Inspirations in different places

As I Set my ideas forth I knew that I wanted to start looking at what edition of Dungeons and Dragons was I now planning to run. I felt the latest or 5th edition calling to me even though I was more familiar with earlier editions I was hearing from some former players that this edition was allot smoother and less complicated I also felt with a possibility of gaming with newer younger players this was obviously more readily available so I began to take a look. I found there was free PDF version of the basic rules at the Official D&D website so I wanted to take a look at that first to get a glint of the possible changes. Reading through and creating some test characters to become familiar with the rules changes delighted me I particularly enjoyed the emphasis on a characters back story and saw the streamlining in the 5th edition and liked it. This encouraged me (Rather Quickly) to acquire a Players handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Masters Guide and use the 5th edition rules. I have enclosed a link to the free version of the basic rules at the Official site so perhaps I could inspire others to start playing or for newcomers to my campaign to get familiar with the rules.

D&D BASIC RULES 5th Edition:
media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf

After Reading through the rules and having already decided on a setting I Thought I was going to have to come up with some rules or improvisation for ships and combat being that my campaign world is mostly Islands and vast expanses of ocean I found some more inspiration at the D&D Official site with some Preliminary Playtest rules for Ships and Combat I definitely plan to use these and hope to provide some of my own ship statistics for ships in my campaign in future BLOG posts. I have included an example of one of the ships statistics below in my campaign and a link for those rules below too. I highly encourage checking out the official D&D Website: dnd.wizards.com/ there is a wealth of information on upcoming publications, resources and tools to help aspiring Dungeon Masters.

SHIPS & SHIP COMBAT PLAYTEST RULES:
https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/UA_ShipsSea.pdf

COASTAL SCHOONER
Gargantuan Vehicle (55' long and 15' wide)

Creature Capacity: 15 Crew 20 Passengers (Minimum 6 Crew)
Cargo Capacity: 20 Tons
Travel Pace: 10 Miles per hour (240 Miles per day)

STR       DEX       CON       INT        WIS        CHAR
16(+2)    8(-1)       16(+2)      0                0             0

Damage Immunities: poison, psychic
Condition Immunities: blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, incapacitated, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, stunned, unconscious

Hull ---- Armor Class 14 Hit Points: 230 (Threshold 14)
Control Helm ---- Armor Class 16 Hit Points: 40 -5ft per 15 damage taken sails
Movement Sails ---- Armor Class 12 Hit Points: 100: Locomotion (Water) Sails, speed 60ft; 30ft. while sailing into the wind; 100ft. while sailing with the wind
Weapons: (Sakers - Small Cannon) 4 2 per side ---- Armor Class: 18 Hit Points: 50 +5 to attack, Range 250/1200 ft. 1 target 5d10 bludgeoning damage. (Swivels) 1 per side ----  Armor Class: 16 Hit Points: 25 +5 to attack Range 50-100 ft. 1 target 3d6 bludgeoning damage.
Actions ---- on its turn, the coastal schooner can move using its helm, it can also fire its cannon provided 2 crew are manning each gun and its swivels being manned by 1 crewman each if it has less than the 6 minimum crew manning the sails it drops by 25% speed per 2 crew short and -1 to any skill or DC checks.

Let me know what you think of this ship more to come..

By the Time I started jotting this BLOG I found D&D wizards is soon to release one of my favorite Modules from the Past " The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh" I have played and run as Dungeon Master this Several time in the past Here is a link to the Original Module from back in the day you can purchase from this link at the DM's guild:
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/17069/U1-The-Sinister-Secret-of-Saltmarsh-1e

It can be found as a free PDF here:
www.marcmanley.com/media/pdfs/saltmarsh.pdf

Hints indicate that Naval Combat are going to be in the new release and I am eagerly looking forward for that to come out but if you never played or want to know more about this module Check out the above links to the older version of the module. You Can find out more about the new release Here at the D&D website:
dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/ghosts-saltmarsh

My World is taking shape.

Out of the Maelstrom

Imagine a fantasy world that blends the golden age of piracy, swashbuckling, and gunpowder with fantasy world of magic, dwarves, elves and goblins and the like. This will be the campaign world I have decided to create. Races from many different worlds are deposited here over thousand or so years from a huge Maelstrom with dimensional powers that is at the center of this world those that have survived have now grown thrived and established island communities and nations scattered among the many islands. As I Toggle with Campaign Cartographer 3+ I have started to Map out Islands of the Southern Seas directly south of the Maelstrom. The First of these Islands I wish to share with you is below.

Isla de Congrejo is primarily populated primarily by humans that speak a Hispanic Dialect the Island has 5 ports with anchorages Puerto Plata being the largest known as a bustling city with silver mines near an active volcano on the interior. The island also has an abundance of Caoba used in building ships and a port that is primarily a whaling community. The ports on the Western and Eastern legs of the island are communities of a more lawless nature prone to piracy, smuggling and the sale of stolen goods from those sorts of trades.

As I become more familiar with Campaign Cartographer 3+ and develop more of my Ideas. I hope to improve the quality of the maps I make. I hope this little snippet sparks your curiosity on more to come.

Beggining to find my old legs

Well after hearing many of my friends and family members making or keeping a blog I started to do the same today. After many years away from one of my passions which is gaming. I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons since my early teens (Before there where numbered editions) that soon lead to many different games and later in Minatare wargaming, Strategy games, card games, Traditional games, Computer games and MMORPG's Just to name a few.

A Snap of a portion of my dice collection

My Career and work Activities have kept me away far too long. Now that I'm nearing retirement and my obligations at work have freed up a little time I plan to dabble back into the gaming pool. I was an Accomplished Dungeon Master for Dungeons and Dragons and many other Pen and paper RPG's for years and took my first step towards finding my legs again last night. I Reinstalled CC3+ better known as Campaign Cartographer 3 on my computer and started some creative juices flowing as I start to dabble in a potential new Campaign world I soon hope to play in with friends and hope to share here in my Blog as well.

CC3+ Here is the Link: https://www.profantasy.com/products/cc3.asp