AI Artwork

 I've never really thought AI artwork was a good idea. We near the point where entire professions will be wiped out. A buggy whip sort of moment and I take that personally because I trained as an artist even if I let my drawing skills atrophy a bit over the years. Perhaps things will be better once AI has been trained and looks less soul-less and the hands aren't as creepy and all that but it'll be a painful road getting there.

The AI art program I've played with produced garbage. Maybe I'm not good enough at picking the exact words as I've seen other peoples samples that looked pretty good, but  mine all result in abominations. Perhaps for Gamma World art that might work but not for what I'm looking for. 

Having said that I read a post on Tenkar's Tavern titled Is AI in our industry really that bad? (Dungeon Alchemist). I like the samples I've seen from Dungeon Alchemist and never really considered AI for dungeon maps. After all Drawing Dungeon maps is kind of fun. Yes drawing really good ones can be a choir (I lean heavily on Dyson Logos amazing maps a lot). Still this seems a niche AI might be good at. So when I stumbled across Imagine.art, an AI program I hadn't used before I started blasting away at commands and I was actually happy with the results. 

I used the text "Isometric dungeon room with near walls removed to show table, benches, and other furniture" The near walls removed didn't really work right, and what's with the windows and no exit? Still the room has character and with photoshop I might be able to clean it up and make it to my satisfaction. Doing a whole dungeon would be painfully slow though (guess Dungeon Alchemist fixes that).

Here is another. Same text (I think) but set to Disney Style. Why Disney style gives a low wall instead of wooden fence I don't know. AI works in mysterious ways, still I kind of like it. I'm not sure how I can use it but I'm always looking for isometric dungeon dressing and there is a lot of that here.

A third one for good measure. The prompt this time: "Isometric dungeon room with near walls removed to show torture equipment and victims chained to wall". The result, well we still have a cheery little window and no victims, but the rest is kind of nice.

And lastly Most of my corridor attempts "with no windows" had windows, clearly it doesn't like corridors and Hallways and loves windows. So I typed "Isometric dungeon hallway with no windows" and the AI gave me Mickey Mouse in a crypt or something (I think Disney is gonna sue someone). So it's far from perfect but the crypt looks nice. 

So AI isn't totally terrible for some things.

Drivethru sales

are not great. 

I put Maritime POD up for sale half a month ago and still no sales. The pdf sold consistently and then died off around the same time. I'm very proud of the product and think it's very usable at the table. I've never really liked how so many folks constantly pimp their products but it's become very clear why they do. If you don't remind people constantly a product slips out of sight out of mind on Drivethru. At least until you've created enough products and hopefully developed a solid reputation with those that purchased those products to justify them buying your back catalog. 

Sad because I'm not a self-promoter. Not at all. But I'll continue publishing things because I sort of feel a drive to do so. For now, Maritime is still available as PDF and POD on DriveThruRPG.

Maritime POD now available

My little book is now available on Print on Demand at DriveThruRPG for those that prefer hardcopy. If you get the POD version the pdf is bundled pretty cheap.

Spell Memorized and Q Branch

So in every James Bond movie you have an opening scene with amazing stunts and then Bond meets with M and Q where he gets a cool gadget. He only gets one or two gadgets per movie and he never gets to take gadgets that worked well before (except the Lotus). Then at some point later in the movie Bond gets into some sticky business but it turns out the cool gadget is exactly what he needs to get out of it. How did Q know? Because the screenwriter knew.

Spell Memorization works something like that, except the player have to pick spells without the screenwriters help. They have to guess what spell might be useful today which is a somewhat impossible task and promotes more generic dungeon-useful spells. 

For Clerics, selecting spells for the day seems silly. They have no real idea what they are getting into. Clerics worship a god, and that God is represented by the GM who knows what they'll run into during the adventure. The GM should pick the Clerics spells based on the challenges they are likely to run into. Yes the Cleric should have a wider range of spells available to pick from but the GM should pick. Let the Cleric wonder why they woke up knowing Resist Cold and Lower Water this morning when they are in the desert. The GM can fill out the list with generic ones as well.

This would give the Cleric a bit more mystery, a bit more 'God' and possibly foreshadow things coming up. It acts as a really vague augery. The GM can build a few encounters specifically with spells in mind. Not rooms that require the spell as they will be fired off too soon in many cases, but even then the Cleric will knock their forehead and go that's what my God meant.

This would also work for Warlocks in 5E but does nothing to remove spell slots which are another matter entirely. Anyway just a though, maybe players would hate it.

Print on Demand at DriveThru

 I read somewhere on the internet that you should prepare the POD version before you post a product online. I ignored that and wish I hadn't. The POD proof of Maritime. It is taking a while and it just feels a bit incomplete not having both available. Also I'm curious about sales differences between POD and PDF on such an inexpensive book.

I doubt anyone cares but I want the notes for the next time. So the proof showed up and it looked okay, except for some reasons some greyscale didn't work (light grey boxes with black text came up as black) while on the same page the illustration above appeared in perfect greyscale. Not sure what that was all about but good to know. Also empty table cells came out as random grey values? Anyway I think I've worked around the errors, so now it's waiting for another proof to be sure.

Maritime for sale at DriveThruRPG

 My first product is now for sale. It is called Maritime. 

Rules and Stats to add Ships to your campaign because there were ships before the age of pirates and you’ll want to know what your ship can do.

Maritime contains rules for ships: sailing speeds, ship combat, and ship stats for the most common ships up to the the early galleons, as well as cargos and profits. Compatible with OSR and 5E games.

Includes stats for ships from the East and West up until very early Galleons. If you want ships decked out with cannon this book isn't for you.

Stats for: Rafts, Bireme & Dromon, Caravel, Carrack & Nau, Cog, Dhow (Large), Dhow (Small), Drakker, & Birlinn, Galleon, Junk (Big), Junk (Cargo), Junk (River), Junk (Treasure), Knarr, Nef, Sampan, Trireme & Venetian Thin Ship, Turtleship, War Galley

My first product on DriveThruRPG so if you say any obvious rookie moves, please let me know.

The cover shows a Carrack (the Santa Maria of Columbus fame was a Carrack) rigged out with square sales, leaving Genoa harbor as painted by Quinto Cenni. The image is care of the NY Public Library's Digital library, it is in the public domain and it's a beauty.

Usage Dice for Random Encounters?

 I like the mechanics of Usage Dice but they seem to be used primarily for consumables which I tend to just sell by days worth (4 days food, 4 days worth of torches) and otherwise forget about. 

For those that don't know the Usage Dice works it goes like this. An item, usually a consumable has a die number U12 would be a 1d12, U10 would be 1d10. If you roll 1-2 your Usage Die drops one die, so down to U10, then U8, U6, U4. Naturally the odds of rolling a 1-2 increase as the size of the die drops. You roll 1-2 on 1d4 and your item is depleted. Usage Die are typically used for torches, food, and arrows but I think the idea can be expanded far more than that.

In my previous post on Usage Dice I mentioned a few alternate uses but it just occurred to me that the Usage Dice would make a nice mechanic for Random Encounters.

Random Encounters

Create a random encounters table with 8 entries,  another one with 6 slightly tougher entries, a third one with 4 tough entries, and the last is the boss encounter in the area. So when you enter the area you roll 1d8 anytime you would normally roll for random encounters. If you roll 1-2 you get an encounter but also switch to the 1d6 table next time. By having multiple tables you also limit the number of repeat encounters. For a big area you could have the tables escalate only on a 1, or you could have a table with 10 or 12 entries.

I haven't  played this out, it should work but might lead to to much bookkeeping.

Wizards is Hiring... and not on the Coast

Lead Writer (Skeleton Key) job

WIZARDS OF THE COASTAUSTIN, TX

Job

Company

Description

Salary

Benefits

JOB DESCRIPTION

At Wizards of the Coast, we connect people around the world through play and imagination. From our genre defining games like Magic: The Gathering® and Dungeons & Dragons® to our growing multiverse, we continue to innovate and build new ways to foster friendship and connection. That's where you come in!

Skeleton Key is a new game development studio and division of Wizards of the Coast. We are a group of industry veterans who are guided by the belief that empowering our teams and providing the proper time, tools, and support we can foster a creative culture where everyone can do their best work.

Our new studio will be located in Austin, TX, and we are looking for a passionate and dedicated Lead Writer to join us. We are open to on-site, hybrid, and full-time remote working options for potential candidates.

Reporting to the Creative Director, you will play a meaningful role on the project by helping to concept, build, set the vision, and implement the story for our critical path as well as cinematic narrative moments. The ideal candidate has proven experience leading teams and building engaging worlds, characters, and stories in other AAA titles. You will need the ability to take high level direction and story concepts and translate them into complete stories, scene descriptions, and dialogue.

What You'll Do:

• Work with the Creative Director to own and drive the main crit path story, side stories, cinematic scripts, and character dialogue for the project.
• Build requirements for core writing/editing, VO, and other narrative systems for narrative production pipelines.
• Collaborate with other teams, and ensure the appropriate partners are involved and informed throughout development.
• Act as a strong quality advocate for the team, crafting compelling narrative moments, environmental story-telling, world-building, character development, and help other team members achieve the same high quality.
• Lead and develop a narrative team including one additional writer and editor, inspiring and empowering them to do great work.
• Build and maintain documentation for all owned features, script, story, and scenes.
• Help evangelize the game's vision to the rest of the team at large.
• Provide constructive feedback to team members.
• Remain current with industry trends and competitor games.

What You'll Bring:

• 5+ years experience having published writing work in video games with a focus on narrative and character.
• Clear and concise creative writing skills.
• Familiarity with first-person games.
• Ability to translate story concepts into cohesive and engaging stories.
• Willingness to take high-level direction and feedback.
• Ability to deliver both original stories and engaging adaptations of existing IP.
• Passion for and experience with the science-fiction and fantasy genres.
• Strong communication abilities with outstanding written English skill.
• Please provide links to YouTube/Vimeo videos highlighting 3-5 scenes or moments from your published game projects that highlight your work.

We are an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer

The above is intended to describe the general content of and the requirements for satisfactory performance in this position. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of the duties, responsibilities, or requirements of the position.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. If you are selected to move forward in our application process and need to request an accommodation, please let your recruiter or coordinator know. 

In compliance with local law, we are disclosing the compensation range for this role. The range listed is just one component of Wizards of the Coast's total compensation package for employees. Employees may also be eligible for annual and long-term incentives. In addition, Wizards of the Coast provides a variety of benefits to employees. Here's a look at what your benefits package may include: Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance, Paid Vacation Time & Holidays, Generous 401(k) match, Paid Parental Leave, Volunteer Program, Employee Giving & Matching Gifts Programs, Tuition Reimbursement, Product Discounts, and more. 

Compensation Range 

$88,960 - $146,400 USD

Job

Company

Summary

Job openings

Wizards of the Coast

Wizards of the Coast, headquartered in Renton, WA, is a company that develops games for customers and the public. Wizards of the Coast is a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. They have a team of developers and other staff that is highly professional and experienced. They have a culture of diversity and inclusion in the workforce. Employees working at the organization are offered various benefits that include employee health programs, parental leaves, generous time off programs, free and discounted products, and various other benefits. Wizards of the Coast is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on age, sex, caste, creed, religion, nationality, social background, or any other basis. Currently, vacancies are available for the Art manager, Lead technical artist, associate gameplay engineer, and various other vacancies.

Type

Subsidiary

Size

Medium

Revenue

$100M to $500M

Location

Austin, TX, 78701

and others

Industry

Niche Manufacturers, Hobby / Games Retailers

Founded

1999

CEO

Christian Cocks

Website

Visit website