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DM Resources

Should the DM Use a Screen?

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Picture by Mike Shea of Slyflourish.com

The DM’s screen – the great barrier that separates the DM from the players. Behind the screen the DM can do whatever he pleases. Personally I detest the DM’s screen. It forms a literal barrier that divides the table and cuts the DM off from the rest of the group. I feel that the screen only serves to perpetuate the incorrect belief that it’s the DM vs. the players. The screen denotes exclusivity and secrecy and in my vast gaming experiences it often gives the DM a false sense of self-worth, self-importance and power over the rest of the table.

Obviously the DM’s role in the game is different from that of the players. Yes, the DM has more to do, and controls all of the monsters, and decides on how things in the world play out, so I understand why some DMs get drunk with power. But there’s a simple way to level the playing field and bridge any ill will between the DM and players, and that’s to stop using the screen all together. I realize this may be scary for some DMs, so we’ll look at the most common reasons for using a screen and review the pros and cons of each.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Game Day: Vault of the Dracolich – Wrap up

game-day-2013On Saturday, June 15, gamers in Toronto gathered in the basement cafeteria of a local college and stormed the Vault of the Dracolich. Despite some initial logistical challenges the event ran smoothly and everyone had a great time. Today we’re going to share our story and photos from 2013 D&D Game Day in Toronto.

A Rocky Start

The decision to hold our Game Day event at a neutral site and not at any one particular FLGS seemed good in theory. We could draw players from multiple shops in the area without any of the owners feeling that their store was being sleighed and their players poached. Some of the participating stores are on the fringes of the city and difficult for many players to get to. The college was a convenient downtown location close to public transit and with plenty of parking. It was ideal for everyone involved.

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D&D Encounters

Major Changes Coming to D&D Encounters: DMs to Pay for Adventures

murder-in-baldurs-gate-coverAfter 14 seasons the free ride is over. Starting in August, with Murder in Baldur’s Gate, the D&D Encounters program is changing… significantly. Some of the changes are good, some are bad. I leave it to you to decide where you stand and whether or not these changes will affect your involvement with the D&D Encounters public play program.

The big news is that the adventures will no longer be provided to you or your FLGS for free. DMs will now be required to shell out $34.95 to purchase their own copy of the adventure. That’s right; if you want to be the DM and run the adventure for the public play program it will cost you, or the people in your gaming group, 35 bucks for each copy of the book.

If you’re like me one of the reasons you’ve volunteered to DM for D&D Encounters over the years is because you got the materials for free and when it was all over you got to keep the adventure. So why would I suddenly be willing to pay for the same thing I used to get for free? How do I not see this as a slap in the face from Wizards? Give me one good reason why I would even consider buying the adventure? Read on and you’ll find many good reasons.

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D&D Encounters

Recounting Encounters with Storm Over Neverwinter author Erik Scott de Bie (Part 2)

storm-over-neverwinter-coverDungeon’s Master and 20ft Radius are proud to present a special episode of our podcast, Recounting Encounters. Once again we we talk to Erik Scott de Bie, author of this season’s adventure Storm Over Neverwinter.

Erik is a professional writer and game designer. Storm Over Neverwinter is Erik’s third contribution to the D&D Encounters program having written the adventures Halaster’s Lost Apprentice (season 1) and The Lost Crown of Neverwinter (season 6). He was also one of the main contributing authors for the Neverwinter Campaign Guide.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Storm Over Neverwinter – Report Card

storm-over-neverwinter-coverWe have once again reached the end of another great season of D&D Encounters. That means it’s time to step back and look at the entire season as a whole and pass judgment. We’ve weighed the good and the bad in order to come up with a final grade for Storm Over Neverwinter. Read over our feedback and let us know if you agree or disagree with our assessment. Be sure to add your feedback to the comments section below.

The Good

In general this season had a lot of very good things going for it. Probably the biggest thing in the plus column was the return of veteran D&D Encounters author Erik Scott de Bie. Erik wrote Halaster’s Lost Apprentice (season 1) and Lost Crown of Neverwinter (season 6). He came into this season with a proven track record for writing great adventures and we were not disappointed when we dove into season 13. Let’s look at the best of the good.

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DM Resources

When PCs Kill the Final Boss Too Soon

As a player nothing bugs me more than a villain that is protected by the power of plot. No matter what happens, no matter how creative or lucky the PCs get during a direct confrontation early in the adventure, this one particular villain cannot be killed, captured or defeated because the DM needs him during the final showdown. It’s the biggest tease in gaming and it needs to stop.

Now I’m not saying that DMs should never have the PCs engage the major villain before the final confrontation. I like it when the PCs get a glimpse of who they’re up against early on. But if circumstances happen to put the PCs into a fight with the big boss and they manage to take him down, don’t rob them of that victory. Obviously something went very, very right for the PCs or something went very, very wrong for the villain. In either case the encounter was likely memorable and no doubt thrilling. So why belittle such an amazing convergence of fortune and let the villain live simply because the story demands that he does?

In a home game the DM obviously has significant latitude to tweak the story if a big boss villain is unexpectedly killed early on, but in printed adventures it’s a lot more difficult. However, it’s never impossible and more DMs need to remember this. You are in charge of everything behind the scenes. You are empowered to make changes as you see fit. You are responsible to keep the adventure moving forward and ensuring the players are having fun along the way. Waving the magic DM wand and saying “he wasn’t really dead” is not the right way to handle things. Not when there are some many great alternatives.

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Friday Favourites

Friday Favourite: Playing Two Characters

On Friday we comb through our extensive archives to find an older article that we feel deserves another look. From June 8, 2009, Dungeon’s Master once again presents: Playing Two Characters.

I like playing two characters. As long as I get to create them both, then I’ll play two characters any time the DM allows it. But playing two characters when one is yours and one belongs to someone else is a lot more difficult and generally not as much fun.

I’ve played in games where the DM gave players the option of playing one or two characters. Most of my friends choose to stick with one character, but not me; if I can play two characters, I will. Here are some of the pros and cons I’ve found over the years of playing two characters in the same campaign.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Storm Over Neverwinter (Week 8.)

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This week the PCs faced the eye of the storm, both figuratively and literally. They continued to advance onward and upward through Helm’s Hold to the roof where Elden Vargas was doing something to manipulate the storm over Neverwinter.

Considering this was the last week of the season I was expecting a better turn out. At Harry T North in Toronto we only had eight people (including the two DMs), that awkward zone where it’s too many for one table and not enough to break off and form two tables. We decided to delay starting our session for almost half an hour in hopes that a few more players might arrive. Two finally did giving us two DMs and eight players, perfect for two groups. Unfortunately by the end of the session both groups suffered because of their minimal numbers. In retrospect a table of seven might have been a better idea.

The party I played with had a Human Vampire, Human Assassin, Tiefling Battlemind and Goliath Monk (my PC). The Assassin and I both started the encounter with fewer than maximum hit points and only 1 healing surge each.

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Friday Favourites

Friday Favourite: Staying Alive – 8 Ways to Keep Wounded PCs in the Game

On Friday we comb through our extensive archives to find an older article that we feel deserves another look. From June 5, 2012, Dungeon’s Master once again presents: Staying Alive: 8 Ways to Keep Wounded PCs in the Game.

One of my biggest issues with D&D is the five-minute work day. This is when PCs expend all their best powers and burn through their healing surges so quickly that they’re useless unless they take an extended rest. The game is designed for PCs to have four or more encounters before they should need to take an extended rest but I suspect that many DMs rarely push through more than four encounters before calling it a day. However, there will be times when this just isn’t possible – either because it doesn’t make sense given how the story is progressing or the printed adventure doesn’t allow it. In these cases the DM may need to get creative to keep the PCs alive until the end of the day.

Assuming the PCs can still take short rests then output isn’t usually a big deal if the party continues on past four encounters. Sure they may not have those awesome daily powers at their disposal into the fifth encounter but they will have all their cool encounter powers. It’s healing surges that usually become the biggest problem.

Strikers generally have the fewest surges to begin with, and unless the player has a reasonable Constitution score or the Durability feat they’ll run out of surges quickly. What makes the problem worse is that as soon as monsters (intelligent monsters anyway) see a striker mowing through their ranks they’ll target the biggest threat (the striker). Unless you’ve got advantageous tactics or a decent defender at your side, strikers end up taking damage every fight.

So what’s a DM to do when this kind of thing happens? How do you keep a wounded party in the game and convince the players to push those PCs forward? It may just be a game, but players get emotionally attached to their PCs quickly and no one wants to enter a combat encounter knowing that their PC is likely to die. It’s a delicate situation that requires some careful manipulation. The key is not to do so in such a way that it insults the players or belittles the game mechanic. Players want to do well but they don’t want the DM to just give them an easy, unearned victory. It’s a real balancing act and here are 8 suggested ways to pull it off.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Storm Over Neverwinter (Week 7)

storm-over-neverwinter-coverLast week the party faced off against the Dragon Chartilifax, only to see the Dragon flee when it got bloodied. The PCs tended to the Prophet Rohini, took a short rest, and then ventured upward to confront Elden Vargas.

This week at Harry T North in Toronto we ran two tables of five. Even though we determined seating randomly, my table had four of the same five as last week. We lost our leader but gained a defender. Here’s what the party looked like: Human Wizard, Human Ranger, Human Assassin, Dwarf Fighter, and Goliath Monk (my character).

The party split up: the Ranger and Wizard climbed one staircase, the Fighter, Assassin, and Monk took the other. When the party reached the next level the storm raging outside seemed to intensify. Lightning struck the building repeatedly and the booming thunder caused the entire cathedral to shake and sway. The windows exploded inward and broke under the pressure. Lightning seemed to dance into the room through the open window creating crackling creatures made of electricity.