The fall of GM's and a little more about Entrathia

      Behold! For I have become that which I have striven for, neither tethered or fettered by the safety of friend groups, (not to disenfranchise you guys, I love you guys :3) I have ascended to GM elite hood :D. All self indulging bullshit aside, I have at long last finally GM'ed at a Con, and I must say it was absolutely fantastic! I have always said "Man, I really need to GM for a Con, the time has come and once I do that, I am very much legit." (Last part a little paraphrased). And so I have, and it was an intense experience, with sweat beading down my sides, my head feeling hot and disorientated, I managed to GM and have a damned good time with it. The above picture is the Scenario I GM'ed for, "The Quest for Perfection, Part I" and though it was thrown upon me at last minute, I hope I managed best I could, though that would be for the players to dictate not I. In any case, YAY! Finally right?
      But, while that was amazing, my party survived completely and everyone seemed to enjoy it, there has been another subject bothering and curtailing me, that is what a good portion of what this blog will be about, The Fall of GM's. My Sunday gaming experience was pretty enjoyable all in all, yet it was muddied and soiled by a very troubled GM, though he certainly didn't display his troubled nature, just something I could pick up. After my enjoyable experience on the Saturday I ran the Scenario, followed by the awful evening that was had after retiring from the Con that night, I was ready to continue gaming, after being prodded and convinved (as I almost always am) by my lovely girlfriend Miku, and so I managed to snag a game that was meant to go from 9 AM - 11 PM. A very long and expansive game to say the least, but I was up for the challenge, and that meant 3 whole exp. for my Ninja, Izo, and thereby leveling for his awesome sneaky butt! Yet, here is the kicker, it ended at around 5 - 6 estimated...I was certainly taken aback, though it meant another game for me, which I was OK with, it was just the GM we had that I was not entirely OK with. The game began with the usual pomp and circumstance of getting started getting going and so on and so on, then it was when we began to encounter creatures that things started to become a little suspect. After a few fort saves (fortitude saves, for those not RPG slang savvy yet) things began to look a bit peculiar. Vermin like creatures though are not uncommon to higher fort saves, so I thought nothing of it, for the time being. But then as they continuously began to make more and more saves with will, Vermin like bugs making will saves?! Things became even more suspect to me. All things aside I continued on and my party still won in the end, regardless of this handicap of fudged rolls, and oh my avid readers, there were many many fudged rolls let me tell you.
      During the whole amount of that game there was luckily a very nice and knowledgeable married couple sitting beside me, and they questioned and called the GM out every chance they got, and when the GM was called out and blatantly exposed, he would quickly cover up the fluke with a "Oh, I'm tired and it's hard to see," "Oh, it's late and the light and so forth (ensuing crap noise from mouth)," So it was becoming more and more suspicious as to this GM's constant making of saves against this Sorceress' amazing and difficult DC's (Dice Challenge). Lets go with an example, she had a spell that inflicted possible daze if the creature did not make a will save, the save was 19 on a game meant for 2-4 lvl'ed characters, that's pretty damned impressive for that level, and we were playing on a low tier to boot. So obviously many an angry word was exchanged but in the end we still won and the GM left, much to our relief, as we were more than fed up with his obvious fudging of roles and lies. Here's where it becomes less player rage and more sad realization. Upon further chatting with the kindly married couple, as we had another game with one another, they explained this GM has been caught red handed fudging roles so that his creatures would win out in the end, and that they had actually tried to transfer from previous games that they had with this GM before. So long story short, he was a lying bastard that has further set in stone the Fall of the GM.
      When I say "fall" I mean this, how many times have party members and players said this statement (or a variation thereof) "Op, looks like its gonna be a TPK" "Ah man we're screwed, GM is gonna totally kill us" "I wouldn't be surprised if the GM kills AT LEAST one of us, if not all." Mother.Of.God. What.the.hell.has.happened. At this point I am going to explain my opinion, and not fact, though I believe should be fact, and should you disagree then by all means, please voice your disagreement, I'll happily retort the point. To me Pathfinder and RPG's are about one thing, and one thing only, HAVING FUN! For some perhaps that is dying, losing your character, smiling as all that work is basically useless graphite on paper, I do not agree with this though. GM's have not helped in this loss of gaming reasoning, slowly GM's become less of a story teller and someone whom creates a fun and enjoyable environment, and more of this

If you're not familiar with this picture, it's The Punisher, someone whom punishes bad guys, but really isn't a good guy at all. Is this what GM's have turned into, storytellers desperately attempting to kill the party, because "Ha ha, it's funny you guys suck and I'm a giant D-Head" A sad state of affairs if I may say so- and please I can already hear the reasoning behind the GM reputation and trust me I have heard it and shared my view. In the end to sum up this inordinately long post, I think it is the GM's damned job, duty, and obligation to provide an awe inspiring and fantastic game. This is not to say that TPK's are not ever warranted, and that some players dying may just happen, but it is when the GM strives just for a TPK and nothing else, is hell bent without any recourse to kill the party, where I primly and promptly throw them the proverbial 'bird' and move to dismantle the sodding reputation that the GM's have foolishly built. So, hopefully that offers some enlightenment and so forth, and my position on fudging rolls and cheating behind the GM screen to beat the character. Those that do it, you are a charlatan and feed off a false sense of power over others, just stop(scoff).

Now as per my other segment of Entrathia, what should I post? Hmmm. Ah! Of course, The Great Calamity. I have name dropped this quite a few times, let me give you a run down, and I do plan on introducing this to a party at one point, though it takes place a few hundred years before the 7th Era. During the 6th Era (Each Era = 1000 year block) on year 706 of the Flintlock Age, a great plague broke out, some say it started in the Miranok Marsh, some say it started from farther south or east. What all agree on is that it caused such devastation, and there was such destruction in its wake that it completely changed the organization of Eharlith. The other continents wanted no part in this and expediently enacted harsh embargoes and isolation from Eharlith. What the plague did was resurrect all those that fell before it, and mostly fresh corpses into ravenous, immensely fast undead. It spread like wildfire and nigh on 14 months after the outbreak, nearly all of the Western half of the Continent had fallen before the plague. I have not completely finished writing everything up, but so far its a plague that spread devastatingly fast, and there is a small section on the western side where barricades were set up and safe zones created. One of the barricades I've dubbed the Deathsmarch Barricade. Which is basically a massive hastily built wall, with scrap and other bits put against it, to stave off the hoards of undead doom on the other side. I must say that it's looking fairly fun and interesting, and I am looking forward to throwing a group in there. I am already hard at work on a Post-Apocalyptia Adjustment, and will be fine tuning it as the days progress, suffice to say it will challenge players, enforce a feeling of impending annihilation, make food and water rare materials and gold and silver less so. Potions will be changed and wands and so forth, it will be a Z-Apocalypse, but not your run-of-the-mill Party is badass and these Zombies are our bitch, rather something far more *realistic* and challenging. I put asterisks around realistic, because I realized this is still a tabletop game and that it wont be realistic to the point of making it impossible or terrible to play. A good story and fun environment, and tense enthralling moments, I wont fall victim to the long long address I make against GM's whom challenge to the point of TPK, come now I'm not about to eat my own words.
Well that was a longer post but I hope it offers some clarity and some excitement for future games and so forth, I know I'm glad to have put my distaste for "Party Killing" GM's on the blog-o-sphere....Erm yup.
As always
Till next post, Roll your D20
Ryan
   

Distractions and slow workings towards something grand

    I have made it clear that I would like to attempt to post pictures with my updates, yet I fear I am running out of valid pictures before I resort to recycling old ones and so forth, I suppose that is a call to update more of my maps and draw more of them out. I also just realized I cannot indent, bothersome to say the least, moving on! I suppose I post this to declaim that I work continuously on, though albeit with a vast amount of distractions, my world and everything involving it,and the progress is promising. I suppose this post will delve slightly on my distraction base, coupled together with my intent with stories and campaigns, and the turns players may make. Let me make on thing stringently clear, whomever you are reading this, be it the small group of friends I have, or one or two observers, my games can and are able to veer off the beaten path at any point, if that is the desired affect. I have told my gamers this on many an occasion, and yet every event where that takes place I feel I am at times met with glossy expressions of seeming understanding and comprehension. I do not mean any intent of offense or any malicious candor, rather I hope this conveys a written page of proof and coherence that I am working towards. You can at any point decide to say "Fuck all" and trudge away journeying for treasure or glory or what have you. I have indeed prepared an epic story, but if it be not in this game, so be it and no ill will forthcoming. There was a time when I would be near the point of a nervous breakdown for I had prepared all these side quests, meticulously, creatively, and yet had failed utterly. I believe many of my players can recall this, yet since then I have kept my "Letter sending from kings or queens" to a minimum or on a broad broad broad scale, to a point where the entire group is effected or does not curtail off into some single minded side quest. This all returns back to how I have shattered the bonds and tethers that keep me grounded to a rail-roaded mind set, and am now free to allow free and absolute roaming, I have this continent of Eharlith, I have the World of Entrathia, go where you wish. Do the NPC's and story and other elements seem vague or hollow when you go off the beaten path? Is that a product of my doing, or perhaps the player should understand the teetering relationship between Game Master and Player. But this is a post to make clear that freedom of choice is always a possibility, now lets not jump to conclusions that this is what I ultimately want for every game for eternium, rather I just want this to be an understood notion. I am at the point that if the game suffers because one player is so self centered as not to think for a modicum of time of other players' fun, well it should be the players, and ultimately I, that continue on to enjoy our game, disregarding the usurper and erroneous player. The party chooses to go off the path, to say "To hell with this we want gold and loot" and so I shall make it so, but keep in mind then the story I had prepared, it will go to another party, one that wishes for a story rather than ground pounding loot hunting. Both scenarios, honestly, do not bother me to the point of tears or quitting, both are definitely interesting in their own rights, and I am glad to explore the intricacies of map-and-player-relationship along with the players. So hopefully this added some clarity, run off the path, and should it take you to death or the story had a better hoard of gold, do not look to me :3 (I am an absolute lover of players being the creators of their own demise, so it hopefully instills some wisdom and innovative approach, though I will not mire myself unto these grounds). 
    Four spaces will do for an indent, now as for the distractions, slowly but surely I am working continuously on my world, my continents, and the epic campaigns that will approach with the once-a-month-crew (Though I see the once a month changing attendees). I am currently enjoying the ever loving hell out of intertwining previous characters from other groups into different groups and games, it is creating quite the enjoyable immersion scape, and by doing this I am morphing the world around the players and creating back story and tales and gods and so on. So while this continues so do the distractions and outside influences, I am always attempting to write down or enhance my world, but sometimes a cigar is just a good smoke, and so I feel the need to vent and purge my thoughts on mindless games and so forth, which I most definitely do, just know that I am working as much around that (with added chuckled intended here) as I can, and am getting down as much as I can as well, it is a difficult process though. Understand that I created this continent of Eharlith about a year and a half ago (thought I started it then and I actually finished it last year January-ish) and only just got the world Entrathia and neighboring Continents created in less that time. I am struggling to get the story elements and world created, but let us not kid ourselves, that will not be finished........ever I believe, but I will damn well try. Candidly I would like to take 2 years, no bills no payments nothing, and work just on this in a Davinci like workshop, that to me would be pure solace, but alas, there is so much more to life than just that. So! While I am distracted at times, and on point at times, I think 4 posts (thought I'm sure there will be some more far into the future) is enough to expose that I am working on Entrathia, and making a world in parallel with running 2 games (another is soon to be, I can see that approaching), playing 1, working on my world, some parts of my world may be less hashed out. But in some cases running games in my world with my players, especially in the parts that aren't fully created, helps to create and flesh those parts out, so! In some cases having you play the vague areas of the map is exactly what I need to further evolve the world. I think next post I'll talk about players bemusement at an outcome, and how we GM's couldn't believe you didn't see it coming :3. 
P.S. To all people reading this, all snarkiness or fury that may be gleaned from my writings are not the intent...well some snarkiness is intended, but I still have just as much fun as I did when I first started GM'ing, though now it's become far more ingrained and evolved, much to my pure unabashed happiness.
As always
Till next post, Roll your D20
Ryan          

A lengthy explanation, also some more intrigue

I suppose I'll add a picture with part of this explanation and some intrigue, as this is most likely the intrigue part, and everyone loves cartography. I have a new home! Indeed after scouring the internet, drinking liters upon liters of mead, flagons of ale, cooked turkey legs, and a large amount of pen scribbling, I have found the picture and site I am most happy with, with luck I will remain here for the duration of however long this lasts. I apologize for changing so abruptly after only having just started my other page in that Other place, but sadly it could not fulfill the needs I have accrued, with picture and blog. I was fearful that eventually my very lovely picture that was actually of RiverRun in Skyrim, would remain a remnant of memory as more and more of the tasteless grey bar overtook the entire page, as I posted. So! Here I am, hopefully to stay, and write away.
Now that we have that unpleasant business aside, I would just like all those that patronize my blog to behold the work that I continue to put into my map and world, roads and cities and towns that were not there before are springing up, almost out of thin air! So whilst the party journeys forthwith out into the wide yonder of fantasy and epic tales, there is a large amount of "You walk upon the AncestralKing Road, the large blocks set into place look weathered by ice and the unforgiving winds of the Tundra of Azulem-Num", that will accompany the party and traverses of Entrathia. For now I believe it necessary to make this known to many a people that play, or will play my games in the future, or even use my map, with me as a player, that would be quite an experience. It is upon player death that I now speak of, I am sure that the ensuing gasp or chortle is currently being conjured forth as I type this, but let's attempt to delve into this subject. I have had very very very very very few, and by few I mean an iota, small molecule, tiny particles worth of players die in my games; and of course I mean death, dead, no longer breathing, spirit is gone and refuses to return or resurrection isn't an option. I think it goes without saying that player death is *ahem* lame. As I play on, and GM on I feel though that an incurable impasse is approaching, there will come a time that there may be a TPK, though I shudder at the thought, or someone will die and their souls will be devoured in kind. I do this not out of malice, never that, though out of either story building, or to strike some fear and humbleness into the players' hearts. For too long have I heard the proverbial scoff at the possible impending death, with an air of grandiose bravado behind that scoff, by this I mean a haughty belief one will come out unscathed, or that if death takes place they can resurrect, or rectify the problem. The less immersed you are in your character, the less I care, also the less you are aware that not every temple is an over glorified healing hut, the better off you will be. Remember that death is possible, and I will make it possible in game that your players soul is taken away, with no "Ryan" luck points or "Get out of jail free" cards, be aware of the changing dynamic that this world has created in me, and hopefully you. Approach things in a new manner, a group recently had just surmised that they wished to tackle an issue without wanton destruction or "Kicking in the door" as it were. I admired their struggle to find a different route to take, a different path to trek. I understand that to do this you must be given the tools in which to act out of the norm, and tackle a problem with a new ideal or method, I will endeavor my gods damned ass off to make it possible, there is only so much I can do though. Death is always present, there is usually another avenue to take, and every new change in dynamic will hopefully give the players and myself a whole new perspective and kick ass method to winning a dungeon. This is not to say that squishing a skull here and there is bad, by Earus I had a jolly old time playing a Balor against my players, the way they fought and the stance the battle hardened soldier was taking, almost brought a tear to my GM eye, a tear of story awesome-ness. Take what you will with this post, it is only a guide and example of my thought process and belief of certain gaming elements.
Should you disagree, wondeful! Please let me know why and state it in the responses, should you agree, lets share some southfarthing Pipe weed, and be like Hobbits and share a tale or two. Either way, let this enlighten you as to the reasoning behind my creations and world building, not to leave out game running.
As always
Till next post, Roll your D20
Ryan  

A Fledgling start

I suppose both the picture and this post, along with the first post, is indicative of my current feelings and stance on this blog, and the current work being done on my world. I have already "Finished" Eharlith, though I put "Finished" in quotes because it in reality is far from it, and am turning my sights to Alsanaan, the continent south of Eharlith. I am in no way completely done with Eharlith, and will work as much as my time allows, and my focus allows, to continue making it more immersive (this isn't how you spell immersive?) and full bodied. A quick side note to keep in mind as I write this update, firstly I am nigh on falling asleep with a loud thud against my keyboard, but I want to attempt to post at least daily (thought it's technically the "next day" for me) and secondly I am not entirely aware of how I am going to approach this update business, so off I go.
Alsanaan, as far as I have, and or, am willing to divulge, is continent I believe will be divided from the northern continent of Eharlith by a massive mountain range/some other obstacle, and with have a small section connected to Georamia, Georamia being North East of Alsanaan. Alsanaan will be a place mired deeply in culture, riches, and powerful factions, but not realms per se, I suppose when I made this continent I had in mind more of a large ocean based trading land like area, with Island chains and a few isles south and south east, as can be seen in the picture. Of course there will be a million more updates along the way, but as for now here is the fledgling beginning, a large land mass, though not larger than Eharlith or even perhaps Georamia, but still its southern ocean could give it infinite amounts of sea faring adventure and so forth. The Hakarian Islands to the south east I believe I will make a separate post for, but lets just say it will definitely have a curious dichotomy between being part of the regular trading and exchange of Entrathia, and its own little world, in a certain sense!
Well that's about all I can muster, my keyboard keys are starting to look like a nice place to sleep, so before that occurs, I'll take myself away to bed. I look forward to working more and more on Alsanaan, I may deviate a great amount from this post, or others, but then this is a blog about all things RPG, GMing and so on and so on.
Till next post, roll your D20
Ryan

The Beginning

How can I truly begin something that I want to speak to my players, my friends, my own inner monologue, this seems a good a choice as any. There is a plethora of reasons as to why I am creating this nOOb blog as I am calling it, but for summary sake there is one reason above all else that stands out, for my players, and anyone else, to truly understand my feelings and motivations and standing on games, RPG's, and everything involving fantasy and so on. There is no wondrous way to start a long and most likely drawn out segment about everything involving GM'ing and so on, "I am born" seems a little pretentious, and "A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away" is just ridiculous. How about, I roll my initiative, the D20 says 15, a GM's go to number.
Most of all this is a message to my players, friends, and all those that see this, all you sad sad 5 people that read this (attempt at blog humor) I create this to answer unasked questions, to define my thought process and creative process, the reasoning behind my sudden bouts of anger in response to a sudden change in our games, the work and updates of my world, "ENTRATHIA" maps to be posted (there will be pictures, oh there will be) and all manner of subjects involved with that. There may be a day I decide "Sci-fi has to happen here" and thus sci-fi or *ahem* speculative fiction as some writers call it, will crawl its way unto these boxes of text. Pretty much, I suppose, you could call this a 'whatever I may fancy blog' but more often than not it will contain fantasy maps, reasoning's behind why I GM the way I do, and so on.
That was a happy beginning, if I may say so, who's to say though, I suppose commentators and whomever, but here I am, with my funny icon picture that is a Tarrasque 'om noming' some Adventurers, poking away at my keyboard, offering what explanation I can as to the nature and reasoning behind all this. Ah! Before I forget and post this for time immemorial, or until my computer self-destructs :3, I ask you all to attempt to read all that I write, some may be dribble, and I will do my best to edit before posting, and if you're curious about my games, world, religion of world, politics of world, economy of world, and so on, this will most Definitely! Be the spot for it, and if you decide "Hey, that Ryan guy is a Pretentious Asshat" well then I ask you to look elsewhere and promptly go eff thine self :D. But in all seriousness I hope this adds clarity and a looking glass into all the games I hope you all have enjoyed that I have GM'ed.
Till next post, roll your D20
Ryan