Inspiration from Nature to Dungeons and Dragons

The Green River and the Flaming Gorge reservoir, and the Flaming Gorge canyon can make some interesting places for adventures for Dungeons and Dragons (whatever version you prefer).


Rafting on the Green River by ~Atlantean6 on deviantART

River rafting on the Green River through the canyon can set off an adventure of dangerous proportions! There's a lot of places on both sides where the enemy can snipe at you! The adventure can start as a river run to run supplies to another town, and the dangerous canyon is held by orcs, bandits, or whatever. Your choice.

The player characters are hired to protect the shipment. Can they survive their enemies? Run the adventure and see what happens . . . :)


Naval Battle Royale by ~Atlantean6 on deviantART

Or add a second dimension: the group is competing with a NPC group to run supplies down the river. The competition could get fierce if their competitors attack your group with sword and spell . . .


A Copse of Trees by ~Atlantean6 on deviantART

Not an adventure in of itself, but a location or Adventure Site. Here is a copse of trees, where you can put a mountain dwelling culture. Mountain dwarves, gnomes, halflings, orcs? Whatever your imagination can think up it can go here!

Rolemaster Classic a head of it's time

Rolemaster Classic for the Win! It seems that the new monks in D&D 4 are psionic based; according to playtest. Psionics, as you know, is the realm of the Mind. This came up before: in Rolemaster.

Rolemaster is a game that is very much ahead of its time. And according to Greywulf, a friend of mine, decades ahead of its time. Critical strikes in Arms Law was the driving force forward in selling Rolemaster. Although my favorite Arms Law is the 2003 RMFRP edition -- Arms Law is Ironcrown's biggest seller in the Rolemaster franchise. However, you may ask, what does Chartmaster or Rollmaster have to do with D&D 4? I'm GLAD you asked.

Rolemaster is one of the best Roleplaying games devised, if D&D 4 is catching up to it quickly enough (GURPS is of the same, if not higher quality). It divided the realms of power up into four areas: ARMS, CHANNELING, ESSENCE, and MENTALISM.

ARMS is your basic warrior, beat them up sort of crew.

Channeling is power from the Gods, or God, or whatever.

Essence is the Unified Energy Field (also God if you look at Energy Quantum Mechanically and draw similiarities from what Religion teaches).

Mentalism is drawing the Essence through your mind, once again, Power Creation (also God, again, but then . . . I'm Spiritual. I see God in everything).

In Rolemaster, mostly because of Star Wars influence than anything else; monks were associated with the Essence. This was called the Charltonian view. This is probably becuase monks would draw on the essence to cast their abilities. Terry Amthor (GREAT guy by the way) felt it was wrong for monks to draw on the Essence to power their abilities. He felt that monks, since they are more often associated with the East, would draw on Mentalism powers. This is called the Amthorian view.

Everyone may hail it, when D&D 4 monks come out, as a great LEAP forward that they are psionic. But, back in the 80s, when Rolemaster was taking shape, the people making Rolemaster did this long before WotC even had an inkling of doing it themselves. Rolemaster Classic is a game that is ahead of it's time.