D&D Monday - Gaming Paper and More

Today's entry is going to tie a lot of things together.  But it's a gaming entry, so if you're not interested, feel free to find some other blog to read today.

A few months back, I decided to pull my D&D parties out of The World's Largest Dungeon because I had gotten inspired by Dragon Age: Origins to create a quest-based campaign.

You might recall that I was excited a couple months back because I bought a cool new device which would allow me to draw pictures on the computer more easily, allowing me to create maps, like the one on the right.

Only one of my groups has been able to start this new quest, but we spent a session or two with the party traveling over land, and then at our last session they had to enter a short dungeon I created.  We finished it up on Monday night.

The cool thing about the dungeon is that it was constructed from panels in the Mega Dungeon 1 product from Gaming Paper.  I mentioned this late last year, because it was the first product which drew me to Kickstarter.

 

Mega Dungeon 1 is one large map of one large (mega!) dungeon, but it is more than that.  The map is constructed of 100 panels, each of which takes up an standard sheet of paper, and is printed on two sides.  One side is a room with "furnishings" of some sort, the other side is the same space unfurnished.

Obviously, for a two-night adventure, Mega Dungeon 1 is too big.  But that's the beauty of how it's constructed.  I was able to take 10-12 panels, from various places in the dungeon, and lay them out next to each other to form a smaller dungeon.

The result was a very fun little adventure.  Before I started trying to assemble the dungeon map, I only had a basic theme for what the party would encounter.  As I found panels which fit together, I got inspired by the rooms and furnishings on the panels.  I used only one side of some panels, but I used both sides for some, as well.  [I can't say more about that, because the second group of players has not started this campaign yet.  But it's cool!]


Anyway, I really enjoy how inspiration can arise from finding new tools like the drawing pad, or from the supplies and resources we use, such as the Gaming Paper product. 

Or, as Hannibal used to say:  "I love it when a plan comes together."

New Electronic Toy

I splurged this weekend. I bought a new toy - a Bamboo Fun "Pen & Touch" from Wacom.


Once I figure out how to use the software which came with it, I will be able to do some cool editing of photos.  Adobe Photoshop Essentials 8.0 is included, as is something called Corel Painter Essentials 4.  So if I want to make fake photos, or if I want to become a cyberartist, I guess I have a tool for that. 


After a few hours use, one thing is clear -- I'm no better at free-hand art with a stylus than I am with any other medium.

But honestly, my first goal in buying it is to make cool maps for games.  And I already have an open source program called Photoscape I have tried to use to do simple things.  It was my attempts to create simple maps which demonstrated that a simple mouse was not the tool I needed to create something that looks like a hand-drawn map. 


But using the stylus and pad, I was able to make this, which my gaming groups will get to use.  And I am excited!




















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Some days...

The Scream, by Edvard Munch.  A Norwegian of some note.

As I write this, I believe I know exactly how the subject of this painting feels.

Or maybe not.

Did he have a stressful job, a two-week business trip approaching, and his first illness of the season taking hold?

If so, then I'm quite sure I know how he feels.

Thank God Easter is approaching.  I need a little "Agnus Dei" and "Hallelujah."