From the Attic: The first wilderlands campaign

Here James Mishler relates the account of how the Wilderlands of High Fantasy started as a successor to a campaign in Middle Earth that Bob Bledsaw was running. The characters hopped in a portal and found themselves in a strange new world where they could explore and make their mark.

Ironically that nearly describes how my first Wilderlands campaign started. I was running a small gaming group whose characters were known as the Reign. The campaign world was the World of Greyhawk.

By the time they reached 10th level or so I was growing dissatsified with running Greyhawk. The howling emptiness of the 30 mile hexes were tedious to fill. The various realms were too grand. Their scale was beyond what I felt even 10th level characters could measurably effect. Finally I just needed more support due to my relative inexperience at the time.

The Wilderlands freed me from generating the low level details and allowed me to focus on the grand overview. It's scale was near prefect as players would definitely have an impact on the various town and villages described. So one session I annouced that I was moving the campaign over to the Wilderlands. A portal appeared before the Reign, yes I was that heavy handed, and they could go through or be left behind.

When they went through the port they found themselves in the Wilderlands and began exploring. By the time they reached 15th to 16 th level they were well on their way on estabilshing realms of their own. The earliest notes I still have date from this campaign.

Merry Christmas

A merry Christmas to all.

Judges Guild Modules

Note that Goodman's line of Judges Guild are also included in the sales.

Goodman Judges Guild Page
Thieves of Fortress Badabaskor
Citadel of Fire
Dark Tower

I did the maps and layout for all three and I am co-author (with Bob Bledsaw since it is a remake) of Fortress Badabaskor. So if you want to see how I write up dungeons in addition to mini-setting this is your chance. Badabaskor is probably the closest thing you will get to a sandbox dungeon. Like the original it isn't a place that you hit and clean out. But a location that you can revisit over and over again.

There is now a 10th circle of hell reserved for 3.X stat blocks. I don't have any serious issues with 3.5 as a game or using stat blocks. Writin them however is a whole different story. I have to do a lot technical writing as a software developer often to exacting standards. Writing 3.X stat blocks is the most miseriable piece of technical writing I have ever had to do.

Citade of Fire is similar to Badabaskor but centered around a wizard's tower and the nearby communties. It is probably has the most stuff packed in and includes the citadel, a village, and a necropolis among other thigns.

Dark Tower is a straightforward conversion of the original. However as classic the original was there were some issues in the layout and format and I think even if you don't like 3.X you will find this version a lot easier to use.

So again after Decemeber 31st you won't be able to get this anymore new.

Note: Please don't let the presence of 3.x stat block turn you off of these three modules. We were able to up the page count on all of them so nothing was cut due to the presence of the stat blocks.

A note from Goodman Games

Joseph Goodman from Goodman Games has given me my big break with Points of Light and I really appreciate this. So when he asks for help publicizing something I am more than glad to return the favor.

I plan to pick up a couple of DCCs and notably the two biggies Castle White Rock and The Known Realms. At $5 a piece that is a good deal. Considering that most of my gaming is on-line using a virtual table top (Fantasy Grounds) I might actually get some use out of White Rock.

I am always a sucker for reading about another campaign world. It isn't enough that I am a walking encyclopedia on our own planet's history I have to thrown in two dozen more even if they are imaginary.

Last Call for 3.5!

On December 31, Goodman Games will stop selling its 3.5 products. This is
the last call.

Visit our online store to purchase what is left of our 3.5 product at 50%
off. You can find the online store at
http://www.goodman-games.com/store.html

For the rest of December, you can also visit our PDF store to purchase 3.5
PDF e-books at $2 each. Remember ­ after December 31, they¹re gone forever!
You can find the PDF store at http://goodmangames.rpgnow.com/

Last call!

A note from the Attic

I apologize for the recent lack of posts. The holidays with my family has killed my blogging time. I plan to resume after Christmas. I should have a couple of days to build my post queue again and resume commentary and the map tutorial.

Be Safe and have a Happy Holiday