Categories
Player Resources

Quirks and Memorable Character Traits

a-to-z-letters-qD&D characters are often described by their race, class and weapon selection. This is certainly a good start but without further details it paints a very bland picture. Throw in a theme and a background and now your character is really starting to separate himself from the pack. But is this enough?

In my experience the only reason player choose a background and theme for their character is to gain the mechanical benefits they provide. The fact that they’ve chosen to be from a certain place in the campaign world or that they had a previous occupation before becoming an adventurer rarely come into the role playing. These details that could make the character more interesting only serve to make them better when it comes to rolling the dice.

Rather than choose a background that won’t make a difference to the way the character is played, why not look for a simpler way to make your character unique and memorable. I’m referring to character quirks. These are little details that help your character stand out at the gaming table. They provide absolutely no mechanical benefits or penalties; they’re merely flavour for your character.

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 “Q” is for Quirk as we look at ways to make characters more memorable and interesting.

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Categories
D&D Encounters

Public Play

a-to-z-letters-pI believe that public play is one of the best advertisements we have for our games. By playing in plain sight you give others a chance to see what’s going on. The mystery of Settlers of Catan or Dungeons & Dragons is revealed as people hover around the table and watch. This is true for all games including RPGs, card games and board games. Every time I play a board game at my FLGS someone walks by and asks about it.

For years the only place I ever played games was at home. D&D was just another one of my nerd hobbies. I had enough problems with social awkwardness during my teenage years that the last thing I needed was additional ridicule from my peers because I was playing D&D in public. It wasn’t until many, many years later that I realized how much there was to be gained through public play.

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. We bring gaming to the masses as “P” is for Public Play in today’s article.

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Categories
D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Storm Over Neverwinter (Week 1)

storm-over-neverwinter-coverThis season we return to Neverwinter. The adventure takes place after the events from D&D Encounters season 6, Lost Crown of Neverwinter. Knowledge of Neverwinter, the Forgotten realms or even the previous season is not required, but it would give players and DMs some insight about the people and places they’re likely to encounter this season.

The Neverwinter Campaign Sourcebook will be an invaluable asset this season. It would be helpful if at least one person at your gaming table had one (preferably the DM). It’s a solid sourcebook and is well worth the price. I strongly encourage DMs to pick it up for themselves if they haven’t already.

D&D Next

Each FLGS will have the option of running this season’s adventure using 4e rules or D&D Next rules. Those interested in trying D&D Next need to sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA). The DM will also need to download the conversion kit from the Wizards of the Coast website. The 4e adventure is still required. You cannot run this without the adventure provided in the DM kits (for the maps if nothing else).

We’ve decided to continue running with the 4e rules this season at the two FLGS where I play. The weekly recaps will only comment on the adventure as written (4e) and not reference any of the D&D Next conversions materials. However, we will be discussing it on our Recounting Encounter podcasts each week so if you’re playing D&D Next you should listen.

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Actual Play Podcast at Harry T North (Season 13 Week 1) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Actual Play Podcast at Silver Snail (Season 13 Week 1) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Categories
Editorial

Optimize For Best Results

a-to-z-letters-oOptimize, to make the best or most effective use of a situation, opportunity or resource.

The mechanics of 4e D&D practically demand you optimize your character and your party. Failure to do so can result in some unfortunate consequences. Monsters are designed based on the assumption that you have created your character to gain maximum damage output. Failure to do this, while not catastrophic, can lead to a less than ideal experience.

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 “O” is for optimization as we explore the reasons behind why players may optimize their characters.

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Categories
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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Categories
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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Categories
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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Categories
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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Categories
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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Categories
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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