Guild of the Dungeon Masters

So, I learned about two things today, both of which inspired the Two Guys One camera that just went up on the youtube channel. Wizards of the Coast have recently released the Open Game License for 5th Edition D&D, and launched a website / online store called the Dungeon Masters Guild, or DMGuild, wherein content creators who have made homebrew additions to 5th edition can hock their wares for free or for some amount of money. In particular, internet sensation Critical Role's Matthew Mercer has put both his Gunslinger fighter archetype and Blood Hunter unique class on it for "Pay what you want" I.E. free, considering he's got them available for free other places as well.

This excites me for two reasons; One, the open game license for 3.5e resulted in many fantastic spin offs on the D&D formula that are still played to this day; Pathfinder and Warcraft RPG just to name two. I greatly look forward to seeing what sprouts up from 5th edition and see where other people take the formula. Two, the DMGuild provides a fantastic resource for up and coming DMs who aren't particularly experienced at creating new content to make their games a little more unique and memorable. It also provides inspiration for others to craft their own homebrew mechanics, classes, races, etc.

It was such a fun idea that we began chatting about 'celebrity modules', which got us onto the subject of 'Walken 'n' Dungeons' - Originally titled 'Walken & Dragons' but we decided the pun was too delicious to ignore. The idea of a 5th ed remastering that only added extended awkward pauses to all of the text tickles a very particular part of my funny bone - the absurdist part, to be specific.

I look forward to seeing what fun things come out of the OGL and DMGuild in the meantime.

"Senstaku"

#justGMthings

As I sit here, Miracle of Sound playing in the background, and prepping to work on some GM stuff for the Space Cowboys campaign, I suddenly realize I haven't updated the blog yet today - and that needs to be rectified.

But what to talk about? Well, what I'm about to do I guess.

So last year I began work on a Mass Effect conversion module for the Dragon AGE system, this was before the Fantasy AGE system came out so I was working strictly with the original material. The idea was to take the easy to learn and play AGE system and add a slight bit of complexity, but mostly just reskin it to the Mass Effect universe since there has yet to be an official Mass Effect RPG system made yet. 

It's still not done.

Turns out making a system is harder than it sounds, even if it's just a conversion module - I shudder to think what making a brand new system requires. Then again, it might be easier since you're no longer working with the restriction of the system that came before it. I digress. What I have left to do is finish out my Specializations, modifications to the classes that player characters gain at level 6 to make them better at specific things and give them unique abilities, and flesh out more of the enemies and vehicles of the system.

It's been an interesting project, and the playtest / actual play of Space Cowboys has given me lots of new ideas. It also has showed me just how complex a creative playground the original AGE system is. It's a lot deeper than it looks on the surface, that's for sure.

I'm also tempted to update it with the Fantasy AGE system, which would fix some of the issues I have with the conversion as it stands - but that's something I'll do after I've finished Space Cowboys, not in the middle of the campaign. If you all are interested in learning more about the conversion, lending a hand with some of the creative work, or using it for your own play groups please give me a shout at finalshowfilms@gmail.com - Other than that, feel free to listen to it as we upload it at senstaku.podbean.com.

Now I have to go plan some nefarious things for my unwitting players this Saturday. If you're reading this, well, I look forward to hearing your reactions come Saturday.

"Senstaku"