I’ve been wanting to compile a list of useful links, tools and resources for DMs for quite a while now, so here it is. I’ll try and keep adding to this list from time to time and you’ll likely see whole lists swiped whole-hog from other sites on the net (oh well - I’m trying to make it easy for me, ok?) Feel free to post your own links below - I’ll add them to the list too.

Character Creation Tools:

• http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/Hero_Forge/ - The yahoo group that is now maintaining and improving on Heroforge - yea!
• http://home.san.rr.com/blackbart/main.html - Shannon Greene’s Heroforge website (no longer being supported)
• http://homepage.mac.com/blackbart71 - A mirror of the above webstie (also no longer being supported)
• http://www.d20zines.com/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=Downloads&file=index&req=viewdownload&cid=13 - another version of Heroforge
• http://www.dndtools.com/timpani/ - a Heroforge-type tool
• http://www.adamczak.com/Andy/D&D/ - this looks like a souped up version of a Heroforge-type tool (with a campaign mapper tossed in as well), but I cannot personally vouche for it; I’ve not tried it out — yet.

Name Resources
–coming–

Personal Gaming Resources/Links

• http://themisfits.10.forumer.com/ - The Misfits’ forum
• http://www.d20srd.org/index.htm - The Hypertext d20 SRD - AWESOME!!!
• http://d20npcs.wikicities.com/wiki/Main_Page - D20 NPC Wiki! If you are like me and you NEVER have time to create NPCs - this resource is for you - tons of pre-made, tweaked and ready to play NPCs!
• http://img21.imageshack.us/gal.php?a=1&z=admin - my Imageshack
• http://www.aquerra.com/rbdmc/ - RBDM forums

Online Play Resources

• http://www.goteamspeak.com/index.php?page=news - awesome tool for online play of any kind!
• http://dev.jessewarden.com/flex/dndtools/ - I don’t know much about this tool, but it merits investigation!

Mapping Tools/Resources

• http://www.csgmedia.com/files/david/fm/ - Dave’s Flash Mapper - an online, interactive mapping tool (built for digital map projection!)

Misc. Resources

• http://dnd.castellan.net/random_adventure/ - Links to various Netbooks and such, but the real goodie here is a link to all of the old Dungeoncraft articles from Dragon!
• http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8306/ - A pretty good collection of links, random generators, maps and more.

NOTE: I’ve got lots more to add - look for updates soon…

I’ve created an Index that links to all of the Misfits information on the this blog. While it is mostly for me, it is also here for others who are interested in my game and of course, my players. I’ll keep this updated as new stuff rolls out and I hope that it becomes a useful tool for all. Of course, this is located on our forums, so if you want to comment on this, you’ll have to register over there as well - feel free to do so, however!

The Misfit’s Index, a.k.a. “The Tome of All”

I’ve done some looking over the years and found a couple of really excellent links about how to make your own specalized gaming table. This is a dream of mine that will hopefully, one day, be realized - for now, however, I am more than happy with my “vanishing gaming table setup” (that I will be detailing on a future post). For now, however, I’d like to present these resources - enjoy!

http://www.twilightavengers.org/wld/table.html - this link gives you an overview of this gaming table and its setup - pretty nice, I have to say (especially the price), but you have to have a spare 2-car gargage-sized room lying around…
http://www.twilightavengers.org/wld/instructions.html - this link goes into a bit more detail about the above table and gives you some rudimentary instructions; the site says that the creators are offering full instructions for only $10.00 - not too shabby…

http://www.agyris.net/default.asp - this site is just a hands-down AWESOME gaming site. The folks in this group have done a really, really spiffy job with it, I have to say. Not only is the site pleasing to the eye and well designed, it is also an excellent resource - interactive maps, name generators, in-character newspapers, campaign journals - you name it, this site has it! Not to mention, of course, that this site has as well its own ultimate gaming table!
http://www.agyris.net/v3/ugt/default.asp - as promised a link to the aforementioned gaming table; this one is truly awesome and is the one that I would build if I had the time, money, skills, materials, etc… I would LOVE to play at a table like this one - I think that it would truly add a great deal to the entire gaming experience itself… Also, be sure and check out their new flash gallery of the table as well… These bloods are also planning on selling their plans for this table, but they are not ready yet - there is an email address to be placed on a waiting list if you are interested, however!

So, what does your gaming setup look/work like? Do you have any links to other awesome gaming tables/setups? If so, post them in the comments below. If not, join me as I dream of the day where we will “game with glam”.

“…you enter the cavern and see the most vile beast imaginable - - - (more…)

Since I am a bit behind in my weekly posting of my GM Inspiration series, I decided to make this week’s post a “humdinger”. In fact, I will be including several sources of inspiration, all along a common thread. I hope you all find it useful in your devious machinations… (more…)

Yet another “crunch post” for those out there with a bent for non-fluff. Actually, this is a feat requested by one of my players - my eldest son, in fact, who plays Vaskesh, our lovable lizardman ranger!

OFFENSIVE SHIELD:
You are trained in the art of using your weapons to deflect the blows of your enemies.
Prerequisite: The ability to attack more than once a round, Dex 13+, Weapon Focus
Benefit: The character gains a +1 miscellanous bonus to AC for every two attacks he sacrifices. Any odd-numbered attacks can be taken as usual, however, the attacks sacrificed always come from the first avaliable attacks in a given round.

This week’s GM Inspiration flows logically from last week’s post, but it moves out of the realm of fantasy and into the realm of reality. While it cannot be denied that fantasy pictures stir the soup of GM thought processes with a mighty +4 intellect-bearer spoon, there is also (at least for me) a fantastic source of inspiration to be found within photographs of our world, both past and present. One of the best sites in the world for this sort of inspiration, IMHO, is National Geographic. I am a long-time subscriber to the magazine and will likely be until I stop moving (possibly even after that event, depending on subscription runs… …) and have, since my childhood, been drawn to the brilliant stories and stunning photos within its pages.

But how, you might ask, could one use this in gaming? (more…)

I don’t know about most GM’s, but I often feel the need for external sources of inspiration for my game. Any number of events or items can provide this inspiration; for me, those “lightening bolts of inspiration” can come in forms as wide-ranged and varied as follows:

• The Bible (lots of excellent game ideas in here, folks!)
• other books (including comics)
• movies
• music
• nature
• real life conversations & situations
• my family (especially my kids!)
• other games (which I touched on here)

This list just names a few, of course, it is not meant to be all inclusive. (If you have others, feel free to post them in the comments, below). However, possibly one of the most powerful and inspirational sources for me is art. Often times, a single picture can be so evocative and create such an impression upon me that entire histories, back-stories, or races can be spawned in the blink of an eye (literally)! I cannot number the times that a picture has led my campaign towards a particular, climatic scene or created a new foe for my players’ characters to face! In light of this, I’ve decided to begin a new weekly series here on The Misfits, entitled “GM Inspiration“. Each week, I will highlight another excellent source of inspiration (at least for me) and hopefully for you as well. (more…)

Just a quick note - I’ve added and edited a bit on Session 13, part 1 - I did not have time to finish what I set out to do yesterday. Let me know if you like and look for more soon!

It’s been a while since the Misfits were able to have a full-blown session - a couple of months, in fact. Granted, a few of us (GM included) were treated to a wonderful respite from this hiatus not long ago (which I mentioned briefly in a past post), but the whole gang has not been able to get our crazy schedules to synch up for quite some time now. (more…)