Tag: D&D

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DM Resources

Terrain to Challenge Epic Characters

a-to-z-letters-tWhen creating encounters many DMs, especially rookie DMs, focus first and foremost on the monsters. There’s certainly nothing wrong with this approach. However, just as many DMs will regrettably spend almost no time creating interesting terrain to flesh out the encounter. They’re so concerned with finding the right balance of monsters that the locale is nothing more than an afterthought.

Good encounters should have interesting terrain features. There should be things that will make the combat more interesting; anything from obstacles to hide behind, to hazardous areas to try and push your enemies into. You character will engage in lots of battles and even though the monsters may change the combat doesn’t really. The right terrain makes any mundane combat encounter more interesting.

At low levels terrain features need be nothing more than a deep pit, a campfire, a few tall trees, or a meandering stream. But by epic level none of these terrain features will be significant. Feel free to add them for flavour, but they certainly won’t challenge the PCs or change the outcome of the battle. Epic terrain needs to be as grandiose and diverse as the PCs. Today we’ll share a few ideas on how to create terrain that challenges epic characters.

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 “T” is for terrain as we explore its need to change and evolve as the PCs become more powerful.

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Editorial

Stereotypical Gamers – Debunking the Myths

a-to-z-letters-sWhen I tell people I play Dungeons & Dragons or that I’m a gamer I know that the first thing that pops into their minds is not a flattering image. People still cling to some of the worst gaming stereotypes. It makes it difficult to have a serious conversation with non-gamers and it makes it a lot hard to convince new people to try our hobby.

In order for us to move beyond these stereotypes is to addresses them and fix them. We need to debunk them and create new stereotypes; positive stereotypes that encourage people to see gamers in a more positive light.

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 do our part to shine a positive light on gamers in today’s post in which the “S” is for Stereotypes, good and bad.

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Editorial

Resurrection

a-to-z-letters-rIt’s the ultimate get out of jail free card: Resurrection. No consequence is too severe, no danger too great, no threat too overwhelming. When death has lost its sting does the game just get too easy?

Of course no one likes death. In real life its the great unknown, the end of this life as we know it and there is no coming back for second chances. Fair enough, but Dungeons & Dragons isn’t real life, it’s a game. As a result second chances abound and the Raise Dead ritual provides the ultimate do-over. Granted it is not a true do-over, nor is it necessarily even a second chance at the adventure. What resurrection is in D&D is avoiding losing that character you spent countless hours building and playing.

Resurrection is a good thing. It helps keep the game fun, even if it does have a few drawbacks.

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 “R” is for resurrection as we explore the role of the resurrection ritual in the game.

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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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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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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
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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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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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