#spelljammer and starfinder are right there

[grapesofa]

And then the guy is like "man, I really wish there was a marvel movie that's not about superheroes and instead focuses on a group of guys who hunt ghosts together. It should be a comedy and there needs to be at least one scene where a guy gets sucked off by a ghost." And then you tell him that he should check out Ghostbusters and he tells you to go fuck yourself.

People keep trying to construct analogies for the cultural dominance of Dungeons & Dragons in tabletop roleplaying spaces like "imagine you met a guy who considers himself a cinema buff but exclusively watches Marvel Cinematic Universe films released within the past 12 months, explaining that he doesn't branch out because he just doesn't have the time to learn the lore of a second cinematic universe; when you suggest avoiding that problem by watching a standalone film that isn't part of any cinematic universe, he reacts like you're a huge weirdo, and after a bit of questioning it turns out he genuinely believes that films which are part of massive cinematic universes and black and white Eastern European art films about depression are the only kinds of movies which exist", and I know this is intended as hyperbole to illustrate the absurdity of the situation at hand, but, like, I have literally met the guy they are describing.

[enddaysengine]

Paths Beyond - Into 2023

We are rapidly coming up to the point where I’ve been blogging here for ten years. A lot has changed in that time. My tastes and worldview have evolved and I desperately need a positive creative outlet that isn’t tied to a contract or side hustle. So I have an elegant, if odd, solution. 

I’m starting this blog over. Kinda. With a twist. 

I’ve had a project on the back burner since Pathfinder Infinite launched: Paths Beyond   — a supplement for the Age of Lost Omens setting that draws its inspiration from Planescape for planar adventures at ever level. There’s pitch notes sitting on my hard drive, an outline in my head, and ideas, but not so much the motivation to write for profit right now. What I do want to do is get this blog back on track, so with a decade writing planar hooks for Planescape with a bit of Pathfinder tossed in, I’m going to look do the reverse. Lean more into the Age of Lost Omens setting, but take my cues from Planescape as I write plot hooks for Paths Beyond.

All my other stuff will still be here, and I’ve got more yet to say about Planescape — especially in light of Spelljammer, Radiant Citadel, and the setting’s upcoming relaunch. So Daily Planescape isn’t dead, it’s just moving over to the copilot’s chair.  Eberron, Chronicles of Darkness, Scion, and Starfinder Wars are going to keep showing up too — there’s a game here for everyone. 

It’s a bit of a change, but if you are still following me after this long, I bet you’ll stick around for it. I’m excited! It feels good to start something new with purpose and intent. Hopefully you dig it too.

Here’s to new beginnings. 

Oh, and I’m rolling in reverse alphabetical order this time, with exceptions for when inspiration strikes me. The As had plenty of time already XD

[skullsplitterdice]

What Galaxy are we in? With Spelljammer finally coming to 5e players are all very excited to warp right into this campaign setting. DM's Check out our campaign guide to help you set the tone! https://www.skullsplitterdice.com/blogs/dnd/players-guide-to-spelljammer-star-wars-starfinder-adventuring-in-spacefaring-campaigns

[earlgraytay]

I want to add a couple of things to this, because I hear this kind of advice in Tumblr DND culture a lot and I feel like it elides a couple of important points.

First off: you need to pay attention to what your players want. if you're playing DND, especially in a pickup setting, you're going to have a lot of people who want to just run through fantasy cliches. you're going to have people who want to make thinly veiled DND versions of their favourite characters or their favourite tropes.

If you have a player who wants to run Gimli In A Trenchcoat and wants to run an elf-dwarf feud? If you have a player who wants to run The Good Drow or The Good Orc? You're within your rights to tell them to pound sand, but consider whether you can work it into what you've got going on.

it's more important that everyone at the table get to walk away happy with the game than you get to do something that is Purely Yours. sometimes, that means the Human Fighter, the Angsty Dual-Wielding ~GOOD DROW~ Ranger, the Viking Dwarf Who Is Grumpy Around Elves, and the Ludicrously Flirty Bard walk into a tavern, *and that's okay*.

(...and sometimes that means thinly veiled versions of Undertale Undyne, Sonic the Hedgehog, and someone's fursona walk into the same tavern, and that's just as okay. everyone's game is different.)

Second: you should put things in your game that you like, *and those things can be ~problematic~ if applied to reality*.

Let me give you a clear-cut example.

I unironically, unabashedly *love* old-school, Forgotten Realms style drow. Weird religious bullpucky, byzantine backstabbing politics, fucked-up gender roles and all. I realize that they're written from some very unfortunate places! I realize that the tropes are Not Great and that someone could feel uncomfortable playing in a campaign where the drow are Like That, and I totally respect their need to Not Be At A Table where that stuff's going on.

...But... I was raised in a very repressive, sexist religion. One of my first ever D&D characters was a female drow wizard, who wasn't 100% comfortable with the church of Lolth and studied arcane magic *hard* to get out of having to do her gender role. Playing this character helped me work out some stuff. I *really* enjoyed getting to grapple with this stuff in a cartoonishly evil, colourful, *fun* setting, without having to engage with actual IRL sexism.

And if *you* enjoy doing that kind of thing- go for it! It's your game. it is not going to subject a single real person to a life of slavery or discrimination or oppression. Talk to your players first, make sure everyone's comfortable with it, have your veils and lines and x-cards ready- but go for it as enthusiastically as you want to.

Third: Don't be afraid to get *really weird* with it, and if you want crazy ideas, go to older sourcebooks (and other TTRPGs). You don't just have to throw out The Weird DND Racism, you can throw out *the whole concept*.

Want a setting where arcane magic destroys the world's ecology, a desert where metal is scarce, where psychic powers are common and there's an ancient progenitor race of halflings? Check out 2e Dark Sun.

Want to play Curse of Strahd, The Expanded Universe? Check out 2e Ravenloft (or World of Darkness' historical line).

Love the alignment system, and wish you could play an all tiefling/aasimar party exploring the planes? Check out 2e Planescape.

Want to play Star Wars But Add Elves? There's both Starfinder and 2e Spelljammer for ya!

Want to play Redwall/Watership Down: The TTRPG? Mouseguard exists.

Want to play an anime-inspired RPG? If you want more historical-shonen, you've got Tenra Bansho Zero; if your tastes skew more Ghibli, there's Golden Sky Stories and Ryuutama.

Your world is your world, and your game is your game- and that means more things than just 'tieflings can be Not Evil'.

how to play dungeons and dragons

ignore all the “suggested” alignments to races

ignore the histories about certain races being evil

your material plane now

have fun

[dailybestiary]

So You're At Gen Con & Starfinder Is Sold Out. Now What?

As you may have heard by now, Paizo sold every copy of the new Starfinder Core Rulebook they brought to Gen Con.  No, seriously, every copy.  On the first day of the con.  By 4:00 PM.

Which means that there are likely a lot of fans—possibly some of you reading this right now—who are pretty bummed at this moment.

Don’t be.

You know you’re going to be able to get Starfinder in a few days at your local gaming store.  And in the meantime, there’s already another Pathfinder-but-in-space book you can get your hands on right now: the Aethera Campaign Setting.

I asked Robert Brookes, publisher of the Aethera Campaign Setting, to tell me more about the book and the world:

RB: The Aethera Campaign Setting is a science-fantasy dieselpunk setting for Pathfinder!  Imagine Starfinder, but with a more low-tech, analog and magic hybrid technology approach.  Best of all, you can use all of your Pathfinder products with it!  Aethera is a massive 500+ page tome that covers an entire star system, with new races, new classes, new archetypes and support rules for every published class, and fully supports all Pathfinder products from Paizo.  So it's like Starfinder, except you already know you like it!

Now, as you all know, the thought of another rulebook makes me shudder with horror. So I asked Robert to give me five things that should make me get excited about the system and the setting.  Not being one for following directions, Robert gave me six:

RB: 1: Fully customizable space ships you can pilot with your entire party as bridge crew and gunners.

2: Space-faring cannibal minotaurs who invaded the star system in hollowed out planetoids called Labyrinth Ships.

3: Their enigmatic kyton allies who seek to refine and rebuild life for the sake of the effort.

4: Magic-technology hybrid rules that interface seamlessly with the Pathfinder Campaign Setting Technology Guide.

5: Rules for plant symbionts that your characters can wear and use as unique companions.

6: A unique cosmology without gods, where outsiders are unconstrained by morality and divinity.

There’s nothing worse than walking around a con feeling like you missed out, or going to the book store and finding out that the entire reason you made the trip is gone.  (Says the guy who just missed out on an under-$100 copy of the 2e AD&D Night Below box set two weeks ago. Not that I’m bitter.)  But Starfinder will still be waiting for you next week.  This is a chance to take that $59.99 and get in on the ground floor of an equally fresh space setting you may love in a system you already know.

Also, full disclosure: I’m in no way associated with Aethera or Encounter Table Publishing.  I get zero free books or anything for this—I paid into the Kickstarter more than a year ago.  And Robert didn’t approach me; I approached him.  

In fact, I wasn’t even sure I liked Aethera when I first heard it pitched—I prefer my space fantasy at the Spelljammer (especially in its Shadow of the Spider Moon incarnation) or Distant Worlds technology level.  But having written an entire manifesto about how I wanted to see more publishers do new things within Pathfinder, rather than spit out yet another new rules system or OSR clone, I felt like I had to step up and support the Aethera Campaign Setting Kickstarter.  Since then, I’ve become impressed with the setting, the layout/design of the book (that pit where most third-party publishers lose me and never get me back), and the people involved.  Now I’m at the point where I can’t wait for my copy to arrive in the mail.

If you’re at Gen Con, go find the Aethera folks and check out the Campaign Setting book.  If you want to learn more, the website is here.  And if you’re not at Gen Con but want to pull the trigger, Legendary Games has you covered.  

There are a lot of third-party Pathfinder publishers out there, but nearly all of them tread in the easily marketable safe waters of class splatbooks, monster bestiaries, and spells that go boom.  I’m willing to hand over my blog for one night to Aethera because we need more publishers out there willing to take risks, play with setting, commit to serious art and design, and reach for the stars.

(Images © 2016 by Encounter Table Publishing)