Roleplaying Tips Weekly E-Zine Issue #314
Generating Books
Contents:
This Week's Tips Summarized
Generating Books
- What Are Books?
- Book Contents And Collections
- Creating Books
- For Your Consideration - Book Examples
Readers' Tips Summarized
- Getting Sessions Started
From: Alex Santos
- Tip For Reducing Table Chatter
From: Mark S Hoffman
- Have Your Minis Ready
From: Ken Jelinek
- WallBanners
From: Joe Kelly
Return to Contents
Buy WindZone!
WindZone introduces a new skill based system, new flying
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Buy WindZone!
Return to Contents
A Brief Word From Johnn
War Tips Request
I've received a couple of war-themed requests that you might
have some tips or ideas about:
- Have you ever done an issue on military orders?
(Requirements, rituals, ranks, organization, hierarchy,
etc.?)
I'm running a campaign in David Weber's Oath of Swords
world. (Oath of swords/the War God's Own/Windriders Oath)
and my players want to join the order of Tomanak.
Thanks,
Arcangel
- I'm currently GMing a campaign where a civil war is about
to break out between rival factions. I was wondering if
you could do an article on large scale battles in
campaigns and having PCs involved in the fighting. I'm
not sure what type of encounters to do, how to level out
the playing field between PCs and the ordinary soldier,
etc. It would be awesome if you could provide advice on
the subject.
Will
If you have any experience with either of these topics, I'd
love to hear from you. Thanks!
Chat at 7pm MDT Friday June 16
7pm-8pm MDT (6pm PDT, 8pm CDT, and 9pm EDT) is the time of
the chat I'll be hosting in a couple of Fridays. Use this
link to see what time that is in your time zone:
Chat with Johnn - June 16
Hope to see you there!
Cheers,
Johnn Four,
johnn@roleplayingtips.com
Return to Contents
Monster Geographica: Plain & Desert PDF Release
Expeditious Retreat Press has released Monster Geographica:
Plain & Desert in electronic format! Books will be hitting
shelves in July 2006, and XRP is taking preorders at their
on-line store. Look for Fiery Dragon's Counter Collection:
Endless Horizons to accompany these 200 monsters of the
flatlands. Also pick up other titles at XRP's on-line store:
Underground, Marsh & Aquatic, Forest, and Hill & Mountain!
www.XRPshop.citymax.com
Return to Contents
Generating Books
A guest article by Garry Stahl, June 2006
Books are the lifeblood of an RPG game, whether as the
source of the game rules, in-game treasure, or plot points.
The problem for the game master with books as treasure is to
determine what books are found, how to describe them, and
how to make each important one interesting enough so players
will take an interest. Use the following information and
tips to re-think books and craft ones that serve your game
well.
Return to Contents
1. What Are Books?
Let's start with the basic concepts. What is a book? Man has
written on every surface one can think of, from stone to
beaten brass to ivory to human skin still on the human. One
Last Will was famously written on the only thing the dying
man could find, the shell of a chicken egg. What we are
concerned with here are the portable writings--what we call
books. In this issue I will touch on the materials books are
made of and how they are bound. Ink and color are subjects
unto themselves and I will not touch on them here.
Clay Tablets
The first portable writings we are aware of are clay tablets
made in ancient Sumer. Dried clay tablets have obvious
problems because you cannot bind a bunch of them together.
Drop one and you have dirt. Get it wet and you have mud. The
only reason for the survival of many of the clay tablets is
the archives they were in burned, and the clay was semi-
fired making it more durable. Cuneiform, Linear A, and
Linear B were written on clay tablets.
Papyrus
The second common writing material seen in the West was
papyrus. This wetlands plant, once common in Egypt, was used
for many things from woven mats and wall hangings to a
writing surface. A sheet of papyrus is made from the stem of
the plant. The outer rind is first stripped off and the
sticky fibrous inner pith is cut lengthwise into thin
strips. The strips are then placed on a hard surface, with
their edges slightly overlapping, and a second layer of
strips is laid on top at a right angle.
While still moist, the two layers are hammered together,
compressing them into a single sheet. The sheet is then
dried under pressure and then polished with a hard, rounded
object. The resulting surface is not as smooth as paper, but
good enough to write upon.
Papyrus several thousand years of age has been found in
Egypt. The material is easy to preserve in a dry climate. In
wetter climates mold quickly attacks the plant fibers and
breaks it down.
More details on papyrus at Wikipedia.
Parchment
Animal hide was first used as a writing surface in the
ancient period as a replacement for papyrus, which was
getting rare. It was commonly used in the Medieval period
almost exclusively. Parchment, as it is commonly called, is
difficult to prepare and use. Under the right conditions it
can last for centuries, but it is highly affected by its
environment.
I have personally handled a deed written in the Reign of
Henry VII. The parchment was stiff, and you could tell that
trying to make it do anything but roll in the direction it
had long been rolled would cause it to crack. The document
was still readable however, if you knew the English of the
period.
Parchment is made from the skins of animals, sheep and
calves being the most common. Calfskin parchment is where
the word vellum comes from, "vitulis" being the Latin word
for calf. It is also the root of the word veal. I will not
go into the methods of preparation here except to note they
are tedious and involved (not to mention messy). While still
made today, few things are written on parchment.
More on Parchment and its historyat
Wikipedia.
Paper
Lastly we come to paper. Paper was invented in China and
made its way to the west via traders during the Renaissance.
Paper is made from fibers suspended in solution. What fiber
you use can vary. Wood pulp, rice, and cloth--both cotton
and linen--have been used for paper. US currency is
currently made solely from new cotton.
Paper is made by passing a fine screen through a vat of the
suspended pulp fibers. Depending on the skill of the paper
maker, or the quality of the machine that is used, the paper
can be thick or thin, smooth or rough.
The latter is the one of the main advantages of paper in
that the maker has control of the process. With parchment
you get what the animal grows. With paper you decide.
The second advantage is that paper making is easily
automated. Once you have the paper making machine you can
crank out all you need. A machine that could make paper with
the turn of a crank was made prior to the industrial
revolution.
Paper is the most durable of the three materials discussed.
It can withstand wet conditions and attack by mold. Only
prolonged soaking in water or fire will destroy it,
externally. Otherwise, the lasting qualities of paper depend
on the method used to process the pulp. Sadly, the wood pulp
papers of the early 20th century are high in acid content,
and the books made with it are crumbling to dust. Earlier
linen pulp papers last. Books hundreds of years old are
still with us and readable. I have in my library a book of
music dated 1787, and other than the cover damage,and
obvious heavy use, it is in good condition.
Further information on paper at
Wikipedia.
Other Materials
Other materials have been used, as noted. Before they
invented paper the Chinese wrote on bamboo strips. Egyptians
often wrote notes on broken pottery or even chips of stone.
The Romans used everything from imported papyrus, wax
tablets, and thin wood sheets of which hundreds have been
found in Vindolanda at the foot of Hadrian's Wall.
Binding Pages
Once you have your written pages there is the matter of how
to keep them together. Several solutions have been used
throughout the ages. The Chinese tied bamboo strips into
scrolls. Ancient Tibetan monks would tie the loose pages
between two wood covers, but the sheets are loose between
them.
The first binding commonly used in Western history is the
roll or scroll. Sheets of papyrus or parchment would be sewn
end to end to create a long roll. This was either rolled
loose or wound around a wooden rod for storage. The only
common use of this form today is the Tora scroll used in
Jewish Synagogues.
Sometime along the way someone got the idea that folding the
scroll would make it easier to handle. So you fold the pages
"W" style, sew the inner folds together and place the whole
into a cover. This is the codex. I have a Passover book in
this format. Very beautifully illustrated. The term is also
used for any bound book of antiquity. I prefer the former
usage to differentiate the bound scroll form the book.
The problem with the codex is you only use half the sides to
write on. The book is twice as thick as the number of pages.
The solution to this was to take the scroll apart, write on
both sides of the sheet and bind the whole together in what
we familiarly call a book. This kind of binding has been
used with papyrus, parchment, and paper.
There are two ways to do this that are used. One is to bind
single sheets with either thread or glue inside a cover.
This method with glue is commonly used for paperback books,
and with thread for older manuscripts written on single
pages.
The other binding way is to print the book on sheets twice
the size of the page desired. Fold the pages into sections,
sew those together, and then sew the sections into the
complete book. The cover is then added. Anyone with old
copies of the First Edition AD&D core books has an example
of this method. Look closely at the binding. You can see the
book is made of sections of folded sheets sewn together.
Books made this way are sturdy and will take a great deal of
abuse. Pages do not fall out of them.
Return to Contents
2. Book Contents And Collections
Now that we have touched on the history and method of the
book, we will discuss libraries. Everyone knows of the
famous Library of Alexandra, said to have contained all the
wisdom of the ancients. That was a rare example. In the days
before the printing press, books were made by hand and
tended to be short.
An ancient book of some fame, "The Art of Horsemanship," is
about 16 standard pages. A mere pamphlet by modern
standards. An extensive private library could contain as
many as a dozen or twenty books. Keep this in mind if your
game world is pre-printing press. Books will be rare
treasures and treasures indeed when found.
Gutenberg began the production of his famous Bible in 1452,
the year Leonardo da Vinci was born. He finished that first
run in 1455 as the War of the Roses was heating up in
England. Incidentally, while trying to make a profit (he
failed) he revolutionized the world. By the mid 1500s a man
could have all the knowledge of the world on his library
shelves. It was, for the first and the last time in history,
possible to know everything. A rich man might have a hundred
books, in several languages, and be able to read them all.
Today I am looking at more books on the one subject of role-
playing here in my computer room than the Medieval monk
would have had on everything. I own more books on more
subjects than the rich man of the Renaissance would have
owned, or could have owned. (There are 247 book on the RPG
shelves in my Sanctum. This does not include the 10
collections of loose "plan" sheets, the two CD-ROM PDF
collections, the books inside the 13 boxed sets, the books
on the shelf above me, or computer documentation. I can
reasonably estimate there are 400 plus books in this room,
and well over 1000 volumes in my house, and I am a light
collector among fans.) Perhaps amid the plenty, we have
forgotten their value.
Return to Contents
3. Creating Books
Here are a few tables for randomly creating books in your
game world. Also included are a few charts of my own
creation and access to the best subject chart of all: the
Dewey Decimal System.
[Johnn: the plain text formatting below to make reading the
charts easy might be lost in translation. Feel free to grab
the RTF version
]
Book Construction
What is the book printed or written on?
d20 |
Material |
1-7 |
Paper |
1-3 |
Rice |
4-9 |
Linen |
10-14 |
Wood pulp |
14-17 |
Cotton |
18-19 |
Mix of the above |
20 |
Something different |
8-13 |
Parchment |
1-8 |
Lamb |
9-16 |
Calf |
17-19 |
Goat |
20 |
Other animal: |
1-6 |
Cervine (deer type) |
7-12 |
Equine (horse type) |
13-18 |
Bovine (other cow type) |
19 |
Human/humanoid |
20 |
Get inventive |
14-15 |
Papyrus |
16-17 |
Wood panels |
1-4 |
Linden |
5-7 |
Rowan |
8-10 |
Oak |
11-13 |
Ash |
14-16 |
Walnut |
17-19 |
Cherry |
20 |
Other |
18-19 |
Metal sheets |
1-9 |
Brass |
10-14 |
Copper |
15-17 |
Silver |
18-19 |
Gold |
20 |
Platinum/mithral |
Metal sheets are: |
1-5 |
Painted |
6-10 |
Embossed (one side only) |
11-15 |
Engraved (both sides) |
16-20 |
Etched (both sides) |
20 |
Something else |
1-6 |
Bamboo |
7-11 |
Ivory |
12-18 |
Slate |
19-20 |
Unusual or magical stuff |
Book Binding Type
The sheets are bound:
d20 |
Method |
1-2 |
Scroll (does not work with stiff materials) |
3-4 |
Loose |
5-12 |
Separate sheets sewn |
13-18 |
Sections sewn |
19-20 |
Codex |
Book Binding Material
The book is bound in:
d20 |
Materials |
1-5 |
Wood (see above for type) |
1-6 |
Bare |
7-11 |
Carved |
12-15 |
Carved and gilded |
16 |
Carved, gilded, and jeweled |
17-20 |
Covered in |
|
1-4 |
Cloth |
|
5-6 |
Leather plain (see "parchment" for type) |
|
7-8 |
Leather tooled |
|
9-10 |
Leather tooled and gilded |
6-10 |
Leather (see "Parchment" for type) |
1-8 |
Plain |
9-16 |
Leather tooled |
17-20 |
Leather tooled and gilded |
11-15 |
Cloth |
1-5 |
Unstiffened |
6-20 |
Stiffened with: |
|
1-10 |
Leather |
|
11-20 |
Wood |
16 |
Ivory (wood backing) |
17 |
Stone |
18 |
Amber (wood backing) |
19-20 |
Metal with or without wood backing |
1-9 |
Brass |
10-14 |
Copper |
15-17 |
Silver |
18-19 |
Gold |
20 |
Platinum/mithral |
Book Condition
How physically readable is the book?
3d6 |
Condition |
3-4 |
Scraps |
5-6 |
Very poor |
7-8 |
Poor |
9-10 |
Fair |
11-12 |
Good |
13-14 |
Very good |
15-16 |
Excellent |
17-18 |
Mint |
Scraps: Unreadable and likely in small pieces. i.e. The
condition of many of the Dead Sea scrolls. Little
information can be gleaned from this work without a great
deal of effort, and at that it is only 10% to 80% (d8)
complete.
Very poor: Nearly unreadable and missing parts. This book
will have pages missing or be in fragments, but the majority
of the work is intact. The ink will be faded, and perhaps
flaked off in places. Margins will be worn/torn/burned and
might intrude into the text. The pages might be stained with
any sort of matter. The book will be 81% to 100% complete
(d20).
Poor: Intact but in bad condition. It might be missing the
cover, have bad stains on the pages, have tattered pages,
etc.
Fair: The book has its cover and all pages. It can be care-
worn, have loose pages, a broken spine, dog-ears, etc., but
the book is whole and readable.
Good: The book might show sign of wear and heavy use, but is
unbroken or stained.
Very good: Some signs of shelf wear.
Excellent: The book is as new, but might have small wear
signs.
Mint: It has just been written or printed, or at least it
looks that way.
Book Contents
Is the information contained in the book accurate?
If fiction, is it readable and enjoyable?
3d6
Quality |
Comments |
3-4 |
Dangerous |
non-fiction |
This book will impart dangerously wrong information. |
fiction |
Rip your eyes out. _Bad_ work. |
5-6 |
Worthless |
non-fiction |
The book is dead wrong, but not in a way that
will hurt you. |
fiction |
You would sooner face 100 orcs than
read this book. |
7-8 |
Error prone |
non-fiction |
This book has just enough right information
to hold up the wrong parts. |
fiction |
Well, it's read this or bang your head
on the wall. |
9-10 |
Poorly researched |
non-fiction |
No patently bad data, but it is not well
presented. |
fiction |
"It was a dark and stormy night." |
11-12 |
Fair resource |
non-fiction |
Covers the subject well enough for the
idly curious. |
fiction |
A decent, light read. |
13-14 |
Good resource |
non-fiction |
Covers the subject well enough for
the dilettante. |
fiction |
Engaging. |
15-16 |
Excellent resource |
non-fiction |
Covers the subject well enough
for the serious. |
fiction |
Rip-the-covers-off page-turner. |
17-18 |
Definitive resource |
non-fiction |
No better work on the subject. |
fiction |
Classic for the ages. |
Book Subject Matter
The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system, devised by
library pioneer Melvil Dewey in the 1870s, is one of the
best methods ever for organizing a library. It can also be
used to randomly create the general subject of books found
in treasure. That is our use here. Keep in mind that this is
a dynamic system and is updated monthly. This is not a
concern unless you plan to run a real library.
Unless one is running a modern era game, the system is not
applicable in its current form except in the most general
categories. This should be considered a starting off point
for the game master's own classification efforts customized
to their own world. I have my version of this. The basic
Dewey Decimal System is presented here "as is" for your
customization.
The game master can use the whole, complex system, or simply
roll a d10 to get a general category. My general method is
to roll 3d10. The first for the general category, the other
two for the number in the general category.
Number |
Subject |
000 |
Generalities |
100 |
Philosophy & psychology |
200 |
Religion |
300 |
Social sciences |
400 |
Language |
500 |
Natural sciences & mathematics |
600 |
Technology (Applied sciences) |
700 |
The arts |
800 |
Literature & rhetoric |
900 |
Geography & history |
The rest of the Dewey Decimal System can be found at:
Dewey Decimal Classification System
Return to Contents
4. For Your Consideration - Book Examples
The obvious thrust of this is to use books in your games. We
are all familiar with the "Necronomicon" of Lovecraft or the
Egyptian "Book of the Dead", a book of spells to get you
safely to the afterlife. Likewise, the trope of a map or
letter laid within or hidden in a book are common enough.
Herein are a few books on which the GM can hang plots.
"The Dolmendian Manuscript"
Frequency: Unique
Author: Unknown
Binding: Plain wood plaques with red cord
This parchment manuscript of 14 leaves is a highly stylized
book of 26 poems, two to a page, plus the tail piece and the
title page. The calligraphic style of the ancient lettering
is nearly impossible to read, and few scholars have puzzled
out the verses in Ancient (your language here). What few
realize is the elongated and intertwined words form a visual
scene when viewed from an oblique angle. (The top of the
book looking down.) Each page is a different landmark. Taken
with the text of the poems it is a map to great treasure.
This is usable in any campaign, magical, modern, heroic,
etc. There is nothing "mystic" about the book unless the GM
inserts it.
"The Passages of Enlightenment"
Frequency: Unique
Author: The Enlightened Prophet
Binding: Papyrus scroll
This papyrus roll is the greatest treasure of a major
religion. The text of the sect's holy book is said to be
penned in the hand of the Enlightened Prophet himself. The
roll is never read. It is only removed from the richly
decorated reliquary once a year on the high holy day and
displayed.
Holy day is only a month away and The Passages of
Enlightenment have been stolen. The thieves are threatening
to open the roll and read from it. The holy men of the
temple are appalled at the sacrilege. The PCs have been
hired to retrieve the scroll at any cost. It must not be
harmed and it must not be opened!
What do the priests fear? Is the scroll a fake that contains
nothing? Has the sect deviated from the teaching of the
Enlightened Prophet and the powers that be fear a reading of
the Prophets words? Is the scroll simply so old that any
mishandling will destroy this irreplaceable artifact? That
is for the GM to decide.
"The Ch'alom"
Frequency: Extremely rare
Author: Unknown
Binding: Beaten gold plates inset with gems
Two copies of this strange work are known to exist. One was
found in the slowly freezing ruins of an alien city beneath
a white dwarf star. The second, located 30 years later, was
floating in the Kupler belt of that self same star system.
The books are, to any scan, identical, and are equally
puzzling. Each is 31 pages of beaten gold inset in gems. The
gems form 89 different characters and there are 179
characters on each page. It is believed that the Ch'alom is
the key to some great treasure. Scientist have studied the
characters for years without coming to any conclusions on
the meaning.
There isn't one. The books do have meaning, but the
characters themselves do not being semi-random. Locked
within the mathematics evident in the book is the key to
unlocking the secrets within the molecular structure of the
book itself. The prize? The collected knowledge of this long
lost race. (For the math challenged, 31 is the eleventh
prime number, 11 also being prime. 89 is the 13th prime
number after 31, and 179 is the 17th prime number after 89.
All these numbers being prime numbers. There is a code in
the structure of the pages if this pattern is followed. The
GM is invited to create the details of the quest.)
"The Garden of Forking Paths"
Frequency: Rare
Author: Sho Ten Zee
Binding: Bamboo sheets sewn together by tough snakeskin-
woven cords
Sho Ten Zee was a philosopher who is famous for seldom being
understood. His only surviving book is no exception. Many
copies exist. Most are manuscripts written by madmen, or
rather, men that became mad copying it. If your world has
the printing press as common, it may be set to type, the
typesetter having gone mad. The covers and condition vary
from copy to copy.
There is no common theme. The book is a rambling, near
unreadable morass. A casual look will convince the reader it
is worthless. A more in-depth study will reveal that the
same tale is told again and again with endless variations,
often as minor as a character either swatting or not
swatting a fly. Deep study of the work indicates it is never
the same read twice. That way lies madness.
The Garden of Forking Paths is not a book intended for
mortal men. It is tied directly into the planes of time and
chaos. It represents the mutability of the future. The tales
are different with each reading because one cannot know the
future before it happens. If one has a grasp of the
necessary magics it can be used as a focus for time travel
into the past, but never the future. Many partial copies
also exist. They are rambling useless works where utter
madness overtook the copier before they finished. It is
estimated that only 1d6 complete books exist.
"The Diary of Lucy VonTropenstien"
Frequency: Unique
Author: Lucy VonTropenstien
Binding: Red leather covers, paper pages
This book bound in red leather and written in the hand of a
fine lady is obviously the work of a bored noblewoman
detailing the trivial matters of her daily life.
It is nothing of the sort. The book is an entire work of
fiction intended to hide the true meaning. If the book is
read from back to front, reading only sixth sentence of each
entry, a different tale is told. A tale, that if revealed,
could bring to ruin the fortunes and honor of an old and
powerful family--a family that would strike back at any such
attempt. Lucy has been dead for 5 years now. It is said she
died of a fever. Or was it murder? A murder done too late to
prevent her telling the tale?
A package containing the book has just arrived in the hands
of a PC. What trail of horror and profane deeds will they
find?
* * *
I hope the reader will find inspiration for their own
creations within this short missive. Use more books in your
game no matter the genre. I hope that with these charts
books will be easier to create and detail sufficiently to be
of use to your game.
Return to Contents
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Readers' Tips Of The Week:
1. Getting Sessions Started
From: Alex Santos
Re: Immersive Session Starts from: Dave McKay
Roleplaying Tips #305
Dave's tips are mostly focused on gaming issues, but I find
that moving directly from socializing to roleplaying is a
bit harsh. To ease transition, I usually go trough these two
steps before getting to the recap:
First, every player, GM, or spectator has the obligation to
punch (lightly!) a single time the last player to arrive.
This is a funny, friendly way of punishing him for delaying
everyone else's game.
Note: This is supposed to sound funny and to draw smiles,
even on the one being punched. If at any time it begins to
feel more as an actual punishment, better quit using it.
Second, we make an homage, explaining why the person
deserves it. I ask if somebody wants to do it, and if no one
takes the role, I do it myself. Who is to be homaged is of
little importance, but having someone that's in some way
related to the game is usually better. Examples:
Gaming-related: Writers of the game/adventure to be played
in the session, an NPC or PC for an important act on the
last session(s), a player for coming to the session despite
an important obligation, a former member of the gaming
group, a spectator.
Non-related: A friend of the group, an excellent
movie/book/anything (or better, its directors, actors,
writers), a public person that deserves it, or anybody that
will make for a funny homage.
As you can see, not much of a big deal, but I find that
establishing this routine, aside from being very enjoyable
in itself, helps people feel like a session is going to
start. This, even if only subconsciously, helps people focus
better when the gaming session actually starts - usually
with the recap made directly afterwards.
Return to Contents
2. Tip For Reducing Table Chatter
From: Mark S Hoffman
I have two different groups. One plays by the rules set down
about waiting your turn. In the other I have some who blast
in with their own comments. So, I built a talking stick out
of a old blind rod and added some old shoelaces and beads.
At first it was a success, then they realized it could be
used as a weapon on each other. So, I built a new one
explaining it was just to be used to speak when it was their
turn. It seems to work and I thought your reader's might
want to build their own to help reduce table chatter.
Return to Contents
3. Have Your Minis Ready
From: Ken Jelinek
Hi Johnn,
When running an adventure where the PCs can choose multiple
forks in the road, having quick access to the miniatures
necessary for a given encounter can save a lot of time and
momentum.
Here's a trick. Before the session, put the miniatures for a
given encounter into the cheapest clear plastic sandwich
bags you can find. You can then add a sticker with the
encounter number or room description to the bag. That way,
you just withdraw the bag from your collection and you're
ready to play! No more fumbling through your collection
while your players wait.
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4. Wall Banners
From: Joe Kelly
Wall banners are great as long as you have a laser or color
printer. You can show NPCs, banners of the town's leading
houses or guilds, and it shows who comes and goes. I also
use the wall in our playing area to show current ships in
port if need be, or wanted ads and other stuff. Added to
this, I do a newsletter that briefs the players in general
about what is going on in town and abroad.
Does it impact the game?
My group called a timeout so the GM (me) could take time to
set up "The Wall." They felt it was important and it didn't
feel like "home" otherwise.
Getting players with this level of comfort with the wall
takes time, but in the end it is informative to what colors
someone (NPC) might have been wearing or a burned emblem on
a forgotten battlefield.
We put our banners, one page per symbol, in plastic sheet
protectors and then place them on the wall. This allows for
individual banners to be removed or replaced.
Hope this has been some help. Here are a couple pics:
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A Player's Guide to Ptolus - $2.69
This 32-page guide is designed to introduce you to the
fundamentals of Ptolus and help you create and run a
character with plenty of knowledge about the setting. The
guide includes a map of the city and an introduction to its
districts, as well as sections on campaign look and feel,
the various noble houses, organizations, history, NPCs,
religion, the larger world, character creation, magic,
equipment, and more. All this material also appears in the
full book Ptolus: Monte Cook's City by the Spire, which
builds from the foundation this player's guide provides.
Keep the guide handy as a reference while you play in the
Ptolus Campaign, and use it as a preview of the deluxe
Ptolus hardcover.
A Player's Guide to Ptolus at RPG Shop