. I know I've touched on this at least once before, but the audience has grown and I believe that I have more insight on why we do what we do.

Do you make time to spend time with your friends face to face or do you strictly speak to them online in a game, via text or in an email? How busy are we these days, I wonder?

I am going to a friends house this evening to play a game and am looking forward to it. I haven't played a face to face P&P game for over a year and did not realize how much I missed it. There is something special about seeing friends in person and sharing food, drink a few laughs that video games cannot compete with. Now, I am not condemning video games because I play them too. Its too easy to play 'em due to the facts that they are so fun and stimulate your senses like nothing else. Am I right?

But there is a dynamic to the P&P RPG's that video games cannot capture: human input. It is the best and most incentivizing reason to play RPG's with other people--human intervention and human reason. It makes the games so much more fun to me.

What are your thoughts?

Oh, and before I close, let me remind you that a friend also makes full color, full scale battle maps for pen & paper RPG's ! Check him out at INFERNALTITANS.COM!

Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

All Artwork and covers by William J. Kenney

Visit my AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Also, please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Realm of Ashenclaw 4e D&D RPG Supplement

Continuing our weekly theme regarding the many talents of William Kenney, I wanted to inform my readers—especially the gamers—that we have a Realm of Ashenclaw 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game supplement available in PDF form. We are also working on a print version which should be available shortly. They can be found on RPGNOW with both Quick and Full Size Previews!

William did all of the artwork within and most of it can be seen here on my ART PAGE. More of Williams’s artwork can be seen on his Deviant Art Page.

High Council Members: Nimaira, Rolin & Tiyarnon

Myself, Nicholas and Elizabeth Titano and Tom Sallustio worked very hard on this supplement and I hope it is received well. It includes 2  NEW CLASSES in the Heroic Tier as well as 5 NEW THEMES! It is only listed for a measly $5.99 (an absolute steal!) and includes a map, all of the artwork and descriptions of every main region in Wothlondia, including the fabled 5 cities! It is 90 pages of brand new material, with each city or feature having an ‘At a Glance’ feature with which any DM can use to spur on a storyline. We encourage any gamers to check it out, regardless of what version of the game you play just to take advantage of the story hubs that may result from the Atlas of Wothlondia chapter.

We will be doing updates here and on my website in the future if anyone wants more information and will also be tackling a 5th edition supplement as time and licensing permit. With that being said, please enjoy the supplement and as always, I would love comments and feedback!

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All artwork provided by William Kenney

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Pushing Forward with the RPG Supplement

Since 5e D&D is not coming out anytime soon, late 2013 at the earliest is our guess, I am announcing that Ashenclaw Studios is still going to release the 4e adaptation of my Realm of Ashenclaw RPG supplement. Instead of giving the people a full-fledged brand new and complete character class though, we are intending to give the already completed Heroic Tier versions of the Hermetic Warrior (the name has not changed; 4e striker class design) and the Forrester (an essentials Ranger-Defender build).

Play testing is still going on and we have a few new monsters that we think everyone will absolutely love. The supplement will include a map, brief descriptions of a good portion of the land, new monsters, new themes, a few new feats and the two above mentioned classes. It will also have some fantastic sketches inside! I have an artist on board that is just blowing us away with his interpretations. The supplement is going to be available mostly as a download, but I am looking into possibly doing a print version, but have not decided for sure yet. We think that we have something really cool to share with the gamers @a very fair price (still undecided exactly, but under $10.00) and have provided enough information to allow any gaming group to run with the ideas and interact with the landscape!

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

Photo from Stock.xchng.

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios, LLC 2011 unless otherwise noted.

Roll Playing vs. Role Playing?

First of all...Happy New Year everyone!

Secondly, the winner of the 'How much would you pay for an eBook' poll was by far the $2.99 to $7.99 slot with 61% of the vote and the $8.99 to $12.99 slot coming in second with 29% of the vote. Just in case anyone was following and wanted to know the results!

Thirdly, I have a new subject for you to discuss for you RPG gamers out there--Roll Playing vs. Role Playing! Here we go...

Is there room for both in your game? I think so. I have often asked myself if the game master or dungeon master of your RPG can satisfy both. After much consideration, I have concluded that with the right preparation, yes, it can be done. I would always first and foremost cater to what your players want to do with regards to play style. Do they enjoy hack and slash, puzzles, role-playing, problem solving, etc? You as the referee of the game would know this best if you play with friends. I as the GM/DM would often find that I wanted my players to get involved with the storyline one way or the other before unleashing any type of combat on them as I believe that a firm understanding of a specific goal is important--especially if you spend a good deal of time preparing something for them to enjoy. I feel that any of us can cater to his or her players’ desires for the most part, while still being able to fit them into the environment or setting that you envisioned.

I have played with players that enjoy both the role-playing aspect and the combat of the game. The majority of my players have enjoyed the combat the most. They want to put themselves into the role of hero and save the day, using their swords and sorcery to down the evil-doers. And who doesn’t? It is what drew me to comic books, sci-fi/fantasy novels and role-playing games in the first place….

There are also a good amount of players who want to solve the puzzles or riddles or who want to be the ones who solve the mystery set upon them in order to go through a passageway or advance further into a dungeon. There are also tests that can put players into a situation where they have to figure out what makes a creature/villain tick or what his/her/it's weakness might be in order to resolve the issues.

These tests can be a good deal of fun as well and I implore any of you gamers out there to try to experience them all. All of it is designed for one thing that I think we can all agree on: no matter what school you hail from, games are designed to give you an escape from reality and to share some time with friends or with people of like mind. So, no matter what game you play, no matter what genre you play in and no matter what style you choose, make sure you are having fun!
 
As always, please feel free to share your thoughts with us and comment on what kind of games, play style or genres you enjoy most! I look forward to your posts. Have a great week everyone!

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

Photo from Stock.xchng.

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios, LLC 2011 unless otherwise noted.

Ashenclaw Studios 2012 Game Plan

With the New Year fast approaching and my new job demanding much of my attention, I wanted to address a post concerning what Ashenclaw Studios has in store for 2012!

Firstly, I have been writing and editing and generally poring over a series of short stories that I intend to release soon, hopefully in the first quarter of the year. I am targeting around April to have at least the first of the six out, with the others to follow shortly after. The short stories will include the happenings of the three High Council members Tiyarnon the High Priest of The Shimmering One, Nimaira Silvershade, the half-elven mage and Rolin Hardbeard, the dwarven warrior, prior to the Prologue to CotFK*. If you read the book, it may explain why they had to go and find help! Then I will add tales (from approximately 12 years or so prior to the novel) concerning our protagonists, which will add to the character building and give a glimpse into their history, describing important events in their past that put them on the paths they currently walk. These will theoretically be ninety-nine cent downloads straight to your kindles, Nooks, iPads and other reading devices.



Secondly, Nick Titano (of Infernal Titans & Ashenclaw Studios) and I, as well as the rest of the gang at the studio (Tom, Liz and the others) are working on a role-playing aid that we intend to publish as a supplement to 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons as well. The work has stalled a bit with the holidays approaching, but we plan to accelerate the work after the first of the year. This is requiring quite a bit of work, as we are intending to give the audience a broad and general lay of the land with all of the important towns and hotspots in Wothlondia clearly marked and a brief description of the towns. We figured a general description of the cities and areas might be just the spark that a Dungeon Master might need to spice up his own campaign or even start a new one in the Realm of Ashenclaw setting. We are also working on a brand new character class based on the alchemistic stylings of Elec Stormwhisper in the first novel. He is being designed as Nick describes it as “an At-Will, Encounter, Daily, Utility class,” as well as a few new monsters that we have play tested and are—if I may say so—awesome! We are also working on a shield-bashing Ranger defender essentials build.

As a side note, I will be having a contest shortly to give the potion-popping class of Elec Stormwhisper a name where you can win a signed copy of CotFK if we choose your suggestion! We have a few ideas, but I am not going to give any indication of what we are thinking and leave it strictly up to you.

There are also several themes being worked on as well for the RPG. I am shooting for a midsummer release of this with possibly more supplements to come. I will keep anyone posted that asks. This will certainly be available as a download for sure and we are looking into a possible print version, though I would like more feedback from you gamers out there what you would like to see. Is a download to your laptop or tablet good enough?

Thirdly, I am hoping beyond hope to release the second novel in the Beginnings series by the end of next year. I am leaning again toward an eBook only version of this, but have not decided for sure. I had started writing this late last year with an outline and got about 1/3 of the way through before business decisions tore me away from this and back to getting the first novel published and put together. It is tentatively entitled -- Secrets of the Ebonite Mines.


As always, I would love to hear from any and everyone concerning the stories and the RPG supplement.

*Covenant of the Faceless Knights, my first full-length novel.

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

Photos from Stock.xchng & Nick Titano's camera @2011 Gencon! 

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios, LLC 2011 unless otherwise noted.

Which version of D&D do you play?

I was going to do a post about different gaming attractions and such, but then I decided to break it down into different versions of Dungeons & Dragons specifically. Reason being is that I have several friends who play older versions of Dungeons and Dragons as well as the more current 3.0, 3.5 and 4^th editions as well as the DDO MMORPG. (Eberron? Really?!)

I have been staying current, albeit reluctantly at first, as I generally fear change! Actually, not really, but, I saw no good reason to move forward as I thought that 3^rd edition was pretty good and advanced D&D as far as it could go. I may have been right! Current 4^th edition D&D is a far cry from your older versions and really mirrors the feel of an MMORPG, which I assume it feels as its competition.

Again, these are my opinions, so feel free to disagree. I love a good debate.

I think each of the versions has 'good' and 'bad' characteristics and I wanted to touch on a few of the good and bad. Let me preface also by adding that I think all of them have their place and they are meant for you to have fun in whatever form that may take.

Older versions of D&D were fun, simplistic and a bit generic. Role-playing was the key as well as the imagination of the DM and players both. Managing your inventory is another factor as it added a ‘realistic’ quality to the game. I personally did not enjoy this as I felt it detracted from the overall game-play and felt more like homework than actual fun! In addition, I felt that there was nothing heroic about an average guy picking up a sword and shield to go adventuring—it’s just silly. Add in the fact that all classes were basically the same. (ie. all characters have the same statistics, hit points, etc, like your fighter is made in a production line like a car or a piece of equipment), detracted from it further as more modern versions became available. But, it was an older representation and sometimes classic is the way to go. It was very dependent upon the story and the environment to move the game along. I personally enjoy the character that I play and want him to be a bit more…heroic? But, I digress--to each his own--que sera sera.

Third edition was pretty unique in that it diversified from the norm and really brought old school D&D into the modern age. It felt like an amazing leap in game mechanics while still keeping the familiar names, spells and abilities we all knew and loved. You could custom build your fighter, rogue, barbarian, etc. so that he or she was different from the others. Multi-classing, prestige classes and customizations were its strengths. Third edition was also ground-breaking in that they opened the game up to the community and made it essentially an open-source product (think Linux) which enhances the overall game experience as the consumer has a vested interest in the end product. However, as supplements became more and more available, power-gaming eventually put an end to this version and the market was saturated with over-the-top classes/variations/prestige classes. Sometimes, we experienced that a player accidentally created an overpowered character! Yikes! 

In 4^th edition, I kind of miss the skill selection or separation as I think they may have lumped too many of the individual skills into one overall skill. That being said, simplification has its place, I suppose. DM’ing has seriously gotten easier, encounters can be extremely easy to prepare and balance and the monsters are quite easy to manage now. As opposed to third edition where a significant monster may have two pages of spells, abilities and powers of which would send your head spinning when it was the monsters turn to go! Balance I think is the key to 4^th edition and it is very clear that they wanted combat to be very gripping and encapsulating to the point of making the battles a bit more epic. It certainly has become a tabletop game for the most part.

I have also heard grumblings on the internet that 4^th edition loses the RP feel, which I disagree with totally. This is completely up to your DM as it is his or her job to add that element. I have also heard that 4^th edition isn’t deadly enough. Wrong again…I have gotten my derriere handed to me several times and have been in one TPK (total Party Kill.) It was vicious! 

I am the DM! Whatever I say-goes!

All in all, I think you can take each framework of the game and add whatever style you like to it as they all have their own charm and ambiance. The bottom lines is that we are having fun, exploring dungeons and slaying dragons…After all, this is what it’s all about!

My question to you is: What version do you like best and why?

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit my HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios, LLC 2011 unless otherwise noted.  

Races of Ashenclaw: Slagfell Dwarves

I have decided to share a few things that will probably be in a supplement of some kind sooner or later describing races that are unique to the Realm of Ashenclaw. So, without further ado, I give to you a sub-race of dwarves called...

Slagfell Dwarves~

This once common subrace of dwarves is referred to as slagfell dwarves by the populace of Wothlondia. They are pale-skinned dwarves that have descended far beneath the earth in search of treasures. They showed an exceptionally powerful greed, even for dwarves, and willingly plunged deeper into the subterrane a thousand years ago and remain there today, embracing it as their home.

They are completely obsessed with treasure and feel shunned by their brethren, the common dwarves, who actively scolded them, thinking them unwise to dangerously pursue their deepest of desires in the first place. The slagfell have spent many centuries beneath the earth’s surface and have slightly mutated to adjust. They have adapted to the darkness and the lack of sunlight over the last hundred years, evolving their nightvision into something keener, while at the same time, are extremely sensitive to the rays of the sun.

Their bodies are similar to the dwarves, but their skin has turned pale and grey in color. They are also slightly less stocky than the common dwarves found on Wothlondia as their diet is more restrictive, which lends itself to a more natural maneuverability and agility instead.

Slagfell brand themselves, mostly on their heads and necks and chest, which represents a family hierarchy or rank within their own clan. The more markings they have, the higher rank they are. This is an accepted and well known feature amongst their own kind.

Shadowmere is the premier city of the Slagfell Clan and harbors the most of their kind, ruled by King Dolgrath Bloodstone. There are further offshoots of Clan Shadowmere and speculation from King Dolgrath is that he believes several of them defected decades ago, but none have been seen since. As far as he knows, they could be anywhere.

Shadowmere is a large civilization hidden deep within the subterrane of the Dragon Fangs Mountains, where there are many dark and deadly dangers that would end a surface folk’s life very quickly. The city is vast and well-protected, surrounded by hundreds of areas, rich with ore for mining and all within several miles of the city. It is located deep within the subterrane on its lowest levels and is essentially dull and dreary, as they avoid reflective surfaces.


See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit my home page to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

(Photos from Stock.XCHANG) 

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios, LLC 2011 unless otherwise noted.