Author: Ameron (Derek Myers)

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Adventure Hooks DM Resources

Nightmares & Dreamscapes – An Adventure Hook

a-to-z-letters-n“Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real. What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?” – Morpheus, The Matrix (1999)

In Marvel comics there is an actual entity called Nightmare. He is the supreme ruler of the Dream Dimension, a pocket universe made real by the collective psychic energies of everyone asleep on the planet. As long as a singe person is sleeping somewhere in the world, the Dream Dimension continues to exist. He has the power to trap a person’s soul in the Dream Dimension. The illusion is so real that the captive soul does not realize that it’s actually in a dream.

Building on this idea, a clever DM could have an encounter, an adventure or even a full out campaign take place entirely in the dream world. Even if the PCs realized that they were in the Dream Dimension they wouldn’t know how to escape.

Throughout April Dungeon’s Master is participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge is to write a new article ever day in April, excluding Sundays. That’s 26 articles over the course of the month. To make things even more interesting the title of each article will begin with a different letter of the alphabet. “N” is for Nightmare as we look at the idea of an adventure in the realm where dreams and nightmares are real.

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Editorial

Site of the Year (SOTY) Award – Vote for Dungeon’s Master

SOTY-Shield-2013-1For the third year in a row Dungeon’s Master is among the gaming websites in the running for the Stuffer Shack RPG Site of the Year (SOTY) Award. You get to vote for your favourite site in a round robin of voting. Today you have your chance to vote for Dungeon’s Master on the first ballot. The top site from each day’s voting will advance to the final where a panel of qualified judges from around the gaming community will decide on a winner.

According to Stuffer Shack they conduct the SOTY Awards as a “way of rewarding our community’s awesome gaming bloggers. It’s a celebration of gaming, showcasing the best of the best gaming blogs. It’s a free contest in which readers submit their table-top gaming websites – in the hopes of taking home the prizes and SOTY Shield, but more importantly, the title of RPG Site of the Year.”

In 2011 the SOTY went to Critical Hits. In 2012 the SOTY went to The Id DM. Which site will win in 2013? Hopefully it will be Dungeon’s Master. If you agree, then we encourage you to visit Stuffer Shack today and vote. Thank you. Good luck to all the gaming sites in contention this year.


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DM Resources

Monsters as Player Characters

a-to-z-letters-mIn D&D a handful of fantasy races populate the majority of the gaming world – Human, Elf, Dwarf, Half-Elf, and Halfling. These are the most common and well known races, but they’re certainly not the only ones. Over the years the D&D has allowed players to choose from a multitude of races when creating their characters. The Half-Orc, Gnome, Drow, Warforged, Goliath and even Dragonborn have all become commonplace in today’s D&D. As the list was expanded the game’s creators provided an explanation of how the new races fit into the world. In most cases these races had distinct culture and homelands in the same way as the Elves and Dwarves.

Over the years I’ve played my fair share of non-Human characters. Since 4e I’ve played an Elf, Dwarf, Eladrin, Half-Orc, Goliath, Drow, Shifter, Half-Elf, Warforged, and Dragonborn just to name the first few that come to mind. In my mind these are all “normal” races for a fantasy role-playing game. Sure a few of them might be a bit on the fringes of normal (the Goliath, Warforged and Dragonborn, for example), but I have no problem grouping these races in the same category as Humans, Elves and Dwarves. More to the point I do not consider these races to be monsters.

Throughout April Dungeon’s Master is participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge is to write a new article ever day in April, excluding Sundays. That’s 26 articles over the course of the month. To make things even more interesting the title of each article will begin with a different letter of the alphabet. Today the “M” is for Monster as we venture into the possibility of having players run monsters as characters.

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D&D Encounters

Lair Assault: Into the Pit of Madness – Round-up

a-to-z-letters-lOn May 31 the Liar Assault program comes to an end. Until then the active adventure is the level 10 extravaganza Into the Pit of Madness. I had an opportunity to run it for two groups at my FLGS last week and today I’m going to share my thoughts and insights on the 7th and final Lair Assault.

The adventure puts the PCs in a situation where the very fate of the world hangs in the balance. Cultists are trying to free the Chained God, Tharizdun, form his eternal prison. If freed Tharizdun will plunge the world as we know it into eternal darkness. High stakes for powerful PCs.

In the first part of the challenge the PCs interrupt the cultists during their ritual. In the second part of the challenge the PCs try to reach the Chained God’s aspect and destroy it before it awakens and calls forth Tharizdun.

lair-assault-7-coverSpoiler Warning! This Lair Assault is still active. If you plan to play it, do not read this article. This article is for DMs only. DMs should take the knowledge I’m sharing here and use it to make your sessions better and more enjoyable.

Throughout April Dungeon’s Master is participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge is to write a new article ever day in April, excluding Sundays. That’s 26 articles over the course of the month. To make things even more interesting the title of each article will begin with a different letter of the alphabet. “L” is for Lair Assault as we review the final offering in this fantastic public play program in today’s post.

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Editorial

Karma in Gaming

a-to-z-letters-kKarma, the idea that what goes around comes around. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Live by the sword, die by the sword. The notion that what I do now will have some consequence on what happens to me at a later date. The power of Karma is a big part of the gaming experience. Call it luck or coincidence, in my mind it’s Karma at work.

Throughout April Dungeon’s Master is participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge is to write a new article ever day in April, excluding Sundays. That’s 26 articles over the course of the month. To make things even more interesting the title of each article will begin with a different letter of the alphabet. In today’s article the “K” is for Karma.

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Editorial Player Resources

The Justice League of America (JLA) as D&D Characters

a-to-z-letters-jI’ve started playing D&D when I was 13; I started reading and collecting comics when I was 10. Any time I can combine my two nerdly passions it makes me very happy. When I was younger I played the Marvel Super Heroes RPG a lot (even more than D&D). I tried the DC Heroes RPG as a kid but liked it a lot less than Marvel, although the recent version from Green Ronin Publishing is a lot better. Even though I still read comics I no longer play any of the comic-centric RPGs. D&D is my game. So I’ve often thought about how to incorporate comic book superheroes into D&D. It’s not something that has an obvious or easy answer. The characters work in the context of their setting for a reason.

For starters, normal D&D character advance they get more powerful. Comic book superheroes generally don’t change or advance. Their powers generally remain the same. Still, porting comic book characters into D&D is worth a try. What would Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman be like as D&D characters? What races and classes would seem most appropriate? There’s no right answer, but it is likely to generate some debate and discussion.

justice-league-team-01I’ve decided to start this exercise by focusing in detail on the three most popular DC heroes (arguable the most popular comic book characters of all time): Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. From there we take a quicker look at numerous other supporting but no less important members of the Justice League.

I’ll share my thoughts and ideas on how I see these iconic heroes re-imagined as D&D character and then I encourage you to leave your comments below. I’m not going to actually create or stat out any of them. I think the discussion is a more fruitful exercise.

Throughout April Dungeon’s Master is participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge is to write a new article ever day in April, excluding Sundays. That’s 26 articles over the course of the month. To make things even more interesting the title of each article will begin with a different letter of the alphabet. The “J” in today’s post is for Justice League as I combine my two favoutire hobbies into one article. As a huge comic book nerd I’ve been wanting to do this kind of article for a long time.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Against the Cult of Chaos – Report Card

against-the-cult-of-chaos-coverAs we say goodbye to another season of D&D Encounters we reflect and discus what we liked and did not like about season 12. I’ll admit that I think Against the Cult of Chaos was one of the better seasons of D&D Encounters we’ve had so far. I do have some criticisms, but in the grand scheme of things I think the good far outweighs the bad. Review my list and let me know your thoughts on D&D Encounters: Against the Cult of Chaos as a whole in the comments below.

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Player Resources

Interviewing for Party Members

a-to-z-letters-iShould inclusion in an adventuring party be automatic? We always assume that when a player is present at the gaming table his character will be welcomed into the current adventuring party. The problem is that you can end up with some characters that just don’t really fit in. This might be because they’re a non-traditional race, different alignment, opposing religious beliefs, or some other off-the-wall and completely unexpected reason. The point is that players shouldn’t assume that whatever character they choose to create will automatically be awarded membership in an existing adventuring party.

In order to weed out potential bad seeds, the party should conduct interviews of all potential candidates and choose the ones they want to let into the group. It’s not typically how things are done in D&D, but maybe it’s something we should begin doing on a regular basis.

Throughout April Dungeon’s Master is participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge is to write a new article ever day in April, excluding Sundays. That’s 26 articles over the course of the month. To make things even more interesting the title of each article will begin with a different letter of the alphabet. Should the party have a chance to interview prospective new members? We find out as today “I” is for Interview.

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Editorial Player Resources

Giving & Tithing in D&D

a-to-z-letters-gMost PCs are rich. I mean crazy rich. Seriously, compare the material wealth of even a level 2 PC to most regular people in any D&D game, the numbers are silly. As the PCs go on more adventures and find more treasure, that PC’s net worth grows exponentially. It doesn’t take long before the heroes have more money than they know what to do with. By the time they reach paragon tier it’s unlikely that they’ll ever be able to spend the riches they’ve earned along the way.

Knowing that PCs earn such tremendous wealth so quickly I’m curious how many players have their PCs give any of their treasure to charity? How much is given to support the local good causes (e.g., homeless shelter, orphanage, down on their luck veterans of war, etc.)? For divine character like Paladins and Clerics, how much of their earnings are tithed to the church? I’m willing to be that for most players the answer is a big fat zero!

Throughout April Dungeon’s Master is participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge is to write a new article ever day in April, excluding Sundays. That’s 26 articles over the course of the month. To make things even more interesting the title of each article will begin with a different letter of the alphabet. I wasn’t sure if I wanted the “G” in today’s article to be for Greed or Giving. In the end I decided that an article on Giving was a better way to go as it sends a more positive message.

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Player Resources

Fourthcore Team Deathmatch – Toronto Tournament & 10 FTDM Character Optimization Tips

a-to-z-letters-f

Fourthcore Team Deathmatch (FTDM) is unlike any D&D adventure you’ve every played before. Forget about fighting monsters, in this match-up player characters fight other player characters. That’s right; you get to fight your friends.

The tournament pits two teams of four against each other for exactly 1 hour of real time. Every time you kill a PC on the opposite team you earn a point. If your character is dead at the start of your turn you re-spawn and come back to life to keep fighting. At the end of the hour the team that’s scored the most points (most kills) wins. There’s no role-playing, just roll playing.

Throughout April Dungeon’s Master is participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge is to write a new article ever day in April, excluding Sundays. That’s 26 articles over the course of the month. To make things even more interesting the title of each article will begin with a different letter of the alphabet. Today’s the “F” is for Fourthcore Team Deathmatch, one of the most fresh and exciting D&D tournaments I’ve ever played in.

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