Why So Serious?

During my last Adventure’s League session, we played through the manticore encounter in the Princes of the Apocalypse module. Our half-orc barbarian set himself up as the comic relief and hero member of the group, as he took one dare after the next, and succeeded in each one with authentic die rolls, astounding us and our DM equally. He pretty much won the encounter for us, and we players all had a couple hours of fun and laughs. D&D as it was meant to be.

But what if that player had been unable to attend that session? We have been playing for a few weeks now, and I have a good read on the personalities of the other characters, and can say that none of us are playing overtly humorous characters. Without our half-orc, I don’t think that evening would have been near as funny as it was.

Not only is it in the DM hands to set the facts and figures of each session, the DM should also be aware of the tone of the game, as well as the persona of the PCs. Every now and then, or as often as you and your players like, set them up with some humor on purpose. Don’t always count on a player to bring it to the table.

In my current video gaming craze is the game Dying Light. Right in the midst of a plague outbreak turning those infected into zombies, there’s a side mission which lightens up the mood of the game, and did much to draw me deeper into the game. It helped me realize I didn’t have to work so hard to save everyone, that there are some people who are dealing with the current atrocity in their own way, and may just make it through okay. Click the link to see the mission, A Baby is Born, in play.

Not every session has to be the PCs pitted against all the evils of their world. Don’t let your DM legacy be all doom and gloom. Give PCs a fun and funny break every once in awhile, and lead them into purely comedic adventures they may not encounter on their own. Role ‘em!   

Campaign Ideas

As I’m taking fresh, new steps to returning to the DM groove, I’ve been digging out notes on campaign ideas I’ve jotted down over the past 4 years or so. In my thoughts, and on paper (yes, real paper), I have 5 solid scenarios that I think could become full campaigns. I’ll list them in basic details here, in case someone else is looking for a spark for their own campaign ideas.

Souls in Chaos

This campaign is based on The Chaos Scar campaign from 4th edition, with a dash of Skyrim. In mine, the meteor broke into a bagazijillion pieces before impact, and those pieces flew out and landed from one end of the land to the other. They range in size from shards small enough to fit in your palm, to large chunks the size of ogre heads. It somehow becomes discovered that, with the proper application of magic, the rocks make for a source of power. The PCs slowly work to uncover the secrets of the rocks as they journey to ground zero.

Dungeon Keeper

A PC somehow comes into possession of a sprawling underground dungeon complex. There is something fantastically valuable somewhere within, and the PCs venture down to search it out. Other beings learn of the complex, and possibly the item, and begin making their way into the complex. PCs now must contend with invaders while searching.

Magiclysm

A long time ago, or perhaps early in the lives of the PCs, a terrible event happened to the force of magic throughout the world. Magic is outlawed in the civilized places, and those who can make use of it are shunned and hunted. Could the PCs be the ones to find out what turned magic so, and change it?

Zombie Apocalypse

The Walking Dead, D&D style.

Subterranean Homesick Blues

Basically, the Fallout scenario in the realm of D&D. Something happened that forced all formerly above-ground dwelling races into moving below ground. To go above ground during the day is extremely dangerous. To go above ground at night is death.

Now, to start the hunt for a compatible group of players and PCs, and run these ideas by them to see which one they may be most interested in. By summer’s end I hope to be in DM mode in one of these campaigns.

Awesome Pixel Art

Canvas Cycle

Just take a look at this. With each image, my imagination was already writing up the encounter it could be used for. Awesome.

Weather Report

This week’s entry is coming in a day late, my apologies. Yesterday I was participating in the 4th Annual Operation Supply Drop 8BitSalute, and was deep into video gaming up until mid-afternoon. After that 24-hour game-a-thon, I crashed for the rest of the day, and was only awake a couple evening hours before getting back on my nightly zen schedule. So here it is!

Anyway, let’s talk about the weather, shall we?

Right at a year ago, I moved from Alabama to South Dakota, from the balmy humidity of the deep South to the windy two-season year of the mid-west. Of course, I knew one of the major changes I would experience would be the weather. Thankfully, my Army career prepared me well for being able to handle such changes, but even so, it’s been interesting watching and feeling those changes for real.

Take the past two weeks here, for example. The greater part of the start started in damn near drought conditions, with daily temps a pleasant 68 - 80 degrees. Winter then came back and the temps dropped to freezing levels, and brought sleet and snow. Yep, snow. In May. Hailing from Alabama, where snow is rare in the dead of winter, seeing snow in May was something else. And as of this writing, it’s currently raining, and has been raining for 4 days straight, replacing those earlier drought-based fire warnings with flash flood warnings.

So, to lead this topic into D&D, ponder how much (or little) the weather is playing a part in your campaigns. Is it? Or is it merely a passing consideration that barely gets considered? Note that I’m not talking about environment here, but weather specifically. Desert, glacial, mountainous, or aquatic environments are exactly those, and should impact your sessions in a variety of ways. However, weather is its own entity, and can affect sessions in much the same ways as environment, or can have its own special effects. Weather can also be used for dramatic purposes, from setting the tone of an encounter, to actually being an encounter.

When thinking about how weather can be made a player in D&D, storms may come first and foremost to mind. I once DM’d a session where I took the 3.5 edition adventure A Dark and Stormy Knight and converted it for 4th edition play. This module introduces the concept of storm-peace, which I found very interesting, and was working on building an entire campaign idea based on it. Read now the storm-peace section on page 2 of the adventure for its description.

Using the storm as exhibit 1, here are some things to consider first before bringing it into play.

1. What is causing the storms? (Or it could be a single storm.) Are the storms naturally occurring? Are they being developed due to natural magical elements? Are they being conjured by a magical being? Was one conjured by a magical being eons ago, and it somehow went wild? Are they the direct signs of an angry god? Are they the symptoms of a planar being’s attempt at breaking into this plane?
2. What are effects, both great and small, of the storms on environment (flora and fauna) and civilization? How long have these effects been in place? What are some future effects that may happen, and what are the conditions that have to be in place for them to happen? Do / will the PCs have any affect on those conditions?

Earlier, I mentioned weather actually being an encounter. Think about that for a moment. Are you looking for that next great encounter? Well, when was the last time your players / your character fought a storm?

Here are some adventure hooks to help bring storms into your adventures.

1. Storm Chasers. After a terrible storm devastates a town, PCs hear rumors of various mysterious elements of the storm (suddenly appeared / disappeared directly over the town, strange lights / apparitions / creatures / voices / music in the midst, etc), the town leaders seek to hire a group of adventurers to ‘chase’ down the storm and end it.
2. Storm Creatures. Storm Giants, Storm Archons, Storm Devils, or any other storm or elemental beings, are hindering travel through the main trade route pass through the mountains. The PCs battle through a host of the storm beings, and face off against an actual storm as the boss fight.
3. The Ozard of Wiz. An obviously magically-created small storm picks up a house in town and drops it on the town’s only hero, and somehow rips off the hero’s trademark glittery red footwear. A hefty reward to the group who can find and return the footwear to the disheartened townsfolk, and discover the cause of the storm.
4. The Perfect Storm. The PCs catch wind (;}) of a tremendous storm approaching. Do they work towards trying to convince people to make preparations or seek shelter without any evidence to back up their claim, or do they ride out to mess with Mother Nature directly in vain hope of ending the storm before it reaches the people?

  

One thing I have yet to do as a DM is run a session where a storm is the main Big Bad. For that, I need a stat block for a storm, which I've not yet sat down to write up. If you know of one readily available on the Interwebs, please point me in that direction.

How important is the weather in your campaign? What fantastic weather encounters have your characters experienced and survived? Share your stories in the Comments below, on google.com/+RPDMJim, or @RoleplayingDM on Twitter.

Adventure League Update #1

Wednesday night’s first Adventure League session started off strong, I’m glad to say. Enough people showed up to play that we had to have two groups. Sadly, though, my grandson Joshua was unable to make it, as he got into trouble with his parents. There were only adults present, so it’s probably for the better, since he would have been the only kid, and we played until 10 that night, which is a bit too late for him to be up on a school night. No worries, I’ll just keep him gaming solo with me until a better plan can be made.

So, I simply chose one of the pre-rolled avatars that come with the 5E box set: Rinnok Liodon, hill dwarf cleric.

I also chose the Order of the Gauntlet as his faction, and there are two other fellow faction members in the group I’m in. We are playing the Princes of the Apocalypse module, which I’m glad for, ‘cause I don’t know it, as I do the Lost Mine of Phandelver.

It’s been awhile since I played a cleric, and Rinnok got dropped to low HP twice, one of those times down to 1 HP. Two of the party were knocked unconscious, but we were able to stabilize and bring them back from the brink of death. I really need to get the PHB so I can fully read up on cleric abilities.

There is a chance I may be getting into another game, a Monday session via Roll20. Expecting the DM for that one to get back to me sometime today for confirmation. More on those details as they come.

Adventure League Wednesdays

I just returned from a meeting with the owner of Flashbax, the FLGS here in Aberdeen. That's where myself and hopefully many other fellow D&D players will be meeting on the next few Wednesday nights for D&D Adventures League sessions.

I put my name is as a backup DM, so I'll be prepping in case I need to assume the role. But, I'll be bringing my grandchild #1 with me, so I'd rather be in player mode next to him to help him as needed. Either way, I'm looking forward to having good fun!

If you're interested, follow my Instagram for plenty of D&D pics I'm sure to be taking and sharing on Wed nights, along with the other video game pics I currently share, amongst other things. Roll 'em!

RPG SceneShots Update 2 May 2015

Here's the newest batch of pics that have been uploaded to RPG SceneShots.

The Great Escape

Last week, I wrote about a couple of ideas on how to extend an adventure that has PCs seeking and finding a boss creature in its base of operations. This runs the usual path of having the PCs start from outside a location, with the crux of the adventure challenging them to work their way in.

This post will propose the idea of flipping that notion, and instead of working their way in, share a couple of ways the adventure could be having PCs find their way out of a location.

Before talking about those steps, it’s important to first take a step back and thoroughly consider how PCs get into the location you want them to escape from. How they get there may play a large part in the plan of how they can get out.

Getting In

Mysterious Portal

The PCs find some lost, ancient artifact, and upon triggering it, get transported to some lost, ancient place.

Captured

The PCs are on their way to confront the next Big Bad, but get overpowered and captured before they get to it, or when they get to it.

Unknown

The PCs are having a normal meal together at a tavern, when suddenly they get knocked out from an unknown source.

SHTF

Somewhere, somehow, somebody done something wrong, and the shit hits the fan in the form of some terrible cataclysm.

Once the ‘how they get there’ plans are in place, you have a starting point from which to grow the ‘how they get out’ adventure. Try these suggestions based on the four above examples.

Getting Out

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mysterious Portal

Ever watched the Dungeons & Dragons TV series? It’s a 1980s cartoon about some ordinary kids who get whisked away to D&D land and become characters and are given special powers and magic items and an annoying little unicorn. The idea is that PC get transported to some place and must find their way back. This premise could be merely one or a few adventures, or could span an entire campaign, much like the cartoon series.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Captured

Taking inspiration from The Great Escape, the PCs get caught and imprisoned in the heart of Big Bad’s stronghold. If war movies don’t inspire you, then think of The Fellowship’s escape from the Mines of Moria, The Escapists video game, or another excellent movie, Escape from Alcatraz. For added complexity, have something pursuing the PCs, something they cannot best in a fight.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Unknown

The PC wake up in a single, large, square room, with nothing visible but a single door in the center of each wall, including the floor and ceiling. Does that premise sound familiar? If may if you’ve seen the movie Cube. This is one adventure I’d personally love to run, without the math involved in the movie, of course. Ramp up the suspense by splitting the party and placing each PC in their own room, and have them work towards regrouping. Or not.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

SHTF

In Half-Life, Gordon Freeman was having just another ordinary day in the bowels of Black Mesa Research Facility, when a simple experiment caused a resonance cascade, and all hell (or in this case, Xen) broke loose. A similar premise could have PCs actively causing the cataclysm at the location they must now escape from, or simply being bystanders at the location where the event occurs.

These are just a few examples, of course. Pretty much any location PCs could try to get into is also a location they could try to get out of, and is an adventure waiting to be developed and played. Have you DM’d or played in an adventure involving a great escape? Tell us about it in the Comments below, on my Google+ profile, or @RoleplayingDM on Twitter.

Dungeon Defenders

Much of the standard fare of D&D involves the PCs delving into lost dungeons, crypts, lairs, or other various underground locations in an effort to clean and clear it of the evil creatures within. Once they have reached whatever Big Bad rules said location, and have hopefully defeated it, they then merrily gather up the loot and head out to the nearest tavern for some well-deserved R&R.

Do they ever give that location a second thought afterwards? Rarely.

Here are a couple of suggestions on how to flip and extend that tired old encounter.

Scenario 1

The PCs battle creatures and evade traps along one of many paths to get to the heart of the location, where they fight and defeat the Big Bad.

Or so they thought.

That large crystal embedded into the Big Bad’s throne? Upon his death, Big Bad’s soul went into it to patiently wait out until the PCs leave, and he can re-manifest in a few weeks and begin his reign of terror anew.

Good news: the observant mage in the PC group notices the crystal, and divines its purpose. Looks as if destroying the crystal will permanently destroy Big Bad.

Bad news: the crystal is immune to all forms of direct damage. The only way to destroy it is by performing a 12-hour ritual, during which time the mage absolutely must not be disturbed.

More bad news: once Big Bad’s soul entered the crystal, it triggered the major protection spell he had active throughout the location. Magically-hidden doorways and / or portals open up at various points, and release another horde of creatures into the location, all of whom begin slowly advancing towards the heart of the location.

The PC’s role suddenly switches from dungeon attackers to dungeon defenders. It’s now up to the them to decide how to establish and execute a defensive plan for the next 12-hours.

Scenario 2

The PC’s, along with a brigade of the Queen’s elite soldiers, have infiltrated along separate paths to get to the heart of the location to defeat the Big Bad. The PCs accomplish this mission, of course. Thankfully, more than a few of the Queen’s elite also make their way successfully to the heart of the location.

As in the first scenario, the Big Bad’s dead man switch is triggered, except now the PCs have an advantage with the Queen’s elite. The PCs can now direct those soldiers to cover specific entrances, while they either lead or support the soldiers at their points, or rally directly around the mage performing the ritual.

In either scenario, leave some very subtle clues the PC may keep in mind about how they can better plan to stay alive after the trap is triggered. Make Perception rolls when a trap is being inspected, and if highly successful, have the inspector notice that the trap can be easily and quickly reset. Have successful Detect Magic rolls vaguely point to blank spaces of solid wall, where the portals and doors will open once the trap is triggered. Or maybe that quip the bard made about this whole thing being ‘suspiciously easy’ and the seemingly ‘lack of defenses’ causes the group to take some actions before they reach the Big Bad.

How do these dungeon defender ideas sound to you? What ideas do you have, and which ones have you put into play / come up against? Let me know in the Comments below, or send them to me at my Google+ profile (google.com/+RPDMJim), or @RoleplayingDM on Twitter.

RPG Dice Board

RPG Dice Board - A Dice Rolling Gadget for the Modern Age

John Taylor sent you a message:

Hi Jim! My name's John, and I'm writing from Geekify Inc in Boulder, CO. I found your articles on Examiner, and wanted to see if you'd have any interest in what we do. 

We just launched a gaming accessory on Kickstarter that might be up your alley - it's an arcane dice board, reminiscent of the Pop-o-matic Trouble boards. The dice sets are interchangeable, and it's designed to bring tabletop gaming to a whole new level of geekery. We're starting the long grind trying to get attention on the project - I don't know if you ever cover Kickstarters (or their subsequent products), but I figured I'd run it up the flagpole to see if you'd consider it news worthy :). 

More details and pictures here at the link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/geekifyinc/rpg-dice-board-a-dice-rolling-gadget-for-the-moder 

Let me know if it's something you'd be interested in posting about or finding out more, or if you have any advice or suggestions. Thanks a bunch, and hope talk to you soon! -John

So, what do you think? Interested in knowing more about this product? Let me know, and I'll go get it for you! 

Non-grinding Weapon Finding

A couple days ago, I was thinking about lost things. One instance of those lost things include a bag that was 'misplaced' during a Delta Airlines flight from California to Alabama. While thinking on this, I realized how much losing those items still pained me.

In that lost bag were things that just cannot be replaced, specifically, a pair of my Army boots that had been issued to me during Basic Training, and had then been worn by me during Operations Desert Shield / Desert Storm. I had purposefully kept them highly serviceable during all those years and afterwards 'cause I had the plan to one day have them bronzed and passed on to my daughter, along with the Army duffle bag itself, which had also followed the same path as the boots.

So, naturally, that line of thinking lead into thinking about the danger DMs face when handing out magic items in their campaigns. Yeah, that's how my mind works.

We DMs must adhere to a strict balance of power and possession when it comes to doling out magic items, so as not to tilt the weights (too drastically) in favor of one or the other, thereby turning the campaign into a Hollywood movie farce. Unless that's the theme of the campaign you're running, of course.

There is another balance that DMs must always keep in mind, and that is keeping what you want your players to experience balanced with what the players want their characters to experience. Magic items are one of the ways DMs can keep this balance in check, and when used properly, can keep players excited for the next adventure, and will also keep your campaign from falling into the 'just another grindfest' trap.

A great time to think about how magic weapons are going to factor into the campaign setting, and possibly the characters' experiences, is during the campaign creation process, right from the start. Presuming a standard, run-of-the-mill D&D setting, players will probably begin their characters with basic, non-magical weapons. Now, how does a DM work in a fresh approach for the characters to obtain magic weapons without the sessions becoming a boring kill evil things - get magic weapon - wash - rinse - repeat cycle?

Here are two methods I recommend:

1. Weapon XP
2. Forged in Battle

Weapon XP
Characters plot their progress towards greatness via experience points and levels; create a like system for weapons.

In the video game Lord of the Rings Online, PCs may encounter their first Legendary Weapon at around level 50. One of the things that sets Legendary weapons apart from others is that they gain XP when used. Once the weapon has gained enough XP to reach the next level, it gets upgraded with new powers and abilities. 

How could this play out in D&D? Take that long sword the player chose for their 1st-level character. Give it one (1) XP for each enemy it kills. After twenty-five kills, or 10 encounters, or 5 game sessions, have the weapon level up, and give it a +1 bonus, or any other beginner-level magic property. 

And here's the reasoning behind that. Remember those boots I talked about earlier? After many years of wearing and caring, they had become the most comfortable Army boots I have ever strapped on my feet. If you've ever worn Army combat boots, you know exactly how important a comfortable pair of them are. The same could be applied for a character who continually uses the same long sword. After many fights with it, it becomes a natural extension of the wielder, and giving it a bonus would represent that fact. Also, it would go a long way towards breaking the players, and your campaign, away from being a mere grind to find the next better weapon.

Forged in Battle
In the video game The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, one of the weapons of legend the player may obtain is Wuuthrad, a large double-bladed axe "originally wielded by Ysgramor, leader of the Five Hundred Companions". It's magical power is that it is 'especially deadly to elves'. When the weapon was forged and named, it didn't have any magical powers within it. Wuuthrad didn't become deadly to elves until during and after Ysgramor wielded it in a war against "Snow Elves of Skyrim and Solstheim in the Merethic Era". 

Let's say that same long sword from the previous example was wielded through one or more game sessions that have its wielder clearing out a dungeon full of goblins. If the character successfully clears out the dungeon with said long sword, go ahead and give that sword a bonus against goblins from now on, to represent the repeated use in combat against them, and the skill gained by the character at knowing how to effectively use the blade to target their weak spots. 

Or, say the player rolls a nat 20 and shears the horns off a minotaur whose favored tactic was to charge characters head-first in an effort to impale them with its horns. On the spot, that long sword transforms in the hands of the character wielding it from a mundane sword to Horn Hewer, and in time, word of it spreads to all the horned beasts across the realm.

Of course, these are just two ways for DMs to keep their players from becoming over-powered, or bored with the grind, in campaigns. I could add a good deal more to those examples, such as the inclusion of crafting / enchanting systems, but will save them for later. 

Now I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on my examples, and also in hearing how you have already handled the balance of magic item power in your own campaigns.  

Legends & Tabletop

Starting off this post with some D&D-related video game info. Sword Coast Legends was announced in February this year, and I've been following it since then. For those who may not know, the Sword Coast is a region of land set in the Forgotten Realms D&D setting, and has been used in multiple video games, including Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights. 

The latest news update for the game describes how the Dungeon Master's roll will be implemented during game sessions. Read the following PC Gamer article with video for all the details.

Sword Coast Legends video introduces the Dungeon Master [PC Gamer]

And in case you'd also like to keep Sword Coast Legends on your gamedar, bookmark these links:

Sword Coast Legends [PC Gamer]

Sword Coast Legends

International Tabletop Day is happening 11 April 2015! I do hope you will be out at celebrating at your FLGS, or hosting your own intimate tabletop gaming at your favorite kitchen table.

I will be taking grandchild Joshua to the FLGS here, Flashbax, to get us into some all-day gaming. I'm also working with the Flashbax owner to possibly DM a session or two that day. Gonna try to talk my daughter and her husband into joining us, as well. Will also try to get some photos taken to share here. 

What's your game plan?

Lastly, here are the latest additions to RPG SceneShots!

Extended Rest Complete

Almost a year ago, I got the hell outta Alabama (again) and moved Aberdeen, to South Dakota, accompanying my daughter and her family. Since then, I've been acclimating to the weather, re-establishing myself in a new location, and dealing with other encounters that Life serves up. 

Happy to report that I have my own apartment now, and have re-stabilized my work flow, to the point where I am ready to blow the dust off my DM hat and get back into the RPDM gig. 

I have set up a mostly weekly schedule for this blog and my other RPDM social media locations, and aim to get various actions in play. I have set Sunday morning up for this weekly delivery, and say 'mostly' to cover the weekends when I may not publish something due to spending time with grandchild #1, Joshua.

Overland Map by Wizards of the Coast

He came over he stayed with me last weekend, and I introduced him to his first official D&D session. Previously, as we were still getting situated here, I ran the Heroes of Hesiod game for he and his younger sister, Angel. They both took to it well, Joshua more than Angel, however. She did catch on quickly, but is still too young and doesn't have the attention span to play more than a few minutes. 

Last weekend, I ran Joshua through the character creation process, and he rolled up Thunder the human fighter, armed with a greatsword. We then ventured into the first part of Lost Mine of Phandelver, and he handled it well, rolling very positive numbers and cleaving through goblins in single hits. We'll be continuing the adventure perhaps this weekend, and onward from there.

That was my return to DMing after separating from my players in Alabama, and it was good. Unlike where I lived there, there is a D&D hobby shop in this town, I've already met with the owners and played a session with some other local players, and am looking to set up another group of players here. 

Back to my RPDM offerings. I have a couple of notebooks with DM notes about various topics and ideas which I'll be transferring into this blog. Many of the ideas I plan to use in my sessions, and I want to make them public should anyone else think them worthy to use in their own campaigns. 

I'll also continue to add to the RPG SceneShots, when I have collected and processed enough pics from my video gaming to add. 

So there's an update on the past year, and my adventure plan for the future. Roll 'em!

RPG SceneShots - Civilization V Batch

Hello D&Ders! Here's another batch of RPG SceneShots for you to use in your sessions. These shots are from that most excellent video game known as Civilization V. Feel free to use them directly from here, or better yet, click over to and follow the entire collection at the official RPG SceneShots Google + Page. Use and enjoy!