Blog Archives
Dynamic Sheets for D&D and Pathfinder
With the advent of the new Dynamic Sheet Template (DST) system coming very soon (probably this Sunday), we obviously need some people to step up and make DSTs for our myriad of systems. The outcome I’m expecting is that we will have a lot of people clamoring for the more popular systems, and less so for the less popular systems. What I’d like to avoid is having several similar submissions for the same system. Instead, it would be preferable to have one or two really great DSTs for a system, rather than 10 mediocre ones.
To prevent a lot of duplicate work on your part and headache on my part, I’m going to pull D&D 4E, D&D 3.5, and Pathfinder out of the mix. In other words, don’t just go out and make a sheet for any of these systems. Instead, you’ll need to apply. I will select the most promising one or two candidates and give them free reign for a week or so. Once we have a couple in the system, I’ll open it up for anyone to make one. The hope is that the first ones will be so awesome that everyone is happy and there’s no need for anyone else to try.
To apply, simply post in the forum thread saying which system you’d like to tackle. All I need to see is demonstrable skill with HTML/CSS, so link to something you’ve made. Fancy Javascript is not necessary, and may be undesirable. I’d rather have a simple sheet that just lays things out nicely, than a very complicated one that has to be updated often or only works in certain browsers. I’ll pick one or two people for each system, assuming we get enough submissions, and we’ll go from there.
Even if you want to make a DST for a smaller system, I’d recommend posting your thoughts in the forum thread. There are surely going to be a lot of ideas bouncing around.
It’s an exciting time. My gut tells me the site is about to get much cooler with the addition of these dynamic sheets. Help me make that a reality!
Update: ChainsawXIV, who made the awesome Exalted DST, is going to take the first stab at 4E. So, I’m going to pull 4E off the table until he’s finished.
New System Thursday, a fourfer.
Adventurers, this is an unprecedented occasion. Yesterday we added four new systems to the pantheon of Supported RPG Systems and Settings. What four, pray-tell? Well first there’s:
That’s right, Risus! We liked it so much when we found it last week, that we decided to give it a slot on the wall with the big guys. Remember, Risus is a Free RPG, so grab the rules, grab some friends, and make a Risus campaign now! Don’t forget to drop S. John Ross a note of thanks, a critique, or a word of encouragement!
Next up we have a one-two combo from Event Horizon Productions: Swords of the Middle Kingdom, and Hong Kong Action Theater! From what I hear, both are a great deal of fun to play. But I can’t find any info on these systems and the Event Horizon Productions website is all but gone. Anyway, if you know of these two games, then you’re probably very excited. Hurrah!
Finally, we present to you:
The Alliance has prophesied complete development of the known universe by the turn of the millennium. Huge, powerful mega-corporations run it all from behind the scenes. The Twelve Races of the Alliance work as caretakers, testing the horizon of knowledge, extending to touch the farthest reaches of space. Frontier Colonies populate neighboring bodies: Andromeda, Fornax, Spirax (M33), and the Magellanic Clouds. Posts dot the cluster galaxy of M32 in Ursa Major, some 100,000 light years from Terra. The continuing battle rages onward to drive out the Arachnids. Reports of ghost ships all filter their way across the vast, empty nothingness to the hearts of the bold, strong, and curious. There is a demand for warriors, for men and women with the metal and vision to protect the lives of the innocent. The call for assistance can be heard across the galaxies, as colony worlds struggle to survive in the morass of conflict, uncertainty, and danger. The word goes out from the isolated reaches of The Thendrax Empire in Spirax to the urban centers of the Industrial Provinces of the Fornax galaxy. “Come. Bring your weapons. Bring your courage. Bring your honor. It’s showtime!”
Okay, that sounds pretty awesome, doesn’t it? Well, what are you waiting for? Make a Battlelords of the 23rd Century campaign now!
Update on Dynamic Character Sheets
A lot of people have expressed interest in the dynamic character sheets after we gave the teaser in the newsletter. So, here’s an update on where we stand.
Right now we’re wrapping up some details and working out any remaining kinks. My hope is to release it sometime this week (Friday?) for general use. It’s important to note that as of now, we only have dynamic sheets for Exalted and Savage Worlds. ChainsawXIV and Pelwer were kind enough to stumble through the process with me, and those are the systems they wanted to work with.
Once it’s live for everyone, I’m going to consider it a public beta. This means that it’s still a new, volatile feature, and there will most likely still be bugs. It will improve over time, but I’d rather launch it now in an unfinished state, instead of waiting until it’s perfect.
If you’re looking to jump the gun a little, we’re still accepting people into the closed beta. We’re only looking for people with HTML/CSS/Javascript experience, since that’s what’s needed to create a dynamic sheet. Read over the tutorial and skim the forum thread. If nothing makes sense, that’s fine. It just means you’ll have to wait until someone else makes a sheet for your particular system. I’ve got some ideas on providing incentives, more on that later.
Otherwise, if you have a basic grasp of what’s covered, post a note in the forum thread and I’ll add you to the beta list.
This is a very exciting time, and I think this will be probably the best feature we’ve offered since adding gm-only fields to everything. I can’t wait to release it.
Soap Up with GeekyClean *UPDATE: WE HAVE A WINNER!*
Update: We have a winner! Congrats to @Milambus! We’ll run another contest very soon!
If you saw this tweet: I want a +2 CHA bonus from @GeekyClean and @ObsidianPortal! http://bit.ly/b3WKyr and clicked the link, it means that who ever posted that tweet probably read our monthly newsletter. Did you know that our newsletter is full of great info, sneak peeks at up coming features, contests, and coupons for Ascendant Members at DriveThruRPG.com? If you have a copy in your inbox, check it out! If not, you can sign up to receive it on your Account Management page of your Obsidian Portal profile.
/shamelessplug
So enough about that. What’s all this +2 CHA about then?! Well of course you know all about the fine geek soaps from the fantastic people behind GeekyClean, right? Well now they’ve used some kind of magic to make actual dice into actual soap! And it comes in 7 color/scent combinations! And we have one to give away! Here, take a gander at this:
The big ones are actually soap! I know, I was amazed too! So if you want a shot at winning this contest, all you have to do is follow these two simple steps:
- Follow ObsidianPortal on Twitter.
- Tweet the following message: I want a +2 CHA bonus from @GeekyClean and @ObsidianPortal! http://bit.ly/b3WKyr
There you go. It’s that simple. Good luck, and remember to read your monthly newsletter!
Videos in your campaign
We announced this in the newsletter, but in case you missed it you can now embed videos in your campaign!
You can embed any video hosted on YouTube, Vimeo, or a handful of other 3rd parties. Just look for the little film icon in the editor toolbar. Put in the URL to the video, and you’re good to go!
Please be judicious about your use of videos. A campaign trailer or intro video on your campaign homepage is a great idea. Cramming your favorite music videos onto every page? Not so much…
Welcome to the Real Time Web
Today Obsidian Portal joins the Real Time Web, with full support for PubSubHubub for the Adventure Log Atom feeds! We’re pushing the Adventure Log feeds to Superfeedr, which then relays them in (near) real-time to any interested subscribers.
What does that mean for you? Well…probably not all that much. If you subscribe to the Atom feed for your adventure log via Google Reader or another PubSubHubbub enabled reader, it will update much faster. Other than that, you probably won’t see any difference.
So if it doesn’t have a huge impact, why did we do it? Simple: We’re geeks and we like to do geeky stuff. I’m sure all of you understand 😉
