Crusader: Sister Kallista the Curseborn!

Sister Kallista the Curseborn, Tiefling Binder
I was born of the darkness between the stars, and with the fire of the stars I burn. Whomsoever visits flames upon me will taste my wrath in return.

The Heresiarch ran a star to ground, sundered and buried her light. The Heresiarch shall soon know pain, shall fear my name and my might.
 

*  *  *  *  *

Sista Kallista
Needs no mistah. In your grill
with her ballista!

Ok, no more haikus, I promise (fingers crossed behind back).

Crusader: Turen V'Lendt!

Turen V'Lendt, Half-Elf Druid
"Fifteen years...

Fifteen years I've been a child of the wood, held close and warm in the strong embrace of the Green Mother, Melora...
 
I watched my grove burn in a pyre of putrid flames, my companions and friends hewn by vile lightning and bloated by the pestilent touch of these... priests...  
 
So now you're saying I've got a chance to take the fight to... whatever this is, this 'lost god of the stars', this fiend who would corrupt and profane my sweet green earth?
 
...When do we leave?"

Crusader: Palim!

Palim, Kalashtar Cleric
"This is the most you are likely ever to hear from me, so listen closely. Two vows bind me. First, I do not speak. I am not speaking even now. You hear me, yes, but my words make no sound. They appear only in your mind. For this vow I am granted serenity from my race's madness. Second, I do not swing this weapon in anger. Ever. For this vow I am granted the ability to restore, regrow, and heal beyond the abilities of nearly all other mortals. None under my protection have ever died, nor will they. If you expect me to break these vows, you are sadly mistaken and we are doomed before we start. If you accept them and me, however, you will be near indestructible and we will pull this...Heresiarch limb from limb. Victory is inevitable."

Palim is a cannibal. Watch your limbs, crusaders! (Each one of you will have a special crusader ability, chosen at random.)

Fane of the Heresiarch: Rumors

Of the five reliable rumors, four are true. Of the five unreliable rumors, only one is true.

• Reliable: The key to reaching the Mothers' Cloister and the Altar of Seven Trees is hidden in the Prison of Frozen Gods.
• Unreliable: The half-angel succubus blackguard in the Pleasure Crypts wields a Rod of Wonder and a Cubic Gate.
• Unreliable: The charonademon boatman in the hidden catacomb often becomes lost on its way to the Dome of Meditation.
• Reliable: A sarcophagus with the power to revive the dead is hidden in the secret catacomb beneath the Black Cathedral.
• Unreliable: A switch that drains the dracolisk bile from the Death Wyverns' Crucible is hidden somewhere in the Bleak Seminary.
• Reliable: The stepping disk in the Watchtower leads to a second entrance to the Fane of the Heresiarch.

Calling All Crusaders - The Heresiarch is Coming

Greetings mortal, are you ready to die?
image source:  http://highdarktemplar.deviantart.com

  

Gencon 2012 Recap! (Spoiler Free)

As always, Gencon was AWESOME. I've never had a bad Gencon, and I've been going for 9 years.

This year was all about Fourthcore gaming. For some of the games (SND01 and C1), I had a laptop showing the imagery that's been shown on this blog. I got lots of great compliments on the images, and in each of the games, the players seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely. 

Let's get to the scoring!

SND01: Revenge of the Iron Lich
Crusaders ran out of time while battling in the final chamber. Two deaths (one w/resurrection). Final score = 365 (Adventurers). This game always does well, and the players ate up the puzzles. It was a great first game of the con. 

M1: Gallery of the Hate Blossom
No scoring in this one, and no deaths. The ending was fantastic, and I won't spoil it for others, but @nai_calus thought outside the box and found the combat out... turning it into a very RP memorable moment!

C1: Crucible of the Gods
Finally, a group that rocked the game. They lit the divine brazier and saved the world, with 36 minutes to spare. Three skulls, ZERO DEATHS. I tried my best, but they bested the module fair-and-square. MVP of that game goes to @nai_calus, hands down! Score = 485 (Exarchs)

C1: Crucible of the Gods (pick up game)
I should have run my All But Shipwrecked game, but only 2 players showed. ABS does not work with 2 players. We tried to round up some players, no luck. I thought to run C1 again, but lacked the pregens (they were taken/tossed from the last game). So, salvaging it, I had them run 2 fourth level crusaders through instead. Trust me, they died not from numbers, but from choices. Six deaths before time limit. Two skulls. Score = -165 (Humiliation)

SND02: Fane of the Heresiarch
I can't wait to explore more of this game, there's so much going on. One death. No planets. Time limit reached in the Mother's Cloister. Score = 60 (Parishioners)

Vault of the Wyrm Prince
Considering this is not out yet for public consumption, I won't say much except that it was AWESOME. Look for it soon at dungeonoracle.com!

A very easy way to add texture to your dungeon map

I stumbled across this the other day while using excel to make my printable maps for Gencon. It's a simple technique and gives your dungeon maps an extra spark with very little effort.

Start with a map like the one below, a classic black and white map you could do up in excel.

Next, insert your image into excel (insert, picture) and in the format tab, choose "Set Transparent Color". Choose a black area in the picture to make your black part of your map transparent.

Your map should look like this, now that you've selected the black portions to be transparent.

Finally, right-click on the picture and choose "Format Picture". Choose "Fill", check "Picture or texture Fill", and click on the button "Insert From: File". Choose a texture file that you have (and if you don't have one, just search for any cool dungeon wall texture files on the web... they're easy to find).

Doing these steps will yield the picture below. Now, since the statues and pillars were black, they too got replaced with the texture. If that is not desired, you could instead pull your original texture into Gimp (or similar program), replace the outside black with bright green, and then make the bright green your transparent color.