thedmg
Room Planner
Posts: 327
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Post by thedmg on Jul 18, 2013 9:09:14 GMT -5
"The Ordinary World" of the mythological hero. Read Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey, and Hero with a thousand faces.
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Post by dm1scotty on Jul 18, 2013 11:00:24 GMT -5
Thanks for the breakdown. It can really help people who want to recreate what you have done here...nice.
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Post by ashrothedm on Jul 18, 2013 18:11:38 GMT -5
Thanks DM Scotty, I'll have updates when I have more. I've been through Joseph Campbell, and threw that away for the Dramatica method of describing the story. The monomyth is riddled with issues as far as a paradigm for storytelling goes. This is not to say that it doesn't apply sometimes, but there are a list of commonly cited stories that break the rules: Silence of the Lambs, Chinatown, Star Trek. Not to go off topic, but I think anyone interested in crafting their own stories should give dramatica or some film theories a quick study. A solid study on setting the tone of the ordinary world can be found at this location: borgus.com/hitch/openings.htm
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thedmg
Room Planner
Posts: 327
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Post by thedmg on Jul 18, 2013 18:41:29 GMT -5
I wouldn't call them rules, but observations of behaviour in story. The common misconception is that the archetypes are actual characters, whereas they are more elements which perform the various tasks which mimic the human life cycle, birth, childhood, puberty, youth, middle age, declining age, death and remembrance (rebirth). A cycle common to every human being. The structure need not contain every single element, and focus will differ widely. I have written about Chinatown and viewed it several times in the process and find it quite boring although inventive/reinventive in certain aspects. Film theory is a highly subjective discipline rife with assumptions about intent and the mind of the Film maker. What it usually fails to acknowledge is that unlike literature there is far more collaboration across a wide spectrum of disciplines in order to produce the work. Trying to deconstuct the mind behind a film is like trying to determine what a crowd is thinking. Even auteur film makers like Kubrik are nothing without his team (although small). Hitchcock relied heavilly on his "advisor". Film making is a collaborative interperative discipline. All that being said. I actually prefer chaos theory as a mechanism for assessing human story
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Post by ashrothedm on Jul 18, 2013 19:38:58 GMT -5
A d20 and a nice random table is all you need to have a story take a wild twist
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luciano
Paint Manipulator
Posts: 202
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Post by luciano on Jul 18, 2013 21:55:01 GMT -5
Ok, I saw this project, the ideas of the trees was so good, especially that with the water effect on the base(the marsh). Does one base with more 'organic' format (a non-rectangular shape) would be cooler to fit other scenarios? (such as format B and D)
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Post by ashrothedm on Jul 19, 2013 10:35:44 GMT -5
The pieces could be made to be any shape, it's really the shadow effect to imply the canopy of the trees that is important. The rectangular shape is to fit into a modular tile set that is based on thedmg's method of using 6.5 cm square tiles. The important part of the 6.5 cm square tile is that it is purely a base for modularity. No matter what the tile is, it will fit with other tiles in other sets. It creates a usable backdrop for encounters, and can be reconfigured to change the shape. The rectangular shapes, however, are not a limitation of the method, but a framework. Take for example the chasm or the rounded wooden bridge over the chasm that can be seen in thedmg's dungeon near C and H in the image below: The tile is square, which allows it to fit nicely and have corridors line up, but the shape in play is not. The shapes created in play can be just as irregular as unconstrained pieces. Think of it like using sprites or textures in a video game. Final Fantasy or The Legend of Zelda doesn't use anything but square shapes, but corridors, cliffs, and caves could all wind and reconnect in a variety of ways. The shape created is not square, and the curves just fall onto the constraints of the square tile. Another example would be how artists (sometimes) use a grid to define shapes in replicating or duplicating a painting. By laying a grid down over an image, you know where things should line up, and you could repaint the Mona Lisa with some degree of accuracy by focusing on each smaller section of the grid. Having a tileset like this, means that I can shuffle the image like puzzle pieces to create a new layout. All the while, the shapes on the tile can be incredibly varied and irregular. Just reference thedmg's dungeon below for all of the irregular shapes used in the special tiles. As you can see, all the 6.5 cm squares allow, is for corridors and hallways to line up. Image here credit thedmg on facebook: www.facebook.com/thedmg.info
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luciano
Paint Manipulator
Posts: 202
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Post by luciano on Jul 19, 2013 11:31:57 GMT -5
I agree, the process of standardizing sizes of DMG really facilitates the assembly of Dungeons, now I get the assembly tree...
Really the paint job on the more specific definition of tiles creates a number of elements that stand out in the dungeon and it looks and feels fantastic!
But... dude looks like this dungeon stayed way!
The special tiles like those with the wooden platform at the top right and left near the tile with water were fantastic!
Very good job! And the fit of the parts of the dungeon were perfect!
"This is a product with a quality brand of DM´s Craft and DMG's" hahaha :-)
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Post by ashrothedm on Jul 19, 2013 12:46:32 GMT -5
All of the work here is inspirational to me. Even in my post I mention ignoring the quality of the painting, but really, even if I don't like how something is executed, I see something in it. Whether it's a dungeon idea, technique, or something. The entire project here was because forests didn't suit my taste, but I was inspired to get that almost-3d-flat feel of the tiles.
When I'm working on something that isn't already covered in a video, I expect that I'll try to share the details of getting there, even if it's just a rock or shrub like above. It's the other ideas that got me to this point, and I would not be working on tiles like this without the videos and tips from other crafters and terrain builders around the world. Even when I know a technique, I don't skip ahead in the video or post. Picking up one little idea can make a huge difference in all of the work to come.
Incidentally, once thedmg started making videos, I paused my tile production in the DM Scotty method of sort of 1 off specific tiles, and moved to the 6.5 cm modular. Modular was what I have always been after, because for me, while spectacular, I don't want a tile used in one session and then discarded (basically) Being able to make use of settings like the forest above, I can craft few tiles, and tie them in with some standard tiles, making a large area cheaply, while saving a ton of time. I could miss some crafting time between sessions and still have a playable area.
The modular approach I was aiming at here, is a tile based terrain method, and the kind of thing you might see in the Warcraft or Starcraft map editors. (Or any RTS and older RPG games) They shuffle the same pieces around, making things look new and different. Spice that up with some special tiles and everyone has a playing surface that they enjoy looking at and interacting with.
Quick, dirt cheap, durable, attractive, exciting, reusable, and memorable tiles. That's what I want to use, and I want to give back some tips to the community that I received my tips and inspiration from. Hopefully, at least a few people picked up some different ideas for outdoor tiles.
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thedmg
Room Planner
Posts: 327
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Post by thedmg on Jul 21, 2013 8:21:38 GMT -5
Even though my players have seen all the tiles, they have never seen the dungeons and towns they're used to create. I have done several and everytime they are unique. I introduce new unique tiles every now and then. The context of the tile changes with each game and so rules, DC and story change with context and are not fixed.
I am glad the videos have inspired you to create stuff in the same mode. Essentially any DMScotty tile could be created using the 6.5cm grid and fit in with the modular tiles as well. When AshroTheDM and I talk about a grid we are not talking about a gridded playing surface, but merely a way to uniform production of tiles so they can fit together and be infinitely reusable.
Thanks for shareing Ashro... can't wait to see more of your stuff.
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Neil
Paint Manipulator
Posts: 160
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Post by Neil on Jul 21, 2013 14:49:30 GMT -5
Great job, looks great and the spacing of the trees and rocks will make playing on this FUN.
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