The Grizzly Rant

My sister-in-law came to visit us in March and the three of us conquered the Doomvault in a weekend. It ended with our adventuring duo bruised and broken on the shores of Norburg, ready to drag themselves into the city to claim their Kingly Rewards. She returns the end of May, which has given me plenty of time to think of how to design and run the city of Norburg and their next Adventure. My opinions on Towns hasn't changed since my last post . Norburg is a hub of activity and life, essential to their story and Journey. But the details on designing  the town have developed and matured since then and much like my Journey post, I've approached the creation of Norburg with the concepts and principles of ICRPG Room Design: the TTT's, L.O.G., and D.E.W.. There is intention and purpose to everything within the high walls of the city. There is danger. There is drama. There is Adventure. And there is the chance for Rest, re-supply and information gathering before setting ou...

Ultimate Effort Podcast's most contested topic in Episode 3 was that of Towns; how to run them in ICRPG, or if they should even exist.  Many were strong proponents of simply doing away with towns altogether.  And why not?  Towns are boring places which only serve to waste time and pocket change, two things that are quite different in this system.  I, however, propose something else: make town useful, nay, vital  adventures to the player characters' journey. By this, I mean to simply use the basic principles of ICRPG's Room Design with your towns the same as with any dungeon. The only caveat here (or perhaps not, depending on the type of game master or style of game you are running) is that towns should be avoided if they are not story, plot, or adventure relevant. Player characters can rest anywhere in the wilds given a campfire, abandoned ruin or random tavern on the roadside. The foundation of the game is adventuring to find loot and with no official co...