Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Snow & Ego-feeding

If there’s any justice in the universe, by the time you’re reading this I’ll be enjoying a nice cup of tea and watching the snow accumulate outside my window. I’ve stocked the larder with snow day treats and rented a few movies to wait out the predicted storm with, but I’m anticipating doing some hobby-related writing during much of the day. I have some sandbox filling to do in preparation for the forthcoming campaign and I’ve just stumbled upon an adventure hook I want to explore, one involving failed prophecies and fallen notions. Perhaps Balthazar has found the saucer news?

The secondary reason for spending the (potential) snowbound day writing is that it’s time to get those muscles flexing again in preparation for the Stonehell Dungeon sequel. Next month marks the return to those night-haunted halls and a journey deeper into its forbidding depths, so it’s time to get back in creative shape. I’d hate to disappoint with the sequel, which are notoriously uneven by their very nature.

Regarding Stonehell, I do have a request for you fine folks. I’ve noticed that a few of you out there are either currently using the dungeon in your campaign or plan to do so in the near future. I’m extremely curious to hear of you and your players’ experiences with the dungeon. By this, I don’t mean “They love it” or “It sucks mud, Mike” (although feel free to pass those along if you wish), but instead HOW you are using the dungeon. If you regularly do post-game write-ups, I invite you to send me a copy of your exploits. If you’re blogging about the game, drop me a link so I can follow along. I’m mostly interested in what you’re doing to make the place your own.

Of the write-ups that I know of out there, James Miskimen of The Call of the Dungeon blog writes my favorite. Not only does James do them in character, but he’s truly made the dungeon his own beast, which makes reading about the place very interesting for this author. It was my hope that people would take this exact approach with Stonehell Dungeon and I’m pleased James has been doing so for so long (James and his players first started exploring Stonehell when it was just a bunch of PDFs). You can catch up on his reports here.

So why not win fame and renown for yourself and your players by clueing me into your own exploits into Stonehell? Leave a comment here or send an email to poleandrope[at]gmail[dot]com. I’d love to hear from you.

4 comments:

R. Lawrence Blake said...

It can be done! Sequels to make you feel better about your own sequel:

Godfather II
Toy Story II
LotR Trilogy
Empire Strikes Back
Terminator II
Phantasm II (I don't care what anyone says. This movie rocks!)
Evil Dead II

I doubt you'll disappoint. :)

Anonymous said...

Michael,

I personally love Stonehell, and though I haven't explored enough of it to actually begin posting write-ups, I plan to do so in the future.

That said, I left a pretty extensive comment on Gothridge Manor's blog that I link to from my site. I'd appreciate it if you'd check it out and tell me what you think.

Obviously, the comment wasn't particularly about Stonehell as much as it was about the differences between Solo and Group DMing, but I discuss how I'm using Stonehell as the center of my sandbox Solo-PC world.

Thanks,
Brenton

Tenkar said...

Hope you got your snow day... I couldn't justify staying home from work (although my 16 y/o son shoveled 4 times yesterday... w/o being prompted).

Stonehell is a great read. Haven't had the chance to put it in action yet, but when I do I'll let you know.

David The Archmage said...

Another sequel to make you feel better about yours:

Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan