Some more D&D 4e love, need to play more, and stupid weather
I am right in the middle of two writing projects: one an adventure using the 3.5 rules, and the other using 4e. Both are long and complicated projects that require a lot of planning to get things right. In terms of plot, I am enjoying writing the 3.5 adventure much more, because it is the final Crimson Codex adventures for the Xen'drik Expeditions campaign. It has given me the chance to go back and look through old adventures, tie up loose ends, and just reminisce for a few moments about all the fun I have had working on that campaign.
That said, the rules headaches and stat block frustration of the 3.5 adventure is enormous. Even though I am still getting the hang of 4e rules, having only written one 4e adventure so far, there is no comparison at all. I have literally written 4 comparable 4e encounters in the time it takes me to write one 3.5 encounter. Now a lot of this is the fact that I am trying to put "cool things" into the 3.5 encounter, so I am rummaging through over a dozen books, as compared to the 2 books I am using for 4e. But still, just the stat block figuring and refiguring alone is driving me crazy.
In the 4e adventure, which is a project I cannot talk about right now, I am in the middle of sketching out what I hope is going to be a fairly involved by highly amusing skill challenge. I am a big fan of the skill challenge format, although many good adventure writers and DMs were using similar systems in their work in 3e, even though there wasn't a name for it.
I am also in one of those places where I have written so much since the last time I judged, that I am getting antsy. I want to play the game again. Soon. I don't believe in writer's block, but I do believe in the field of RPG adventure writing you start to lose your edge if you don't keep playing/DMing. And I was never the sharpest knife in the drawer to begin with . . .
I am not a big fan of hot weather--hence living in the north. I seem to remember a time when it was in the 20s and 30s in the winter, 50s and 60s in the spring and fall, and 80s and 90s in the summer here. And I loved the spring and fall. I swear that for the last three years, it has been in the 20s and 30s for 175 days, in the 80s for 175 days, and in the comfortable 50s and 60s for only a week in the spring and a week in the fall. This makes me unhappy. I want someone to do something about this.
That said, the rules headaches and stat block frustration of the 3.5 adventure is enormous. Even though I am still getting the hang of 4e rules, having only written one 4e adventure so far, there is no comparison at all. I have literally written 4 comparable 4e encounters in the time it takes me to write one 3.5 encounter. Now a lot of this is the fact that I am trying to put "cool things" into the 3.5 encounter, so I am rummaging through over a dozen books, as compared to the 2 books I am using for 4e. But still, just the stat block figuring and refiguring alone is driving me crazy.
In the 4e adventure, which is a project I cannot talk about right now, I am in the middle of sketching out what I hope is going to be a fairly involved by highly amusing skill challenge. I am a big fan of the skill challenge format, although many good adventure writers and DMs were using similar systems in their work in 3e, even though there wasn't a name for it.
I am also in one of those places where I have written so much since the last time I judged, that I am getting antsy. I want to play the game again. Soon. I don't believe in writer's block, but I do believe in the field of RPG adventure writing you start to lose your edge if you don't keep playing/DMing. And I was never the sharpest knife in the drawer to begin with . . .
I am not a big fan of hot weather--hence living in the north. I seem to remember a time when it was in the 20s and 30s in the winter, 50s and 60s in the spring and fall, and 80s and 90s in the summer here. And I loved the spring and fall. I swear that for the last three years, it has been in the 20s and 30s for 175 days, in the 80s for 175 days, and in the comfortable 50s and 60s for only a week in the spring and a week in the fall. This makes me unhappy. I want someone to do something about this.