Category: DM Resources

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DM Resources Editorial

Adjudicating and House Rules

DM – The bugbear sneaks up behind Ethan the Rogue and strangles him with a garrote. You’re immobilized until you make a successful escape check.
Nenia – I attack the Bugbear with a Magic Missile and use my Orb of Unlucky Exchanges to switch the immobilized condition from Ethan to the Bugbear.
DM – Wait a minute, you mean the garrote magically goes from around Ethan’s neck to around the Bugbear’s own neck? That doesn’t seem right.
Nenia – That’s right and if the Bugbear wants to free himself he needs to make an escape check.
DM – Against himself?! That definitely doesn’t sound right.

What happens when a situation comes up and you as the DM don’t know what to do? Generally it’s one of two things: 1) you know there’s a rule that will solve the dilemma but you can’t find it, or 2) the situation is so unprecedented that you never thought of how to handle it. As the DM, what do you do?

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DM Resources Skill Challenges

Skill Challenge: Information Gamble

Yesterday on At Will Gamefiend wrote about Branching in skill challenges. This is a way to add to the complexity of skill challenges to make them fresh and interesting. At the end of his article he mentioned Nesting as the next in the series.

The skill challenge below entitled Information Gamble is one we’ve been working on for some time. It incorporates some of what Gamefiend mentions about branching and so its release today ties in nicely with the discussion about skill challenges. The sub-challenge contained within the main challenge may also be what Gamefiend refers to as Nesting. I’m looking forward to his next article as I feel that there is a lot of room for skill challenges to grow and evolve.

Information Gamble

The PCs are attempting to learn some information from an NPC. During the conversation they learn the NPC has a weakness for gambling.

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DM Resources Skill Challenges

Skill Challenge: Ditch the Tail

This skill challenge can be run in both urban and rural settings. They are similar but in some circumstances make use of different skills. Both variations are presented below.

Ditch the Tail (Urban)

Setup

The PCs are being chased through city streets and need to loose their pursuers. This can be accomplished by outrunning or outsmarting those giving chase.

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DM Resources Skill Challenges

Skill Challenge: Border Crossing

Hostility between two neighbouring countries is still fresh in everyone’s mind despite the conflict’s recent resolution. The border guards often take out their pent up frustration on foreigners with legitimate reasons for crossing the border.

Setup

The PCs need to move through the check-point without delay and without arousing any unwarranted attention. Each PC needs to identify himself to the border guard, show appropriate travel papers, and state his reason for crossing.

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DM Resources

Campaign Design: Resources

Ethan the rogue worked patiently on the lock. Never before had he experienced a lock of this complexity. Adjusting his thieves tools slightly he disabled one of the magical wards. With sweat dripped from his brow he was aware of Braddoc standing over his shoulder ready to break the door down with brute force. “Back off Braddoc” the rogue said, “if this wizard has half the treasure we’ve been told of we can’t risk you setting off an explosion!” With that said Ethan made a few final adjustments and click. Turning the door handle Ethan opened the door of the chamber. Inside stacked on shelves were the wizard’s tomes, countless millennia of knowledge.

Before you begin the quest of designing your own campaign world it would be wise to equip yourself with the appropriate resources. Just as your Fighter wouldn’t go into battle without his armour and trusty sword, neither should you wade into the task of campaign design without an arsenal of tools to assist you.

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DM Resources Player Resources

Speeding Up Your Game

My gaming group meets once a week for four hours. Due to the longer and longer distances people have to travel, the game has to end promptly to allow people to get home at a reasonable time. Playing longer than our four hour allotment just isn’t an option. So we have to make the best use of the time we have. Here are some of the tips and tricks that we’ve come up with that have really made a big difference.

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DM Resources Skill Challenges

Skill Challenge: “X” Marks the Spot

The PCs acquire an old treasure map. They are determined to find the lost treasure. However, the map is really old and it’s quit difficult to read.

Setup

Presented below are three possible reasons for the PCs to be engaged in this skill challenge.

  • A retired adventurer, unable to leave home due to age or injury, hires the PCs to recover a buried item depicted on his old treasure map.
  • The PCs find a treasure map and uncover enough information to believe it’s the real deal.
  • The PCs are competing with another group of adventures to locate a lost artifact. The PCs have acquired a treasure map which they believe will lead them to the item first.
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DM Resources Skill Challenges

Skill Challenge: The Waiting Game

The PCs are to rendezvous with an escaped prisoner and get him safely across the boarder.

This Skill Challenge can easily be adapted for any scenario where the PCs need to wait in hostile territory for the delivery of any item, person, hostage, etc.

Setup

The lord’s nephew was arrested on trumped up charges and imprisoned while visiting the neighboring country. He is to be executed as a political statement. The PCs are part of a coordinated escape plan. Their job is to meet the prisoner in a remote location and transport him safely and secretly across the nearby boarder.

The prison break is supposed to happen at sundown. The PCs have been instructed to get back across the boarder undetected by sunrise with or without out the prisoner.

At sundown, the DM should roll 2d4 to determine how many hours the PCs wait before the prisoner shows up. If the result is 8 then the escape attempt was unsuccessful. Do not inform the PCs if this happens. Let them decide what course of action to take at sunrise.

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DM Resources

Campaign Design: An Introduction

Planet Earth (III)
Creative Commons License photo credit: Aaron Escobar

Welcome to the Dungeon’s Master series on Campaign Design. This series will be available on a weekly basis to help new and experienced Dungeon Masters to design their own Campaign Settings. Throughout this series we’ll look at the various challenges and complexities associated with creating your campaign world.

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DM Resources Skill Challenges

Skill Challenge: On the Road

The PCs need to travel cross county as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence.

Setup

Presented below are three possible reasons for the PCs to be engaged in this skill challenge.

  • Escaped criminals have stolen horses and are heading for the boarder. The PCs are commissioned to recapture the criminals before they escape jurisdiction.
  • Framed for a crime they did not commit, the PCs are to be arrested by local authorities. They will not have an opportunity to clear their names if they stick around so they flee… for now.
  • The PCs receive word that they are needed urgently back home. They immediately hit the road.
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