Tag: Dungeon Master Resource

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DM Resources

Tavern Trappings

Last week we provided a list of 118 Tavern Names. In the article, Wimwick provided some good positioning around making a tavern more than just a typical, average, run-of-the-mill establishment. Giving it a name is an excellent start. But why stop there?

Considering how often PCs find themselves in taverns, it’s important that you take some time to make each one unique and memorable. You don’t have to spend hours on it; a few minutes will do the trick. Adding those little details brings the setting to life. Without these details your tavern is just a forgettable background. So before the PCs head to the next watering hole for a quick drink, take a minute to flesh it out a little bit. Using our list to find an appropriate tavern name is a great start, but don’t forget to describe the staff, the patrons and the décor.

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DM Resources

Time in D&D

Raise your hand if you’ve ever created a level 1 PC, entered a dungeon, killed a bunch of monsters, gained a bunch of levels while still inside the dungeon and then realized that only a few weeks of actual in-game time passed when you emerge. I know I’m not the only one reading this that has his hand up.

Time in D&D is an aspect of the game I find is overlooked way too often. Tracking time in your game may not be that big a deal, but the longer you continue playing that same PC the more important time becomes.

So just how long does it take to go from level 1 to level 2? In 4e D&D it takes about 10-13 encounters or about four gaming sessions. But what I really want to know is how much time passes in-game between levels?

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DM Resources

I Took The Railroad To The Sandbox And Told A Great Story

At its core Dungeons & Dragons is a role-playing game. When you put aside all the mechanics, character classes and dice rolling the game is about the story. The story is usually narrated by the DM who explains what transpires. The DM is literally responsible for everything the PCs experience. The DM is also responsible for shaping the direction of the story. From planning encounters, designing skill challenges and writing the adventures the DM fills some pretty big shoes.

One of the most important decisions a DM makes is choosing which mode of storytelling they want to adopt for a particular campaign. Do you use existing adventures from Dungeon magazine or Living Forgotten Realms (LFR) modules? Do you create your own adventures and storyline. How much choice will you allow the PCs to have? Will you railroad the PCs down the path you want the adventure to progress in or will you allow the PCs any choice they wish and run a sandbox campaign? Why not a little bit of both?

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DM Resources Eberron Editorial

Novel Adventures: Games with Predefined Endings

In February’s issue of Dungeon (#173), Craig A. Campbell has created a three-encounter delve called Haruuc’s Tomb: A Novel Adventure based on events from Don Bassingthwaite’s fantastic Eberron novel, Word of Traitors. As a big fan of Eberron and a huge fan of this book I was very concerned about how this adventure would turn out. But before I get into the good and bad of Campbell’s undertaking I have a questions for all the players. Have you ever played an adventure that was inspired from a D&D novel?

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Eberron

Secrets of Eberron Revealed (Part 6)

The Dragonmarked Houses try to keep some secrets of Eberron from being revealed. In this installment we focus on the best kept secret in Khorvaire – true Dragonmarks manifesting outside of the normal racial boundaries. Power and fortunes hang in the balance if Dragonmarks loose their exclusivity to a particular house or race.

In The Gorgon Returns members of House Cannith are shocked to learn that their house patriarch, Starrin d’Cannith, may not have died on the Day of Mourning. The Dragon’s Teeth act on orders from the Dragonmarked Houses to track down anyone manifesting a true Dragonmark outside of recognized bloodlines.

Click on the Eberron tab above the Dungeon’s Master banner to find the previous installments in this ongoing series as well as many other great Eberron articles and resources.

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DM Resources Top 10

6 D&D Convention Tips for DMs

Yesterday we shared 6 D&D Convention Tips for Players; today it’s the DMs turn. After running a few Living Forgotten Realms (LFR) adventures at the Spellstorm gaming convention this past weekend in Toronto, I’ve put together a list of things to keep in mind when you’re the DM. These tips are applicable to any D&D game, but even more so at a convention.

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Editorial

Ritual Casting – Opening Up The System

Rituals are “complex ceremonies that create magic effects” according to the description in the Player’s Handbook. It makes sense then that only classes who receive in-depth training should have access to rituals. The concept behind rituals is that they are used outside of combat, perhaps during skill challenges, and represent powerful magic that requires concentration and time. Effects such as raise dead and magic item creation are not events to be taken lightly, they are game altering. A Rogue from the streets of Waterdeep or a Fighter who is a refugee from Cyre should not have automatic access to these rituals. Or should they?

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DM Resources

Traps & Hazards: The Open Portal

During the coming weeks we’ll be looking at traps and hazards in 4e D&D. I’m not going to waste time taking about pit traps or exploding doors, there’s plenty of that stuff in the DMG. What I’m going to focus on are traps and hazards that are much more elaborate and interesting.

These are things that make up a significant part of an encounter that is not the monsters. It’s usually going to take the form of a skill challenge or at the very least some skill checks. My intention is to provide examples of traps and hazards I’ve used in my campaign, describe how and why they were created, and give suggestions for using them in your campaign.

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DM Resources Skill Challenges

Reusing Skills in Skill Challenges

Does this sound familiar? The PCs begin a skill challenge. A couple of PCs have creative ideas and they go at it. They explain what they want to do, use a bit of role-playing and then make their rolls. Right off the bat you’ve got a couple of successes. But as you look around the table at the rest of the players you get blank stares. They either don’t know what to do or don’t want to risk getting a failure since their skill numbers are so awful. So they essentially repeat what the last PCs did.

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DM Resources

Eight Rules That Will Make You A Better DM

Admit it. As a DM there have been times when you’ve been stumped, regretted decisions, made a mistake or just wanted to quit. We’ve all been there and we’ve all looked for a way out of the situation. The following eight guidelines follow the KISS formula. Keep It Simple, Stupid. While they don’t cover every situation, they should provide a reliable fallback for DMs.

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