Blog Archives
Tuesdays with Nicole: The Drubal Projective
Nicole’s back with an all new episode! Last week it was swords. This week it’s a different kind of killing machine. Meet Hans Drubal:
Want Nicole to help bring your campaign to life? Leave a comment on the blog post, or message calabacita with a link and a brief message on why you think she should sketch it!
Late Night Updates
It’s way past my bedtime, so I’ll make this quick. We’ve added a couple things tonight, and here’s a rundown:
Timezones
Many of you have noticed that the times displayed on the site are always off by a couple hours. The reason is that the server runs on UTC time, and all time values are stored in UTC. So, it thinks it’s in England, right on the Prime Meridian. With the new timezones, you can choose your local time zone, and all times will be automatically converted. Easy as pie.
Auto Email Notification
The email notifications have caused a lot of confusion, as we’ve made them a push system instead of pull. In other words, you choose to send, not receive. To help alleviate some of the confusion, we’ve added some settings in your profile where you can choose to receive everything. I warn you, it’s like turning on a fire hose, but if you want to know every little thing that goes on in your campaign, then turn on these settings. By default, the forum notifications are on for everyone, as those seem to be the most requested.
Sexy Time Picker
We’ve also sexified the date/time selection for your Adventure Log posts. It’s a snazzy javascript widget now, and it works with the new timezones. Setting the date/time for your posts should be much, much easier now.
That’s it! The reason the server was down for so long was due to some backend plumbing we had to do, but all signs look good, so we press on.
Free System Friday: Vox Draconis
Free RPGs! Come and get your red hot Free RPGs! Why hello sir, can I interest you in a bit of Sci-Fi shenanigans? No? How about an RPG about running a Japanese Bathhouse for Unicorns? Not your cup of tea, eh? Well what about a Rock-Paper-Scissors based game all about Congressional Chefs? Wait! Don’t go just yet, I have it I have just the thing you’re looking for! You want something established, yes? Something that’s been around for at least a decade. And how about a rich fantasy world yes? With dragons? Now what if I told you there were also dinosaurs? Ah ha! I see I have sparked your interest. Very well sir, let me tell you more about Vox Draconis:
Vox Draconis, the game of high adventure in a somewhat confused world of dinosaurs, dragons, monsters, and men. The Basic Rules, this book, contains the basic mechanics for running and playing a game of adventure in the Known Planes. You only need some six-sided dice, a pencil, paper, and this rulebook to begin your adventures. This game is a role-playing game, in which each player creates a character and then, under the supervision of the games master, or referee, they act them out.
Did I mention it’s Free? Well then don’t let me waste any more of your time. Grab some players, grab some dice, get the rules, and play Vox Draconis today!
New System Thursday: SHARD RPG
Today is Thursday, and what a Thursday is it? This Thursday is New System Thursday, like all the ones before it! We’re adding a new system to our list of over 150 RPG supported systems and settings, and this one is unlike anything you’ve played so far. It’s time to bust out the cat ears, wolf shirts, and that one set of dice with the lizards on them, cause this week we’re adding SHARD!
SHARD is an exciting new game of heroic fantasy and adventure set in the realm of Dardunah, World of the False Dawn, a unique fantasy campaign setting. You won’t find the standard fare in these pages; there are no elves, trolls, dwarves, knights, or even dragons. Indeed, the campaign world is quite a deviation from most European fantasy settigns.
Dardunah’s time period is not strictly medieval, the setting drawing its flavor from eastern rather than wester cultures. Nor is it set on an alternate version of Earth. In fct, there are no humans on Dardunah. Players may choose from a wide variety of animal people who are the main cast of the many adventures the world offers.
This world needs heroes, so what are you waiting for? Grab some dice, grab some friends, and make a SHARD rpg campaign now!
Win some Limited Edition D&D Spellcasting Soda!
Hail Adventurers,
Parched? Dying of thirst in the unending deserts of Athas? Then you’ll want to get in on one of these contests we’re running this week, because we’re giving away some Limited Edition D&D Jones Soda!
But before we share the details for the contests we had something we wanted to share a brief interview with the folks at Jones Soda! Did you know that you could make a 6 pack of beverages unique to your RPG campaign? Best. RPG. Prop. Ever.
Obsidian Portal: Where did you get the idea for limited edition D&D branded sodas?
Jones Soda: We met up with Wizards of the Coast in December of 2008 and had a great brainstorming session. D&D Jones Soda came out of that.
Obsidian Portal: Who came up with the names for each soda?
Jones Soda: We have to give credit for that to our friends at Wizards of the Coast. It was all them.
Obsidian Portal:What do they taste like?
Jones Soda: They are all regular Jones flavors; Root Beer, Green Apple, Cream Soda etc. We gave them cool art and great names.
Obsidian Portal: What ingredients go into your Sodas? High Fructose Corn Syrup? Eye of Newt? Hair of A Black Cat?
Jones Soda: We are all Pure Cane Sugar!!! Hmmm. Eye of Newt. Sounds interesting. Maybe next round.
Obsidian Portal:Could people come up with unique beverages for their RPG campaigns?
Jones Soda: You bet. We are all around people creating their own sodas with our myJones program.
Obsidian Portal:What other RPG brand sodas would make if you could?
Jones Soda: We are always striving to provide our fans with new cool stuff. We look to them to tell us what’s up. Find us on Facebook and let us know what up.
Obsidian Portal:Where can we buy Jones Sodas?
Jones Soda: You can find us a most grocery stores, Target and WalMart. Also online at www.jonessoda.com
Good times. Ok so now on to the contest details!
Twitter Contest:
This one is probably the easiest to enter. It has two steps.
- Follow @ObsidianPortal on Twitter.
- Tweet the following: I RTed this because I want to win a 6 pack of the Limited Edition Dungeons & Dragons Spellcasting Soda from @JonesSodaCo & @ObsidianPortal!
That’s it! That’s all you have to do to enter into our twitter contest! We’ll pick a winner at random using the algorithm at RANDOM.ORG on Friday at 6pm EST. Now unfortunately, unlike our other contests, to be eligible to win this contest, you must live in one of the 48 continental United States. Sorry!
Facebook Contest:
Head to our Facebook Fanpage and leave a comment here! You can leave multiple entries. We’ll pick our favorite entry on Friday at 6pm EST. Like the Twitter contest, to be eligible to win this contest, you must live in one of the 48 continental United States. Sorry!
Good luck, good gaming, and stay thirsty!
Free System Friday, FRANCE INVADES TEXAS
That’s right Adventurers, it’s Free System Friday! Take a load off. Rest a while. Download a free RPG pdf or two! We take the time each week to scour the internet for new, exciting, and best of all, FREE tabletop RPG systems or settings that will help reinvigorate your love of the game. In this week’s free system, titled France Invades Texas you’ll never guess what happens. Okay, maybe you’ll guess.
The year is 1684
The world is in turmoil
The French Invade Texas
Who would have guessed it?! For more amazing surprises, grab the rules, grab some friends, and play today!
