tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67373312110186137222024-02-22T11:13:03.785-05:00Run a GameA blog for practical advice, turn-key resources, tips, and examples of how to run a roleplaying game.Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.comBlogger220125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-34470210525712579492020-11-28T10:48:00.005-05:002020-11-28T10:57:55.669-05:00Ind of the Year - The Colors of MagicOn December 1st, there will be a nice bundle of small, indie itch RPGs from around the world called the <b><a href="https://itch.io/b/705/ind-of-the-year-2020">Ind of the Year Bundle 2020</a></b> that includes <i>The Colors of Magic</i>, a little game I created. <div> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNDvyMWrP-MZtZpoBw1p2L4OF-BiLo9XYfC9N4uxnNI9VEN851DgjUw87fehJmOGNGCmJPViJichAC62xgtDefzhsBoWX6KIF6XyPIoTCNT3bx9-cDIa9t68ZG3-rYAD4WcEn1K4t3Ec/s2048/graphic2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Colorful fireworks background. Text reads "Ind of the Year bundle 2020. Coming to itch.io in December #IndOfTheYear"" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNDvyMWrP-MZtZpoBw1p2L4OF-BiLo9XYfC9N4uxnNI9VEN851DgjUw87fehJmOGNGCmJPViJichAC62xgtDefzhsBoWX6KIF6XyPIoTCNT3bx9-cDIa9t68ZG3-rYAD4WcEn1K4t3Ec/w320-h180/graphic2.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>The Colors of Magic was a way to express my ideas about character-drive GMing in RPG form. What does it do?</div><div><br /></div><div><h4>Strict Limits for the GM</h4><div>When you create a character in <i>The Colors of Magic</i>, you create two beliefs and three NPCs you have a relationship with. One is a villain on the scale of a typical campaign antagonist. When creating this villain, you also describe their lair and the sorts of beings they use as their minions. Another is an influential ruler (can be anything from a thieves' guild leader to a queen). The third is character you love, but where that relationship is imperfect. </div><div><br /></div><div>The GM then notes down all these things. Why? It's not just good practice: The GM is not <i>allowed </i>to use any antagonists, NPCs, or settings that aren't connected to or implied by the stuff the players invented in character creation. If the players invented a mysterious dragon, evil necromancer queen, and vampire prince, the GM is not <i>allowed</i> to make up a chained elder god antagonist without making it part of one of the player-created antagomists. </div><div><br /></div><div>The GM can still use their elder god idea, but it has to be tied to a player's antagonist, and the player's antagonist has to take precedence. Is the chained elder god the source of the necromancer queen's power? Is the mysterious dragon the elder god, now escaped?</div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Beliefs are Character Growth</h4><div>Characters in <i>The Colors of Magic</i> have two beliefs. These support the character-driven GM approach, but I'm going to have to tell you more about the game's genre before continuing. <i>The Colors of Magic</i> attempts to evoke an animated YA "cartoon wizards" fantasy, similar to Avatar, Dragon Prince, many 90s and 00s adventure cartoons, and tons of anime. YA fantasy novels are also central to the game's genre definition. These stories tend to include a moral dimension - questions about maturity, bravery, responsibility, friendship, and trust.</div><div><br /></div><div>Protagonist Characters (PCs) in <i>The Colors of Magic </i>have righteous beliefs that define the game's themes. Each belief is essentially true in the "moral physics" game world. (<i>The Colors of Magic</i> uses script change safety tools, so there are plenty of backstops against GMs and players using these beliefs in harmful ways.) The righteous belief expresses the game's "cartoon wizards" theme. </div><div><br /></div><div>If a character's righteous belief is "true friends are always there for each other" then anyone who is defined as a true friend <i>will</i> always be there for you, and anyone who ever lets you down is not a true friend. The GM's job is to give the PCs ample opportunities to decide who their true friends are and take risks for them.</div><div><br /></div><div>The characters' wrongheaded beliefs define their character growth. Each character has a belief that is foolish, arrogant, cowardly, or immature. The GM's role is to push them to make mistakes and cause harm in pursuit of their wrongheaded belief, and then either admit their flaws, learn, and grow as a character or double down on their mistaken belief and fall. Like the genre The Colors of Magic is inspired by, characters never really give up their wrongheaded belief. They are constantly tempted by it. </div><div><br /></div><div>If a player really believes their character has overcome their wrongheaded belief, the character arc is essentially over, though they can always take on a new one. (I admit, I've never run a long enough campaign of The Colors of Magic that a character ever overcame their wrongheaded belief. It seems ideal for 6-30 hour mini-campaigns, but it also works well as a one-shot.)</div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Zero Gamism</h4><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>The Colors of Magic </i>gets mechanics entirely out of the way. Because the players of the game can always <i>choose</i> the outcome of any risk they take - never spending points or rolling dice - the GM's only ability to "challenge" the players is to challenge their characters and only their characters. The <i>player</i> can decide their character succeeds without complication, succeeds with some extra benefit, succeeds with a minor complication, barely succeeds and suffers a significant complication, or suffers a serious calamity. </span></h4><p>Gamism is an old "Big Model" Forge-era term for the creative impulse of game challenge -- outthinking an opponent in a game. It's often found in tactical combat games with initiative rolls, where you have to beat some monsters in combat without using too many resources or taking too much damage from them. But it's also found in "storytelling" games about out-maneuvering dark conspirators in the court intrigues of secret vampire societies, conserving your bennies and fate points properly in pulp action RPGs, and choosing the best crew upgrade to make your scores in the dark more effective. </p><p>Game challenge is fun, but as I was laser-focusing a game to show off character-driven GMing, I had to take it out.</p><p><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Put it All Together</h4><div>When you put the three aspects of <i>The Colors of Magic</i> together, you get to play a system that:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Forces the GM to use settings, characters, and antagonists that the players care about, because they invented them and made them special to their character, and</li><li>Urges GMs to stimulate the other players' creativity by challenging their characters' beliefs and relationships -- not their tactical game play skills.</li></ul><div>You'd think it would be hard to GM The <i>Colors of Magic </i>and plan out adventures for it, tying in all the PCs' beliefs and relationships and stuff. It's not! I've included two tools to help make it a cinch.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>The first tool is a printable GM Tracking Sheet - a table to write down all the PCs' magic, beliefs, and relationships in. It's a single page, so you have everything you need to improvise right in front of you, ready at a glance.</div><div><br /></div><div>The second is a set of three "mad lib" style fast adventure planners. Once you've filled out the GM tracking sheet, if you're at a loss as to where to start, pick one of the fast adventure "mad libs" and fill it out. Check out a preview of the first one!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ9QQ3Bs_toPbRXyFIJPyOPRkvGJjuxNU0ex8EQCd5h9yb8bE6VGMMU_nCt21eos-d1On8FIg1zkqe5AFLwF1csi-cWWubA4CWxEwfCWtABlQUtD0ZVOlt8A-t3hxKHifnQKKiBsC0qGw/s923/Clash+of+Beliefs.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A preview of the file "GM fast adventure planner" from The Colors of Magic." border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="923" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ9QQ3Bs_toPbRXyFIJPyOPRkvGJjuxNU0ex8EQCd5h9yb8bE6VGMMU_nCt21eos-d1On8FIg1zkqe5AFLwF1csi-cWWubA4CWxEwfCWtABlQUtD0ZVOlt8A-t3hxKHifnQKKiBsC0qGw/w320-h205/Clash+of+Beliefs.JPG" title="(click to enlarge)" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;">Get the Game</h4></div><div>Normally, <i>The Colors of Magic </i>is a little $3 game on itch, and you could click the link on this blog and go buy it now! But there's a good chance you already did! It was included in the enormous <i>Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality</i> in 2020. The folks who played it since getting it in that bundle gave it 4 stars, so it looks like they liked it.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you missed out on that, you can also wait and get it as part of the <a href="https://itch.io/b/705/ind-of-the-year-2020" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Ind of the Year Bundle 2020</a><b> </b>(opens in a new window), which will be released on itch on December 1st. (Since it's international, the launch is <i>technically</i> November 30th at 6pm my time, US Eastern Standard Time). </div><div><br /></div><div>The <b>Ind of the Year Bundle 2020</b> includes dozens of indie games by creators from around the world, and the price is around 75% off the "cover price" cost of buying all the games individually. So even if you already have <i>The Colors of Magic</i>, you can snag the bundle and still get a lot of cool games for a good discount.</div>Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-87607014763715110522019-11-01T13:02:00.000-04:002018-10-04T13:08:12.831-04:00The Sprawl Session RecapsFor those interested in Actual Play for my campaign of The Sprawl, a Powered by the Apocalypse cyberpunk RPG by Hamish Cameron, <a href="https://www.runagame.net/p/the-sprawl-chinatown.html" target="_blank">I've made a landing page for them</a>. The landing page has setting, PC, and corp summaries to kick this series off. I plan to aggregate each chapter there.Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-57516082680347257932019-10-04T16:12:00.000-04:002019-10-04T16:12:02.940-04:00Procgen in RPGsProcgen is a hot new term for <i>procedurally generated content</i>. It's used by computers to create a large number of varying experiences, such as the guns in Borderlands, radial quests in Skyrim, or the worlds of Minecraft. <br />
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It can get repetitive: With a large enough sample size, the end user can see the way the procgen content was created. Skyrim's radial quests become repetitive after two or three. Borderlands players quickly learn how to assess the guns they find, and while it takes hundreds of hours, you will eventually get used to the ways Minecraft worlds work. But in tabletop RPGs, there's a human at the helm, customizing everything, so with good procgen in an RPG, there's literally infinite variety.<br />
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I wrote a procgen Fate quickstart for a light urban fantasy campaign that I will probably share on this blog eventually. With just a few rolls on tables, I was able to generate some urban fantasy plots with subtle twists sufficient to drive an 18-month campaign.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Wandering Monsters</span></b><br />
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RPGs have always done procgen. Take a look a the 5th edition Dungeon Master's Guide for procgen NPCs, plots, dungeons, and encounters. Take a look at any D&D content, going back to the 1970s. I recently ran the original, 1980s-era Ravenloft module in 4e D&D, and enjoyed its procgen -- it has random encounters with various monsters. <br />
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But good procgen isn't just a wandering monster table.<br />
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The OSR and storygames communities have expanded on procgen content in exciting ways. Forbidden Lands tells GMs not to prep <i>anything</i> for their first session, except perhaps to pre-roll a settlement or keep or legend, or choose a pre-made adventure site or artifact and use its legend. <br />
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Blades in the Dark also urges GMs not to prep for their campaign. It has nine pages of tables that let you procgen NPCs, a score, locations, and even demons. Because a Blades in the Dark campaign starts in the pre-made setting of Doskvol and is meant to be driven by how the PCs interact with that setting, the GM really shouldn't prep anything ahead of the first session. <br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Example of New Procgen</span></b><br />
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Here's an example of the new kind of procgen I'm talking about, from Blades in the Dark. The setting built into the game is integral to the game -- a common feature of good procgen: Mix a detailed setting rife with conflict with procgen tables to create exciting conflicts, characters, and locations. The type of details in the setting matter. The details of trade routes and food production, long lists of noble houses, etc. aren't as important as conflict. The setting has trade routes, but only the ones that push conflicts. The setting has nobles, but only the ones involved in conflicts. Et centera.<br />
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Because of that, I'm using the book heavily here. It takes a lot of work to make Blades work for another setting -- to the point where, if you do that work, you should publish it. <br />
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Blades also relies on the PCs' decisions to drive story, so we're going to make a few statements about our hypothetical PCs' actions. Let's say our PCs already decided they're broke and <b>need to pull a score</b>. They're skilled at heists, being Shadows, so they reach out to a contact from their crew sheet to set one up. All the sheet says is "<b>Fitz, a collector</b>" -- the sort of person who might know of something valuable to steal, and might pay the crew to steal it. <br />
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All I know at the start is that they're going to meet with their contact, "Fitz, a collector," and ask about opportunities to pull a heist.<br />
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So we procgen Fitz using the NPC chart. <br />
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She's <b>Akorosi</b>, likely from Doskvol. She's a <b>woman</b>. She's <b>old</b>. That's her look. So we imagine an Akorosi woman with short-cropped grey hair and a wrinkled face. Her drive is <b>Achievement</b>. That makes sense for a collector! Her preferred method is <b>subterfuge</b>. The sort of person who prefers to hire deniable assets and ask them not to make a lot of noise. Perfect. If I had rolled "Teamwork" she might want to come along on the job. <br />
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Her profession is either Tanner (common) or Composer (rare). She has to have enough Coin to pay crews to help her collect rare items, so I'd jump to Composer, except that Tanners can be successful, too, and our Crew is Tier 1, so they're not exactly hobnobbing with the rich and famous. But they could be. Hmm... What would a tanner collect? Probably not leather or chemicals -- they have access to that stuff all the time. Maybe fine wines made with real fruits - a rare thing in the Dusk. What would a composer collect? Possibly rare music or instruments. Maybe the imprisoned ghosts of skilled performers. <br />
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Given those options, I get to decide what themes I want to push. If Fitz wants the imprisoned ghost of a dead performer, I'm pushing the occult themes of Blades in the Dark -- the dead become ghosts unless their spirits are destroyed. It's grim and bleak and spooky. If Fitz wants fine wine, I'm highlighting the "punk" part of steampunk, with poor criminal scum (the PCs) helping a middle class person aspire to the trappings of the wealthy that are denied to poor people like them. I like that better. <br />
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I decide Fitz is a well-off <b>tanner</b>. She's old and rich, so she owns and operates an established company known for quality work. She employs many people in the PCs' neighborhood, and they get along because she's a <i>relatively </i>ethical employer. <br />
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Fitz is <b>brash</b>. Though she prefers Subterfuge, she isn't a coward. She takes what she wants, and doesn't like to wait. Her interests are <b>architecture and furnishings</b>. She's proud of her well-furnished office and probably talks about the history of the Skovlander architecture of the old brick building she has her office in. She probably snaps at people who get her cushions dirty or write on her desk without a blotter. She's a <b>drug or alcohol abuser, often impaired by her vice</b>. OK, her interest in fine wine isn't purely aesthetic. She can get drunk on cheap swill, but now that she runs a powerful company, she wants to get drunk on the good stuff. She probably drinks like Mallory Archer.<br />
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OK! Now we know a lot about Fitz. Let's roll up the score. <br />
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The target... I have to decide between civilian, criminal, political, or strange. I'll go with a civilian. I get a <b>doctor or alchemist</b>. A doctor has some fine wine. So does an alchemist. Let's figure out what that means as we go.<br />
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And the work? I have to decide between skullduggery, violence, underworld, or unnatural. Skullduggery for sure. It seems obviously a burglary, but I roll anyway I get "<b>sabotage or arson</b>." <br />
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Interesting! I could just override that, but it offers a chance to take me away from the obvious. So how does arson or sabotage get us a bottle of wine? Procgen tables often lead us to these challenges. <br />
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I brainstormed two ideas: Sabotage a train so it breaks down, then sneak into a boxcar and steal a case of wine (and anything else you can carry!). Or set fire to a poisonous night-tree in spooky-beautiful Jayan park (pulled from the book setting writeups) and steal the wine of picnicking rich people as they flee the toxic smoke. I'm a sucker for a train job, but the deathlands are deadly for a Tier 1 group. And we've established that this score's theme is all about economic disparities, so let's spoil the rich people's picnic!<br />
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Now for a twist or complication: The <b>job furthers a city official's secret agenda</b>. <br />
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I remember seeing that the Ministry of Preservation wants to Seize Control of the Leviathan Hunters (a 12-tick project clock that I can use if I want). To do that, they would benefit if a Leviathan Hunter died in a criminal arson at the park, right? I think the Ministry of Preservation has an NPC following a wealthy Leviathan Hunter. I choose Lady Clave (captain, daring, cruel, accomplished) from the Leviathan Hunters faction description and Captain Lannock (mercenary commander, shrewd, ruthless) from the Ministry of Preservation faction's description. <br />
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The Ministry meddling will also involve the Leviathan Hunters' clocks: Discover New Hunting Grounds and Surplus Runs Dry, both 12-tick clocks. I think I'll tick the Seize Control of the Leviathan Hunters three times if Lady Clave dies and once if she doesn't. I'll tick Surplus Runs Dry once no matter what. Once I start using that clock, I'll commit to ticking it at the start of every score.<br />
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Sometimes a procgen table sends you off to other stuff in the system or setting that brings in a lot of story, like this. That one "job furthers a city official's secret agenda" result really colored in implications for this score. <br />
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The next table tells me that the job is connected to a <b>PC rival</b>. Every Blades PC has six NPCs they know, one of whom is a friend, another of whom is a rival. The crew Lurk has pissed off <b>Roslyn Kellis, a noble</b>. Roslyn Kellis will also be at the park and recognize the Lurk if any roll introduces a complication.<br />
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The last procgen table is what factions the score is connected to, but since I already have two factions involved, I'm cautious. I have dice left that let me choose between Sparkwrights (26) or Sailors or Dockers (62). <br />
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I think our Tier 1 crew setting off chaos between two Tier 5 factions is great, but it's going to need a lower-tier faction for them to deal with until for the time being, so I like <b>Sailors or Dockers</b>. The Dockers support the Leviathan Hunters, according to their faction description; so they're going to be mad if a Leviathan Hunter gets killed. I notice that the Ministry of Preservation has the Billhooks -- a Tier 2 faction -- as an ally. So let's drag those in on their side on top of everything else. Now the Tier 1 PCs can get involved in a proxy war between the Leviathan Hunters (via the Tier 3 Dockers) and Ministry of Preservation (via the Tier 2 Billhooks). <br />
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OK, so here's what we've got! <br />
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Fitz, a brash, wealthy, elderly woman invites them in and offers them some wine. Nothing too valuable, but a rare treat for our Tier 1 crew. She starts off with small talk about the history of the old building and fine furniture in her office. Then she explains that she's a wine collector, and wants to get her hands on the fine wines that the rich and powerful drink. At the end of each month, on the Moontide holiday (pulling this monthly holiday from the setting info in the book), wealthy folks congregate in Jayan park (also pulled from the book) to picnic and drink copious amounts of wine. The most wealthy compete to show off the wines they drink, using it as a proxy for their wealth and power. There will be cases and cases of wine.<br />
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Now, Jayan park is beautiful, but its trees are poison to touch -- and just as bad to inhale. Burning just one tree will send the picnicking rich people scampering, and cases of wine are too heavy to carry off when fleeing toxic smoke.<br />
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"I don't want anyone dead," Fitz will say. "That will bring too much heat. They should run at the first whiff of smoke. If you bring gas masks, you can walk right through the smoke, grab all the unopened wine you can, and conceal your faces all at once. Don't put the masks on until the last minute, or you'll tip your hand."<br />
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She'll buy any wine from them that they bring back.<br />
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The engagement roll (how Blades cuts to the chase) will tell me how well it goes when the PCs start the fire. It could go as easy as starting with them standing in the smoke, wearing masks, with the sounds of alarm bells in the distance... or as bad as Bluecoats catching them as they douse a tree with oil. After that, we want to introduce:<br />
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<li><b>Lady Clave</b>, who the PCs will discover unconscious and dying of the toxic smoke. Captain Lannock hit her on the head with a wine bottle and dazed her so she couldn't get away in the chaos. This is an opportunity for the PCs to intervene. If they save her, she'll owe them a favor! But they'll make powerful enemies, too. Procgen details: I rolled that she's a Dagger Islander, but they approach Leviathans in a unique way. So I just went with <b>Akorosi</b>. She's a <b>woman</b>, since the book calls her Lady Clave. She has to wear <b>glasses</b>. Her goal is <b>revenge</b> (or will be if she survives!). She prefers <b>brave </b>methods (no roll -- this is what we know from her super brief NPC description from the book). She's <b>moody</b>, she <b>likes fine wine </b>(lucky coincidence), and is <b>fanatically loyal to a group, ideal, or tradition</b>. I think she's loyal to the ideal of free trade. She's a fanatic libertarian. Since she's technically the person who has wine to steal, we'll make her the <b>doctor or alchemist</b> we rolled earlier. I think she's an alchemist, educated in the process of refining Leviathan blood.</li>
<li><b>Captain Lannock</b>, just at the edge of the smoke, tossing a cracked and bloody wine bottle into a fountain and looking back to wave a cruel-eyed "thank you" to the masked PCs. He'll notice if the PCs rush to save Lady Clave, but without a gas mask, there's nothing he can do about it except try to track them down later. His procgen details: He's <b>Akorosi</b> and <b>male</b>. He's <b>disfigured or maimed</b>. I think he's a one-armed man. His goal is <b>wealth</b>. Mercenary captains tend to have that goal. His preferred method is <b>study</b>, which makes sense since he's shrewd. He's <b>suspicious</b>. His interest is <b>hunting and shooting</b>. He's shooting pistols, since he has one arm. Maybe he has a steampunk cyberarm? That's badass. I write that down. He's also <b>surrounded by toadies</b>. </li>
<li><b>Roslyn Kellis</b>, who I'm keeping in our back pocket for the first time the PCs get a complication while not wearing their masks. I rolled "<b>ambiguous or concealed</b>" for gender. I think she's mostly nonbinary, but she uses she/her pronouns given that she goes by Roslyn, a traditionally femme name. She's a <b>Skovlander</b>. Being a noble, she probably keeps that secret. She's <b>stooped. </b>Her goal is <b>pleasure</b>. Like Lannock, her preferred method is <b>study. </b>This is dangerous, as she's going to meddle if she catches on to what the Lurk is up to. Her profession is <b>noble</b>, obviously. She's <b>dishonest</b>. That includes concealing her origins, pretending to be Akorosi when she's a Skovlander. She's interested in <b>antiques, artifacts, and curios</b>. And she's a <b>celebrity, popularized in print / song / theater. </b> That means the other PCs will know who she is. I think she's beautiful and single, and the papers love gossip about who is courting her and who she's courting. If this was more than hypothetical, I'd email my Lurk play about this and ask if maybe their rivalry is a bitter break-up or jilted lover.</li>
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I also want to think up a few conflicts, obstacles, or dangers that fit our procgen content. You have to make it all fit together. <br />
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I want to ask the PCs how they find the best wines to take. Finding better wines might earn them more profit from the score, but it comes with risk -- I'll call for an action roll. <br />
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I want to ask them if they'll sacrifice carrying wine for stealing other stuff. I want to ask them if they're looking for other stuff, use Fortune rolls to see if it's around, and call for some other action roll for them to hunt it down without getting in trouble. The fortune roll will be just one die, unless it's the kind of thing you'd bring on a picnic and easily leave behind. Military equipment or dangerous / illegal items won't be available.<br />
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I need to look up bluecoats, since there's ample opportunity for bluecoats to catch them. I'm also interested in Captain Lannock's mercenaries. I decide they're not Tier 5 like the Ministry. I'll make them Tier 3 -- still well above the PCs' tier, but low enough to drag them into any ongoing conflict that could brew. <br />
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I want them to have to roll an action to save Lady Clave, but I decide ahead of time that if they roll a 1-3, I'll use a fail forward approach -- they can save her, but there will be a nasty complication. <br />
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I also figure out how to reward them for the score: They can make 10 Coin, but carrying Lady Clave instead of cases of wine will cost them 4 Coin worth of wine. Stealing other stuff of any significant weight will cost them 1-2 Coin as well. If they try to bring a cart, it will raise their take by 4 Coin, but raise their Heat by 2 as well, since the cart can't be hidden on the way in and out of the park, even though the gas masks can. If they don't bring back at least 3 Coin worth of wine, Fitz will be annoyed.<br />
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Depending on what happens, the PCs could be blamed for killing Lady Clave or Captain Lannock could be mad at them for saving her. Dockers or Billhooks or Lannock's mercenaries could be coming for them in Entanglements, later. If Lady Clave dies, Fitz will be mad at them, too; in addition to the increased heat from a death during a score. Fitz didn't want any deaths. This may mean she withholds 2-3 Coin, paying them less for the wine than she might have.<br />
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Instead of drawing a map and deciding a lot of what the space is like, I'm going to lean on procgen tables as well. I need to procgen the street upwind of the picnic -- where the PCs will escape to. It's <b>bright and lively</b> (for now). lit with lots of spark lamps. It has <b>crackling electricity, wires and mechanisms</b> (for those spark lamps!). <b>Sounds of laughter, song, and music</b> (at first anyway). <b>Smells of the ocean </b>carried in on the winds today. Good thing there are winds! The street's use is <b>shops</b>. That's probably cafes and consumer goods. It's a <b>narrow lane</b>. There's an <b>ancient ruin </b>here - the columns of an enormous acropolis-style building, around which cafes and shops are built, their patrons and tables spilling into the cluttered, narrow lane.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">When to Procgen</span></b><br />
<br />
Could I do all this during a game session? Yes, in a pinch, but not all at once. <br />
<br />
It took me an hour, including refining it and writing it up for a blog. I'd say it would take 15-30 minutes to do all at once, which is too much time to make the players wait if you do it in the middle of a game session. It would be really easy to do as prep for a session, though.<br />
<br />
I <i>could </i>do it during a game session, but only if I didn't do it <i>all at once</i>. I'd generate Fitz and the score when they went to meet her. That would take 5-10 minutes, but that's an acceptable amount of time for a break. This is also a good reason to learn the setting details for a game like Blades in the Dark or Forbidden Lands: These games make procgen work by packing a lot of conflict into the setting, so if you learn the setting, you get a <i>lot</i> more out of these sorts of tables. Because I studied the setting, I could remember details like "there's a park somewhere - let me look that up" and "there's this cool conflict between the Leviathan Hunters and Ministry of Preservation. Let me go pull those details." <br />
<br />
I wouldn't generate my details for Lady Clave, Captain Lannock, and Roslyn Kellis until the first time the PCs met each of them, taking about 1-2 minutes each. And I'd generate the street when they came to scope out the area. That would take about 1-2 minutes, too. So it's doable.<br />
<br />
But it would be <i>better </i>to generate it all before the session. Doing this much prep before a session, especially in a game like Blades in the Dark, can be dangerous. But here again, procedural generation comes to our rescue: Because this is all just junk I rolled on random tables, if the PCs hare off in an unexpected direction, I'm happy to toss it and roll up some new stuff. It just makes me pause the game for 5-10 minutes to roll a new score or new details.<br />
<br />
Let's say the PCs decide not to set fire to the trees, but instead disguise themselves as bluecoats and seize some of the wine in a fake raid. That's fine! I just have to think up if and how that action "<b>furthers a city official's secret agenda.</b>" Maybe nobody attempts murder here, but instead Captain Lannock drops a murder weapon into Lady Clave's wine case, framing her for a murder his men did. Only, the PCs aren't actual bluecoats, so the twist is that they find a bloody knife in one of the boxes of wine! It's a mystery they can follow up on or not. If they don't, I don't mind dropping all that story potential, because, again, I didn't spend hours on it. It's just random die rolls!<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Benefits of Procgen</span></b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Less Predictable</b>: It forces you to make choices you wouldn't normally make, pulling you away from patterns you may not even know you have. When I had to make the score about arson or sabotage instead of my first instinct of burglary, it took me out of the obvious and in an exciting direction.</li>
<li><b>Inspiring</b>: Table results jump-start your creativity by giving you neat prompts to expand on.</li>
<li><b>Use Setting</b>: It hooks you into setting details, especially for games where the setting is ripe with conflicts to hook the PCs into</li>
<li><b>Flexible</b>: It's easy to throw out procedurally generated prep, because you can just generate all new stuff in a few minutes if the PCs do something unexpected.</li>
<li><b>Efficient</b>: The biggest benefit of this stuff is how time-efficient it is. There's an initial investment of time to learn the setting and all its conflicts. Once you have that, the tables are quick to use, and bring in a lot of content with a single die roll.</li>
<li><b>Improv, without Having to Improv so Much</b>: Procgen has many of the benefits of fully improvised GMing (flexible, efficient, leans on setting) without forcing you to come up with everything on your own, without prompts or aid. Improv GMing also tends to lean on disclaiming decision making, but some groups of players aren't very comfortable being asked to improvise setting details, just like some GMs aren't. Procgen helps there, too: You can still ask the players to contribute, but it's easier for a player to answer, "Fitz is an old and runs a successful tannery. What does an old, wealthy tanner look like?" than "What does Fitz look like and what is her profession?"</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-68836753412518480382019-08-30T12:31:00.001-04:002019-08-30T12:38:50.967-04:00Drama Pushing Haggling Mechanic for 5e D&D<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2c9Rvqb4fVBBkhU1uSAo4kHUPJtGcxSQp_iBR6GmCt_9e5Z1Ji8lfP1J3_SLb1kyaQNKXN6Uj2dx7HY6XxSSVx-q-7scceshktj3-K1NOuQrUoHph8oqe8BXtviidhGsnnHvGpygTc5c/s1600/business-cash-coin-concept-41295.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2c9Rvqb4fVBBkhU1uSAo4kHUPJtGcxSQp_iBR6GmCt_9e5Z1Ji8lfP1J3_SLb1kyaQNKXN6Uj2dx7HY6XxSSVx-q-7scceshktj3-K1NOuQrUoHph8oqe8BXtviidhGsnnHvGpygTc5c/s200/business-cash-coin-concept-41295.jpeg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Source: Pexels, "Public Domain Pictures"</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><br />
When you <b>haggle with a contact </b>of some kind (merchant, service provider, dragon, etc.) <b>to get a little more out of a deal</b>, roll Charisma (Persuasion) or Charisma (Deception). Depends on your approach. Heck, Wisdom (Insight) might even be appropriate.<br />
<br />
The DC is fifteen plus the order of magnitude of the sale (number of digits). For instance, a 2,000gp sale is DC 19. Or if you're not haggling over money, maybe the DC is ten more than the Challenge Rating of the encounter, or ten more than the Charisma (Insight) or (Persuasion) or (Deception) skill of your contact. Your DM will figure that out.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>If you succeed</b>, <b>you get something extra</b>. It might be a 10% savings, something else of value, or a piece of valuable information. Maybe it's a good reputation in town, or extra concessions on a treaty. It could even be a mysterious magic item, a potion, or a follower. The DM will usually pick what you get. If the DM can't figure out something cool, they might ask you to suggest something. If all else fails, some gold pieces are always appropriate.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>If you fail, but not by more than 5</b>, <b>you still get something extra, but it comes with a hitch</b>. Maybe dangerous people or monsters are after it. Maybe to get it, you have to do your contact a favor. Maybe it's going to take an inconvenient amount of time to get everything in order. Maybe it winds up drawing unwanted attention. It could be cursed or haunted.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>If you fail by more than 5</b>, <b>you've opened the door to trouble</b>. Maybe you get ripped off and think it's a good deal. Maybe you get sold shoddy goods without realizing it. Maybe some or all the hitches above happen, but without getting anything extra to sweeten the pot. Perhaps you've walked right into a trap. Maybe it's time to roll initiative.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In this situation, if multiple people are involved in the negotiations, don't use the <b>Help </b>mechanic. Use a <b>Group Check </b>instead.</div>
Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-67131590974836733232019-04-18T10:37:00.001-04:002019-04-18T10:37:55.273-04:00Capturing the PCsSometimes GMs post to social media asking for advice on how to capture their PCs.<br />
<br />
GMs, we need to have a talk...<br />
<br />
<b>1. You don't get to force the PCs to be taken captive.</b><br />
In most RPGs, the only (or at least primary) way your players have to tell their part of the story is through their characters' actions. By forcing them to become captives, you take away that ability to tell the story.<br />
<br />
Being imprisoned isn't the problem. There are whole RPGs about being imprisoned (cf <i>Dream Park</i>, 1992). The transition from free to imprisoned is the problem. Just like you can't force the players to go into the dungeon, you can't force the players to travel to Paris, and you can't force the players to walk into the spooky haunted castle, you can't force the players to go into captivity.<br />
<br />
<b>2. You can get the players' buy-in, though</b><br />
You can ask the players, out of character, if they agree to a situation where they get taken captive. If they trust you, and you make it sound fun, they'll agree. If they agree, be nice about logistical things like letting them getting their stuff back, or else they won't trust you as much in the future.<br />
<br />
If they don't agree, find out why. Maybe they want a fair shot at escape. Maybe they believe their characters would rather die than be captured by the people you suggest they get captured by. Ask them under what circumstances their characters would find themselves prisoners. Allow them to tell a story about how they got captured that's comfortable to them.<br />
<br />
Example: <i>"I would rather die than let myself be captured by vampires. My character has a terrible fear of being bitten by a vampire. But if they hit me with a high level Sleep spell of high enough level, they could tie me up and drag me off before I could resist." </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Don't think of it as "that player is trying to tell me what to do." Think of it as "she just gave me a cool new henchman for the vampire queen -- a sneaky wizard!"<br />
<br />
<b>3. Foreseen stakes</b><br />
Players will accept being captured as the consequences of a die roll they miss, but only with all of the following conditions:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>You presented the stakes before the roll</li>
<li>The roll appears fair</li>
<li>The failure stakes sound fun</li>
<li>You have their trust</li>
</ul>
<br />
For instance, in a D&D game, the party is camping in the wilderness. The Dragonborn Sorcerer is on watch. You tell the players, "Some drow are coming to capture you four. If they capture you, it'll be a cool escape quest. If not, you'll have a drow warband to investigate from the outside. Either way, I'm sure it'll be fun. They're going to use their poison arrows on the Sorcerer, and put their drow poison in your mouths while you sleep. Each of you gets to make either a DC 13 Constitution save or Perception check -- your choice. Everyone has Disadvantage because they're sleeping, except the Sorcerer. If two of you succeed, you fight off the drow, and they retreat. If less than two of you succeed, you've been captured. There are too many drow for just one of you to fight off. OK?"<br />
<br />
This example follows the rules:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Everything was explained before the players rolled, so they know what happens if they fail</li>
<li>The roll appears fair - more than fair, really. If the sorcerer got hit with multiple arrows, she'd have to make multiple saving throws. </li>
<li>The GM explained how both success and failure on the group check would be fun. This should always be true: Never call for a roll where either success or failure is boring!</li>
<li>We're assuming the players don't have a problem trusting this DM</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<b>4. If you don't talk to them about it ahead, it feels like railroading</b><br />
Let's say you decide to capture the PCs by using a really powerful encounter where the NPCs use nonlethal attacks to capture the party; but you don't present the stakes before the combat, and you don't explain how being captured could be fun in this case.<br />
<br />
This is going to seem like railroading, because while any encounter is <i>technically</i> winnable if the players' dice come up 20s every roll, in reality, that's not true. Using overwhelming opponents and <a href="https://www.runagame.net/2019/01/how-i-stopped-worrying-and-learned-to.html" target="_blank">being a jerk about retreat/escape</a> will cost you a lot of trust. After you burn your players' trust, do you really think they're going to be excited about the "you've been captured" adventure? Even your best friend will have their enthusiasm dulled a little by the forced capture.<br />
<br />
Here's why it feels so bad: The social contract of most RPG battles is that every battle is technically winnable unless you're attacking something you know is way too powerful for you. Level 1 D&D characters can't take down a Lich, but the DM will <i>tell </i>them they can't take down a Lich before they try it. They won't be ambushed by a Lich on the way to the castle. While it's common to put overwhelmingly powerful monsters in your world, it's lame to put overwhelmingly powerful monsters in your world and then not tell the players they're overwhelmingly powerful. <i> </i>And it's <i>really </i>crappy GM behavior to ambush the PCs with overwhelming monsters they can't escape from.<br />
<br />
<b>5. A truly skilled GM knows how to make them <i>let</i> themselves be captured</b><br />
Why do all the work? Why not make the <i>PCs</i> figure out how to get <i>themselves</i> captured?<br />
<br />
James Bond always walks right in to his opponent's den, and he's almost always captured as a result. And he always profits from it!<br />
<br />
Why does he do this? He could assault the enemy's fortification or try to sneak in. He's good at both approaches. But both involve a lot of risks, including the risk of death. Letting himself get captured often reveals information -- not just "before I kill you, Mr. Bond," monologues, but the layout of the site, the location of things he needs, the relationship between the henchman and the villain, and so forth. In addition, brazen moves that get him captured usually force the villain to make mistakes, panic, recall henchmen, postpone executions of people Bond wants to save, or abandon additional plans in favor of haste.<br />
<br />
If you want your players to start thinking of getting captured as a <i>victory</i>, you just have to make getting captured the most expedient plan. It helps if you tell the players that...<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>...if the enemy force gets them, they won't kill them, and there will be ample opportunities to escape.</li>
<li>...the villain will likely make specific mistakes if they put themselves in the villain's hands ("MI-6 is on to us? We need to accelerate the timetable!").</li>
<li>...other approaches are very dangerous - give them reasons why stealth, assault, and disguise put them at more risk than getting captured.</li>
<li>...being captured is the best starting point for a stealth, assault, or disguise plan. In fact, they can prepare for capture, smuggling in lockpicks and such.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Still, the protagonists letting themselves get captured is different from the protagonists being captured against their will, and you might want both sorts of scenes.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>6. Use the system if you can</b></div>
<div>
Only a few RPGs have a mechanic for bribing the PCs to let something bad happen to them. Fate has compels. The Cipher System has GM intrusions. There aren't that many. If you have access to this tool, use it! In Fate, for instance, you can use a compel to offer the PCs a Fate Point (meta-game currency they can use for bonuses or doing their own compels) for getting captured. The can refuse the compel, spending a Fate point instead, and describe how they escape. It's not perfect, but it's a much smoother way to handle it than a die roll!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-59310660740996874062019-01-25T15:17:00.003-05:002020-12-18T16:00:47.603-05:00How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Monster Manual<b><i>A Primer on How to Run 5e D&D</i></b><br />
<br />
5e is a great RPG -- probably the best edition of D&D -- but it's not great at telling you how to ::<i>looks at camera</i>:: run a game.<br />
<br />
A major challenge that new and experienced GMs alike stumble over is <b>encounter design</b>.<br />
<br />
Encounter design is the art of setting up a <b>discrete, relatively isolated conflict with NPCs or monsters</b>.<br />
<br />
Because the conflict in D&D is usually with NPCs or monsters, there's a high risk of a fight breaking out. At least a third of D&D encounters featuring monsters or NPCs wind up in combat, and the system for <b>challenge rating (CR) </b>makes estimating how hard these battles will be very difficult.<br />
<br />
Monsters within the same CR vary wildly in lethality. Dragons and undead don't match other monsters at their level, for different, intentional reasons. Worse, the math you're supposed to use to determine if your encounter is Easy, Medium, Hard, or Deadly is messy, challenging, and produces wild results.<br />
<br />
Finally, 5e D&D assumes the party will be facing two or more encounters per short rest, and more than eight per long rest, so challenge ratings are averaged out between encounter #1 and encounter #8, when we all know that the PCs have an easier time when they're full on resources than when they're down to their last spell. Since most DMs don't create time pressure plot that demands the party fight through eight encounters a day, that assumption is broken. It's a mess!<br />
<br />
But that's OK.<br />
<br />
Breathe!<br />
<br />
You're going to be fine.<br />
<br />
Here's why: I'm going to tell you how to GM 5e D&D without freaking out about challenge rating.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Encounter stakes should almost never be "kill or be killed"</li>
<li>Have "encounters" not "fights"</li>
<li>Don't make running away hard</li>
<li>Warn them about deadly foes (it's OK!)</li>
<li>Learn how to make easy encounters scary</li>
<li>Threaten things they care about, OTHER than their hp or gp</li>
<li>Start each PC turn with stakes narration</li>
</ol>
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">1. Encounter stakes should almost never be "kill or be killed"</span></b><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjZJ14QabxJ_zx8pyHylHLpC_Nk7bD-Xtp34ZbLt1pgFXkdfOh5oFFI7YG7BhpuG-mgy7h-x3pKCo4gd6dHkZPDqqPXHSdJwvQgUjNuZiy1WsPXaI8RFvffKyy0G6rsAe_YFuCwD7xcnw/s1600/amur-tiger-angry-animal-533055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjZJ14QabxJ_zx8pyHylHLpC_Nk7bD-Xtp34ZbLt1pgFXkdfOh5oFFI7YG7BhpuG-mgy7h-x3pKCo4gd6dHkZPDqqPXHSdJwvQgUjNuZiy1WsPXaI8RFvffKyy0G6rsAe_YFuCwD7xcnw/s200/amur-tiger-angry-animal-533055.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Pexels</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It takes an enormous, personal hatred for someone to try to murder another person, at risk to their own life. That's even true for non-sapient creatures like snakes or tigers. A rattlesnake might kill, but only in self defense or to hunt. It will run away and give warning before it strikes an attacker, and it will flee prey that turns out to be able to fight back. A tiger might kill a human for the cruel sport of it, but if the tiger's life is in danger, it will run away. People are even more thoughtful about killing each other. Even serial killers, terrorists, and assassins avoid fighting to the death except in very specific circumstances. <br />
<br />
If all you use are the D&D equivalents of serial killers, terrorists, and assassins, the horror of their single-minded violence will get old, fast. Most encounters in your adventure should be about things that one or both sides care about, and they should care about practical things connected to the antagonists' plans. Serial killers, terrorists, and assassins care about bizarre fantasies, zealous ideologies, and political extremism. They make great main antagonists, but to populate a dungeon, they need the fantasy equivalent of paid soldiers, faction loyalists, friends, patsies, and guard dogs.<br />
<br />
Characters and monsters that work for your antagonist are rarely mindless killers. And even the mindless killers have specific instructions.<br />
<br />
<b>Example</b>: Some goblins are holed up in a ruin on a ransom scheme. They're trying to get rich trading a wealthy captive for a lot of gold. If adventurers show up to rescue their captive, the goblins will try to chase the adventurers off; but those goblins won't die for a cut of the ransom! That's insane! Goblins aren't <i>that</i> stupid.<br />
<br />
<b>Example</b>: A necromancer has animated some skeletons to guard the crypt where she prepares the dark ritual. She has tasked them to stay in the antechamber and then to kill any living being that enters it other than her. PCs can split up and have a fast Rogue attack the skeletons and draw them away, or shout past them to get the necromancer to come out.<br />
<br />
This tip is all about what the antagonists care about. But sometimes GMs need to frame encounter stakes around what the PCs care about - see #6.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>2. Have "encounters" not "fights"</b></span><br />
<br />
When you prep your adventure, you might be tempted to think "for this fight, we'll have three bugbears." Stop! How do you know it's a fight?<br />
<br />
When you're GMing, don't push to roll initiative. Bugbears don't spend all day laying in wait, hoping some adventurer stumbles upon them. Unless the bugbears are specifically ordered to prepare ambush (an unusual thing to do, unless there's an immediate reason), they will be acting normally. Describe what the PCs encounter, then ask "what do you do?" Sometimes someone will say "I charge the nearest bugbear! Leeeeerooooy Jenkins!"<br />
<br />
But since fights drain their resources, the PCs are more likely to try a different, smarter approach first. You can frame that approach as hard as you want, because failing the Stealth or Deception check probably will lead to a fight.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>3. Don't make running away hard</b></span><br />
<br />
There are no less than <i>three</i> different systems for retreating in 5e D&D.<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>You can use the combat rules, <b>stay in initiative</b>, and have the players declare Disengage actions and movement to escape their enemies. </li>
<li>You can use the optional <b>chase rules</b> in the DMG. </li>
<li>Or you can <b>narrate the result</b> of a PC action, without using dice. All three of those are "rules as written" ways to handle retreat.</li>
</ol>
<br />
The chase rules are pretty good. They're a fun mechanical way to resolve a chase, which is what a retreat is if the enemy wants to pursue the PCs. But see tip #1 - if the monsters' goal is to chase off the PCs, they win if the PCs run away. They don't have to run them down and slaughter them!<br />
<br />
Narrating the retreat is even better: You look at the encounter stakes (see #1 and #6) and decide what happens if the PCs forfeit by running away. Then you narrate the result and make some notes as to what's happened while the PCs fled.<br />
<br />
<b>The combat system, however, is lethal. </b>If the PCs know the fight is too hard, staying in initiative will probably kill them and the players know it.<br />
<br />
<b>Example</b>: The PCs have to choose between Move and Dash (and eat an opportunity attack) or Disengage and Move. If they Move and Dash, the enemy can Move and Dash and continue getting free opportunity attacks, unless the enemy is slower than them. If they Disengage and Dash, the enemy can move and take an Action against them every turn. Unless the PCs have faster movement speed than the monsters, retreat is suicidal.<br />
<br />
So tell your players that your official DM policy is never to force them to use the combat system to retreat.<br />
<br />
<i>"Here's my policy: If you all agree to retreat, we will drop out of initiative and either narrate the retreat or use the chase rules in the DMG. This means retreating is a lot easier for you."</i><br />
<br />
If you do that, the players will know they can run away, and so will you. But they won't run away unless they know they're out-gunned. So...<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">4. Warn them about deadly foes (it's OK!)</span></b><br />
<br />
In real life, there is no animal that cannot be killed by a reasonably fit "first level" person with chain mail and a spear. A "10 in every stat" human with no special combat training can kill a tiger or a hippo or a grizzly bear if they've got a spear and chain mail armor.<br />
<br />
The "classes and levels" system of D&D introduces "high level" threats that <i>no mere mortal </i>can defeat. A Commoner with chain mail and a spear has effectively zero chance to defeat an Adult Red Dragon -- or even a Dire Wolf.<br />
<br />
Well sure, that's just how D&D is, right?<br />
<br />
You should feel comfortable warning your players about deadly foes. Gary Gygax was! In original Dungeons and Dragons, the depth in the dungeon was the challenge level! Every time you went down a level, the monsters got harder. You knew you were facing bigger risks if you were at Dungeon Level 6. And if you were Character Level 2, that was a reason for caution. Why should the 5th edition be MORE antagonistic and secretive than the first? Just tell them when a fight is Deadly (according to the DMG's rules).<br />
<br />
<b>Example: </b>A level 1 PCs might attack an assassin, not knowing that the assassin is the Assassin from the Monster Manual -- a CR 8 foe with 78 hit points. She can outright kill most level 1 PCs with a <i>single blow</i>. She can singlehandedly "TPK" a level 1 party in as little as <i>two rounds</i>. But how would your players know that? You. You need to communicate that.<br />
<br />
You need to make it clear to the players, out of character, that this CR 8 Assassin is way out of their league, because <b>it is not realistic </b>that they could all beat on an assassin with greataxes and spells for twelve seconds and have approaching <i>zero chance of killing her</i>.<br />
<br />
Then, <b>ask </b>them how they know this information, in character.<br />
<br />
<i>"Hey folks, OOC, this is a CR 8 foe with more hit points than you have combined, and she can do 40 damage per attack with multiple attacks. Engage at your own risk. How do your characters know that?"</i><br />
<br />
You recruit the players to help create an in-game justification for why they know the assassin is too deadly an Assassin for them to fight head-on. That way they have buy-in, which supports verisimilitude: If they come up with an answer, the answer will seem more plausible to them.<br />
<br />
If the players<b> (A) </b>know how hard the foe is, and <b>(B) </b>they know you won't make them use the combat system to retreat, then <b>(C) </b>they won't feel forced to fight for their lives against a foe they can't handle.<br />
<br />
But both A and B are necessary for C.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">5. Learn how to make easy encounters scary</span></b><br />
<br />
Sometimes the story calls for an easy encounter. Sometimes you thought the encounter was going to be hard, and it turns out it wasn't. No biggie! Learn how to make encounters seem harder than they are, then <i>always</i> use those tricks.<br />
<br />
Let's face it -- your PCs will probably have one or two <i>hundred </i>fights in a long D&D campaign. That's a lot of fights!<br />
<br />
Even if you're running a "killer" campaign, only 10% of them are going to be literally lethal. And most of us aren't running "killer" campaigns (it's not a popular style). So if 90% or more (probably far more) of the fights aren't really a threat, your job is to make them <i>feel</i> scary.<br />
<br />
This is an imagination game. Everything is make believe. If a monster <i>feels </i>scary, it <i>is</i> scary.<br />
<br />
There are several ways to do that.<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><b>Act!</b> This is where you try to get all Matt Mercer on your players. Menace them. But maybe you suck at acting. (That's OK, so do I.) Luckily there are a few other ways to make monsters scarier than they deserve.</li>
<li>The second way is to <b>describe the monsters as way scarier than their stats deserve</b>. Part of this is revealing as little as possible about monsters' stats <i>before </i>battle begins. And when you do give away the monsters' secrets, reveal their <i>weaknesses </i>before you reveal their strengths. That sounds backwards, but it's not! Something that's unknown is way scarier than something you can predict and prepare for. </li>
<li>When you describe the battle, do the opposite: <b>Never describe a PC OR a monster as weak or fumbling.</b> If a PC misses, it was because the monster was tough, quick, or skilled. If a monster misses, it's because the PC was tough, quick, or skilled. And don't make a hit draw serious blood until the monster is low on hit points - below half at least. (This is the book's official advice on describing damage.)</li>
<li>The last way is Tip #6...</li>
</ol>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>6. Threaten things they care about, <i>other </i>than their hp or gp</b></span><br />
<br />
Remember, even a "killer DM" is only going to kill a PC off once every couple of sessions, and you're probably not a killer DM. So you can't try to kill the PCs every encounter, or they might <i>notice </i>that you're <i>not</i> killing them. Then things will get boring.<br />
<br />
So threaten things the PCs care about, <i>other than their hit points</i>. Threaten things that you're willing to follow through on.<br />
<br />
Each encounter, the opposition has a goal, and that goal should very rarely be "kill all the PCs or die trying" (see Tip #1). Choose goals for the antagonists so that if they achieve their goal, it will make the story more interesting. The most interesting goals your villains might have are goals that directly threaten things your PCs care about.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.runagame.net/2018/08/encounter-stakes.html" target="_blank">Here's a list of encounter stakes to use as inspiration</a>, split into ascending tiers of severity. Your monsters can win most of those stakes, and it doesn't end the campaign like "kill or be killed" stakes do. That list has <i>fifty</i> encounter stakes options, <i>none </i>of which is "slaughter all the PCs or die trying."<br />
<br />
But take it a step farther: What are the monsters after? Whatever it is, <i>make it personal.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i> That's what I mean by <b>threaten something they care about <i>other </i>than their hp or gp. </b>The thing that drives your plot is your antagonist's plan. Make your antagonist's plan directly conflict with things each PC cares about.<br />
<br />
If your antagonist's plan is in direct conflict with things the PCs care about, you're running a "<a href="https://www.runagame.net/2016/12/railroads-and-fox-hunts.html" target="_blank">character-driven campaign</a>." If not, your campaign is not driven by the things the characters care about. Sure, they might be saving the world -- we all care about the world -- but it's not personal. If you want the easiest way to run a character-driven campaign, <a href="https://www.runagame.net/2018/07/how-to-run-rpg-campaign-in-5-easy-steps.html" target="_blank">here's how to do it</a>.<br />
<br />
In a character-driven campaign, you set the antagonists' goals in conflict with things the PCs care about. Look at the PCs' backstories (and in a 5e D&D game, check their Personal Characteristics) for this information.<br />
<br />
<b>Example: </b>Let's go back to the goblin sentry example, from Tip #1. The goblins care about guarding a ruin where they're holding a hostage they're trying to ransom. In a non-character-driven campaign, the PCs are hired to go save the hostage with the promise of a reward. The hostage's life isn't worth the ransom (or the goblins miscalculated and asked for too much), so they've offered the PCs a lower amount to rescue them. Losing the fight or running away means the PCs' reward is in doubt. But it's just gold.<br />
<br />
In a character-driven campaign, you play off of their passions. The Criminal wants to become the greatest thief in the world. At the start of the adventure, a character-driven GM insinuates that the hostage is a priest who can help spread word of their prowess. The Acolyte cleric owes her life to this priest who took her in when her parents died. The Soldier's honor is her life. She promised the Acolyte cleric that she would save the priest, so retreating from this fight is dishonorable. The warlock is wanted for a robbery from his days as an Urchin, and the character-driven GM has insinuated that the priest's influence could get him a pardon, if he can keep his dark patron a secret.<br />
<br />
All of a sudden, fights are exciting not because of the chess game tactical challenges, but because something the characters care about is on the line. You can screw up encounter design and wind up with a fight too easy or a fight too hard, and it doesn't matter, because what makes it exciting is that the PCs' actions could get this priest killed.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">7. Start each PC turn with stakes narration</span></b><br />
<br />
The last problem with the CR system is that the rules assume an adventuring day with a few encounters per short rest, and more than eight encounters per long rest (fewer at lower levels, and more at the highest levels, of course).<br />
<br />
However, in practice, having ten battles a day is not how most DMs run D&D. The only way to do that is to <a href="https://www.runagame.net/2015/08/the-best-solution-to-players-resting.html" target="_blank">create a plot with time pressure</a>, and then put ten violent monsters in the way of achieving the plot before the clock runs out. That can be fun, but you don't want to do it every single time.<br />
<br />
Consequently, character classes designed to make players carefully ration a dozen spells over the course of a day usually kick ass most days, because most days, the DM doesn't actually <i>make</i> you face more than a few encounters.<br />
<br />
The reason it's a problem at all that the Wizard spells and the Rogue just has the same old sneak attack is that the Wizard's highest level spells are game changers that are supposed to be limited to once every handful of encounters. They steal the spotlight. If the Wizard doesn't have to ration their best spells, they can use their best spells every turn. So how do you balance for this inherent problem without becoming a master encounter (and adventure!) designer?<br />
<br />
When the daily-refresh classes don't have to budget their resources, every encounter goes like this: <i>The fighter and rogue did some damage, and then the Wizard cast a big spell that turned the tide, leaving the fighter and rogue to mop up what little opposition was left.</i><br />
<br />
So you don't have to give Rogues powerful spells. You have to make every PC turn feel like a critical moment in the story. The way you do that is to start each and every PC turn with narration that focuses the action on the current stakes, in terms of that character's perspective. Here's a thread on how to do that in detail.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
RPG Combat Gamerunning Thread<br />
<br />
Today let's talk about a technique I learned to use to make combat more exciting.<br />
1/</div>
— Jon Lemich (@RunAGame) <a href="https://twitter.com/RunAGame/status/1040301027784896512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
In this way, the DM can make the cleric's 4 hit point Healing Word or the Rogue's missed attack into a critical moment in the story. Sure, the Wizard's Fireball and the fighter's big Action Surge turn are what really turned the tide, but look at this example:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>DM</b>: Rogue, two hobgoblins are attacking Bard while Ragnar is poised to finish off the direwolf. You can finish off the direwolf pretty safely, or go take some heat off of Bard before the hobgoblins kill him. What do you do?<br />
<b>Rogue</b>: Ug, my Flaw is I don't take risks for others, but I can't just let him go down. I go try to take out one of the hobgoblins. Crud. Eight. I miss.<br />
<b>DM</b>: Hobgoblins' turn. The one you attacked swings at you... 19 to hit for 13 damage.<br />
<b>Rogue</b>: Ouch! Down to three hit points!<br />
<b>DM</b>: You have a big gash on your sword arm. Blood is running down your hand, dripping all over the ground.<br />
<b>Rogue</b>: I think, 'That's what I get for sticking my neck out for people!'</blockquote>
<br />
The DM framed the turn as a choice between self-preservation and heroism. The Rogue acted against his nature to try to help someone, and suffered for it. It's a character-defining moment, and also a relationship-defining moment for Bard and Rogue. I mean, Rogue tried, right?<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span></b><br />
<br />
1. Encounter stakes should almost never be "kill or be killed"<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Problem: Need more realistic antagonists, are you willing to follow through on TPK threatening encounters?</li>
<li>Skill: Creative stakes setting, worldbuilding</li>
</ul>
<br />
2. Have "encounters" not "fights"<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Problem: Jumping to combat too quickly, </li>
<li>Skill: Scaffolding encounters with multiple routes to success, improvising to accommodate creative actions</li>
</ul>
<br />
3. Don't make running away hard<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Problem: retreating in D&D while staying in initiative is suicide</li>
<li>Skill: Good communication, setting table expectations, rules awareness</li>
</ul>
<br />
4. Warn them about deadly foes (it's OK!)<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Problem: CR is artificial</li>
<li>Skill: Good communication, trust building</li>
</ul>
<br />
5. Learn how to make easy encounters scary<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Problem: Too-easy encounters can be dull</li>
<li>Skill: Acting, description, and stakes setting</li>
</ul>
<br />
6. Threaten things they care about, <i>other </i>than their hp and gp<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Problem: Story is more exciting if it's about the characters - less exciting if they're just along for the ride</li>
<li>Skill: Stakes setting, worldbuilding, character-driven GMing</li>
</ul>
<br />
7. Start each PC turn with stakes narration<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Problem: D&D is designed and balanced for long adventuring days, and we don't want to be forced into those, so classes get unbalanced</li>
<li>Skill: Put little story decisions in every turn, when you can, to distribute spotlight more fairly</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">One final example </span></b><br />
(Regular readers know how I love examples!)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Let's say you make a mistake, and you make the goblin sentries too hard. You use two hobgoblins against a level 1 party. Hobgoblins happen to be way too dangerous for their 1/2 challenge rating; thanks to their 18 AC and their Martial Advantage trait, two hobgoblins (not a Deadly encounter, per the rules) can kill two first level PCs in the first round of a fight if the dice go even a little in their favor. Here's an outcome set for all possible outcomes of the too-hard encounter:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Clear victory (unlikely): </b>All the PCs survive, and they kill the hobgoblins and save the priest. A happy reunion!</li>
<li><b>Mixed victory: </b>The PCs kill the hobgoblins and save the priest, but one or more of them sacrificed their lives for this. If the goal was just to get some gold, this is a lame outcome. If the PCs saved the priest, but the Acolyte sacrificed her life to save a man who she owes everything to, it makes a tragic, but fitting end.</li>
<li><b>Mixed defeat:</b> The PCs killed one of the hobgoblins, but had to retreat. Now they have to find out if the hobgoblins killed the hostage or just moved them somewhere more secure.</li>
<li><b>Defeat (unlikely): </b>The PCs failed to save the priest, and some of them died in the fight. The survivor(s) escaped, and will have to recruit new allies and make another rescue attempt before the hobgoblins give up and kill the hostage.</li>
<li><b>Close TPK (incredibly unlikely): </b> For the encounter to end in a "total party kill," the last PC standing would have to have had enough chance to win on their last action that they thought it was better to take one last shot than to retreat. The dice didn't go their way, they didn't beat the last hobgoblin, and they got killed by an unlucky roll. Even this outcome is exciting, because of how close it was and how personal it was. Also, this situation is very unlikely: In our example, the Acolyte might die for the priest, but the Criminal and the Warlock won't die for their goals. And the Soldier may die for their honor, but might decide it's better to retreat and try a different approach than throw their life away.</li>
<li><b>Brutal TPK (<i>impossible</i>): </b>If the PCs' attacks are easily rebuffed and they're getting slaughtered, thanks to #3, above, they could just retreat. There's no reason to stick around: The hobgoblins' goal is only to guard their hostage. There could be other chances to mount a rescue. There's no reason for all the PCs to die here. A brutal TPK is not possible.</li>
</ul>
<br />
See? I just described how a lethal fight is all-but-guaranteed not to end in a TPK if you follow my advice. You don't even have to figure out how hard the fight is. You don't need to know that the hobgoblins are way too deadly for CR 1/2. You don't even need to use Kobold Fight Club or a CR calculation system. You just pick some monsters and roll with it. The safeguards you have in place keep things fun.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-74400165274907705642019-01-11T10:42:00.000-05:002019-01-11T10:42:52.527-05:00Sidekick RulesThe D&D team released sidekick rules that let you make NPC companions for your party using rules that are only a little simpler than regular player character creation rules. They have classes, hit points, levels, skill lists, equipment, spell lists, spell slots, and other features that player characters track on a minute-by-minute basis in D&D.<br />
<br />
You might like resource management so much that these new rules are really appealing to you. Many people try more rules light games and give them up because they love more crunchy systems. If that's you, you'll love <a href="http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthed-arcana/sidekicks" target="_blank"><i>Unearthed Arcana: Sidekicks</i></a>. But if D&D is already just crunchy enough for you, I have a better suggestion.<br />
<br />
I made Companion rules that are faster, easier, and more fun. <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qYkfYYstXRkFGBtQPMOQU5OeEd_48bdzGoAW-3ocD2E/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Click here for my version</a>.<br />
<br />
These rules are inspired by Dungeon World's henchmen rules, old school D&D henchmen rules, and my experience running <i>Out of the Abyss</i> in 5th edition D&D - the module where you start off running a game for a handful of PCs and <i>ten</i> NPC companions. <br />
<br />
In my <i>Out of the Abyss</i> game, I reviewed other folks' custom companion rules, and ended up just asking my players to handle the stats for the ten NPCs. I caused murder, mayhem, mystery, and party splitting to get rid of as many of the companions as I could, in part because of the table time that it took whenever someone would say "I want to give this surplus magic armor to this NPC" or "I want to buy this NPC a better weapon." Or just the way it bogs down to have NPCs take their own turns in combat, make saving throws against effects that target everyone, and roll ability checks.<br />
<br />
I made these companion rules treat companions more like magic items. They provide some bonuses that you get to use, but they don't take a turn in combat. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qYkfYYstXRkFGBtQPMOQU5OeEd_48bdzGoAW-3ocD2E/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Take a look</a>. <br />
<br />
PS: I turned on document commenting, since this is just a draft I threw together in response to <i>Unearthed Arcana: Sidekicks</i>. If you have constructive ideas for improving my work, please drop a comment in the document.<br />
<br />
<br />Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-56279795720522215922019-01-03T11:15:00.002-05:002019-01-03T11:15:51.512-05:00Dealing with Stun Lock<b>Dealing with "Stun Lock"</b><br />
<br />
In game systems that use initiative, nothing is worse than having your character taken out of the action. It's bad enough that your character is either dead, dying, paralyzed, or unconscious. But on top of that, there's 20 minutes of combat left, and you don't get to do anything.<br />
<br />
I loved 4e, but one of my biggest gripes about it is that as you gained levels, stun-lock became an increasingly powerful player tactic and an increasingly common monster power. When the monster loses their turn, no big deal -- the DM has other monsters. When the player loses their turn, they've just had 5-10 minutes go by without any input into the shared fiction. And that sucks.<br />
<br />
<i>So what can you do?</i><br />
<br />
The pain of "not getting a turn" is the pain of not getting to contribute to the shared fiction. The solution is to give the player input into the fiction in ways that have meaning and impact.<br />
<br />
If there are any NPC combatants on the PCs' side in the fight, let the player whose character is out of the action play an allied NPC. <br />
<br />
It's less obvious what you should do if there are no NPCs in the fight they can take over.<br />
<br />
If the player's character is out of the whole fight, such as if they're in another scene that's not in initiative rounds, or if they've been killed, let them play one or more monsters. Players will love this. If you only have one monster left, work with them as a team. "Who should we attack? Really? Isn't it better to take out that Rogue who keeps stabbing us first?"<br />
<br />
If the player's character lost just one turn, or if they'll probably lose only one or two turns, ask for their input on things: "Should the lich use Cone of Cold or Confusion? Which do you think would be best?" They're paralyzed. It's not going to affect them in the short term. They should be able to keep a clear head about it. <br />
<br />
<br />Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-17034659993548333552018-10-19T09:33:00.002-04:002018-10-19T09:33:20.177-04:00Run a Game has a Google Assistant app now!Hey I made an app! (I'm a "developer" now!) It's on Google Assistant. <br />
<br />
Here's how you use it. On Google Assistant (Google Home or the assistant on any newer android device), say or type:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue;"><b>OK Google, talk to Mood and Drama Preference in RPGs</b></span></div>
<br />
That starts a 4-question "personality quiz" type of thing. It draws 4 questions from a list of 12 at random, so it's different every time. <br />
<br />
It's just four questions, so it's not a perfect measure. Not even close! (It's especially bad at assessing people who don't have a strong preference, sorry!) Also, you're going to prefer a different mood and different degree of intra-party drama in different games and with different groups of people.<br />
<br />
Use the quiz and results during your <b>Session Zero </b>or with your gaming group to start conversations about your preferences. It's not like it's a real scientific measurement, so it's pretty much <i>only</i> useful for starting conversations with other players.<br />
<br />
For example, if you're starting a new Vampire 5th ed game, you might find one player expects tons of intra-party scheming and backstabbing while another wants more of a 90s comic book "superheroes with fangs" gothic-punk horror themed pulp adventure story. You should probably resolve that ASAP, because clashing expectations can lead to all kinds of trouble.<br />
<br />
I <i>can</i> modify and improve this thing, so please send suggestions for how to improve this <b>Mood and Drama Preference in RPGs</b> to <a href="https://twitter.com/RunAGame" target="_blank">@RunAGame</a> on twitter. I've never developed an app before, and I'm also new to making personality quiz type things.Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-43255609237008495932018-09-25T10:55:00.005-04:002018-09-25T13:03:49.592-04:00Do Split the PartyMost RPGs can handle "splitting the party" decently well. The problem with splitting the party is that players get bored when they're not actually playing the game.<br />
<br />
It's one thing to wait your turn in combat, where you are part of the action -- especially if the GM is highlighting the stakes and context of the situation when it's not your turn (see the twitter thread below). It's another thing to wait a long time while the other PCs are off scouting or investigating or negotiating.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
RPG Combat Gamerunning Thread<br />
<br />
Today let's talk about a technique I learned to use to make combat more exciting.<br />
1/</div>
— Jon Lemich (@RunAGame) <a href="https://twitter.com/RunAGame/status/1040301027784896512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
You can tell GMs to cut frequently. You can tell GMs what to avoid, how to try to match cut speed to pace, etc. But what I've discovered in the last three years is that as a GM, you need to learn how to recognize triggers that cue you to cut.<br />
<br />
If you're not reminded to cut back to the other players, you might not realize you've gone on too long. You might not realize you're boring them.<br />
<br />
So here are some triggers to remind you to cut. If you internalize these eight scene cut-away triggers, you'll get better at running split-party scenes without boring your players to death.<br />
<br />
<b>Failing a Skill Check:</b> When a PC fails a skill check, cut! Cut to the other PCs immediately. This has a lot of great benefits! First of all, depending on your system, failed checks will happen decently often -- especially when the party is split. In D&D, it might happen every three or four rolls. That's about the same for PbtA games. Second, it gives you time to think about <a href="https://www.runagame.net/2017/03/d-moves.html" target="_blank">the move you want to make</a>. With extra time, you can think of a really good complication that really adds to the tension. Third, the player who failed the check will be waiting with bated breath to hear how bad things went with that roll.<br />
<br />
<b>A Player Needs OOC Time:</b> This one is obvious - if you're running for a split party, and a player needs time, it's time to cut. Players might need time for lots of reasons: OOC things like getting another piece of pizza, using the restroom, taking a call, fixing a tech issue (playing online), or having a sneezing fit. Players usually won't take a break in a tense moment, so if they signal a need to break, it's at a lull, and a good time to cut.<br />
<br />
<b>A Player Needs Time to Think:</b> Players might also need time to think of a plan, think of what to say, think of how their character would react, make a tough choice, or figure out a character ability. If you're going to force them to make a decision under pressure, don't cut away. Apply that pressure. Talk them through it.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Aside</i>: When you force a player to make a decision in a split second, you're testing the player, not the character. For some styles of play, this is great. Actor stance play, such as LARPs, horror games, or <a href="https://www.runagame.net/2015/07/immersion.html" target="_blank">high character immersion play </a>can be enhanced by forcing players to make split second decisions in character. You're encouraging bleed (see <a href="https://www.runagame.net/2015/05/the-magic-circle.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://www.runagame.net/2016/08/magic-circle-infographic.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="https://www.runagame.net/2016/04/stance-and-magic-circle.html" target="_blank">here</a>). For other styles of play, this is bad. Author and director stance play should test the character, not the player. You might spend ten minutes thinking about how your character would handle a split-second high-stakes decision. In those styles of play, it's often fun to decide that your character made a bad decision. </span><br />
<br />
<b>There's a Rules Question: </b>If the table runs into a rules question, cut. The players can look up the rule while you run the other scene. This one should be obvious. Just make sure to associate it with a cut-away trigger in your mind.<br />
<br />
<b>Cliffhanger Moment:</b> When something surprising happens, cut away after you see the players' reaction. Don't drop the surprise and cut immediately. Why? Because when you get the players' reaction then cut, you get five or ten extra minutes to think about how to play to it! If you surprise them and cut away immediately, you don't get their reaction until <i>after</i> you cut <i>back.</i> And that means you have only seconds to plan how to play to their reaction. Put another way: The surprise is big. The players' reaction to the surprise is <i>even bigger.</i> Your response to their reaction is the third most important thing that happens at a plot twist, and giving yourself extra time to plan that is <i>gold</i>.<br />
<br />
Example:<br />
<i>GM: "Jasen, you've put down the third vampire spawn. You're wounded, exhausted, but victorious. You walk out of the alley, back into the crowd. Nobody noticed the battle. Standing there, staring at you is the vampire who commanded the spawn to attack. She pulls her hood back, and it's none other than Lucia, your former mentor." </i><br />
<i>Jasen's Player: "Holy crap! I thought she died in the crusade! I don't care about the crowd. I don't care that I'm wounded. I charge. Do I roll initiative or what?" </i><br />
<i>GM: "Hold that thought. Let's cut away."</i><br />
<br />
<b>A Conversation Milestone: </b>Conversations take longer than you think. When you're GMing a conversation, you take on the NPC's persona, and start thinking about what the NPC wants, what they're afraid of, what they know, what they're watching for, etc. Often, that means you stop focusing on a lot of the logistics of gamerunning. You lose track of time, lose track of players who aren't in the conversation, etc. So teach yourself to cut away when the conversation reaches a milestone. That is, cut away when something new comes up; a decision is announced; the mood changes; or parties enter or leave the conversation. Just teach yourself to watch for <b>conversation milestones</b>, as shorthand for that.<br />
<br />
<b>Plan B Doesn't Work</b>: The PC tries one approach. They don't get the result they wanted. The PC tries another approach. They still don't get what they wanted. It's OK to run a scene where a PC fumbles around a little. The dice sometimes force that on us. Players also sometimes don't know exactly what they're after - they go into a scene and just push buttons (literally or metaphorically) until something happens. That's fine, sometimes. But while it can be frustrating to the PC who's flailing, it's <i>extremely </i>frustrating to watch. So teach yourself to cut away when the player's second approach doesn't go anywhere. This has two benefits: The other players don't have to sit through more than two false starts in a row, and the active player gets a few minutes to think up a better strategy.<br />
<br />
<b>A Clue is Revealed:</b> When you reveal a clue that's a "piece of the puzzle," cut away. Unlike a cliffhanger, you don't need to see the player's reaction to a clue. Most clues are just useful information, not major changes to the conflict. (<i>If the clue <b>is </b>a cliffhanger, see above.</i>) Cutting away right after dropping a clue will save you a ton of table time. First of all, the players who just got the clue need a few minutes to process it. They have to think about how it fits into their investigation, what it means, and what follow-up questions they need to ask. When you reveal a clue, the players often ask a lot of confirmation questions -- stuff they already know, but just want to be sure about. If you give them a few minutes, when you cut back, they'll have cut that down to only the most important follow-up questions.<br />
<br />
<b>Handy Infographic Version</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Here's a handy infographic you can share if you're so inclined.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj2E6DiUfEFBQeldrACZV82rOyQblWSQep1b97ZZbvtfTWryklKMYWfSaQOJgtnGyyD-SDaJwHFsrRhUoodQvphz_xU_qe71Zj_k87Qw9XpnVkAp4PF5G50xgrFV110bR0xt9KIfYm5yU/s1600/Cue+Yourself+to+Cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj2E6DiUfEFBQeldrACZV82rOyQblWSQep1b97ZZbvtfTWryklKMYWfSaQOJgtnGyyD-SDaJwHFsrRhUoodQvphz_xU_qe71Zj_k87Qw9XpnVkAp4PF5G50xgrFV110bR0xt9KIfYm5yU/s320/Cue+Yourself+to+Cut.png" width="128" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click for a larger version.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<b><br />Other <i>Run a Game </i>articles on splitting the party</b><b><br /></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
I've written before about the <a href="https://www.runagame.net/2013/03/splitting-party.html" target="_blank">benefits of splitting the party</a>, which is still pretty good, though the game I used for the example is now an edition out of date!<br />
<br />
I also did an article on <a href="https://www.runagame.net/2015/12/how-to-cut-between-scenes.html" target="_blank">cutting between scenes</a> before, but I think my skills have evolved since, and I've also figured out how to communicate what I've learned in the last three years, since the last time I wrote on this topic. For instance, in the older article, I recommend 15 minutes between cuts. Now I'd say 10 minutes is pushing it, and you should aim to cut every 5 minutes, if you can.<br />
<br />
<b>Update: Use these skills even when you're NOT splitting the party!</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
See this twitter thread about it. (Click through to see the full thread from here.)<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Now the bonus you've all been waiting for (all six of you who read this far!) <br />
<br />
Use these cues when you're running whole-group scenes, too! <br />
<br />
"But use them for what, Jon? Use them for WHAT?"</div>
— Jon Lemich (@RunAGame) <a href="https://twitter.com/RunAGame/status/1044629288211947521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 25, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-20249115120193084002018-09-11T10:06:00.001-04:002018-09-11T10:12:23.016-04:00Ye Olde Magic Item ShoppeLet's say you're running a fantasy RPG, and you want a more serious fantasy tone. The first thing you want to eliminate is "Ye Olde Magic Item Shoppe." It's a silly thing that <a href="https://www.runagame.net/2017/07/magic-item-shops.html" target="_blank">seems to come from video games</a>, not fantasy literature or historical epics. But how?<br />
<br />
The obvious answer is to tell the players "there aren't magic item shops in this setting." The problem with that approach is that the players will eventually be dripping with magic items they don't care about, and yearning for magic items that they still haven't found.<br />
<br />
They'll look for low-key magic item shops. "Hey, can we 'donate' these +1 maces and axes to the high temple of the sun god and ask the priests to forge me a magic glaive?"<br />
<br />
So the second most obvious answer is to make magic item shops that don't resemble a JRPG or MMO. You create a red dragon that collects magic items, and will buy them from adventurers for gold (which she extorts from kings and merchants). You create a shadowy wizard that will sell knowledge (spells and scrolls) for gold to fund his secret experiments. You create a good-aligned temple that will forge blessed weapons and armor for those who demonstrate their faith (with deeds, yes, but also coin).<br />
<br />
But you still haven't eliminated "Ye Olde Magic Item Shoppe." You've dressed it up to look a <i>little bit </i>like fantasy fiction, but it's still a transaction of magic items for coin and vice versa. Because the <i>player activity</i> is functionally the same (tallying coins, asking for prices, deciding how much to spend and what to sell), the <i>fictional activity</i> will largely feel the same.<br />
<br />
<h2>
The best solution</h2>
The only way to eliminate "Ye Olde Magic Item Shoppe" is to give the PCs the magic items they want, and only the magic items they want.<br />
<br />
The only reason a PC would want to sell a magic item is if that magic item isn't useful to them. That happens when you give out magic items because you wanted to equip your villains with them (but didn't think of the items' utility for the PCs) and when you give out magic items based on the random tables in the DMG. The only reason they would want to <i>buy</i> magic items is if they've got a lot of gold (happens a lot in 5e) and feel like the items they want should be available. Combined, the two factors really make players seek out magic item sellers:<br />
<br />
<i>"We have two +1 maces, a +2 sickle of evil, and a +1 heavy crossbow that none of us are using, and I still don't have a magic greatsword yet. Let's sell these useless things and get the +1 greatsword I need. +1 weapons seem common enough that someone must be selling one, or maybe I can get someone to forge me one."</i><br />
<br />
Giving the PCs exactly what they want doesn't mean you have to be generous with magic items. You can be more stingy than usual with this technique and the players will probably be happier. Here's how you do it...<br />
<br />
<b>First, call for a wish list</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Ask the players to submit a "wish list" of five magic items they want. Let them flip through the books like kids making their Christmas wish list from the toy store catalog. They can even make up their own magic items. If your campaign is going to be shorter or longer, ask for shorter or longer wish lists. A three-year level 1-20 campaign might call for six or seven per PC. A 10-session short campaign might only call for two per PC. If you're running an intentionally low-powered, low-level, short campaign, you might also want to limit the players to Uncommon and Rare items.<br />
<br />
When you call for the wish list, show your players this article, so it's clear what you're doing. If you're transparent with the process, they can be more strategic with their choices. For instance, they might see value in asking for a Rare <i>Flametongue </i>greatsword <i>and</i> a Legendary <i>Vorpal </i>greatsword, so they get a middling-powered magic weapon early, and get an upgrade to a super-powered one much later in the game. They can always give the <i>Flametongue </i>to a henchman or beloved NPC.<br />
<br />
<b>From that, make a magic item treasure table</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Combine the lists into one "treasure table" and arrange them from weakest to strongest. Always consider defense items to be stronger than offense items, because offense items are more fun (they speed up play and provide wow moments). This makes a list of 15-30 items.<br />
<br />
<b>Using the table, decide on some plot items</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Some of your magic items shouldn't be random. Make plots and villains to contain the best items from the combined treasure table. Cross them off as you place them in the world. This probably cuts your list down to 10-20. The Lich King should wield the <i>Staff of the Magi </i>your wizard PC wished for. The Glabrezu should have the <i>Holy Avenger</i> sealed away in a trapped vault. The real nice <i>Ioun Stone</i> should be rumored to be at the top of the ruined tower of the mad mage, deep in a troll-haunted swamp. Don't write these adventures ahead of time. Just make sure to tell the PCs the legends of where they can find these items. It'll motivate them.<br />
<br />
<b>Then just use your table</b><br />
<br />
When you give out treasure and a magic item should be in the hoard, choose or roll from the list. If you roll from the list, only roll 1d6 and count up from the bottom, skipping crossed off items, of course. When you give an item out, cross it off. The reason to use a smaller die than the list is that you want to give out more modest items first. It's only fair: PCs with more modest wishes get to use less powerful items longer (since they get them earlier). Plus, you don't want to drop a <i>Staff of the Magi</i> at level 1. I like to give out fewer, more powerful items, but that's going too far!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>Tip</i></b>: Since you're giving out fewer permanent magic items, consider giving out more consumable items -- especially consumable restorative magic items, like potions of healing, Keoghtom's ointment, potions of neutralize poison, scrolls of remove curse, and so forth. When you're giving out gold and mundane items, here's an <a href="https://www.runagame.net/2016/02/mundane-items-table-for-5th-edition.html" target="_blank">inspirational, curated list of select interesting mundane items by value</a> for you that will help give you a little inspiration.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Is "Ye Olde Magic Item Shoppe" <i>really </i>a problem?</h2>
Not always.<br />
<br />
I've claimed that D&D is its own subgenre of fantasy. It's a goofy power fantasy, and it can be a lot of fun to play up the... <i>D&D-ness</i> of it, even if you're playing Dungeon World or 13th Age or Pathfinder. So much of the D&D system intrudes into the fiction of the game world that D&D almost <i>has to</i> be its own genre. Daily refresh abilities, magic item tables, trap mechanics, Vancian casting, and encumbrance (and therefore henchmen) are system artifacts that create in-fiction shadows that have, over time, made their own culture -- their own fictional genre. And that's fun because it creates a culture and genre that's unique to our hobby.<br />
<br />
This concept ties to the idea of "tone" or "mood" in your game. Setting the game's tone is a very important "session zero" task, and it's important for the whole group to work together to maintain the tone. The GM's role in setting and maintaining the tone is even more important. If you create a "Ye Olde Magic Item Shoppe" situation, you're saying something about the tone, and what you're saying is tied to images of moogles and Azeroth, and that can be awesome or jarring, depending on the tone you're going for.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjuzs2NKoURjyR4LSOJpMDi3cLMVPdk_98DtN4Uqhul7hsGwhJ6CWhFbhFpkjBpWMSbem0NMyI6Ctqv4gUgs1ZElZxF1yoMTND0bRXfzl63WUA9SltUoyUB3w4rrfYl6cye4qi74TMZws/s1600/ancient-armor-black-and-white-208674.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjuzs2NKoURjyR4LSOJpMDi3cLMVPdk_98DtN4Uqhul7hsGwhJ6CWhFbhFpkjBpWMSbem0NMyI6Ctqv4gUgs1ZElZxF1yoMTND0bRXfzl63WUA9SltUoyUB3w4rrfYl6cye4qi74TMZws/s400/ancient-armor-black-and-white-208674.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Image Credit: CC0 license from pixabay.com via pexels.com</i></td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
So when you're running a very... "D&D" game (like I am right now), play it up! Make fun magic item shops run by crafty dragons and mad priests and shady wizards and extra-planar entrepreneurs.<br />
<br />
But you might want to run a D&D game that's more like fantasy novels, movies, and TV shows. And that's fine too. That's when you need to use the techniques above to eliminate magic item shops.Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-3634513986552167122018-08-14T11:10:00.003-04:002022-07-22T11:29:21.001-04:00Encounter StakesToo many GMs hammer the party with encounter after encounter of "kill or be killed" life-or-death fights to survive. There are several reasons why this is a problem.<br />
<br />
First, it's toothless: Either you kill a PC every other session, or else your "kill or be killed" encounters are mostly harmless. Even if you kill a PC every other session, the death risk in any given encounter is probably one in five or one in ten. Not insignificant, sure, but hardly dire.<br />
<br />
Second, it's tiresome: If every hostile creature you meet turns out to want to kill you or die trying, it gets dull. More, "kill or be killed" encounters tend to drag. After about 2 or 3 rounds, it's clear that the PCs have won, and the monsters are just trying to make their deaths as costly as possible. Once every now and then, that's interesting. Every time? Gets boring.<br />
<br />
Third, it leads to murder hobos: If every encounter eventually ends in grim slaughter, whenever a conflict arises, you're going to go straight to grim slaughter as a solution. The minute anyone cracks wise or threatens your PCs, they're going to go straight for the most efficient kill.<br />
<br />
The solution is, luckily, not all that hard. Just vary the stakes of the encounter. Here's a big list of encounter stakes that are not "kill or be killed."<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Stakes Progression</b></h3>
I've divided these examples into four tiers. Start with low stakes. As your adventure progresses, keep raising the stakes.<br />
<br />
A lot of stakes come with built in progression: If the PCs are framed (level 1), they <i>might</i> be at risk for capture (level 4), if the frame-up is successful. A frame-up is only level 1 because it doesn't lead to the PCs' capture, it leads to a <i>risk</i> they might be captured, if they can't clear their name.<br />
<br />
For the lower tier stakes to qualify for their lower level, the PCs have to have a chance to avoid the risk posed by the follow-on stakes: If the PCs are delayed (level 2), they must still have a chance to prevent their rival from snatching the thing they wanted to get (level 3). If the delay leads to the snatch without any chance the PCs could have stopped it, then the delay was really a complicated snatch, not a delay.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Level 1 Stakes: Social or Emotional</h3>
<i>Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. </i><br />
<br />
First level stakes don't cost the PCs much except their reputation or their good mood. Getting humiliated or spooked or tricked might ruin your day, or let an enemy get away with crimes or escape capture, but they won't cost you anything and they won't hurt.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Humiliate: The foes win if the PCs feel humiliated</li>
<li>Embarrass: The foes win if the PCs do something embarrassing</li>
<li>Reputation: The foes win if the PCs' reputation suffers</li>
<li>Enrage: The foes win if the PCs get mad at them</li>
<li>Censure: The foes win if the PCs suffer a superior's disapproval</li>
<li>Framed: The foes win if the PCs are suspected of a crime they did not commit</li>
<li>Count Coup: Each foe wins if they touch the PCs without getting hurt</li>
<li>Scare: The foes win if the PCs flinch (take a defensive or restorative action)</li>
<li>Spook: The foes win if the PCs regroup, retreat, or begin acting more cautiously</li>
<li>Threaten: The foes win if they take the foes and their faction more seriously</li>
<li>Bluff: The foes win if the PCs believe the bluff</li>
<li>Reprisal: The foes win if the PCs are worried of additional reprisals</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
</ul>
<h3>
Level 2 Stakes: Material or Tactical</h3>
<i>Stand and deliver!</i><br />
<br />
If the stakes threaten to cost the PCs resources, they rise to the second level. Second level stakes can also threaten the PCs' tactical position, raising the stakes they might encounter in the future.<br />
<ul>
<li>Steal: The foes win if they take stuff from the PCs by stealth, threats, or force</li>
<li>Break: The foes win if they break or spoil the PCs' stuff</li>
<li>Deplete: The foes win if they get the PCs to use up limited resources</li>
<li>Foist: The foes win if they make the PCs take on stuff they don't want to carry</li>
<li>Block: The foes win if the PCs don't take the guarded path</li>
<li>Oust: The foes win if they force the PCs to leave an area</li>
<li>Divert: The foes win if they force the PCs to take the selected path </li>
<li>Feint: The foes win if the PCs react to the feint</li>
<li>Distract: The foes win if they get the PCs to engage with them for long enough</li>
<li>Delay: The foes win if the PCs take a few rounds, a minute, an hour, or a day longer</li>
<li>Alarm: The foes win if they get warning to their allies</li>
<li>Pay: The foes win if they make the PCs pay more than they had to through trickery</li>
<li>Sell: The foes win if the PCs buy what they're selling</li>
<li>Beg: The foes win if the PCs give them charity</li>
<li>Extort: The foes win if the PCs pay them a bribe or blackmail money</li>
<li>Split the Party: The foes win if the PCs become separated</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
</ul>
<h3>
Level 3 Stakes: Goals and Bonds</h3>
<i>There are fates worse than death...</i><br />
<br />
These are goals or people or places or things that might mean more to the PCs than their very lives. Would you die to protect your community? Your family? Would you risk your life to pull strangers from a burning building? These are character defining questions, and level 3 stakes help us get to them in ways that level 4 stakes do not.<br />
<ul>
<li>In Decline: The foes want to harm or take over an organization the PCs care about</li>
<li>Lost Friend: The foes want to harm, beguile, or alienate a person the PCs care about</li>
<li>Special: The foes win if they harm or take a thing the PCs care about</li>
<li>Noise: The foes win if the folks that matter don't know who to believe</li>
<li>Homewrecker: The foes win if they harm, control, or bar entry to a place the PCs care about</li>
<li>Escape: The foes win if they escape justice that the PCs want to mete out</li>
<li>Competition: The foes win if they beat the PCs to a critical prize in a fair competition (even if they cheated)</li>
<li>Rival: The foes win if they claim an opportunity that a person the PCs care about wanted</li>
<li>Snatch: The foes win if they claim an item the PCs wanted to get</li>
<li>Outbid: The foes win if they beat the PCs in a bidding war for an opportunity </li>
<li>Demoted: The foes win if the PCs lose formal status</li>
<li>Divide: The foes win if the PCs become unjustly suspicious of their ally</li>
<li>Lost: The foes win if the PCs get lost</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
</ul>
<h3>
Level 4 Stakes: Personal and Physical</h3>
<i>Take no prisoners!</i><br />
<br />
Stakes that are direct attacks on the PCs' bodies are the highest of all, but because they're so direct, they're often very blunt, unrevealing situations. Of <i>course</i> you're going to fight to defend yourself. Of <i>course</i> you care about being locked in a dungeon. On the other hand, they're tense, exciting moments that can feel terrifying or exhilarating -- usually both!<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Hurt: The foes win if they harm one of the PCs in particular</li>
<li>Maim: the foes win if they cause a specific injury to one of the PCs in particular</li>
<li>Assassinate: The foes win if they kill one of the PCs in particular</li>
<li>Guerrilla: The foes will try to kill the PCs, but will retreat to avoid <i>any</i> casualties</li>
<li>Surrender: The foes win if the PCs surrender</li>
<li>Capture: The foes win if they capture or arrest one or all of them</li>
<li>Consume: The foes win if they successfully eat part of all of one of the PCs</li>
<li>Infect: The foes win if they cause one or more PCs to contract a disease</li>
<li>Envenom: The foes win if they poison one or more of the PCs</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
</ul>
<div>
<h3>
More About Encounter Stakes</h3>
<b>Foreshadowed Stakes vs. Surprise Stakes</b><br />
<br />
Foreshadowed stakes are stakes the PCs know about well in advance. For instance, they might know that Armlor the Brewer is looking for them to chew them out. That tells them that there's someone wandering around town looking to cause them some reputation or emotional harm (Level 1 stakes, emotional or status). They know ahead of time, so they're anticipating it. In effect, you've already levied the stakes at them. The stakes are real, even if they haven't met Armlor yet.<br />
<br />
Foreshadowed stakes are the best because the players experience them for a longer period of time, and their characters can start engaging with them well before the encounter ("well if Armlor comes by here, you can tell him we'll meet him at sunset outside our inn, if he's got the guts").<br />
<br />
Surprise stakes are fun because there's an element of the unexpected. Surprise stakes can be...<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>New stakes out of nowhere: On the way to the inn, the PCs are attacked by robbers (Level 2 stakes, extort)</li>
<li>Significantly changed stakes: Arriving at sunset to discover that Armlor is there helping the owners try to put out a raging fire in the inn (Level 2 stakes, break their stuff) or arriving to find Armlor's fresh, bleeding corpse (Level 1 stakes, framed)</li>
<li>Surprisingly increased stakes -- Armlor shows up at the tavern with a cadre of Duke's soldiers to arrest them (Level 4 stakes, capture)</li>
</ul>
<br />
Surprise stakes are the best because everyone loves a twist. But you can't make every encounter a twist. Try to use a twist every couple of scenes, though!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Play to Find Out</b><br />
<br />
To make stakes work, think of them this way: You're playing out this encounter to see if the foes will win their stakes. Therefore, all the stakes examples, below, are phrased as "the foes win if..." to remind you that these NPCs are <i>done</i> when they achieve their stakes.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Level of Stakes vs. Probability of Loss (aka Challenge)</b><br />
<br />
Challenge matters. Consider how likely it is that the PCs lose in the contest for the stakes. For instance, low stakes (humiliation) with high probability of loss (the PCs will almost certainly be humiliated) can be very powerful. High stakes (assassinate) with low probability of loss (the PCs can easily defeat the assassin) can be very weak.<br />
<br />
Higher challenge raises the stakes, but it almost never raises the stakes up a whole level. Humiliation can be really painful, but losing a fortune, losing a friend, or losing an arm is a lot <i>more</i> painful.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>PC Stakes</b><br />
<br />
Your players are going to set their own stakes, based on what's going on in the fiction. If an NPC gets in their face with threats and bluster, they PCs might decide to shut the NPC down emotionally or to beat them up, or even to kill them.<br />
<br />
You don't get to control the PCs and what they decide to do. Their stakes are their business. Your job is to control the NPCs. The PCs' actions might trigger new stakes, though. If they kill an NPC who's yelling in their faces, they might be wanted for murder. The stakes go from humiliation (level 1) to capture (level 4) as the town militia is called up to hunt them down for trial.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>What do the Foes do when they Win?</b><br />
<br />
Most of these stakes end long before one side or the other is dead. You, the GM, get to decide if the NPCs have won their stakes. Once they've won their stakes, they should act naturally. Typically, they'll just leave.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Does this mean you're going to re-use the encounter later?</b></i> You bet you will!<br />
<br />
<b><i>Isn't that boring?</i></b> Heck, no! Players love to see NPCs they've met before.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Will encounters combine? That is, if the guard goblins succeed at raising an alarm and run away, will they join with other goblins and make a really Deadly encounter later?</i></b> No. I mean, you <i>could</i> do that, but you're creating a strong incentive for your players to kill everything they meet, in case they have to fight it later. There is an enormous conceptual difference between "get a chance for revenge when you meet the same NPCs again" and "any NPC you don't kill might join with another encounter and make your life harder."<br />
<br />
<b>Printable Infographic Version</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/11NizehnvL4OoADHR9O-TF24EjUwyZgHk/view?usp=sharing" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMg93vSk_tI80TXws5Wy1lJkjqvGbnnx8zHBFhSIfrfJNft0HdsKgdQJq4SaoZL3Cb_wyz-8ojeJQbwvCciO3I4ix_-2_7dthYoonbH6D2XoukVKo2JS4oo8tzBprtRM6VwKRSPA1xtZY/s640/Encounter+Stakes.png" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/11NizehnvL4OoADHR9O-TF24EjUwyZgHk/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Click here </a>to download this at a readable size</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Here's <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aOUMD1uMgwPOmGRe4qtvdkwiQpBZqflb/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">a 8.5x11" printable list of these stakes</a>, to put in your adventure prep inspiration kit.</div>
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<ul>
</ul>
</div>
Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-23771136474626182342018-07-19T16:10:00.003-04:002018-07-19T16:10:33.821-04:00How to Run an RPG Campaign in 5 Easy StepsIf you want to run an RPG campaign, you ought to do it right. Here's a simple five step process to run a game that your players will never forget.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Five Steps to a Memorable RPG Campaign</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><i>Step 1: The Pitch</i></b><br />
Pitch a campaign idea with enough detail that everyone understands the vision (genre, tone, themes, setting, conflicts, main action). This is a conversation, not a dictum - it's their game, too. Make sure everyone is on the same page, you included. (Here's a <i>really old</i> <a href="https://www.runagame.net/2012/09/the-pitch.html" target="_blank">article</a> from this site on making a campaign pitch.)<br />
<br />
<b><i>Step 2: Character Creation</i></b><br />
Accept characters that fit the table's shared vision (see #1), and can work together. (It's probably best if they already know each other). Make sure all the characters have things they're intensely passionate about - people, places, things, goals, groups - that fit the campaign vision. Many RPGs have passions baked into character creation. <i>GUMSHOE </i>games ask you to list your sources of stability. <i>5th edition D&D</i> asks you to describe your Ideal and a personal Bond, etc. Work within this structure where you can, but make sure to push players to give you real good passions - not cop outs.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Step 3: World Building</i></b><br />
Sketch the world roughly with lots of blanks. In it, create major antagonists that have goals that <i>brutally </i>conflict with the PCs' passions (see #2). Give your antagonists <i>stuff</i>: People (henchmen, goons), places (dungeons, cities, lairs, etc.), things (artifacts, rituals), groups (titles, influence, cults, factions), and knowledge (of the PCs, of the future, of the past, of how things work).<br />
<br />
<b><i>Step 4: Starting Setting</i></b><br />
Fill in the space close to the PCs in much more detail. This is your "starting village" -- your Tatooine or Emond's Field. Even though I said "much more detail," you should still leave some blanks to fill in as you go. As you fill in, fill it with the stuff the PCs care about (see #2) and the antagonists' stuff (see #3) - especially at least one henchman.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Step 5: Inciting Event</i></b><br />
Decide what the local henchmen are up to that will damage the nearby stuff the PCs care about (see #4) and what happens to tip the PCs off to what's going on in time to do something about it (inciting event). Drop the inciting event, then just respond to their actions.<br />
<br />
If you followed these steps, the PCs should care intensely about what's going on, because what's going on <i>directly </i>conflicts with their passions. There's no need for railroad tracks - the game is more of a <a href="https://www.runagame.net/2016/12/railroads-and-fox-hunts.html" target="_blank">fox hunt</a> than a railroad. The PCs will drive the story, because they told you what they cared about and you made them a game about it.<br />
<br />
As they follow leads from the local henchmen to the other stuff your main antagonists have, you just introduce them to more and more henchmen and more and more locations and villain goals (that continue being toxic to the PCs' passions). The villain goals might shift, too, and get even more personal. Where "corrupt the church of Ilmater" was their goal before, "Torment [the PC] Jakiri the Cleric of Ilmater by kidnapping the ones he loves" is even more personal.<br />
<br />
Not all RPGs work the same way, though. Here are some important caveats...<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">RPGs with </span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">Structured Adventures </span></b><br />
Many RPGs have internal structures that get in the way of this basic process. These are RPGs where the game creates a conflict that the game designer or GM pushes on the PCs, rather than one the PCs investigate on their own initiative. There's nothing wrong with that -- these are fun games. But because the structure is somewhat set ahead of time, we have to add another step.<br />
<br />
For instance, in <i>Monster of the Week</i>, you're creating one-off threats for most sessions. (It's literally in the title.) In <i>Night's Black Agents</i>, the PCs are burned spies uncovering a conspiracy of vampires. In <i>Shadowrun</i>, you're often doing black ops jobs for corporations through cutouts called Mr. Johnsons, rather than deciding what passions to pursue, yourselves. These conflicts come baked into their respective games. <br />
<br />
Here's how you deal with that:<br />
<br />
First, be honest with your players in step #1. Explain that they'll be playing <i>Shadowrun </i>(or whatever), and the structure of the game involves getting hired for covert black ops corporate espionage and sabotage jobs (or whatever). <br />
<br />
After that, make sure that you still get a lot of passions in step #2. Step #3 and #4 are the same. <br />
<br />
Next, step #5 is a <i>little </i>different. In step #5, you follow the game's baked in structure for an adventure. You have a werewolf attack the suburban high school; have Mr. Johnson hire the team to steal a briefcase from some corporate scientist; or have the agents investigate a spy that was murdered outside a Bucharest blood bank. Whatever. You do the thing that the game wants you to do. But <i>make sure the bad guys know who hurt them</i>. That's crucial for step #6.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Step 6 (for Structured Adventure RPGs): Now it's Personal!</b></i><br />
The first time the PCs win a victory against the antagonists, the antagonists strike back. They take their revenge on the PCs' passions. The werewolf moot burns down the Chosen's family's home. The corp that lost their briefcase sends security goons to "question" the Street Samurai's favorite bartender (he didn't talk, but it cost him three teeth and an eye). The vampires frame the agents for the murder of one of their own beloved contacts.<br />
<br />
As you're running the game, continue to use the PCs' passions as stakes whenever you can. Offer them opportunities to achieve or protect or improve things they care about, and set threats against them. Make everything as personal as you can.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Character Death and New PCs</span></b><br />
If a PC dies in your campaign, their passions die with them. When the player makes a new character, they come in with all new passions. How should you handle that?<br />
<br />
First of all, reserve character death for only the most extreme circumstances. Because you know the PCs all have strong passions, there are literally <i>fates worse than death</i> in your game. Use those <i>before</i> you get to character death. <br />
<br />
But even if nobody dies, there are still times new characters appear in your campaigns. What if someone new joins the group halfway in? <br />
<br />
When you get a new PC, treat it like they're playing a module -- see below. Tell them all the conflicts going on already and ask them to make a character that feels passionately about one or more of the things at stake in the existing conflicts. The new PC can have <i>other</i> passions as well, of course. Work up a new villain plan and new villain stuff (henchmen, prophecies, etc.) that targets those.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">An Additional Note on Modules</span></b><br />
When you're running a campaign from a module, step #1 is very important. You need to "all but spoil" a lot of the campaign for your players, so that they can make characters that care about things in it. <br />
<br />
If you're running <i>Curse of Strahd</i>, you need to read the whole thing and help the players make characters that care about the themes and goals they'll eventually have in there. One should be a vampire hunter. One should have a sister or wife who looks like the twin to Ireena. Another should be a priest of Lathander, the Morninglord (in a setting where the sun never shines). And so forth.<br />
<br />
(Here's another <i>really </i>old <a href="https://www.runagame.net/2012/08/sowing-hooks.html" target="_blank">article</a> from this site on a technique for sowing plot hooks among the PCs.)Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-54016381987128177792018-03-13T08:11:00.001-04:002018-03-14T13:29:44.938-04:00Missed Perception<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVO19ydeU1eX7itPEo0Xyof8PM0sQBM9qjdenyc_9Jgbw2sEUxvnnQBC_WDC1-g-AojK2sR2sNpEvpnJWHE86-ewdr5oDnLxGiB6p5Skh_-vk34UCsh3rvtPcCWXfAWUQa7jp3y4l_ls/s1600/bad+perception+checks.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVO19ydeU1eX7itPEo0Xyof8PM0sQBM9qjdenyc_9Jgbw2sEUxvnnQBC_WDC1-g-AojK2sR2sNpEvpnJWHE86-ewdr5oDnLxGiB6p5Skh_-vk34UCsh3rvtPcCWXfAWUQa7jp3y4l_ls/s400/bad+perception+checks.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVO19ydeU1eX7itPEo0Xyof8PM0sQBM9qjdenyc_9Jgbw2sEUxvnnQBC_WDC1-g-AojK2sR2sNpEvpnJWHE86-ewdr5oDnLxGiB6p5Skh_-vk34UCsh3rvtPcCWXfAWUQa7jp3y4l_ls/s1600/bad+perception+checks.png" target="_blank">Click here for full size</a></td></tr>
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Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-92209453315390827312017-10-20T09:45:00.000-04:002017-10-20T09:45:15.187-04:00Players Self-Assigning Rolls<b>Get your players to stop making die rolls you didn't call for. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>It does more harm than you think.</b><br />
<br />
I get most of my inspiration for blog posts from RPG forums, where I read and help answer questions from DMs. When a problem comes up a lot, I see a lot of good solutions from talented DMs. I also get to refine my answer by writing it out for different people with the same problem. Eventually, I write a post about it here so I can link back to it for them. In this article, I'm using 5th edition D&D for my examples, because the most recent iteration of this question I saw was in a 5e D&D group on Facebook, but the problem happens in just about every RPG out there.<br /><br />
The problem I see all the time on that Facebook group is players self-assigning die rolls. Self-assigning die rolls is trouble for reasons I'll explain below. It happens when you describe the situation, and then the players describe their actions, assign themselves die rolls, and then roll them, all without the GM's involvement. It looks like this:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The mural depicts sorcerers of ancient Netheril forging some powerful magic rod, consisting of seven segments each four to six inches long."<br />
"Arcana 19. What do I know about the sorcerers of Netheril?"</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The hallway ends in a twelve foot square room with candelabras mounted on the walls, a carpet in the center, and no other features.<br />
"Perception 24 - are there any traps or secret doors in this room?"</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Pleased to meet you, master Underhill. Rooms here are one gold piece per night each, double occupancy, and that includes all your meals. Ale, too. Wine and spirits are extra."<br />
"Insight - I got a 17 - is the innkeeper planning to betray us?"</blockquote>
<br />
The player jumps in and rolls the dice, then you, as the GM, simply react as if <i>you </i>had framed the challenge and assigned the die roll. Only, you <i>didn't</i>.<br />
<br />
It may seem like the players are doing you a favor and handling some of the system for you, quickly getting it out of the way so you can get on with the roleplaying. It's not. Self-assigning causes a lot of problems.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">First Problem: Bias</span></b><br />
Players will consciously or unconsciously choose to frame the die roll in the most favorable way for their character. Even players who have <i>no intention of gaming the system </i>are more likely to remember the skills and sub-systems they invested in for their character before ones that they didn't. The Warlock knows all about the Arcana skill, so she rolls Arcana. Netheril is ancient history, and the mural depicts an historic event; so this should have been a History check. Similarly, the Perception check maybe should be Investigation.<br />
<br />
<i>The GM calls for the roll, not the player. </i>However, players might suggest a skill. For instance, if the GM calls for a History check to understand the mural and the player fails, the player might say "I failed the History check. Can I discern anything about the magic rod using Arcana?" The GM still gets to decide, and the GM should still frame the check.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Second Problem: Framing</span></b><br />
Players don't frame the die roll stakes -- you do. Take a look at the Perception example, above. This has to be the #1 most common way players self-assign die rolls. They take it upon themselves to roll Perception checks without the DM telling them to. The reason they feel so comfortable throwing Perception checks around is that even DMs rarely assign failure stakes to Perception checks, and when there are no failure stakes, the rest of the party can try the check if the first player fails. But remember GM 101: Every die roll should have interesting stakes for both success and failure!<br />
<br />
The Perception check in the example above is poorly framed - the player needs to say what they're doing -- <i>how</i> they're looking for traps and secret doors. If that action happens to come across a trap or secret door, the DM can call for the appropriate skill check <i>at that point</i>. You can't just stand outside the door and look around the room and see all the traps and secret doors. They're better hidden than <i>that</i>! Failing to find a trap should <i>always</i> cause a problem (usually the problem is triggering the trap). More on trap framing, below.<br />
<br />
<i>Every roll should have both success and failure stakes. </i>It's the GM's job to make the world react to the PCs' actions. When a GM says, "nothing happens," the GM is derelict in their duty, in my opinion.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Third Problem: The Inevitable Success Shuffle</span></b><br />
When there are no failure stakes, or nothing happens on failure, the players do the inevitable success shuffle. That's what happens when player 1 fails the check, and player 2 says "OK, I try too." If player 2 fails, player 3 tries. Repeat <i>ad nauseum</i>. It's a huge waste of table time. Player-assigned die rolls almost <i>never</i> have failure stakes. That means there's no cost or risk to them. That's why players are so quick to throw the die and call for their own checks. They can't fail! Literally! Rolling a 2 just preserves the status quo. To actually <i>fail</i>, something <i>bad</i> would have to happen.<br />
<br />
But it's worse than that. The inevitable success shuffle makes success almost inevitable. See, even if every PC has a 0 in their skill, odds are one of the die rolls will come up lucky. I'm dropping some science here: If five people roll 1d20 each, there's a 98% chance one of them will roll a 10+, there's an 83% chance one of them will roll a 15+, and there's a whopping 23% chance one of them will roll a natural 20. Put another way, if the chances are only 30% that any individual party member will pass the check, if all five roll, the chances are 83% that <i>one</i> of them will succeed. The players aren't trying to cheat, and none of this is illegal according to the rules; but it's an "exploit" to use a video game term. <br />
<br />
Not only does this effectively "game the system," it's a huge waste of table time. After going through the work of evaluating and responding to the first die roll, the second player announces that they're going to try. And so on.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Fourth Problem: Too Many Rolls</span></b><br />
If they're doing them at all, the players are probably making self-assigned skill checks as a sort of "minesweeper" in your game. They're making Perception checks to avoid landmine traps or missing out on treasure and secrets. They're making Insight checks to avoid being tricked or set up. They're making Intelligence checks to avoid missing critical information. They're making Stealth checks to avoid being caught by sentries. The problem is, they're doing it preemptively.<br />
<br />
When the players get to self-assign minesweeper checks, they'll <i>always</i> self-assign minesweeper checks. There's no cost to doing so (see the second problem), the best PC always uses their best skill (see the first problem), and they almost can't fail (see the third problem). If you're not giving them hints when there might be a trap, they only fall in a trap when they fail to make minesweeper checks. All that adds up to a huge incentive to keep doing it. <br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Fifth Problem: Perverse Incentive</span></b><br />
What's more, odds are you've <i>rewarded</i> the players for doing it or <i>punished </i>them for failing to.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The hallway is 10' wide and 50' long with a thick wooden door at the end."<br />
"I check for traps. Perception 24."<br />
"You spot a pit trap with spikes five feet into the hallway."</blockquote>
You just <i>rewarded </i>self-assigned minesweeper checks.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The hallway is 10' wide and 50' long with a thick wooden door at the end."<br />
"I walk up to the door."<br />
"Five feet into the hallway, you fall into a pit trap with spikes. Make a Dexterity save, DC 20 to avoid falling and taking 21 points of piercing and bludgeoning damage."</blockquote>
You just <i>punished </i>the players for failing to self-assign a minesweeper check by hiding a landmine and blowing them up with it.<br />
<div>
<br />
Now, let's work on fixing the problem.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Fixing the Problem 1: Fixing Traps</span></b></div>
<div>
<br />
"But Jon!" You protest, "how do I use landmine traps if I don't conceal them from the players!?"<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-chr_7VC_BnDIUDLXa95o-lCRY0f9Zww69aJpefUY_jEwTMEfXpvHISHLFAlSguP96nCtpxNfCMiHNmdOPQj8MwdXhUrp6xDxb-ihMM7BmQJsgcB6E6PFeDx-zs1iDAtbSauG-cZDvM/s1600/just-just-dont.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-chr_7VC_BnDIUDLXa95o-lCRY0f9Zww69aJpefUY_jEwTMEfXpvHISHLFAlSguP96nCtpxNfCMiHNmdOPQj8MwdXhUrp6xDxb-ihMM7BmQJsgcB6E6PFeDx-zs1iDAtbSauG-cZDvM/s320/just-just-dont.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Landmine traps are the worst.</td></tr>
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<br />
Don't use landmine traps. I could go on a big rant about landmine traps in D&D, why we use them, where they came from, and why they suck... But I already did. <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2015/10/d-traps.html" target="_blank">Read it here if you're interested.</a> They're only <i>potentially </i>interesting in combat.<br />
<br />
"But <i>realistically</i> monsters <i>would </i>hide their traps!"<br />
<br />
Sure! Monsters lay landmine traps all the time, but they're boring and stupid unless there's also some opportunity to spot and avoid them. <i>Realistically</i>, monsters aren't <i>perfect</i>. There's always some clue. <br />
<br />
If you use landmine traps with no hints, a trap is just a random HP tax, and the only mistake the players made was not self-assigning enough Perception checks. Yuck. I guarantee if you use landmine traps with no hints, your players will become paranoid minesweepers, and your fun dungeon exploration will become a grinding slog full of mechanical crunch and little else.<br />
<br />
Real quick, here's how you do that hallway trap:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The hallway is 10' wide and 50' long with a thick wooden door at the end. You spot a few kobold tracks in the dirt and grime."</blockquote>
If the player doesn't use a minesweeper at all:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I walk up to the door."<br />
"As you walk down the hallway, something catches your eye. Roll Perception."<br />
"24."<br />
"You see lots of concealed kobold tracks on the floor. Through their obfuscation, you can see that the creatures' tracks veer sharply off to the right side of the hallway for no apparent reason, then stray back to the middle. What do you do?"</blockquote>
See? <i>This </i>is how to use Perception <i>well</i>. It's best to call for Perception checks only when success spots the danger in time and failure triggers the danger. <b>Only call for a Perception check when the player declares an action that takes them through the relevant area.</b> And by "through" I mean where the trap would be triggered, or <i>away from </i>the hidden treasure, or <i>past</i> the secret door (not getting treasure or not getting a tactical advantage - those are great failure stakes).<br />
<br />
What if the player fails their Perception check? That's when the landmine goes off. But you gave them a hint. They missed it. Then you gave them a Perception roll. They failed that. Now they get a saving throw. How much more generous can you be? <i>Right</i>?<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Fixing the Problem 2: Assume Competency, Build Trust</span></b><br />
<br />
What we're doing here is <i>assuming competency</i>. You build trust in your players when you show them that you <i>assume </i>that their characters are competent. That way they don't feel like the base assumption is that they're bumbling idiots who forget to tie their shoes unless a player says so. When you assume that the PC would <i>open their eyes and look around </i>before stepping on a trap, the player doesn't feel the need to call for their own Perception check once every five feet of hallway. The player knows you know that their character isn't a <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2016/03/5e-level-zero-rules.html" target="_blank">rube who's never been in a dangerous situation before</a>. The player can <i>trust you</i>.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Oops. 9."<br />
"You see some kobold tracks on the floor. By the time you realize the tracks veer sharply of to the right, it's too late, and you've already stepped on the false floor. Make a Dexterity save, DC 20."</blockquote>
What if the player becomes suspicious (f'ing kobolds) and takes a minesweeper action?<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Does the pattern of tracks hint at a trap or something?" (Alternately, "I follow the tracks in case there's a trap they're avoiding.")<br />
"They've made some attempt to conceal their tracks. Roll Investigation, DC 15." (or Survival DC 15, for the tracking version)<br />
"18. Success."<br />
"You deduce that there's a spiked pit trap five feet into the hallway. There's a safe path to the right, which you deduce from their tracks. Though they've tried to conceal it, they always avoid that one section of hallway. Once you know exactly where to look, you have no trouble spotting the plaster-covered wood of the trap door, prying it open, and seeing the nasty spikes 20 feet below." (The Survival version would just take them safely past the trap, without revealing it; but that's usually good enough)</blockquote>
And if the minesweeper action fails? None of that "nothing happens" crap.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"13. Failure."<br />
"Though they've tried to hide their tracks, you notice that they avoid one area of the hallway. There's something there. You prod at the suspicious section of floor, and there's a loud <i>crack, crash, crunch!</i> as you dislodge the trapdoor, dropping it 20 feet into a pit full of spikes. Whatever's behind that wood door up ahead heard the sound. What do you do?"</blockquote>
<i>I used a different failure condition than the obvious one in this example. <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2017/03/d-moves.html" target="_blank">See this post for more ideas on advanced failure stakes</a>. For the obvious "you fall in the trap" failure stakes, see the failed Perception check example, above.</i><br />
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If you run it right, where there is <i>no </i>trap, the players won't feel any need to make a minesweeper check. Where there is a trap, you drop a hint that they'll probably catch on to. If the players are smart, and they are, they'll investigate. In the unlikely event that they miss the hint, see above - they might fall for the trap. But here's the key: If they fall for the trap, it's not because of the failed die roll. It's because they missed your hint (and <i>then</i> failed a die roll). In other words, it's a <i>fun game</i>, not a <i>landmine</i>. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Fixing the Problem 3: Fixing Insight</span></b></div>
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This "assume competency, drop hints, make it a fun game" strategy applies to every kind of hidden information and hidden danger! Consider the shifty innkeeper situation. <br />
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Let's use a strategy of assumed competency to correct a player's misinterpretation: </div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Pleased to meet you, master Underhill. Rooms here are one gold piece per night each, double occupancy, and that includes all your meals. Ale, too. Wine and spirits are extra."<br />
"I think the innkeeper might be working for the Zhentarim and plans to betray us. I want to know if he recognizes us or knows we're Harpers."<br />
"Based on his innocent look and jovial greeting, the innkeeper doesn't recognize or suspect you. He's honest."<br />
"OK."</blockquote>
The player misinterpreted your description, seeing something sinister where you didn't intend it. No roll is needed. You can treat the player's request as an automatic success. <br />
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But if you want to, you can make them roll. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I think the innkeeper might be working for the Zhentarim and plans to betray us. I want to know if he recognizes us or knows we're Harpers."<br />
"OK, let's see how subtle you are in your suspicion. Make an Insight check, DC 15."<br />
"12. Shoot."<br />
"The innkeeper looks like he was going to say something else, but when he sees your steel-eyed look, he shuts up and won't make eye contact. You're pretty sure you have nothing to worry about from the innkeeper, but now the <i>innkeeper</i> is worried about <i>you</i>."</blockquote>
I'm applying stakes other than "you learn nothing" again. By being suspicious and then mishandling the situation (with the bad roll), the PC has added a little color to the situation. Maybe nothing will come of it, or maybe we'll improvise this into a real conflict later. A successful Insight roll represents a much less impulsive approach.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I got a 22."<br />
"You're real subtle, leading the innkeeper through some seemingly innocent small talk that would make a Zhentarim spy sweat, but he doesn't pick up on any of it, and seems to enjoy shooting the breeze with you. It's getting close to dinner time. What do you do?"</blockquote>
But that's about a player being paranoid, seeing a hint of treason where there was none intended. <br />
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<b>What if the innkeeper really <i>is</i> a threat? What if you really <i>did </i>drop a hint?</b><br />
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If there's no difference between your shady Zhentarim innkeeper and your upright innocent innkeeper, the players <i>have</i> to be paranoid -- <i>especially</i> if you once used a shady innkeeper to betray the PCs once and didn't telegraph it. One bad innkeeper, and they're going to suspect every innkeeper from then on, forever.<br />
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Always give them hints when they <i>should </i>be suspicious, and then make the challenge figuring out what they should be suspicious <i>of</i>. That's a tricky concept, but I can explain better it if you've ever heard of this series of movies called <i>Star Wars</i>. <br />
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One of the most famous "betrayal by a host" scenes in media history is the Cloud City sequence on Bespin in <i>Empire Strikes Back</i>. Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO flee to Cloud City to stay with Lando Calrissian, Han's old partner in crime. Lando has betrayed them, and they all get suspicious pretty quickly. If this were an RPG, what happened is that they got to Cloud City and met Lando, and the GM dropped some hints that Lando had an ulterior motive, but not <i>what </i>the motive <i>is</i>.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Leia: "Something's wrong here - no one has seen or knows <i>anything </i>about 3PO. He's been gone too long to have gotten lost! ...I don't <i>trust</i> Lando."<br />
Han: "I don't trust him either, but he <i>is</i> my friend." </blockquote>
Immediately after that bit of expository dialog, Chewbacca finds C-3PO in pieces, waiting to be recycled, brings the parts back to Han, and then they get <i>really</i> worried. The stakes get higher and the tension rises. Lando arrives and invites them for drinks; and unaware exactly what is going on, Leia, Han, and Chewy go with him and walk right into the trap.<br />
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That's an example of how it works: "We saw the clues, we got suspicious, but we didn't realize the nature of the trap." Cite that sequence to players who don't understand that alert, suspicious people can still be surprised. It's the difference between being <i>suspicious </i>and knowing <i>what to be suspicious of</i>.<br />
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Here's how you signal to them that they need to use Insight. If the innkeeper was shady, you'd make that clear with your dialog:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Pleased to meet you, master... Underhill you said? Is that right... Hmm... Anyway... Rooms here are one gold piece per night each, double occupancy, and that includes all your meals. Ale, too. Wine and spirits are extra. You, uh, look tired. You'll be wanting to get out of that armor. Can I take your things up to your rooms while my daughter gets you something to drink?"</blockquote>
See, there are enough clues in there to make the players suspicious, and even if they miss them, you can point back to them later. But let's assume your players pick up on your hints.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Good sir, we'll keep the armor on for a while. Why are you so eager to take our bags?"</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"'I... I just saw you were weary and was offering to save you the effort, sir... I meant no harm.' Go ahead and make a group Insight check. DC 12. If more than half of you fail, you'll be caught when the trap springs."</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
[Most of them succeed.]</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"You're sure the innkeeper has something planned, so you watch his eyes while you challenge him. They keep darting to the door - the only exit from the inn that you can see. He's waiting for reinforcements, and they're probably going to be here soon. What do you do?"</blockquote>
Now let's look under the hood of that example.<br />
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<b>GM Hints - Player Investigates - GM Frames a Check</b><br />
The GM calls for the Insight check <i>as soon as the player challenges the NPC or takes any action to investigate</i>. This is just another minesweeper check, but the player had a hint, so it's not just routine. But it's the GM who frames the check. Not the player!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Heart of the Problem: It's Just No Fun</span></b></div>
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The difference between "Hint - Investigation - Check" and routine minesweeper checks has a massive, practical impact on your game. <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2015/12/what-makes-rpgs-fun.html" target="_blank">Review the fun formula</a> for RPGs before we get into it.</div>
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If minesweeper checks are routine, then there's no tension. You make an Insight check with every single NPC you meet, or at least anyone who could legitimately pose a direct or indirect threat. Sometimes the NPC is a traitor. Sometimes they're honest. Sometimes you succeed at the minesweeper check. Sometimes you fail. None of the outcomes are caused by your decision as a player. All of the outcomes are caused by the GM and the dice.<br />
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So back to the fun formula.<br />
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<b style="line-height: 14.56px;"><span style="color: blue;">Story</span><span style="color: #38761d;"> -> Problems </span><span style="color: #7f6000;">-> Tension</span><span style="color: #38761d;"> </span><span style="color: #990000;">-> Excitement</span><span style="color: #38761d;"> </span><span style="color: red;">-> Fun</span></b></div>
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<b style="line-height: 14.56px;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></div>
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When you <i>don't</i> hint at a problem in the fiction, there's no story, no story problem, no tension, no excitement, no fun. It's just a routine check, and it has one of four outcomes (see the diagram below). Only one of those outcomes introduces a story problem -- the yellow circle. Everything else is either no problem or no problem <i>detected.<span style="color: red;">* </span></i><br />
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The "we failed a check to detect trouble" outcome (marked <i><span style="color: red;">*</span></i>) represents dramatic irony: The players know there <i>might </i>be trouble but the players have to pretend they don't know about it. With mature players, dramatic irony can create tension (excitement, fun), but because they self-assigned the check, they don't know for sure (OOC) if there <i>is </i>trouble. That weakens the dramatic irony tension, so it's not as fun.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjUcLRmtKdd1W2DWMli3X5INXa_1zV7YeUT4rMv07QqhoQsfXGwp8LCLXxXwlmMmf1hNMA6R1gRG95hmF_GZFSmffWQIyF1Vc9oKXwkhjtakfHJanf6PSSza1mLVficp_KfO9vY5iLBJ8/s1600/minesweeper.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="499" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjUcLRmtKdd1W2DWMli3X5INXa_1zV7YeUT4rMv07QqhoQsfXGwp8LCLXxXwlmMmf1hNMA6R1gRG95hmF_GZFSmffWQIyF1Vc9oKXwkhjtakfHJanf6PSSza1mLVficp_KfO9vY5iLBJ8/s320/minesweeper.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;">*</span> dramatic irony</td></tr>
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On the other hand, <b>when you drop a hint, you've created a story</b>: The innkeeper is acting fishy. When your fishy innkeeper could spell trouble for the PCs, it's a story problem. When that story problem's outcome is uncertain, there's tension. Tension is exciting. Getting excited over an RPG is fun.</div>
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<b>Failure Stakes</b><br />
The example Insight group check is framed with failure stakes. The success stakes are the implied inverse of the failure stakes. "Go ahead and make a group Insight check. DC 12. If more than half of you fail, you'll be caught when the trap springs." See how the player doesn't know exactly what the trap is or what the Insight check will reveal?<br />
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The players have to trust that a good roll will have a good outcome and a bad roll will have a bad outcome and they will be treated fairly by the GM. Trust is a big deal in player/GM relationships. If you don't have that, stop reading and go be more generous to your players until you fix the trust problem.<br />
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<b>No Self-Assigning Means no Inevitable Success Shuffle</b><br />
The GM framed it as a group check instead of a single check. If the player had self-assigned an Insight check and failed, without any failure stakes, <i>nothing happens</i>, right? Then what? You know what! Inevitable success shuffle. <br />
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There's a reason group checks exist. In fiction, if your friends all trust the innkeeper, they're going to think you're just being paranoid when you're like "Guys! He's trying to ambush us!" "No, man, he just sees we've been on the road all day. Why would an innkeeper be ambushing us? We've got magic great-swords and he's got a rolling pin. You need a drink, dude."<br />
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<b>Tactical Advantage</b><br />
The roll stakes set up a tactical advantage that's relevant in every kind of RPG from Pathfinder to Fate Accelerated. If the PCs are prepared for the reinforcements, they can choose where the conflict takes place. They can take the fight out in public, where the reinforcements are likely to hesitate; they can barricade themselves in; they can run away before the reinforcements arrive; they can lay an ambush; etc.<br />
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Failing the check starts the encounter. The players can't even object: They had their chance to spot the ambush, and they failed the roll. Their characters may have been suspicious, but suspicious is not the same as informed and prepared. Like Han and Leia, they knew <i>something</i> was up, but they didn't know what it was. They missed that telltale glance at the door.<br />
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By the way, if your innkeeper's trap is more distant, frame it this way:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Make a group Insight check, DC 12. Either way, you're suspicious. On a <i>failed </i>check, you are eating dinner in armor, weapons at the ready, when the attack comes. On a success, I'll tell you the nature of the attack <i>before</i> dinner."</blockquote>
See? I'm setting up an <i>Empire Strikes Back</i> situation where the players might know to be suspicious, but without getting more information, they will still fall for the trap. Let's assume the group check fails. Now we have tension coming from two directions: The hints the GM dropped about the innkeeper add tension, but now the dramatic irony of the players knowing they failed the group check. They know that there's an attack coming at dinnertime and they don't know its nature!<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"OK, so things go fine all afternoon. There's a fire and the innkeeper tells some good jokes, though you keep your armor on and guard up. Dinner is beef stew with bread and ale. You're all worried about an attack, so I assume you're not getting drunk. Where are you in the room while eating dinner?"</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I'm eating by the door, standing up, pacing. I pretend to drink the ale, but just nurse it slowly. Maybe pouring it out in a potted plant or something to look like I'm drinking more than I really am."</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I'm back by the hearth, away from the window. Acting casual. I have hot tea with my dinner, in case I need to throw it in someone's face."</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I'm eating at the table in the middle where I can see anyone approaching through the window. Is that right?"</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Right. You've got a good view, but anyone approaching can see you, too."</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"That's fine. I try to act casual." </blockquote>
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"I'm eating at the bar, on my third helping of stew, fourth helping of ale."</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Stay sharp Ragnar!"</blockquote>
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"Sure, sure, I can handle my ale! (Nope! My Flaw is I like to drink to excess. So I do!)"</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Cool. Take Inspiration for acting out your flaw."</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Sweet."</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"OK, everyone make a DC 20 Con save vs poison or fall unconscious. Ragnar, you have Disadvantage on the check."</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Aw $%i#!"</blockquote>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Other Self-Assigned Rolls</span></b></div>
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Though information checks like Perception and Insight are the most common rolls players self-assign, there are other situations players self-assign rolls. This article is already pretty long, but I would be remiss if I didn't at least touch on them.</div>
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Sometimes they roll <b>initiative</b> before the GM calls for it, assuming the GM is going to use the tactical combat system to resolve a fight (hint: you don't have to use the combat system for every fight). That's easy to deal with. Just say "hold your horses!"</div>
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Sometimes they self-assign <b>Stealth</b> checks to hide, which can actually be helpful in a D&D or Pathfinder combat if they're playing characters who need to hide in combat a lot. Outside of combat, and outside those RPGs, make the player back up and then frame the check before they roll. Stealth failure stakes are some of the most fun situations in any RPG.<br />
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Sometimes <b>players make assumptions </b>about how you want to handle something and just throw some dice, thinking they're saving you time. They'll walk up to a locked door and make a Dexterity (Thieves' Tools) check or leap over a chasm and roll Athletics before you call for the roll. These players are often over-eager. Maybe they've got a little bit of the rules lawyer in them. Ask them "don't you want to know what the DC and stakes for failing that check are before you tell me your roll?"</div>
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You see self-assigning all the time with <b>social skills</b>. it's a special case of the "players make assumptions" situation, above. The PC will walk up to an NPC, tell a lie, and then the player will announce "22 Deception!" or whatever system equivalent your game uses. In my experience, this impertinence causes PCs <i>way</i> more trouble than it's worth, because in social scenes, GMs hate being interrupted by system unless they're the one doing the interruption. And GMs are happy to push the situation and call for yet another check. Once the Rogue with +10 Deception has committed to a bluff, the NPC will turn to the +0 Deception Fighter and say "<i>the guard looks at Ragnar and says, 'are you here to deliver something, too?' Your reaction might give you away. Give me Deception, DC 10 or else the guard gets suspicious</i>." I think GMs generally have good instincts to push back on players who thrust their stats into conversational scenes before they're called on.</div>
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<b>Exception: Player Character Special Abilities</b></div>
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There's one situation where the player knows more about the framing of a die roll than the GM does, and that's exceptions to the rules caused by player character special abilities. PC special abilities often frame the stakes of the die rolls they require very specifically, to limit how broadly they can be used. Because the die roll is already framed up, the player can <i>usually</i> use the ability and throw the dice without the GM prompting them without causing any trouble. The GM isn't really free to frame up the die roll in many cases. It doesn't really matter, then, if the GM called for the roll or not - the system says the roll is required, the system says what to roll, and the system says the stakes are. <br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Player Agency</span></b></div>
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The last thing I want to talk about is the concern some readers might have that denying players the opportunity to self-assign die rolls takes away their player agency.</div>
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Player agency is the ability of the players to control the shared imagined space of the game. When we deny players the ability to have their characters take an action or have that action be meaningful, we deny their agency. </div>
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Putting a stop to self-assigned checks does not deny the characters' actions, and it only makes their actions <i>more</i> meaningful by giving them more opportunities to make meaningful decisions. </div>
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When a player becomes suspicious about a 5' square of dungeon tile and rolls a Perception check, there is no action - just system access. The action would have been "I lean over and look closely at the tile, prodding and prying at it with the tip of my dagger. I'm worried that it's a pressure plate." The GM isn't stopping the player from taking that action. The GM is simply insisting on making the system decisions related to that action. </div>
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Further, because a lot of self-assigned checks come up around hidden information, a GM who follows my advice and gives a lot of hints is giving the players <i>more </i>agency by pointing out opportunities where their actions can make a big difference in the events of the game world. Without hints, hidden information is more likely to be like a landmine (whether it's a treasonous NPC or a hidden trap). It's almost entirely out of the players' control other than choosing to sweep for mines or not with no reason other than an abundance of caution. That's not a lot of player agency.</div>
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Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-92072326458042538982017-09-08T13:58:00.001-04:002017-09-08T13:58:57.320-04:00Fate Magic<a href="https://fate-srd.com/" target="_blank">Fate </a>is a <a href="https://www.evilhat.com/home/fate-core/" target="_blank">fantastic game</a>. I don't want to go into all the things that make it great right now, because if you came here looking for a good, balanced, fair, high quality magic system for Fate, you probably already like the game. It's biggest flaw is that you have to custom-build a magic system for each campaign you want to run. Well today, I'm going to solve that for you.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Two-Type Magic System</span></b><br />
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This is a simple magic system for Fate that works for both Core and Accelerated games. It's called Two-Type Magic because there are two types of magic in the system, differentiated by how "unrealistic" they are. It's inspired by Mage: the Ascension's distinction between Coincidental and Vulgar Magick, which was ideal because when I created it, I did so to replicate an old World of Darkness style game. But it works for everything from twenty sided fantasy to starfaring psionics. I've spent most of a year playtesting it, and I think it works real darn well.<br />
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The basic nature of the system is that anyone with the appropriate <a href="https://fate-srd.com/fate-core/aspects-fate-points" target="_blank">Aspect </a>can use magic that fits with that Aspect. That is, in an urban horror game, "Vampire with a soft heart" gives you the ability to use the magic powers vampires have (turn into mist, disappear from mortal eyes, turn into a bat, control minds, etc.). In a twenty sided fantasy game, "Gnomish sorcerer with an incendiary personality" gives you the ability to use D&D-style "arcane magic" (fireball, phantasmal force, fly, dispel magic), and in a space opera game, "Crafty betazoid smuggler" would give your trekking n'er-do-well the ability to use empathic and telepathic powers. <br />
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"Churlish dwarven fighters" and "Vengeful vampire hunters" would be much more limited. They could still do <i>some</i> magic, though. If the dwarf fighter has a "Sentient magic axe of my ancestors," the dwarf might be able to divine information about drwavish ruins, have the axe fly through the air as if possessed, and summon ghosts of the dwarf's ancestors. Similarly, the vampire hunter's "True Faith" aspect might be able to repel supernatural creatures by brandishing a cross, ward a room against vampires with garlic, and identify supernatural creatures disguised as regular people. In short, as long as you can justify it with an aspect, you can do magic.<br />
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The system is fair because magic typically doesn't work too differently from regular skills and approaches. Only rarely can you use magic that truly transcends human capabilities. So the other PCs who don't have magic powers won't feel like they missed out by not having magic. <br />
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Here's how it works. Whenever you use magic (however your setting defines it), you are either using Type A magic or Type B magic.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Type A Magic</b></span><br />
<br />
Any time you want to do magic that a character in the setting could achieve with regular skills and tools, the magic uses the <b>exact same skills</b>. It also uses the <b>same amount of time</b>. And finally, it uses <b>magical tools of equivalent cost and complexity to the mundane ones</b>. <br />
<br />
That is, using a "Knock" spell to quietly pick a lock would call for a Sneaky / Burglary Overcome roll. It would still take about a minute, and it would require a "material focus" that's as easy to get hold of as lockpicks are, such as a silver key or a live mouse. <br />
<br />
If the die roll is the same, the skill/approach is the same, it takes the same amoung of time, and the tools are equivalent, <i>why would you use magic</i>? Three reasons: <br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>The first is for characterization: Your character is a "Gnomish sorcerer with an incendiary personality" of course. Sorcerers don't kneel down and pick locks. They cast spells! </li>
<li>The second is for the cool factor. You can use a Forceful threat or an Intimidation check to make some threats and chase off a neonate vampire who's been tailing you half the night. Or you can raise your crucifix and show your True Faith. Sure, it's the same mechanic, but it's way cooler! </li>
<li>Third, if magic is secret or rare in the setting, it can go undetected by the uninformed. They won't let your character bring a revolver into the courthouse, but a blasting rod like Harry Dresden uses just looks like a carved, ornamental length of wood, not even long enough to be useful as a truncheon.</li>
</ol>
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Type B Magic</span></b><br />
<br />
Type B magic is any magic not covered by Type A. That is, if you want to do something that normal skills can do, using equivalent tools, but much faster, it's Type B. If you want to do something physically impossible in the setting, like teleport from Manhattan to Brooklyn in an instant, it's Type B. <br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Any time you want to work magic that's not possible to do with mundane skills and tools in the setting, you're doing Type B magic. Serious stuff. Every use of Type B magic requires you to spend a Fate point and an action (in <a href="https://fate-srd.com/fate-core/conflicts" target="_blank">an exchange during a Conflict</a>) just to try it. That Fate point confers no bonuses. The point is expended whether the magic succeeds or fails, and often (but not always) you still have to attempt a roll. <br />
<br />
One Fate point is actually a pretty low cost. That's because it's the bare minimum. The GM can also call for a die roll, and set the difficulty of that roll as high as they want. <br />
<br />
For instance, if you want to cast a spell that incinerates a vampire, and you don't have a magical molotov cocktail, that's pretty simple. You'll have to spend a Fate point and make a Flashy / Shoot Attack roll opposed by the vampire's Quick / Agility Defend roll. If you want to cast a spell that cures a vampire of vampirism, in a setting where that is unheard of, that's more intense. The GM might make you spend a Fate point and make a Legendary (+8) or harder Overcome roll with Lore. As with everything in Fate, this is negotiated. The GM might say "it's impossible to cure a vampire of their curse." Or they might make it easier, taking the story in a weird direction with the PC as a hated/beloved miracle worker. Or they might make the spell temporary, or require rare and specific components to keep the person from reverting back to vampirism. The point is, just because you can spend a Fate point and attempt Type B Magic doesn't mean you can do <i>literally anything</i> - unless that's part of the setting premise (<i>ahem, Mage: the Ascension, ahem</i>).<br />
<br />
One action in a Conflict is the minimum time Type B magic takes. Type B Magic always requires an action in a Conflict unless the character has a stunt for that specific use. Stunts can allow a specific use of Type B magic without an action in a specific circumstance, and should be used to model supernatural powers, such as werewolf transformation (you may spend a Fate point to turn into a deadly wolf-man hybrid <i>crinos</i> monster and gain huge Weapon 2 claws and fangs before taking your action in any Conflict), or vampires escaping in mist form (you may spend a Fate point to turn into mist and shadows just before you Concede in any conflict, preventing your foes from following you after you escape), or alien weirdness (when you make eye contact with someone, you may use a Fate point to instantly learn one of their Aspects).<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Considerations for the Action Economy</b></span><br />
<br />
Fate's action economy in Conflicts is pretty well balanced. Type B magic has a subtle implication that you need to consider: By spending Fate points and using Type B Magic, a player can effectively take two or more actions on their turn in a conflict. That's because Type B magic allows you to do something better or faster than skills and technology in the setting allow, and might have widespread effects. As the GM, you should counter this by engaging the Fate point economy to help you or by splitting the spell apart. <br />
<br />
For instance, a spell that gives you a glowing shield made of a whirlwind of flames (like the D&D spell <a href="https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Fire%20Shield#content" target="_blank">Fire Shield</a>) might give you Armor 2 against cold magic and also attack everyone standing close to you when you cast it. Donning armor attacking all the enemies in a zone is more than one action. You should lean toward allowing these kinds of actions, but make them expensive. Make the fire shield divide shifts on its Flashy / Fight attack among the enemies around you, and let them each oppose those shifts individually, forcing the gnomish sorcerer to spend even more Fate points on the spell. That'll keep the gnome from upending the action economy, and it'll make them desperate to get a compel! Alternately, the GM might declare that each part of the spell is a separate spell. Building the anti-cold wall of flames is one Type B spell, then using it to attack people around you is a Type A spell or just a standard Attack action (after all, if you're on fire, you can certainly burn people nearby).<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Healing: The Delicate Stress/Consequences System</span></b><br />
<br />
The Fate stress/consequence system is finely honed to offer tiers of threat to characters. It's the core of the game in many ways. Changing it with a magic system would be a bad idea. While they have clear stress boxes, PCs are mostly safe from consequences unless an opponent gets a really high roll. While their stress is full, they're at risk for consequences, but not really at much risk of being Taken Out. As their consequences fill, the chance of taking an Extreme (permanent) consequence grows. Eventually the risk is that they'll be forever Taken Out. That system is great for building tension. Don't mess with it!<br />
<br />
Using an action to heal damage in a conflict not only reduces the tension caused by this carefully balanced system, it slows the game down because it doesn't move the scene toward a resolution for the PCs (win or lose). So we've got to restrict healing magic, even with Type B magic.<br />
<br />
As you might have guessed, using Type A magic to heal other characters is no different than using an Overcome roll to rename a consequence to begin the healing process. That's not problematic at all. It rarely happens in a conflict, and it's almost perfunctory (though it often highlights how tough it is to make a high difficulty Overcome roll after a major Conflict when everyone's tapped out of Fate points!). <br />
<br />
Type B magic is another matter. Closing wounds is the sort of impossible thing that Type B magic is <i>supposed to </i>allow, but the consequence system in Fate shouldn't be undercut by a single Fate point. <br />
<br />
Instead, here's what you can do: Type B magic can <b>substitute a consequence for another consequence of the same level</b>, even if they're totally unrelated. For instance, "Moderate: Stabbed in the Leg" can be substituted for "Moderate: Very Hangry" (for instance in the <a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Healing" target="_blank">Wheel of Time setting</a> where that's how healing works). If an opponent has a free invoke on that consequence, the spell would require an Overcome roll against the opponent, and it would take away that free invoke.<br />
<br />
In addition, Type B magic can <b>clear a single stress box</b>. There are already stunts that allow the exchange of a Fate point for clearing a stress box, so this doesn't break the stress/consequence system <i>too </i>much. <b>I would not recommend players use Type B magic for this, though: Using an action in a conflict and a Fate point to remedy a single stress box is a waste of your action.</b> It's one step forward and two steps back. Still, it fits that D&D style of tactical teamwork where one character "tanks" for the party and gets healing to keep it up, while the rest focus on offense and support. If you're not trying to run that style of game, though, feel free to take this option off the table.<br />
<br />
Unless you want to modify Two Type Magic, a single use of Type B magic cannot outright remove consequences or clear more than one stress box at a time.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Fantasy Option: Rote or Vance-ish Casting</span></b><br />
<br />
If you want your magic to model D&D, you're mostly out of luck. Fate doesn't have character levels or a spell list, so gaining "spell slots" and "spell levels" as you grow in power has to be modeled with another custom system that you and your players will have to develop. However, we can borrow mechanics from <a href="http://www.dungeonworldsrd.com/classes/wizard/#Cast_a_Spell_Int" target="_blank">Dungeon World</a> and <a href="https://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?53323-Favorite-Mage-the-Ascension-rotes" target="_blank">Mage: the Ascension</a> to create a magic system similar to D&D.<br />
<br />
Instead of being able to do <i>literally anything</i>, your magic is limited to spells or rotes. Choose four spells - magic abilities your character has. Feel free to choose D&D spells if you want. Pop over to the <a href="http://www.5esrd.com/" target="_blank">D&D SRD</a> and choose a few or make some up, then model them with Fate approaches or skills. Write down what they do, what roll they require, and whether they require a Fate point. Type A magic spells are your low level spells or cantrips - ones you probably won't run out of. Type B spells that require Fate points are your higher level spells. The Fate points are the "spell slots" for your Type B magic. As you gain levels, you might gain more spells, and each <a href="https://fate-srd.com/fate-core/advancement-change#major-milestones" target="_blank">Major Milestone</a> gives you another Fate point / spell slot.<br />
<br />
In addition, if you fail a roll when attempting to cast a spell, the GM can offer you a choice: The spell fails... or the spell succeeds, but you forget it until you have 8 hours of uninterrupted rest. <br />
<br />
Any magic you want to perform outside of the rotes/spells you know is either not allowed, or else requires you to spend at least ten minutes casting a <a href="http://www.dungeonworldsrd.com/classes/wizard/#Ritual" target="_blank">ritual spell</a>, and the GM will tell you what is required to make the magic work.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Playtest Results</span></b><br />
<br />
Having used this system for about a year, I've found it works smoothly. Everyone remembers how it works. There's really just the one line you draw between Type A and Type B magic and a little extra for the GM to be mindful of (i.e. protecting the action economy and the stress/consequences system) My players got it pretty quickly, and they've been good about sticking to what their characters can <i>actually</i> do. <br />
<br />
For instance, we've had a player leave the game, and that player had the ability to do Earth magic. It was established early that the other characters didn't have that sort of magic, and so whenever the PCs need to tunnel into a basement or search under the earth, they regret that their former ally isn't around instead of trying to be cheesy and use magic they didn't have before. <br />
<br />
The occasional powerful Type B spell has turned the tide of a scenario, but occasional high rolls fueled with Fate points on Contacts and Lore and Provoke have done so as well. And all the characters have some kind of magic, and even though the breadth of their magic varies considerably, they haven't complained of any kind of power disparity because of it.Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-20568507062298760832017-07-11T12:39:00.001-04:002017-07-11T12:39:44.660-04:00Shopping and HagglingBuying off the rack goods is an artifact of the industrial and post-industrial era. In medieval and renaissance society, even when a shop kept a stock of goods, there was rarely a "sticker price." Haggling was the norm.<br />
<br />
Haggling is also an interesting opportunity for roleplay, but it takes a long time, and can be frustrating for GMs -- and players -- who aren't any good at haggling. On the other hand, using a simple die roll for haggling opens up problems of system mastery and waives the opportunity for roleplay. <br />
<br />
Haggling can be used to show a character's reputation in town: In Casablanca, a lace seller is trying to rip off foreign newcomer Ilsa, who is clearly jaded to this kind of chicanery. Then Rick arrives, at which point, he drops the price to less than half and keeps dropping it as he discovers that Rick cares for her. It highlights the relationship between Casablanca and newcomers (profiting at their expense); Casablanca and Rick (Rick's reputation is golden); Rick and Ilsa (fraught, at that moment); and Ilsa and foreign cities (she's no bumpkin). <br />
<br />
So we need a system that's quick, not overly-detailed, and has story inputs and outputs. And because there are several great fantasy RPGs, it should be mostly system neutral. Finally, it should be something that doesn't require changing any existing rules. In this sort of situation, I like to very carefully frame a simple skill check, and then use it over and over.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">A Shopping Rule</span></b><br />
<br />
If your system uses modifiers or varying difficulties, set the difficulty based on the character's reputation in town and the experience and exclusivity of the shopkeeper. <br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>A reputation of "desperate" or "despised"; or an exclusive, appointments-only shopkeeper should make the negotiation very hard.</li>
<li>A reputation of "distrusted" or "newcomer"; or a high-end, veteran, or bespoke shopkeeper should make it hard. </li>
<li>A reputation of "familiar" and "neutral"; or a moderately experienced merchant would be moderate difficulty. </li>
<li>A reputation of "well-liked" or "hero"; or a naive yokel would make it easy. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<b>What skill do you roll?</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Old school D&D (2e and before, or most OSR stuff): Charisma</li>
<li>Pathfinder, most d20 spin-offs, or 3e: Diplomacy</li>
<li>D&D 4e or 5e: Persuasion</li>
<li>13th Age: An appropriate background</li>
<li>Dungeon World: +Cha (and there are no difficulty modifiers in Dungeon World)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
Note that you can use this haggling rule any time the PCs go shopping, even if they don't intend to haggle, because it generate some good story outcomes.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Shopping Stakes Frame</span></b><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<b><span style="color: blue;">Name the seller(s) or buyer(s) and make the die roll. On a success, let the player choose two. On a failure, let the player choose one.</span></b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: blue;">You get an extra 10% discount/profit or they throw in something (of the DM's choice) for free.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue;">The interaction doesn't attract attention.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue;">The process doesn't take a lot of time.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Guidance for GMs</b></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The options above follow the old corporate axiom: "Good, fast, or cheap: Pick one. If you're lucky, pick two." That also makes it really easy to remember at the table. Most people can remember the good/fast/cheap thing in a pinch.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The 10% discount is not going to break your game. You'll notice that no matter how the PC rolls, they can <i>choose </i>to get a 10% discount. Choosing the 10% discount is guaranteed to lead to <i>some </i>kind of plot outcome.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
The PCs might decide it's more fun to get a random item thrown in for free instead of a simple 10% discount. This gives you an opportunity! You have three choices: First, you can just give them something generally useful, to reward them for picking this option. Second, you can give them something that <i>you</i> know will be very useful to them soon, even though <i>they</i> don't know that (<i>"I got the alchemist to throw in this vial of antitoxin for free when I bought all these healing potions. I hope we don't wind up needing it..."</i>). Third, you can give them something that advances the story or starts a new story - stolen goods, a mysterious trinket (from the table in the 5e PHB, <a href="http://zacthelinguist.github.io/trinkets/" target="_blank">from a web trinket generator</a>, or of your own invention), or an item that communicates story information (<i>"This other mysterious traveler was in here just two days ago and sold me this silver goblet, but you can have it for being such a good customer." "Wait, was she an elf, about this tall, with a scar on his cheek?" "Yeah, stranger, do you know her?"</i>).</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If the interaction attracts attention, make sure to have this come up later. This means the interaction is notable, and makes a good story. It's not every day a mysterious elf with a longbow comes into the village and buys one of the shepherd's mastiffs. Maybe the PC had to impress the village wise woman to get her to sell them some healing potions. If the PCs have enemies (and they really should!), their enemies can track their movements by following a trail of stories told by the common folk. Also, if the PCs are trying to keep a low profile, attracting attention is <i>obviously</i> bad. The attention attracted could also come from the seller or buyer regretting the deal. Did the PCs buy the farmer's last sausages, and now they wish they hadn't sold them? Did the PCs cajole the blacksmith into selling them chain mail too cheaply? Did the PCs buy a diamond the jeweler had reserved for another client, and now they want it back? The PCs' reputation might suffer, or their <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2015/02/with-friends-like-these.html" target="_blank">allies</a> could start to get antsy.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If the process takes a lot of time, the PC might miss important details in town that could cause them trouble later. It could also allow enemies to catch up, or coming dangers to get closer. <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2015/08/the-best-solution-to-players-resting.html" target="_blank">The most popular fantasy RPGs -- 13th Age, Pathfinder, and D&D -- <i>rely</i> on time pressure</a>, so wasting a few hours shopping could cost the PCs, if they're up against the clock.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Don't Roll for Every Purchase</span></b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Save yourself the aggravation and only call for <i>at most</i> one roll, per PC, per session. This system generates story outcomes with every roll, so it starts to get overwhelming if you have a lot of story outcomes generated one after the other. If the players don't split the party, you can take care of it all with one or two shopping rolls. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That is, if the PCs stop into Neverwinter and the wizard buys rubies, an arcane focus, fine robes, and ten days of rations, don't roll at each of the jeweler, the tailor, and the outfitter's shops - just roll once for the whole trip. If the wizard gets a discount, apply it to all the items. If they choose a freebie, you can give them one or more - your choice. If they attract attention, at least one of their interactions draws attention, or something else they do while shopping is what draws attention. If they take a long time, it's at least one of the purchases, and probably most of them, that cause the delay.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Don't use the Shopping Roll for Cons and Robbery</b></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Some games (e.g. D&D, Pathfinder) have skills like Bluff, Deception, and Intimidation. Using these skills is not bargaining. It's cheating, conning, or robbing. Using Deception or Intimidation to get a good price is a different system, with different outcomes (such as being wanted for a crime!).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Why should I use this?</span></b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The shopping roll achieves a lot of great things for you:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>It takes care of the players' desire to haggle to get a discount, for the mechanical or procedural benefit of saving money.</li>
<li>It takes care of the players' desire to haggle for the story benefit of interacting with shopkeepers. No matter how it goes, it forces the table to add some details to the interaction.</li>
<li>It generates story outcomes that you can turn into story hooks, to drive the plot forward. It's the PCs' actions that generate the momentum, and players like that sense of agency: Things happen in the world because of them (for better or worse).</li>
<li>It's great for pacing. It happens right when the pace tends to slow down (coming back to town, doing some shopping), so you can use the die roll outcome to accelerate out of the usually-slow-paced shopping session.</li>
<li>It does all this <i>quickly </i>so you can get back to the action.</li>
</ol>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-66923594970286381482017-07-07T10:50:00.004-04:002017-07-07T13:36:01.362-04:00Magic Item ShopsWhere did the idea of "magic item shops" come from? That's the question we're going to explore today on Run a Game. The answer is pretty simple: Japan. But it has a convoluted history worth exploring!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiie3_s6WVuGhR49knTFrztFVHeBg_IoEwP2kBSG7AHWi5Kq_iITf2OS0PeFB2Y7DOJeC7lZ5yuCgywZiJmqzCJvFxxNHdPTf0e14QpYVRKbfuu2G0tSt443Ve8c9qfIW93_z8LhyGd7Hk/s1600/Copy+of+bottle-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiie3_s6WVuGhR49knTFrztFVHeBg_IoEwP2kBSG7AHWi5Kq_iITf2OS0PeFB2Y7DOJeC7lZ5yuCgywZiJmqzCJvFxxNHdPTf0e14QpYVRKbfuu2G0tSt443Ve8c9qfIW93_z8LhyGd7Hk/s1600/Copy+of+bottle-1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Art by Zeke Nelsons, used with permission</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In the early editions of D&D, the idea of buying and selling magic items was absurd. Magic items were wonderful things you discovered in the dungeon that either made your Fighter more powerful or did cool, odd things. <br />
<br />
2nd Edition let spellcasters <i>craft </i>magic items, but it didn't let you <i>buy </i>them. Crafting magic items wasn't a formulaic system like Pathfinder or even the fairly simple "spend some gold and cast a ritual" method of 4e. You had to go on quests, designed by the DM, to get the required components to make them.<br />
<br />
Random magic item tables made their discovery a surprise to everyone at the table, and early edition D&D fighters (original, 1e, BECMI) did not specialize in any particular weapon or weapon type like they came to do in the post-millennial editions. (With the exception of BECMI weapon mastery, but you didn't choose a weapon to master until after you had found a magic weapon, typically.)<br />
<br />
2nd Edition came out in 1989, and it was the last edition before we started seeing magic item shops. What happened between 1989 and 2000, when 3rd edition came out and put price tags on every magic item?<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Magic Items in Shops in JRPGs</span></b><br />
<br />
To find the answer, we need to look at the history of another, parallel, emergence of magic item shops: JRPGs (Japanese RPG video games). <br />
<br />
JRPGs like Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior have shops where you could buy progressively better weapons and armor. In the mid-80s, the weapons and armor you could buy from the shops in these games were not magical - they would start off shoddy, like "wooden" or "copper" or "iron" and then advance to special materials like "elven" or "silver" or "golden" or "mithral." The magic weapons and armor like a fire sword were only found in treasure chests in dungeons. <br />
<br />
These early JRPGs were inspired by D&D, which was coming over from the US. Naturally, mundane items could be bought in town, and magic items could be found in dungeons. It made sense.<br />
<br />
But something happened in the "black box" that is Japan. Since I can't read Japanese, I can't go read old Japanese RPGs from the early 90s, but between Final Fantasy / Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy II (US numbering) / Dragon Warrior IV, the idea of selling magic items in shops became acceptable in Japanese fantasy RPGs. It's possible the evolution happened within the video games themselves, or perhaps a Japanese tabletop RPG introduced the idea first. Regardless, <i>after</i> the release of 2nd edition D&D, we experienced a full decade of video games based on D&D that incorporated buying and selling magic items into their idiom. <br />
<br />
The 1990s-era JRPGs evolved more and more magic items for sale, starting with a few, and evolving rapidly. By Final Fantasy IX (2000, same year as D&D 3rd edition's release), you could go to a store in a town and buy swords with ice and fire spirits bound to them, angels inside them, and swords inscribed with magic runes. Not to mention any number of magic rods, bangles, flutes, etc.<br />
<br />
From "golden swords" to "diamond swords," the items for sale got more and more fantastical from the mid-80s through the mid-90s. Eventually there were magic items in shops, and then there were entire magic item shops.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Ultima Online (1997) and Everquest (1999), released just before and during the development of 3rd edition D&D, also had magic item shops. (They also had magic item <i>creation</i>, like 2nd edition AD&D, but much simpler.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Magic Item Shops in Tabletop RPGs</span></b><br />
<br />
The idea of magic item shops is so unique to video games that it only ever crops up in fantasy fiction as a tropey, <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LampshadeHanging" target="_blank">lampshaded</a> in-joke. <br />
<br />
Magic item shops are not part of most official D&D settings -- even the post-3e settings. In 2nd edition, in the Forgotten Realms, there was one magic shop -- in Hilsfar (thanks to <a href="http://pocgamer.com/" target="_blank">POCGamer</a> for pointing this out!). The magic-flush Eberron setting of 3rd edition, for another, doesn't have magic item shops so much as Dragonmarked Houses (essentially dungeonpunk megacorporations) that produce and sell them mostly to high-class clientele (e.g. other Dragonmarked Houses, nobles, etc.). A growing middle class in cities like Sharn can get hold of minor trinkets - healing potions, feather fall tokens, flying skiffs, and (for the richest) elemental-powered ships. But these are arranged through appointment with an artificer of the appropriate dragonmarked house. There aren't flying skiff dealerships you can walk into with a down payment and walk out of with a slick, new model-year air-skiff. In other words, the idea of a store you can walk into and buy magic items off the rack doesn't even exist in the most magic-rich D&D campaign setting. <br />
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Magic item shops <i>are </i>in Pathfinder (mentioned in both the Settlement rules and Magic Item rules), and though they <i>aren't</i> typically found in Pathfinder's Golarion campaign setting, settlements often have magic items for sale, somehow. It seems that the idea is so odious that it gets hand-waved. <br />
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In 4th Edition D&D, where magic item buying and selling peaked, you took a ritual to make magic items, so the party Wizard was typically the party's magic item shop. You could also take a ritual to break magic items down into residuum, which was just "store credit" for the party wizard's ritual. In a way, this harks back to 2nd edition, where spellcasters could make magic items, only with gold piece price tags and without the cool quests.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Divergence</span></b><br />
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Between the late 90s and the 'teens, D&D and JRPGs diverged considerably. Final Fantasy now has motorcycles and gun-blades and rock 'n roll music. JRPGs have largely left D&D behind in the realm of pseudo-European pseudo-medieval fantasy while they've gone off in different creative directions.<br />
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5th edition takes us back to the style of 2nd edition. Gone is the "video gamey" nature of 3rd and 4th edition (and Pathfinder). Though there are optional rules for magic item price tags, I don't think most DMs use them.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Is D&D its own genre?</span></b><br />
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It's clear that magic item shops aren't core to D&D's idiom, which is evidence of the idea that D&D is its own fantasy sub-genre. Briefly, JRPGs tried to emulate D&D's style, but they diverged. D&D spent two editions and a decade and a half following JRPGs before breaking off and returning to its roots.<br />
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Personally, I've always felt D&D carries its own subgenre of fantasy. Trying to run other kinds of fantasy in D&D can be difficult - the odd monsters, the way magic works, the idea of levels, party dynamics, the commonality of magic items (even in relatively stingy 5e)... <br />
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All that goes to support the idea that D&D is not just an RPG to tell sword and sorcery fantasy stories in, but specific <i>kinds </i>of sword and sorcery stories where there are lots of bizarre monsters to fight in remote, isolated dungeon-like locations; where there is treasure in the form of magic weapons, armor, and wondrous items; where there are spell scrolls and potions; where there are Rogues and Paladins and Clerics. It grew out of tabletop wargames, and the <i>roleplaying </i>part slowly grew on top of the <i>game</i> part, giving us the feel of players moving game pieces, trying to accrue more powerful items and abilities to take on still stronger and more bizarre monsters and get still more powerful and wondrous items and abilities. Even if you don't play D&D that way, it's baked into D&D's system and idiom. No matter how you try to play D&D, you <i>can't help </i>fighting bizarre monsters and accruing powers and magic items that allow you to fight tougher and weirder monsters that reward you with more and better powers and more and better magic items.<br />
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Personally, I revel in it when I run or play D&D. To me, <i>Out of the Abyss</i> -- the most "D&D" of the published 5e modules to date -- is the ultimate expression of the subgenre. It's especially egoistic. The first half of the module is all <i>about </i>gaining power and experience (in order to escape the underdark). It's full of dungeons and bizarre monsters. You find odd items. Magic is everywhere. It's <i>weird </i>often to the point of being playfully silly. It's <i>fantastic</i>.Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-1334873095441144882017-06-05T11:42:00.000-04:002018-11-05T08:46:49.441-05:00Called Shots in D&D Dungeons and Dragons uses hit points to represent something <i>other than </i>body integrity. <br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Hit points represent a combination of physical and mental durability, the will to live, and luck. Creatures with more hit points are more difficult to kill."</blockquote>
<i>From http://www.5esrd.com/gamemastering/combat/#Hit_Points </i><br />
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Similarly, damage isn't a measure of how much physical trauma a person suffers or how much kinetic force their body experiences. <br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<b>Describing the Effects of Damage</b><br />
"Dungeon Masters describe hit point loss in different ways. When your current hit point total is half or more of your hit point maximum, you typically show no signs of injury. When you drop below half your hit point maximum, you show signs of wear, such as cuts and bruises. An attack that reduces you to 0 hit points strikes you directly, leaving a bleeding injury or other trauma, or it simply knocks you unconscious."</blockquote>
<i>From "D&D Basic Rules for Players," p. 75</i><br />
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In other words, we have good guidance on how to describe damage and health. Characters with 50% or more of their hit points left "typically show no signs of injury" because their lost hit points represent "durability" and "luck" and other ephemeral, heroic things. Characters with 49% or fewer hit points show cuts and bruises, but not major traumatic injury. Their physical durability has been worn down, but not exhausted. The creature is not struck directly until it is reduced to 0 hit points.<br />
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Now, naturally, as a DM, you can play fast and loose with this. These are just tips - advice you can ignore if it suits you. Some monsters are more... ablative... than others. A black pudding can have bits hacked off of it without really lessening its threat. A zombie can take an arrow through the heart, even if it still has 10hp left. But for most living creatures, you should follow the guidelines in the rules.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">What are the called shot rules in 5th Edition D&D?</span></b><br />
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<i>Short answer: There are no official called shot rules in 5e</i>.<i> There are some class abilities that work like called shots, though.</i><br />
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If the players want game effects from their called shots, they should play a Battle Master Fighter (Trip Attack, Disarming Attack, Pushing Attack, and Distracting Strike make sense as called shots) or a Rogue (Sneak Attack is a called shot to a vital area that deals more damage and often kills enemies). They can take the Martial Adept feat to gain Disarming Strike and Trip Attack if they want to make called shots to the arms and legs and see game effects of those attacks..<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOATVPFJuc194xMw8-podvgwE8xNDZk4KMiuCAQVRQmplxHtGyieqLlvI5w-8pDdRIa1YTlsVzr2mGkJpscT2Yi0wHoLTGV6edb6KviXQX96K4VAXci2I3OtKRfUTCbJLNUw0Qdobbr-E/s1600/headshot.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOATVPFJuc194xMw8-podvgwE8xNDZk4KMiuCAQVRQmplxHtGyieqLlvI5w-8pDdRIa1YTlsVzr2mGkJpscT2Yi0wHoLTGV6edb6KviXQX96K4VAXci2I3OtKRfUTCbJLNUw0Qdobbr-E/s320/headshot.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>image from game-icons.net</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>How do you handle called shots in core D&D rules?</b></span><br />
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Remember, how effective an attack is in D&D is based on both the attack roll and the damage roll. A natural 20 critical hit that deals 18 damage to a 120hp dragon is still just a close call. Similarly, if the player declares that they're shooting the orc in the heart, you have to judge what happens based on the attack roll <i>and</i> the damage roll. <br />
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Called shots intended to deal more damage do not deal more damage. The PCs are trying to do the most damage possible with every attack. "Called shots" in this case are just narrative details. Here's an example of how you should run it.<br />
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<b>An orc has 15 hit points. </b><br />
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<b>Miss: The attack is a clear miss. </b>Tip: Always describe failures and misses by having the target be super cool, or use them as an opportunity to add visual context to the scene. Never make a monster <i>or </i>a PC look like a bumbling idiot.<br />
<ul>
<li><i>The orc swats the arrow from the air with its greataxe. </i></li>
<li><i>You have to pull your shot at the last second to avoid hitting your ally.</i></li>
</ul>
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<b>1-7 damage: The attack doesn't really harm the orc.</b> I like to describe incidental damage - scratches and bruises - at this point. I find it hard to narrate reduced "will to live" or depleted "luck."<br />
<ul>
<li><i>The arrow doesn't penetrate the the orc's hide armor, but the force of impact left a bruise. </i></li>
<li><i>The orc turns unexpectedly in her struggle to hit Ragnar, and the arrow grazes her side.</i></li>
</ul>
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<b>8-14 damage: The attack injures, but has no other effect. </b>Damage that reduces the orc to less than half their health always results in an injury in my games, but it never disables the creature. Also, if possible, I like to make the creature get panicked, enraged, or concerned at this point, indicating if and how the PCs can end the fight without killing. An enraged orc isn't going to quit, but a panicky-looking ogre can probably be chased off.<br />
<ul>
<li><i>The arrow sinks into the orc's chest, mere inches from the aorta. He staggers, then screams in pain and fury.</i></li>
<li><i>The arrow passes clean through the orc's body, puncturing his lung. Pink foamy blood aspirates from the gory hole.</i></li>
</ul>
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<b>15-29 damage: The attack takes the creature out. </b>I usually just let my monsters die when their hit points reach 0, but some DMs let them make Death Saves and all that. Unless a blow deals enough damage to outright kill the monster, it's got a few seconds to bleed out.<br />
<ul>
<li><i>The arrow strikes the orc's chest and she falls down senseless. </i></li>
<li><i>The shot knocks him flat. He ain't movin'.</i></li>
</ul>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>30+ damage: The attack is a one-shot kill.</b> If the damage is so severe that there is no way the monster can survive without breaking the rules, I like to narrate a grisly, certain death:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><i>The arrow blows through the orc's chest, straight through the heart. A gush of blood like a burst water baloon erupts from the orc's back, and she drops to her knees, then falls face first to the ground, dead. </i></li>
<li><i>The arrow hits him in the heart, and the orc's eyes glaze over as he topples backward, dead before he hits the ground. </i></li>
</ul>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">What if you like what the PC wants to try?</span></b><br />
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I love RPGs because you can do all kinds of crazy stuff. And there's this thing called the <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RuleOfCool" target="_blank">Rule of Cool</a>. I'm a big proponent of the Rule of Cool in my games. So I let my players try all kinds of crazy stuff. This means twisting spells, crazy athletic moves, and... the occasional called shot!<br />
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Here's what you do: Check for official rules first and use them or modify them to suit; otherwise use optional rules or invent an ad hoc system; then remind the players this is a spot ruling that only applies here and now, and you plan to revisit it later.<br />
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<b>First, check to see if there are already official rules for this action</b>, or rules that can be used for this action, with a little modification. If so, use those rules or modify them slightly as needed.<br />
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<i>Example: The rogue wants to wait in hiding, readying an action for when the ogre charges toward the fighter. When the ogre runs by, the rogue will stick out her leg and trip the ogre. The DM sees there's a Shove action that knocks enemies prone, but it uses an opposed Athletics test. This seems more like a surprise trip, so the DM rules that the Rogue will roll Athletics (because tripping the massive ogre is still a matter of force and leverage) opposed by the ogre's Perception instead (because the ogre's ability to resist has more to do with not being taken by surprise).</i><br />
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<b>Second, consider if the player is trying to do something another character in the party can do</b> (or will be able to do at a later level) with a special ability. If that's the case, either don't allow it, or make sure you make it harder or less effective than the special ability in question. You don't want to cheapen the other PC's special ability. To make an ad hoc system for an action, either use an optional rule or use an attack roll, ability check, saving throw, skill check, or an opposed skill check - whatever makes the most sense.<br />
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<i>Example: The Sorcerer wants to use Ray of Frost to freeze a puddle of water to make a section of ground difficult terrain to slow the enemy. The DM likes this, but requires the Sorcerer to make an Arcana check, DC 15, to hit the puddle without making the ice crack and shatter, or cause other problems that could undermine his attempt. Failing the check wastes the Sorcerer's action.</i><br />
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<b>Third, remind the players that any spot ruling applies only to this specific action</b>, not to future actions. Always reflect on your rulings after the session - sometimes you allow players to do things once that would unbalance the game if you let them do them all the time.<br />
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<i>Example: </i><i>The prince becomes furious when he catches the Rogue lying to him, and he attempts to beat the Rogue senseless with his scepter. The Rogue wants to disarm the angry prince. The DM decides on the spot to use the optional Disarming rule from the DMG (page 271). </i><i>The DM says, "That's an optional rule. I'm not sure I want to use it every time, but it makes sense to use it right now. We'll discuss it over email after game."</i><br />
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<div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Why doesn't D&D have called shots in the core rules?</span></b><br />
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D&D <i>cannot</i> work that way. Unlike RPGs like <i>Night's Black Agents</i>, where combat can be resolved in one or two attacks (with a few <a href="http://site.pelgranepress.com/index.php/the-dracula-dossier/" target="_blank">notable exceptions</a>) and called shots can be very interesting (read: stake to the heart), <b>D&D PCs will make 15 attacks before a fight is over. </b>If every attack has the option to be a called shot, the game will slow to a crawl. What adds five minutes to a <i>Night's Black Agents </i>fight would add half an hour to a D&D combat. That would suck. As it's designed, even D&D classes that have the ability to make something like called shots have systems that either limit how often they can do it (Battle Master Fighter / Martial Adept feat) or streamline it into a regular attack (Rogue sneak attack).<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Where is this desire for called shots coming from?</span></b><br />
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Players are always looking for a gamble. Some RPGs allow players to make a called shot by reducing their chances to hit to increase the effect of the attack. <br />
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The problem is, when RPGs allow this kind of decision, it's always the best choice: It increases your odds of winning glory if you hit by causing some impressive special effect. It's rare that the drawbacks outweigh the benefits. And that's OK! Because in these games, the called shot adds detail to the world or is a necessary part of the genre the game is emulating. </div>
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Besides, some classes don't have a lot of good options. Champion fighters, Barbarians, and even some Rogues have pretty repetitive turns. Turn starts, make sure you can hit the monster from where you are, roll to attack, roll damage, repeat. In some battles, especially against monsters with a lot of HP, it can get dull. So they want to try exciting things. I can't blame them.<br />
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<br />Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-75309797189667681102017-03-30T11:35:00.002-04:002017-11-16T11:38:30.380-05:00D&D Moves<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">DM: “The mine ends in a room constructed of chiseled stone blocks, thirty feet square, with a floor of stone slabs. There’s a 25 foot wall around the chamber, but it doesn’t go all the way to the ceiling of the cavern. What do you do?”</span></i></span><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">PC: “Can I climb over the wall?”</span></span></i><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DM: “Sure, make a DC 15 Athletics check.”</span></span></i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">PC: “Oops. I got a 12.”</span></i></span><b style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></b></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is the worst part of D&D. If </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">all </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">you’ve ever played was D&D, you might not even realize it. Here’s the relevant section from the official rules: “...[a failure] means the character or monster makes no progress toward the objective or makes progress combined with a setback determined by the DM.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That’s not very good guidance for DMs. There are just two options given to DMs. One of them is good (progress combined with a setback), and the other is terrible (makes no progress). Not progressing is boring. The player will just try again, effectively wasting table time. There needs to be more meat to the failure guidelines. That’s what this article gives you.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Inspiration from Other Games</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://apocalypse-world.com/" target="_blank">Apocalypse World</a> and the other Powered By the Apocalypse games (such as Dungeon World) have a unique mechanic that really should not be unique. They force the GM to apply stakes to every outcome of every single die roll. Once I tried Dungeon World, I never went back. I apply stakes to every outcome of every single die roll now, and it's improved my GM game considerably. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">(If you use the link below to get a copy of Dungeon World, you'll give me like twenty cents, so that's neat, I guess?)</span></span></div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=ruaga-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0988639408&asins=0988639408&linkId=e5b5a2d56dc9364f40217b5124cb88d4&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066C0&bg_color=FFFFFF" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The way the Powered By the Apocalypse games do it is simple: The GM has a list of Moves. When the players look to the GM to see what happens or when they're sitting around doing nothing exciting, or when they fail a roll, the GM uses a Move. The moves are the "failure" stakes for their rolls. Every player move has success stakes, and the failure stakes are just that the GM will make a move, though sometimes they describe a bad outcome and also note that the GM will make a move. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's simple in concept, but taxing on your creativity to frame every roll so that there are stakes for every outcome. It requires frequent improvisation, even within published modules. The Powered by the Apocalypse games help GMs out with that by giving them a list of moves; so every time the GM has to improvise, they can just scan the list and choose the one that seems most interesting at the time. The list of moves helps you stay creative, even when you don't know what you should do. It's not limiting -- just about everything a GM would want to insert into play is covered by a Move. It just provides inspiration and advice.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The list of moves is a list of things that make the situation the characters are in more exciting. Even when a move is subtle or off-screen, it should raise the tension. Most of the moves add complications, conflicts, or cause problems.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So I said to myself, why not do that for D&D?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Below is a Moves "system" for Dungeons & Dragons DMs called DM Moves. You make a DM move when a player character fails a roll or looks to you to see what happens. The move should always follow a PC's actions, but it doesn't have to be something that happens to the PC directly. There are examples under all the DM Moves, below, that show how the DM Moves work.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Like most of my writing about how to improve your D&D game, these DM Moves don’t modify any existing rules. They just guide DMs toward what works best to engage players and generate fun.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">When to Make a DM Move</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When a character </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">fails a check</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">PC: "I want to climb over this wall to see what's on the other side." DM: "OK, make an Athletics check, DC 15." PC: "I got a 7." Make a DM Move.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When a the characters </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">get new information</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">PC: "I want to look for information about the Red Wizards of Thay in the library." DM: "Make a History check, DC 15." PC: "I got a 19." Give the player the information they earned and make a DM Move.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the players </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">look to the DM to see what happens</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">PC: "I want to shoot my Fire Bolt cantrip at the cask of oil, hoping to cause an explosion." Make a DM Move.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unlike a Powered by the Apocalypse game such as Dungeon World, you won't need to use DM Moves in combat very often. D&D Combat is a tactical game in and of itself. It uses its own, separate, system. Attack rolls, spells, class abilities, and saving throws have their own “within the combat system” stakes built in for failed rolls. However, sometimes in combat, the playe</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">rs </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">get new information </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">or do something creative and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">look to the DM to see what happens</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Make a DM mo</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ve then.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Failed Checks aren't Failed Actions</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the Powered by the Apocalypse games, failing a roll doesn't necessarily mean the player fails to do their intended action. Remember, even the D&D rules allow two different possibilities: The character “makes no progress toward the objective” or the character “makes progress combined with a setback determined by the GM.” That can mean...</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>There's a Problem</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The character fails to do their intended action because of the problem described by the DM Move you made. A character doesn’t just fail to progress because of the tumbling of a mystic icosahedron in alternate dimension. They fail because of a problem in the shared imagined space of the game world. Because of the DM Move, the character has to try some other approach; or they have to deal with the complication the DM Move introduced before they can try again. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Important note: If you’re using <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2016/08/five-common-missed-stakes.html" target="_blank">an ability check to get past an obstacle preventing the PCs from getting to more interesting parts of the adventure</a>, use “Another Door Opens” or “Success with Consequences” instead.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Another Door Opens</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The character fails to do their intended action, but your DM Move gives them an opportunity to achieve their goal another way. Sometimes it's an opportunity that draws them into doing something more exciting, dangerous, interesting, or dramatic. Sometimes the opportunity has a cost. Sometimes it just helps develop the fiction, explore more of the setting, or draw the characters deeper into the adventure. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You might wonder why giving a PC a new opportunity is a good sanction for a failed check, rather than the reward for a successful one. Consider it from the player’s perspective: They wanted their character to do something, but the dice say they can’t. Instead, if they want to achieve their goal, they have no choice but to do it a different way - a way they wouldn’t have chosen. To the player, offering them an opportunity will feel like a sanction.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Success with Consequences</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the rules, this is called “progress combined with a setback.” <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2015/12/fail-forward.html" target="_blank">In RPG theory circles, it is called “fail forward.” On Run a Game (and in the Fate RPG), it is called “success with consequences.”</a> The character succeeds at their intended action, but triggers the problem caused by the DM Move you chose. If you used a "hard" move (something immediate and irrevocable), the consequence happens right now, and the players have to deal with it. If you used a "soft" move (something distant, off-screen, or vague), it sets up more danger down the road and raises the tension level, but doesn't make an immediate demand on the characters.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Never Use “No Progress”</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When there’s no reason not to repeat the attempt, and the attempt doesn’t cost anything,, don’t use a “makes no progress toward the objective” outcome. That’s boring. The player will just keep rolling until they succeed. The only time a PC should be allowed to try again on a failed check is if every failed check comes with a cost or consequence. Even that can turn an exciting scene into a frustrating one, so use it sparingly.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlibjxvItAmmjjdvKC17tBrEbuCdWEcwSnl0tY7E4MlwEIJKRxXSFm5pOd_HNyy7NBqg0n_UjgOBorZkRx20VcE0_Dwst1rsRgWXIbszSNcaCTUYaumOZ8NCMYRiQyjxDSZr6NFCg0lmM/s1600/Fail+Forward.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlibjxvItAmmjjdvKC17tBrEbuCdWEcwSnl0tY7E4MlwEIJKRxXSFm5pOd_HNyy7NBqg0n_UjgOBorZkRx20VcE0_Dwst1rsRgWXIbszSNcaCTUYaumOZ8NCMYRiQyjxDSZr6NFCg0lmM/s400/Fail+Forward.png" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The DM Moves</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are the D&D DM Moves. Remember, when a player fails an ability check, gets information, or looks to the DM for the results, you should make a DM Move. Moves that do not directly harm the characters or change the conflict are called "soft moves." Moves that harm the characters or change the conflict are "hard moves." (<i>Click the list to download a printable PDF page of the moves to bring to the table.)</i></span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8EoW4botoEAVm1FTTZUcFNqTXM/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Have the dungeon interfere</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8EoW4botoEAVm1FTTZUcFNqTXM/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Leverage an opportunity or drawback of someone's class, race, or equipment</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8EoW4botoEAVm1FTTZUcFNqTXM/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Highlight a conflict using their Alignment, Trait, Ideal, Bond, or Flaw</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8EoW4botoEAVm1FTTZUcFNqTXM/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Take away their stuff</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8EoW4botoEAVm1FTTZUcFNqTXM/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Make something deal damage </a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8EoW4botoEAVm1FTTZUcFNqTXM/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Name the price, and ask</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8EoW4botoEAVm1FTTZUcFNqTXM/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Put someone in a spot</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8EoW4botoEAVm1FTTZUcFNqTXM/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Split the party</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8EoW4botoEAVm1FTTZUcFNqTXM/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Reveal an unwelcome truth or signal an approaching threat</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8EoW4botoEAVm1FTTZUcFNqTXM/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Increase the time pressure</a></span></li>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>How to Use the Moves</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>1. Have the dungeon interfere</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is an "A Problem Arose" move, but it can also be a "Success with Consequences" move. The dungeon is full of dangers including monsters, traps, curses, shifting walls, spells, crumbling architecture, water, gas, fire, and so much more. Failing to do something is not just "no progress" -- something has to stop the adventurer from trying again. And in this case, what stops them is one of the dungeon's many hazards. Even outside a dungeon, you can think of a cool “fantasy hazard” to interfere. This is the best move for pushing the fantasy exploration elements of D&D.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Example: With difficulty, you climb over the wall... and hear the sound of crossbows firing rapidly! Arrows are flying toward you. What do you do?</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>2. Leverage an opportunity or drawback of someone's class, race, or equipment</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Failing to do something can come along with an opportunity. In this case, use an opportunity that fits the class' abilities. The idea is to show off a character's class. It doesn't have to be the character who failed the roll. You can also have a problem arise that fits a class, race, or equipment in the party. The Baron can’t be persuaded because you brought a stinking dwarf. This is the best move for shifting the spotlight and showing off a character’s outward traits.</span></span></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Example: There are no handholds where you can reach, but if you could stand on a magical Floating Disc, you could reach the handholds higher up the wall.</span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Example: </i></span><i style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can't get over the wall because your armor is too heavy. If you take it off, you can heave it over, then climb over yourself, unarmored. What do you do?</i></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>3. Highlight a conflict using their Alignment, Trait, Ideal, Bond, or Flaw</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The move represents an opportunity that opens up, but it creates a conflict with one or more characters' alignments, personality traits, ideals, bonds, or flaws. The conflict can be an opportunity or a setback. An opportunity can start a discussion between characters who have different perspectives. For instance, the opportunity to kill a slumbering orc is expedient for a Chaotic character and dishonorable for a Lawful one. The trait you're highlighting doesn't have to reside in the character who failed the check. This is the best move for shifting the spotlight and showing off a character’s internal motives and drives.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Example: You just can't get up the wall. Only Sir Marley is strong enough to get over the wall. Remember Marley, your Flaw is "I secretly believe that everyone is beneath me." What do you do?</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>4. Take away their stuff</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“...the Lord will come like a thief...” (2 Peter 3:10). This move is different from "name a price and ask" (below), because in this case, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">you don’t ask</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The player doesn't have a choice. Make sure the loss of the item is more than a minor inconvenience. The character should be worried about the loss. However, the loss doesn’t have to be permanent - it just has to be interesting, exciting, or push the PCs toward some danger. Because magic items are very rare treasures in 5th edition D&D, don't just destroy them. You can take them away without taking them away forever. This is the best move for highlighting the value of equipment and emphasizing the resource management aspects of D&D. It can also draw the PCs into greater danger, chasing after or replacing lost or stolen gear.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Example: You get over the wall, but you lost your balance and almost fell at the top, and your bow slipped off your back, clattering down the other side. What do you do?</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>5. Make something deal damage </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Things in D&D deal damage all the time, and failed checks are an ideal time to do it. Damage is part of the combat system stakes, but you can deal damage outside of combat, too. This makes the PCs more vulnerable if a combat starts. They might take the time to heal the damage you dealt, so don't bother dealing damage unless you're dealing </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">at least</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> twice the party's level in total damage to a single character, or an amount equal to the party level to every character. You can deal more damage than that, if you want. Five times the party's level is a heck of a lot of damage. Ten times the party's level is likely to drop or kill someone. This is the best hard move when the PCs know there’s a battle looming, enemies chasing them, or they’re on a short timer and have to hurry. It combines well with “Have the dungeon interfere” because dungeon hazards from Kobold archers to pits of fire often deal damage.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Example: You get over the wall, exhausted and scraped up. Take 1d6 damage. What do you do? (The example character could be Level 2, so 1d6 damage hurts enough to be worth it).</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>6. Name the price, and ask</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Describe how the character will fail unless they pay a price. The price has to be a resource that the characters care about. If the party is not racing against the clock, wasting an hour of time isn't a big deal. If the party has ten thousand gold pieces, twenty silver pieces isn't a big deal. You can also name the price in terms of story - “give us the child and you can walk away” or “I’ll tell you, but you’ll owe me.” Like “Take away their stuff,” this move can highlight the resource management aspect of D&D pretty well, but it introduces a hard bargain, so it’s even better for highlighting strategic decision making or adding complications to their well laid plans. It’s also a natural hard move in social conflicts, to make NPCs demand proof, bribes, compromises, or concessions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Example: You'll need to use all your pitons if you want to climb over this wall. You won't be able to get them back from the other side, so you’ll have to mark them off your sheet. What do you do?</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>7. Put someone in a spot</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The character's failure puts them in a sudden, unexpected, dangerous situation. They need to take immediate and decisive action or get help from their allies to get out of it. You can also put a character in a vulnerable position. This is a hard move that changes the situation dramatically, but still gives the character a chance to get away. Unlike “Make something deal damage,” you’re giving the PCs a chance to avoid the danger. The character in the tight spot can be the one who failed the roll, or the failure can put someone <i>else</i> in a spot. This is the best move for raising the stakes fast.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Example: You get to the top of the wall, using the vines as handholds. Just as you're about to grab the top edge, the vines start to tear away. You fall five feet immediately before the vines catch. You're dangling twenty feet off the ground, and the vines are about to tear the rest of the way free. What do you do?</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>8. Split the party</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The old advice "don't split the party" is there for a reason. Players want to avoid splitting the party because it really puts the characters in a tight spot. So if you want to raise the stakes quickly, split the party. This move is dramatic in a dungeon or wilderness, where the characters can’t get back together before they have to face another monster, hazard, or obstacle before they can reconnect. You can split the party on the small scale, too. Open a simple ten foot wide chasm between them as they march single-file down a five foot wide hallway, or have the monsters attack right in the middle of the group. It’s also interesting to split the characters up across a larger scale like a city or even continent. There are drawbacks to the GM for running a split party for a long time, so most of the time, you should create a split that the players can resolve within a few hours of play at most. This is the best move to make when the characters are in dangerous, unfamiliar territory and already feel a little lost.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Example: Near the top of the wall, there's only one handhold. You have to perch on this one tiny ledge and lunge for the top. It's a heck of a reach, but you make it -- barely. Unfortunately, as you lunge, the ledge cracks and falls free. There's no way for anyone else to get up here. What do you do?</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>9. Reveal an unwelcome truth or signal an approaching threat</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is a great "soft move" that moves the story along and raises the tension without making the players deal with a new complication. Unwelcome truths are facts that are true in the game world, that the player characters will not like. "...[S]ignal an approaching threat" means give the players a hint that things are about to get worse. You can signal an approaching threat by hinting that some distant creature has become aware of the characters, even vaguely. It’s the best move to make when the PCs are feeling safe or when they don’t know what’s going on or what kinds of dangers await them. It's the best move to make to introduce <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2016/08/stakes-terminology-infographic.html" target="_blank">the stakes of the situation the PCs are in</a>. It can also hint at distant happenings in the larger story or reveal dark truths about the campaign setting. Magic is dying. The plague has come to Neverwinter. The cult is close to freeing the Bound God. It’s fun on the small scale, too. See the example.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Example: You get to the top of the wall with a lot of effort. When you pull yourself over, your armor makes a loud CLANG! that reverberates down the dark hallway ahead of you. If there's anything down there, it knows you're here now. What do you do?</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>10. Increase the time pressure</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">D&D works best as a race against the clock, because it has a tight resource management system where every PC resource refreshes after a certain amount of time. If there’s no hurry, the PCs are much, much stronger. Consequently, DMs almost always create some reason to hurry. When you make this move, you introduce a new timer, use up valuable time, or shorten the fuse. Introduce a new timer by describing a new race against the clock. For instance, a sentry runs off to warn their boss, or the characters learn that something bad happens in this dungeon when night falls. Run down the clock by making actions take a lot longer than planned. Shorten the fuse by revealing an unwelcome truth: That the characters have a lot less time than they thought. Be aware of the <a href="http://www.5esrd.com/gamemastering/the-environment/#Resting" target="_blank">rest mechanics in 5e</a> and how they create time pressure. Here are some ways to increase the time pressure:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Create new time pressure where there was none</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Put some new event on the clock (e.g. rival adventurers arriving in an hour)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Deny them the chance to take a rest before the next battle</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Remind them how many hours are left on the clock (if they’re nearly out of time)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Take a day off the clock (where there are fewer than ten days left)</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Take an hour off the clock (where there are fewer than ten hours left)</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Take fifteen minutes off the clock (where there are fewer than 3 hours left)</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Take a round off the clock (where there are fewer than 20 rounds or 2 minutes left)</span></span></div>
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</ul>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is the best move to make when you want to push the PCs to take hasty, exciting, risky, bold, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">heroic</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> action. It's the best move to stop them from <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2014/10/turtling.html" target="_blank">being too cautious</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Example: You approach the wall, but quickly realize there are no handholds. It's flat brick. But there is some scrap wood here, and you could build a sturdy ladder long enough to get to the top. It will take about an hour. What do you do? (In the example situation, using up an hour is only interesting if there are fewer than ten hours on the clock.)</i></span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Ask, "What do you do?"</span></b></span><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Traditionally, according to <a href="http://www.lumpley.com/" target="_blank">Vincent Baker</a>, when the GM makes a Move, they should follow it by asking a player or all the players, “What do you do?’ This passes the "talking stick" back to them and makes everything you say into a prompt for them -- requiring their input. You can use this question to focus closer on the acting character, broaden the focus to let anyone else jump in, or refocus the spotlight on a different character. Use body language and character names to shift the focus of the action around. Here’s an example where the DM makes a move that leverages an opportunity for someone's class and then uses "What do you do?" to shift the spotlight.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Example: OK, Barbarian, near the top of the wall, there's only one handhold. You have to perch your toes on this one tiny ledge and lunge for the top. It's a heck of a reach, but you get to the top -- barely. Unfortunately, as you lunged, the ledge cracked and fell free. There's no way for anyone else to get up here without magic. Wizard, Cleric: What do you do?</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-61369756875254681502017-01-13T15:58:00.004-05:002017-01-18T12:54:42.595-05:00The Game Inside the GameToday's article is a higher-level theory post. In it, I break every RPG down to just four core games. Most RPGs only use two of them to resolve procedural challenges. That's how few games there really are inside the hundreds of games we play!<br />
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A game is an organized activity of play with rules and objectives that are determined by a combination of luck and skill. Games turn story problems into tension because they introduce risk. A risk is when someone makes a consequential decision with incomplete information, which is a core element of a game: A test of skill or luck to win an objective within rules. The objective is the consequence, the skill is the decision, and the RPG's use of hidden information and luck provide the uncertainty. <br />
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Without games, the outcome of story problems are decided by the GM and players, so the characters may feel tension, but the players won't, because the players get to decide how things end. If there's a game, there's a chance the players will fail or that other, unpredictable complications will arise outside of their control.<br />
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Games are where story problems turn into real tension. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4PphRQQxjqfZYI1LzoWW0LoGK0xcUll8EQ7rrUEQqRzIwXSYeKykqwjUBGOJwAEsCl5hyCVQZo36w0WzsfDmTR9S7Hnk6jW0LYUgkW3G9DUQ6klegORQGzdc037mnej9qLcKmVn-hF5E/s1600/Fun+Formula.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4PphRQQxjqfZYI1LzoWW0LoGK0xcUll8EQ7rrUEQqRzIwXSYeKykqwjUBGOJwAEsCl5hyCVQZo36w0WzsfDmTR9S7Hnk6jW0LYUgkW3G9DUQ6klegORQGzdc037mnej9qLcKmVn-hF5E/s640/Fun+Formula.png" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full size here: <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2016/08/interactive-games-literally-play-with.html">http://www.runagame.net/2016/08/interactive-games-literally-play-with.html</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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There are hundreds of tabletop roleplaying games on the market, but there are only two games inside of them. The two games are a <b>resource management strategy game</b> and a <b>wagers and dares game</b>. Very few RPGs (or even story games) use <b>improvisational theater (improv) </b>as a distinct game that determines outcomes within their set of rules, but it is worth mentioning.<br />
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<b>[Update] Puzzles</b><br />
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I <i>just</i> wrote an <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2016/12/using-common-games-for-rpg-puzzles.html" target="_blank">article about puzzles in RPGs</a>, so I feel like an idiot for totally missing one of the games inside our games! Thankfully a reader helpfully pointed out on G+ that I had forgotten puzzles! I've added a section below.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Resource Management Strategy Game</span></b><br />
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Dungeons & Dragons originated from a war game, where units attacked one another, and a "hit" destroyed a unit. Heroes emerged, single powerful "fighting men" and "wizards" who were a whole unit in one person. As it evolved, these heroes became able to withstand multiple "hits" and deal multiple "hits" worth of damage. This led to the first resource management game on the single character role-playing scale. <br />
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The kinds of strategic decisions players made were similar. A force of ten cavalry units could maneuver around an enemy force of eight infantry units to conserve their numbers for a stronger attack on the enemy's eight archer units in the rear. A fighting man could sneak past a monster to conserve "hit points" for a harder battle later on. In the newest edition of D&D, a party of Battle Master Fighter, Tome Pact Warlock, Life Domain Cleric, and Assassin Rogue can put on disguises and try to bluff their way past a contingent of drow guards to sneak into the prison and free the High Lord from captivity, conserving their Superiority Dice, Spell Slots, and Hit Points for the inevitable fight on the way out.<br />
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A resource management game has several moving parts. In a resource management game, the players choose when to spend their characters' limited resources. <br />
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<ul>
<li>Their resources might give them advantages in the dares and wagers game (see below) such as Willpower points in the World of Darkness.</li>
<li>Their resources might allow them to win story elements that they want (usually story victories or advantages) without any die rolls at all, such as wizard "utility spells" in D&D, Fate points in Fate, and so forth.</li>
<li>Their resources might protect their own lives (e.g. hit points), so that losing resources makes it harder to survive attacks.</li>
<li>Their resources might determine how well they can defeat enemies, so that as they expend resources, their ability to defeat foes diminishes.</li>
</ul>
The final aspect of resource management is the most important: Resource management is meaningless if the player characters' resources can be regained without risking losing some story element that the PCs care about. In other words, if the PCs' resources can be refreshed without a story cost, the PCs effectively have infinite resources, and there is no resource management game. In most RPGs (GUMSHOE, D&D, Shadowrun, Call of Cthulhu, etc.), resources can be refreshed with time, so in most RPGs...<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">There is no resource management game unless there is <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2015/08/the-best-solution-to-players-resting.html" target="_blank">time pressure</a>.</span></b><br />
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Time pressure keeps the PCs from refreshing their resources by having some story event happen after a certain amount of time has elapsed. The story event has to be something the PCs <b>care about preventing</b>. As a result, it limits the resources the PCs have access to. <br />
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D&D, the most popular RPG, refreshes resources on a daily (long rest) and hourly (short rest) basis. That means that GMs can use time pressure on the scale of hours or days. For instance, realistically, giving the PCs a day before disaster strikes allows them to take one long rest (6 hours, once per 24 hours period) and several short rests (one hour each). Giving them "until dark" lets them have a few short rests only. Giving them "about an hour" doesn't give them any rests at all -- they have only the resources they start with, nothing more. (The 5th edition Dungeon Master's Guide has guidelines for how many encounters of what difficulty the PCs can handle between rests.)<br />
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Most RPGs are designed with a "standard" resource cycle baked in. Some base the resource cycle on story cycles, like GUMSHOE or Fate, while others base it on time, like D&D. <br />
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When a game bases the resource cycle on the story, story and time are tied together: You can't get a full refresh of your Investigative abilities in Night's Black Agents until you've completed an operation. If you retreat to refresh your resources, it only works if the operation ends. So unless you want to go into that ruin with a mallet and stake, you have to give up and flee London, ceding Vauxhall Cross to Dracula's control.<br />
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When a game bases the resource cycle on time, you have to build time limits into your stories. The orcs are guarding the dragon's hoard for it while it's away. It will be back in 24 hours. The Tremere vampire clan will be hosting Elysium at the manor house in 2 nights, so that's how much time you have to uncover proof of their plot to assassinate the Prince. The secret Renraku illegal R&D facility is aware that they have been discovered. They're packing up right now, and will be cleared out in four or five hours.<br />
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<b>Meaningful Resources</b><br />
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A 2-6 hour unit of play with a beginning, middle, and end is typically called a chapter, adventure, module, scenario, operation, mission, or story. During such an adventure, each player will get about 30-90 minutes of spotlight time. That time will include up to 20 chances to spend resources for advantages in the dares and wagers game (see below), to achieve story elements, to survive attacks, and to defeat enemies.<br />
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If your PCs have around 100 hit points each (500 total for the party) and the ability to heal hundreds of hit points a day, 10 points of damage to one character is <i>not </i>meaningful. 40 points of damage to one character is meaningful. Consider that the party has 500 hit points and the ability to heal or avoid 300 points of damage. 40 points of damage to one character represents 5% of the party's defensive resources.<br />
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Why does this matter? As a GM, your side of the resource management game is to drain the party's resources and make them think creatively to come up with strategies that conserve their resources while achieving their goals<br />
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<b>Combat is Intense Resource Management</b><br />
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About one third to two thirds of your typical 20 chances to spend resources will be combat actions. Because of the war game origins of RPGs and the fact that you have to simulate combat (this isn't LARP), combat uses the game system more than other scenes. Combat is also the most rule prescribed part of most RPGs. In other parts of the game, the GM gets to frame die rolls, stating what happens on a successful roll and what happens on a failed roll. <br />
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In combat, most of what you do is prescribed, and all the stakes are resource management stakes: If you make an attack with a longsword, you roll Proficiency + Strength Modifier against the target's Armor Class. If you hit, you deal 1d8 + Strength Modifier damage; and if you miss, you do not deal damage. The "penalty" on a miss is that your opponent survives to attack you later (reducing your Hit Points resource). If you choose to use a Battle Master Maneuver to try to turn a miss into a hit, it will cost a Superiority Die. This resource requires an hour of time to refresh, but hitting this monster might kill it and prevent some damage or other problems it might cause, and those problems might be more expensive than losing the Superiority Die. This kind of strategic decision happens every round in combat in most RPGs.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Wagers and Dares Game</span></b><br />
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A wager is when you risk something against someone else's stake based on the outcome of a future event. A dare is when one person defies another to test their courage. The wagers and dares system in RPGs is commonly called a "check" as in "skill check" or "Charisma check" or "Sanity check" etc.<br />
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This is the simplest part of an RPG, but GMs miss opportunities to make checks into wagers and dares all the time. Without a wager or dare, there's no <i>game</i>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpIYWDVcKBvN04Cj-pUiAH5s_7nGFKhAYn8j6XLRFbLPgrxebsksm0UhaZYk5PrMJK4q5heYvMoBrc0aItG17O7h8alXGukptnK7o8iQ1U3ltiTLZjbHDuDN3PZB0v_ewBcWnCgjJqDYg/s1600/stakes+terminology.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpIYWDVcKBvN04Cj-pUiAH5s_7nGFKhAYn8j6XLRFbLPgrxebsksm0UhaZYk5PrMJK4q5heYvMoBrc0aItG17O7h8alXGukptnK7o8iQ1U3ltiTLZjbHDuDN3PZB0v_ewBcWnCgjJqDYg/s640/stakes+terminology.png" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full size at <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2016/08/stakes-terminology-infographic.html">http://www.runagame.net/2016/08/stakes-terminology-infographic.html</a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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A wager is something that the player character can lose if the check fails. The dare is the thing that the player character takes a risk to achieve. Often there's a dare without a wager: "Make an Athletics check with a difficulty of 15 to climb the wall." Where's the wager? What happens if the check fails? The character doesn't climb the wall. So what? They'll just try again. <br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">The stakes have to go both ways, or there is no <i>wager</i>. </span></b><br />
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In the example above, the stakes only go one way: On a 15 or better, the character climbs the wall. On a 14 or lower, nothing happens. The GM's job is to have the world respond to the player characters' actions. "Nothing happens" is failing to GM. It's also weak stakes, since the PC can usually try again. Even when that PC can't try again, another PC can usually try in their place. It's also failing to include a game. Why roll the dice if not to play a game? So let's fix it. <br />
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"Make an Athletics check with a difficulty of 15 to climb the wall..."<br />
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<ul>
<li>...and if you fail, you try for several minutes and realize it is impossible for you to get up to the alcove (story).</li>
<li>...and if you fail, you get to the top after several close calls and falls, scraped and bruised, suffering 1d6 damage (resource).</li>
<li>...and if you fail, you waste 15 minutes, and have to try again (resource).</li>
<li>...and if you fail, you get to the top but make enough noise to alert the guards (story).</li>
</ul>
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As you can see, the stakes don't have to be "fail to get to the top of the wall." The stakes can be all kinds of things.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>The stakes have to be things the player or character cares about, or there is no <i>dare</i>.</b></span><br />
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<b>Story Dares</b><br />
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The best dares are story dares. Two of the wall climbing examples above are story wagers. The player character wants to advance past an obstacle in the way of their goal. To do so, they have to risk failing to achieve their goal ("impossible for you to get up to the alcove") or risk adding a story complication ("make enough noise to alert the guards"). <br />
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<b>Resource Management Dares</b><br />
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Something neat happens when you have a resource management game in full effect: You can make resource cost dares! Two of the wall climbing examples above are resource cost dares. Remember, a resource management game is only in play if there are limited resources, and if limited resources refresh over time, that means a resource management game is only in play if there is limited time before the PCs lose something they care about. The wall climbing example provides two such wagers - one for resources assuming there's a time limit ("suffering 1d6 damage") and another for time ("waste 15 minutes"). If the PCs have all the time they want, wasting 15 minutes is not a meaningful wager. Nor is 1d6 damage, because with unlimited time, there is unlimited time to rest and heal.<br />
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Combat is full of resource management dares -- the combat system in most traditional RPGs is designed to give the players at least one resource management dare every time their turn comes up. Combat without strategic resource management decisions can be pretty boring.<br />
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(One of the biggest complaints about 4th edition D&D is that past level 5 or so, PCs have too many resource management dares each round, slowing combat to a crawl.)<br />
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<b>Meaningful Resource Management Dares </b><br />
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OK, so you've got time pressure. Now, how many resources should you force the PC to wager as stakes? Remember, the stakes have to be things the player or character cares about, or there is no dare. <br />
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A D&D fighter with 120 hit points is climbing up a 20 ft. wall. The worst thing that can happen is that they fall 20' and take 2d6 damage. That's not a meaningful dare - that's a waste of table time. Here are some better options:<br />
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<ul>
<li><i>Hand wave the action.</i> "You climb up the wall." You skip past the situation so you can get on to the next, more meaningful opportunity for a wager.</li>
<li><i>Change the resource. </i>Hit points aren't the only resource stakes. "Make an Athletics check, difficulty 15. If you fail, you waste 15 minutes and have to try again." OK, now we're wagering time stakes, and those don't scale with level!</li>
<li><i>Change the stakes. </i>Don't use resource management stakes. Use story stakes. "Make an Athletics check, difficulty 15. If you fail, you make enough noise to alert the guards."</li>
</ul>
<b>[Update] Degrees of Success</b><br />
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Most RPGs have different degrees of success. Ultimately, these work out to the same thing as a simple success/fail wager proposition with a little extra description to them. Consider Fate's Success with Style, Shadowrun's number of successes, or Apocalypse World's 7-9 and 10+ results, and D&D's damage rolls. <br />
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<b>[Update] Fail Forward</b><br />
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I've <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2015/12/fail-forward.html" target="_blank">written extensively</a> on the value of Success at a Cost ("fail forward") mechanics, before. I love them. When framing the stakes for a roll, the GM can make the wager any of the following:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Standard frame: Roll well and succeed, roll poorly and suffer a consequence</li>
<li>Typical "fail forward" frame: Roll well and succeed, roll poorly and succeed at a cost</li>
<li>Decision frame: Roll well and succeed, roll poorly and choose to suffer a consequence or succeed at a (higher) cost</li>
<li>Bad to Worse frame: Roll well and succeed at a cost, roll poorly and suffer a (worse) consequence</li>
<li>Degrees of Success frame: Roll really well and succeed, roll well and succeed at a cost, roll poorly and suffer a consequence (or succeed at a greater cost)</li>
</ul>
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All of these stakes frames are wagers and dares. The GM <b><i>wagers</i></b> the success outcome that the player character wants and <b><i>dares </i></b>the player character to risk the consequence to achieve it. <br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">[Update] The Puzzle Game</span></b><br />
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The third game inside RPGs is the puzzle game. In a way, the puzzle game is <i>outside</i> the game. A puzzle is a mental challenge that the player (not the character) undertakes. <br />
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Success or failure at a puzzle is similar to a wager/dare: The GM frames the stakes for success and failure, often with degrees of success (for every wrong guess... for every 5 minutes you spend...). But instead of using an aspect of the game system to help your character, you're using your real-life brain power.<br />
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For a puzzle to be its own game, it has to have the following characteristics:<br />
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<ul>
<li>It <b>cannot be another type of game</b>, e.g. a puzzle that the characters can solve by spending resources or winning die rolls</li>
<li>The players have to <b>use their real-life problem solving skills</b> to come up with the answer</li>
<li>The puzzle has a <b>finite solution set determined beforehand</b> (a <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2013/05/its-mystery.html" target="_blank">gestalt mystery</a> is an improv game, not a puzzle game)</li>
</ul>
There are a bunch of different <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2014/05/puzzles.html" target="_blank">ways we use puzzles in RPGs</a>:<br />
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.runagame.net/2016/12/using-common-games-for-rpg-puzzles.html" target="_blank">Common games</a> like riddles, mastermind, charades, etc., which usually have wager stakes</li>
<li><a href="http://www.runagame.net/2015/02/a-maze-ing-dungeons.html" target="_blank">Mazes</a>, which are great because they have resource management stakes</li>
<li><a href="http://www.runagame.net/2013/05/its-mystery.html" target="_blank">Mysteries</a>, which have wager stakes, usually with story-based degrees of success based on how fast the mystery is solved</li>
</ul>
</div>
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<b>Is Resource Management a Puzzle?</b><br />
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<br /></div>
<div>
No. There are many hazardous RPG situations that the PCs can solve through a variety of strategies with varying risks and costs. Resource management is problem solving, like a puzzle. However, a puzzle has a finite solution set -- "the answer is a mushroom"; "the killer is Count Vizerio"; "a red, blue, or green marble will open the door." A resource management challenge has an <i>infinite</i> solution set. </div>
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For example, if there are three drow warriors guarding the exit to the prison, there infinite ways past them. Some will work better than others because of the scaffolding the GM creates to give the PCs a few easier paths to victory ("the guards are having a heated argument over money") and the boundaries on the scene the GM creates to limit the PCs' options ("the guard post has a clear view of the passageway that leads out of the prison"). This is a resource management game because there are infinite approaches: Just to name a few, the PCs can... try to sneak past, use an <i>Entangle</i> spell and run past, poison some wine and deliver it, bluff your way past, get some disguises, provoke them to fight each other and sneak past in the confusion, bribe them since they're stressed over money, set a trap at the entrance to the guard post to slow them down, use a smoke bomb, make a distraction to draw them away, etc. The GM has provided scaffolding to hint that the drow can be provoked to fight one another or easily bribed, but describing them arguing over money, but that's not the only solution. If the PCs are greedy and don't want to spend money on a bribe, and they value escaping without anyone seeing them, they might choose a harder solution that has the benefits of secrecy and frugality.</div>
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<div>
<b>Puzzle Monsters</b></div>
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In D&D (and some similar games), there are bizarre monsters that can be defeated only by solving a puzzle with a finite solution. For instance, a Vampire in D&D cannot be destroyed permanently except in a few very specific ways. The mystery has a finite solution set (find the vampire's coffin and kill it there, prevent it from escaping to its coffin, or else kill it in running water or sunlight), a resource management challenge (Is it worth burning resources fighting the vampire now, before we've found its coffin? Or should we flee?), and the round-by-round dares and wagers of combat.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Improv Game</span></b><br />
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A fourth game-within-the-game exists, but is rarely used in tabletop RPGs because it requires giving players director-level agency (meaning, players get to control the game world, not just the GM). Some story games have included improv as a game (e.g. Microscope, Fiasco), while other story games and RPGs have instead taken aspects of improv and incorporated them into the resource management game (e.g. Fate, Vampire) or the wagers and dares game (e.g. Monsterhearts, Call of Cthulhu). <br />
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The difference between improv being used <i>as a game </i>and improv aspects being incorporated into resource management or wagers and dares is complicated. Improv is part of <i>all </i>role-playing, after all. So, to what degree can a player's role-playing actually achieve their character's objectives?<br />
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Improv is play, but it's not very game-like: It's not a competitive exercise, and you aren't playing toward an objective other than to be entertaining and genuine. A <i>character </i>in an improv game may be trying to achieve something, but the improv <i>player </i>is playing to "see what happens."<br />
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Improv prompts are often wager outcomes: "Make a Sanity check or become paranoid and afraid of your friends." But rarely are procedural outcomes driven by improv acting.<br />
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Role-playing (Improv) usually contributes to the two other games. My favorite improvement made in 5th edition D&D is that good role-playing of your character's traits, ideal, bond, and flaw earns Inspiration, a resource that gives you Advantage on the wagers and dares rolls in the game. <br />
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Two story games I know actually use improv acting to determine story outcomes, as opposed to using improv prompts as outcomes: Microscope and Fiasco (and probably some other story games - I haven't played them all!) use improv acting to resolve procedural questions, rather than dice or resource management.<br />
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<b>[Update] Is a Game that has a lot of Player Agency an Improv Game?</b><br />
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The improv game <i>inside </i>an RPG only happens when <b>improvisational storytelling determines the outcome of events</b>, not when dice create a system element that has a bounded effect.<br />
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Consider Fate: In Fate, Create Advantage is one of the Four Actions. With a successful Create Advantage roll, you improvise any advantage you want for your character or disadvantage you want to cause an opponent. That thing you improvise is called a Scene Aspect. The effect of Create Advantage is that that Scene Aspect provides you a one-time +2 bonus you can claim on a future roll if the Scene Aspect is relevant. <br />
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<b>What determines how events play out? </b> A die roll.<br />
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<b>Can the improvised storytelling determine the course of events?</b> Sort of... It provides a description that has a "value" equal to +2 on a die roll, once. But the description is also literally true fact. So its ability to overcome opposition is limited, but it's still an undisputed fact.<br />
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Consider this example: A Fate character uses invisibility magic. They roll to Create Advantage and add the Aspect "Invisible" to their character for the scene, with one free use. This means that on a future Stealth roll, that character can claim a +2 bonus. That's a very good bonus, but it doesn't mean the character literally can't be seen. If another character uses Notice and beats the invisible character's Stealth roll, they will "notice" them all the same. Are they actually invisible? Yes! But the assumptions players might have about invisibility do not apply. The character can't blithely walk past sentries and be untouchable in battle. In fact, from a practical standpoint, their +2 bonus only applies the first time their invisibility is tested. Past that, they're just as easy to see or fight as a visible person. <br />
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But there are ways that the improvisation of "invisibility" in fate <i>does</i> determine outcomes, independent of the dares and wagers game and the resource management game. There are some narrative effects of being invisible that don't involve die rolls at all. A video recording of a battle between a villain and an invisible PC attacker would not reveal the PC's identity, for instance. In this way, Fate has an improv game. It's just very tightly contained, to preserve the tension-building benefits of its dares and wagers game and its resource management game.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">What have you seen?</span></b><br />
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Let me know if you've found other games-inside-the-games or other RPGs that use improv as their primary procedural task resolution mechanic. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts.<br />
<br />Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-24776473210245670832016-12-14T09:47:00.000-05:002016-12-14T09:47:06.542-05:00Railroads and Fox HuntsThe term "railroad" (often used as an adjective or verb) has strong connotations in RPGs. It means a linear story with little or no opportunity for departing from the linear path of the plot. It has negative connotations: GMs who punish player creativity are railroading them, GMs who reject player ideas to keep them on the path are running railroad campaigns, and GMs who kill off parties for daring to pursue some other objective than the one they laid before them are punishing them for "going off the rails." <br />
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But a linear campaign can work extremely well, when run right. Linear games have all kinds of advantages. They're fast-paced, focused, have clear themes, and resemble epic fantasy stories in the vein of Lord of the Rings and other favorites. <br />
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Good linear campaigns tend to have a few key features:<br />
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<ol>
<li>There is <b>one main goal </b>that the PCs are trying to achieve, though there could be occasional side quests.</li>
<li>Though the central conflict remains the same, the <b>campaign shifts dramatically in response to the PCs' decisions</b>. This is because the entire campaign is based around one main conflict, so if the players force the antagonists to change, it ripples through the entire campaign, not just a part of it.</li>
<li>The players' characters all have <b>personal reasons to unify around the central conflict</b>. Because there is just one central conflict, all the characters agree that it's important, and all the characters feel passionately about it for their own personal reasons.</li>
<li>There is a <b>consistent feeling of momentum</b>. Sometimes the PCs are racing against the clock. Others, they're searching for leads or amassing resources while looking for the next opportunity to advance their goal. Linear campaigns focus on one central conflict, so every adventure moves toward resolving the same conflict. No quest is ever "put on hold" so another quest can advance. </li>
<li>The story builds toward a <b>single dramatic climax </b>where the PCs confront the antagonists and resolve the central conflict, which is the only conflict, all at once. In a "sandbox" game, there are multiple threads that resolve over time. </li>
</ol>
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A railroad is weak on most of these characteristics. It has one main goal, but it fails to shift in response to the PCs' actions. It's built to tell the GM's story, not the PCs' story, so it's usually first and foremost about saving the world, rather than achieving the goals the players want for their characters. Though there might be a constant feeling of momentum, it's driven by outside threats, not the PCs' internal drives. It builds to a dramatic climax, but is it a climax the players dreamed of when they made their characters?<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">We should continue to use "</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">railroad</span><span style="color: blue;">" to describe <i>bad </i>linear stories.</span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">I propose we also adopt "</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">fox hunt</span><span style="color: blue;">" to describe <i>good</i> linear stories.</span></span></b></div>
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<div>
A fox hunt is a metaphor that describes a linear RPG done well. The hunters are the players. The hounds are their characters. The fox represents the object of the central conflict: Fox vs. hounds, antagonists vs. protagonists, villains vs. PCs. Here's what makes a fox hunt a good linear campaign:</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Motivation</span></b><br />
A locomotive travels forward along the tracks because it can <i>only</i> travel forward along the tracks. The hounds could go anywhere they like, but they won't. The hounds are chasing the fox because they <i>want</i> to chase the fox. That's no coincidence: The hunters trained the hounds to be fox hunters; just like the players should create characters who have personal reasons to care about the central conflict. And the hunters set their hounds to chase a fox, not a bear. The GM should make sure the campaign is about the things the players and their characters care about.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Hooks</span></b><br />
It doesn't matter what train is on the track. It could be an old steam locomotive or a modern diesel - the track is the same either way. The GM should take note of how the players constructed their characters' motives around the central conflict and hook the campaign's story elements into the <i>details</i> of PCs' motives. That requires the GM to look at the people, places, and things involved in the characters' goals, fears, and histories. <i>Who killed Ragnar's father? The fox killed Ragnar's father. </i> <i>Get that fox, Ragnar!</i><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Adaptability</span></b><br />
A locomotive goes forward according to a timetable, and even though the conductor can sometimes choose between two stations at a junction, the <i>track </i>doesn't really adapt to the <i>train</i>. That's the <i>opposite </i>of the relationship the fox has with the hounds. The hounds chase the fox, and if they try to cut it off at the brook, it has to swim across and hide in the hills. If the hounds try to corner it in the hills, it has to make a run for the forest. The train goes where the track goes. The fox goes where the hounds <i>aren't</i>. Every step of the way, the hunters can tell the fox is fleeing the baying of the hounds. The GM should adapt to the players. The antagonists should be sly like a fox. Antagonists can also strike back at the PCs, like the fox can fight the hounds. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVsK01PB64jnH53vRxtWk8nwd2hBMBVV3f2sIyI-K2BoVfb0zpkIzc_7scAVSbZRXb7CTNI7VGF9UXzkiRlG7OV-4Ig7DSWastIDPUhRv7LLGIOtG1Ubh2fl1J_7fb630aYEsZrM9jag/s1600/Railroads+and+Fox+Hunts.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVsK01PB64jnH53vRxtWk8nwd2hBMBVV3f2sIyI-K2BoVfb0zpkIzc_7scAVSbZRXb7CTNI7VGF9UXzkiRlG7OV-4Ig7DSWastIDPUhRv7LLGIOtG1Ubh2fl1J_7fb630aYEsZrM9jag/s640/Railroads+and+Fox+Hunts.png" width="426" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pacing</b></span><br />
The locomotive's pace is as fast as safety allows. A train only hurries to make its stops on time. When a train is delayed, it's an annoyance. When the hounds are delayed, the hunt is in peril. The crafty fox slipped the chase. The hounds find themselves at the brook, sniffing both banks while the hunters fret. Then a hound barks. She's caught the scent again, and they're off! Suddenly, they're bolting heedless through the brush, panting with exertion and exhilaration. No train has ever felt such passion. The pace varies throughout, mixing slow sweeps across the dell looking for a scent with heedless sprints through the woods. It helps that, when the pace slows, the PCs are genuinely concerned. They want to be off on the hunt, but they've lost the scene. They're desperate to get back to it because they <i>care</i>.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Duration</span></b><br />
A railroad's length is determined by its geography, not its value as entertainment. A train ride takes as long as it takes to get from A to B. A long trip is supposed to take a long time. But a fox hunt's duration is paced for excitement. It can't be over too soon, and it can't go on too long, either. The timing and pace are as important as claiming the trophy at the end. <br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Sense of Danger</span></b><br />
Though the chances that a hunter will die are very low, a fox hunt is designed to feel like a risky adventure. Fox hunts were an opportunity for aristocrats to feel a thrill, even if the real danger was fairly low. Similarly, one of the core competencies of running an RPG is to inflate the players' feeling of danger.Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-61859818058260394672016-12-09T15:31:00.001-05:002016-12-09T15:33:35.463-05:00Using Common Games for RPG PuzzlesPuzzles help you keep your game exciting. They <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2013/04/modulating-interest.html" target="_blank">vary the action</a>, so there's something different to do every scene. <br />
<br />
When you're putting together a <a href="http://www.runagame.net/2014/05/puzzles.html" target="_blank">puzzle for your RPG</a>, there are tons of ways to handle it. A really easy and supremely adaptable puzzle to use is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastermind_(board_game)" target="_blank"><i>Mastermind</i></a>. Wikipedia tells me it's also called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulls_and_Cows" target="_blank"><i>Bulls and Cows</i></a> and goes back a over century. It's similar to <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty_Questions" target="_blank">Twenty Questions</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangman_(game)" target="_blank">Hangman</a>,</i> or <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guess_Who%3F" target="_blank">Guess Who?</a></i>, which make good puzzles for RPGs as well.<br />
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You can adapt Mastermind to a lot of different situations. It can be numbers or letters in a password; words in a passphrase; potions on a rack; symbols on tumblers; or colored marbles in bowls. <a href="http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Terminal" target="_blank">Fallout uses a variation of it for hacking terminals</a>.<br />
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As a reminder, never make it possible to fail to continue the game. If the puzzle guards the door into the dungeon, then failing to solve the puzzle has to cause some problem <i>other than</i> preventing the PCs from getting in. If you're familiar with my <a href="http://www.critical-hits.com/blog/2016/08/16/skill-challenges-in-5th-edition-dd/" target="_blank">article on skill challenges</a>, you can use some of the same hazards from those in guessing games.<br />
<br />
Here are the basic rules of Mastermind:<br />
<ul>
<li>There is a secret code. It's usually fairly short.</li>
<li>The code is made from elements drawn from a set. The set can be fairly large.</li>
<li>The player(s) get to make a pre-determined number of guesses. They don't have to know how many guesses they get, or how many are left. In D&D, you can also cause them some other penalty on a failed guess.</li>
<li>The way the players make guesses can have additional rules. A passphrase should be a grammatically correct phrase (Praise to Tiamat instead of Tiamat Praise Praise), repetition may or may not be allowed (If you have one icon of each color of chromatic dragon, you can play <i>black, white, red</i>; but you can't play <i>red, red, white</i>), and length may or may not vary (if there are three bowls to put liquids into, the length is always 3; but guessing a password might involve words of varying length).</li>
<li>After each guess, they get feedback about how close their guess was to the secret code. There are a few ways to give feedback. If length is a factor, there must be length feedback. </li>
<ul>
<li>Length: Too Long, Too Short, or Correct Length (always use when length is a factor)</li>
<li>Correct: The number of correct elements in correct positions</li>
<li>Wrong Position: The number of correct elements in incorrect positions (optional)</li>
<li>Omen: If the code has meaning, a fourth feedback option is to give a hint as to how close to the meaning the guess is. For instance, if the passcode is a word of six letters, "DEFILE" the puzzle feedback could deem hopeful or positive words weak and cowardly.</li>
</ul>
<li>Difficulty varies based on the above factors:</li>
<ul>
<li>Giving more feedback makes the puzzle easier, </li>
<li>Giving more guesses makes the game easier, </li>
<li>Using a smaller set makes the game easier, </li>
<li>Using fixed length makes the game easier, and </li>
<li>Using a shorter code makes the game easier.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>A Mastermind Example</b></span><br />
<br />
In the cult's library is a scroll on metaphysics. Some of the words on the scroll have been circled in charcoal pencil: "Curse, Praise, Glory, All, For, To, Tiamat, Harpers, Tharzidun." There are three puzzle rooms, each with a statue of a robed cultist standing in front of a door. You can't get through the door unless the statue animates and moves out of the way. An Insight check tells you that the nine words make up the passphrases to each puzzle door, but which words for which doors?<br />
<br />
The code phrases are...<br />
North: ALL PRAISE TIAMAT<br />
East: DEATH TO HARPERS<br />
West: THARZIDUN FOR GLORY<br />
<br />
This is a fairly easy puzzle: There are only 9 words in the set and 3 puzzles. The puzzle will get easier as the players go on, because they will rightly assume the proper nouns (TIAMAT, HARPERS, THARZIDUN) are only used once. Also they will assume the passphrases make sense (not FOR FOR TO ALL FOR or other nonsense phrases). They might also easily guess the phrases are 3 words each, since it's hard to construct longer phrases with the words in the set. So to raise the difficulty, we will give the players a small number of guesses.<br />
<br />
"The cultist statue has two ruby gems for eyes"<br />
<br />
Stealing the gems does no harm to the thief, except it means the PCs can't get any hints. They have to speak the password. Each time they get it wrong, some part of the statue becomes colored and lifelike. This represents an incorrect guess. If they get it wrong four times in a row within 24 hours, the statue comes fully to life and attacks them. If they attack the statue or try to shove it aside, it comes to life and attacks them. In addition, other traps in the room might activate. Statues tend to be immune to poison gas...<br />
<br />
The reason we're using "statue attacks" instead of "statue stops taking guesses" is that we don't want failure on the test to mean the adventure ends. Also, we want to make the puzzle hard. We want the PCs to fail at least one puzzle. So we have to have the failure condition hurt the PCs a little without stopping the game.<br />
<br />
We're only giving feedback on two things: Length and number correct. First, the statue gives feedback (if there is feedback to give) after someone faces it and speaks three words. Second, the statue gives feedback about the number of correct words in the correct positions. Its eyes will light up when you start to talk to it. After three words, both eyes fade to dark if no words were correct. One eye will stay lit and sparkle for ten seconds if one word was correct. Both eyes will stay lit and sparkle for ten seconds if two words were correct. Getting three correct makes the statue animate and open the door for the PCs. <br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">More Puzzles for your Games</span></b><br />
<br />
Here is a long list of other games people play that you can use as RPG puzzles.<br />
<br />
Hidden rule games involve playing a game where there are hidden rules. They require an active judge. In RPGs, these work well for simulating hacking or a sphynx guardian's puzzle. Some can go on until the rule is solved, and others end eventually. You can play some competitively, so that one player is the winner. And others force all the players to cooperate against a time or guess limit. Some can work either way.<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6830/zendo" target="_blank">Zendo</a> is a really simple rule-guessing game that has pretty plastic pyramids. It really focuses on the act of testing and guessing a rule. Zendo is competitive, but you can make it collaborative by assigning some cost to guesses or limit to the number of guesses.</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant's_foot_umbrella_stand" target="_blank">Elephant's foot umbrella stand</a> is another rule guessing game you can use. Like Mao, there are one or more people who know the hidden rule. You can use a whole village of people who keep a secret. They carry or speak the name of an object to be let into an inner sanctum. Lots of different objects let them in, but no two objects can be the same (so the PCs can't just copy someone).</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleusis_(card_game)" target="_blank">Eleusis</a> is a rule-guessing card game you can use as a riddle contest against a sphinx type riddle giver.</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_(card_game)" target="_blank">Mao</a> is a card game where new players have to scramble to figure out the rules. If the PCs visit a tavern in an unfamiliar city, you can emphasize the exotic nature of the city with this game.</li>
<li>Green Glass Door: This is a simple kids' word game where you have to figure out what nouns can pass through the "green glass door." Spoiler alert: It's <span style="background-color: black;">nouns with double letters (e.g. letters can, but words can't)</span>. You can invent similar tricks. A portal that only allows certain things to pass is very appropriate for <i>Planescape</i>.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Guessing games involve a secret keeper and a guesser. Some are played competitively (battleship, guess who) while others are asymmetrical (hangman, twenty questions). Competitive versions end when one player wins. Asymmetrical versions end after a limited number of guesses has been used or the correct answer has been guessed. You can turn a competitive game into an asymmetrical one or vice versa. Ulam's game is unique in that it is a game of twenty questions where the questions and answers are already asked, but one answer is wrong. The player(s) have to guess the solution, like a game of twenty questions, but to do so, they have to figure out which question was answered incorrectly.<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guess_Who%3F" target="_blank">Guess who</a> is a great way to simulate information gathering. Each day, the PCs get to make Charisma checks (D&D) or Contacts rolls (Fate) etc. to ask a question. As they collect answers, the picture of their suspect becomes clearer. But each day, they have to roll for a random encounter or some other cost accrues. Maybe they only have four days to solve the crime...</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangman_(game)" target="_blank">Hangman</a> is the simplest word guessing game, with a grim, medieval theme.</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty_Questions" target="_blank">Twenty questions</a> is a great game to play with a sphinx. </li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulam%27s_game" target="_blank">Ulam's game</a> is like twenty questions, but doesn't require an interlocutor. The questions have been asked and answered, but one answer is wrong. The players have to figure out by deduction which answer is wrong, then figure out what the solution is.</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_(game)" target="_blank">Battleship</a> is a logical process guessing game. You can use it to simulate searching a ruin or wilderness.</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_spy" target="_blank">I Spy</a> is the simplest guessing game. It could work for a riddling NPC.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Limited communication games are great puzzles to throw into an RPG.<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charades" target="_blank">Charades</a> is a method people can communicate without a shared language. This is a great way to put a puzzle into your game: Introduce a potentially friendly NPC that you have to use Charades to communicate with!</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taboo_(game)" target="_blank">Taboo</a> requires you to communicate a password or phrase without using the actual words of the solution. Magic can prevent a character from saying a specific word. But if you're careful, you can help others guess it.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.ellentv.com/2013/05/02/download-ellens-app-heads-up/" target="_blank">Heads Up</a> is like reverse Taboo, and you can use an index card to play it. </li>
</ul>
<br />
Asymmetrical information games are games that divide your players up. Generally you give one team (or one player) a problem that can only be solved by the other team's help, except that there is information that's kept secret.<br />
<ul>
<li>Building instructions: Divide the teams up. One team gets something built from blocks or drawn on grid paper. The other team has to make an exact copy using a set of blocks or a grid paper and pencil. The first team can't show the second team the original - they can only describe it.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.keeptalkinggame.com/" target="_blank">Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes</a> is a video game based on this premise. If it's not being used in LARPs as a bomb defusing simulator, it will be soon. </li>
<li>You can use visual memory in a similar fashion. For instance, give a player a map of a maze with all the traps, secret doors, and dead ends marked. Tell them they're not allowed to copy it or write any notes down, but they have to memorize it. Take it away. Then put the PCs into that maze, with all the traps, secret doors, and dead ends exactly where the map said they were. Give them a limited time to get through the maze so they can't proceed with caution. See if the one player can remember enough to keep the party safe.</li>
<li>Similarly, you can play telephone with the map. Hand the GM map of the maze (with all the secrets revealed) to a player. Give the player just two minutes to copy it as best they can. Take away the GM map. Hand player 1's map to player 2. Give player 2 just two minutes to copy the map player 1 made. Take away player 1's map. Hand player 2's map to player 3. Give player 3 two minutes to copy player 2's map. Repeat until you have a hasty copy of a hasty copy of a hasty copy (etc.).</li>
</ul>
Negotiation games can be used to simulate a negotiation in a bounded, circumscribed fashion. If the GM is just no good at negotiating but wants to make a game or puzzle out of it, play Haggle with the players. Ultimatum can turn your players against one another.<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimatum_game" target="_blank">Ultimatum game</a>: There's a pool of money. One player makes a single offer. The other player can accept or refuse. If they refuse, neither gets any money. You would pit the players against one another in this game. Otherwise it's no fun.</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haggle_(game)" target="_blank">Haggle</a>: This is an asymmetrical negotiation game you can use to simulate an asymmetrical negotiation.</li>
</ul>
Code breaking games and decoding puzzles can represent linguistics (deciphering ancient languages) or represent real ciphers. They can also be "word puzzles" on floors and walls in dungeons, simulate code-breaking in modern games, and so forth:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.blackstump.com.au/ditloid.htm" target="_blank">DitLoID</a>: These are neat because a person who lives in or uses the space needs some hint to remember the passphrase, say, "five fingers on the hand" so they abbreviate it to 5FotH. See the link for a ton of examples.</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_ladder" target="_blank">Word Ladder</a>: Could be symbolic. How fast can you connect Bahamut to Tiamat?</li>
<li><a href="http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/WordSearchSetupForm.asp" target="_blank">Word Search</a>: I once built a word search so that the words were the names of all the good gods. The letters left over spelled out the passphrase that was the solution to the puzzle.</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipher" target="_blank">Ciphers</a>: Letter replacement and Cesar shift ciphers can be solved. The longer the plaintext, the easier the code is to crack. Very short plaintext may be impossible to crack. You can give the players a partial key, or let them have one letter of plaintext with a successful Intelligence check.</li>
<li>A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebus" target="_blank">Rebus</a> represents words as images you have to interpet to form a passphrase or plaintext solution, so it can simulate deciphering heiroglyphs.</li>
</ul>
Mathematical and logic puzzles are great for players who like complicated and challenging logic puzzles, but they have major challenges for RPGs. They can take a long time to solve, or a very short time if the player(s) have encountered them before. Like riddles, there needs to be some limit. The players might spend the whole session thinking about the puzzle without solving it if there's no time or guess limit.<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.justriddlesandmore.com/Weighty/weightyproblem.html" target="_blank">Balance puzzles</a>, <a href="http://brainden.com/weighing-puzzles.htm" target="_blank">water pouring puzzles</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_crossing_puzzle" target="_blank">river crossing puzzles</a> are logic puzzles. They require the players to think through an analytical problem.</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_square" target="_blank">Latin squares</a> are arrangement puzzles - like Sudoku, but with colors, letters, or even images.</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonogram" target="_blank">Nonograms</a> are like Latin squares in many ways, except that the solution is an image made of colored blocks. They could be used to simulate divination or other procedures that result in an image coming from nothing. The players can stop solving once they've got enough of the picture to know the answer to their question.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.mathsisfun.com/games/towerofhanoi.html" target="_blank">Tower of Hanoi</a> (simple sequence puzzle) is a famous puzzle that tasks the players with moving a stack of discs from one post to another. </li>
<li>Complex sequence puzzles (Rubik's cube, etc.) are too complicated for RPGs, unless you're running a certain weekend-long game at MIT.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.tavernpuzzle.com/" target="_blank">Physical puzzles</a> (tangrams, packing puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, blacksmith's puzzles aka disentanglement puzzles) can be bought at most toy and game stores. They were common in medieval times, so the metal ones you can get at renaissance faires can be diagetic puzzles handed to a player's character. </li>
<li><a href="https://gameknot.com/chess-puzzles.pl" target="_blank">Chess puzzles</a> are fun if the players like chess, and chess is a game in your world. </li>
</ul>
Card puzzles can be another fun challenge.<br />
<ul>
<li>Solitaire can be a challenge for your game. About 4 in 5 games of Klondike solitaire are theoretically winnable, but the probability of winning is just around 2 in 5; can be played with Tarot cards with the trumps as their own suit.</li>
<li>Card games can be used as puzzles, or played at the table to represent the PCs' gambling. An important NPC might play a game of Baccarat or poker against the PCs in a spy game, for instance. You might see it as a roleplaying opportunity paired with a battle of wits. Use the card game to frame the scene. Non-betting card games like bridge are often used as frames for the parlor segment of murder mysteries in fiction. Bridge puzzles are potentially interesting puzzles, but like chess puzzles, may be too hard if the players aren't bridge players. Magic: the Gathering card puzzles exist, and have a fantasy theme, but again, your players need to be familiar with the game.</li>
<li>Mao and Eleusis, above, are hidden rule card puzzles.</li>
<li>Playing cards can be used as props in number puzzles, if your players like those.</li>
</ul>
Riddle games are the classic fantasy puzzle. They have a single answer. The classic "riddle door" in D&D is an animated door, so the Knock spell cannot open it (it's not locked or stuck - it just refuses to move). A great way to use a riddle in a dungeon is to select a riddle with a simple solution, like "a knock on the door" or "fire" and leave the clues throughout the dungeon. In one area, there's a locked door with a serpent knocker. Or maybe it's a cold brazier beside the locked door. Rapping the first door with the knocker causes it to unlock. Any other action animates the serpent and poison's the character. Lighting the brazier opens the second door, and any other action causes a <i>Cone of Cold</i> to attack the party. The knocker and brazier may not appear significant unless the players recognize the significance of the clues they've seen in various places and solve the riddle they form.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Crossword puzzles are riddle games. Instead of using a whole crossword puzzle, read through the clues on a few to find riddles of varying challenge level. They get easier if you reveal a few letters in the solution, of course.</li>
<li><i>Math riddles: See balance, water, and river crossing puzzles, above.</i></li>
<li>Riddle trading: Riddles have real value in a medieval world, and their value scales with the wealth and power of the person "trading" for one. Riddle games where one party tries to stump the other are a classic way of trading riddles for riddles, but NPCs (especially dragons and the like) might give prizes or boons to characters who can stump them with a riddle. This makes the players try to stump <i>you, </i>which they will enjoy. </li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logogriph" target="_blank">Logogriph riddles</a> are very complicated and awfully challenging riddles. They're similar to cockney rhyming slang (see also: <i>Planescape</i>) where meaning is concealed behind a few steps of word play.</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situation_puzzle" target="_blank">Situation puzzles</a> (minute mysteries) are some of the most complex riddles. They often have multiple solutions, but only one <i>simple</i> solution. The players in a situation puzzle usually get to ask questions, so eventually they will get closer and closer to the answer. A minute mystery might just have a handful of hints you can choose to read or not.</li>
<li>A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droodles" target="_blank">Droodle</a> is a visual riddle similar to a situation puzzle. You can find them on google. I just wanted an excuse to write "google: droodle" </li>
<li>Want the <i>best</i> riddles? <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/riddles/" target="_blank">Reddit </a>is the <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1zcf9x/what_is_the_best_riddle_you_know/" target="_blank">best</a> place to <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/51wx5d/what_is_your_favourite_riddle/" target="_blank">find</a> riddles <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/4oo7vn/whats_your_favourite_riddle/" target="_blank">because</a> their system of <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3fi83z/reddit_whats_your_favorite_riddle/" target="_blank">upvoting</a> moves the <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1pxd2s/what_is_the_most_frustratingly_simple_riddle_you/" target="_blank">best</a> to the <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/RiddlesForRedditors/" target="_blank">top</a></li>
</ul>
<div>
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Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-88866853076430930702016-11-15T09:28:00.001-05:002016-11-15T09:28:44.198-05:00What You Feed Will Grow<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>What you feed will grow, and what you starve will wither.</b></i></div>
<br />
That's the essence of Johnn Four's blog post "<a href="https://roleplayingtips.com/johnn-rpg-musings/you-are-what-your-dice-eat/" target="_blank">You Are What Your Dice Eat.</a>" It's good advice for life in general, but Four applies it specifically to energy at the table. I want to examine the idea a bit more, because there's a lot of potential depth there. <br />
<br />
RPGs are social systems: They take inputs from the people at the table, process them, and generate outputs. The game system is only part of the social system at the table. The style, energy, personalities, relationships, and improvisational styles of the people at the table are an even larger part of it. These all combine to create a "machine" that takes what the people at the table bring to it, processes it, and produces the game session as it is experienced by the table.<br />
<br />
If we open the hood of the machine, we can see a lot of intricate details. Encounter design, weekly scheduling, GM authority, stakes setting, and a lot of other components work to process the table's inputs. Run a Game has examined a lot of those machine parts individually. But let's close the hood again, and look at the big picture, like Four does.<br />
<br />
Johnn Four has created a clear definition of success in your GMing, and that's what's most valuable. <br />
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Framing the question of GM success as "what you feed will grow," you succeed as a GM when what you do (the input you create) generates outputs that inspire you to do more. It's about sustainable fun. That's important: It's not just "if everyone had fun, it was a success" because there are many ways you can make a fun game, but some of them sap your energy and fail to inspire you to continue. <br />
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In RPGs, like life, you have to feed what you want to flourish. If you love it when your players fall in love with your NPCs and start involving them in things, then that's where you should devote your energy -- not to combat encounter design or drawing world maps; but coming up with voices, personality traits, needs, and fears for your NPCs. And ways to make them useful. <br />
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Unfortunately, like in life, it's not always clear what inputs to feed, in order to produce your favorite outputs. In that case, focus on the "fundamentals" - the things that always seem to produce more energy at your table. I've played with hundreds of different players in my life, and I can list some universal GM fundamentals. But more important to your table is the question of what are <i>your</i> fundamentals? What are the things that produce outputs that inspire you when you do them?<br />
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Reflect on those, and run the game that inspires you.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Reference the blog post that inspired this one: <a href="https://roleplayingtips.com/johnn-rpg-musings/you-are-what-your-dice-eat/" target="_blank">You Are What Your Dice Eat</a> </span></div>
Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-48562422426824271782016-10-20T15:11:00.000-04:002016-10-20T15:11:29.117-04:00Happy Halloween - Here come the Undead<b><span style="font-size: large;">Happy Halloween! Boo! </span></b><br />
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You've played a ton of fantasy RPGs, and you've battled undead numerous times, but have you put much thought into the undead? Are they just a spooky monster or is there a story there?<br />
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In my quest to inject as much story and plot into everything I do as a GM, today I'm going to talk about the stories behind the undead. I'll take a list of the most well-known undead, break them down into five categories, and talk about the plot that's out there for each category and each variant. The five categories are:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Incorporeal Ghosts</li>
<li>Corporeal Ghosts</li>
<li>Death Demons</li>
<li>Animated Corpses</li>
<li>The Infected</li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Art by Zeke Nelsons</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Incorporeal Ghosts</b></span><br />
In general, ghosts are awesome. A single ghost or small group of ghosts makes for a unique story about an event in the past that has an echo in the present. The connection between the past and present is great for A-plot/B-plot dungeon design, and can serve as either the A plot (the reason the PCs are here) or the B plot (something interesting that they can explore while they're here).<br />
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<ul>
<li><b>Allip</b>: The allip is the mad ghost of a person driven to suicide by madness. This can be congenital mental illness, extreme traumatic stress, grief, or burning guilt and shame. Mad ghosts are terrifying.</li>
<li><b>Banshee</b>: When an elf woman dies after being betrayed by or betraying those she loves, she becomes a wailing banshee. The general idea of the "ghost of a traitor consumed by hatred" is a great story.</li>
<li><b>Ghost</b>: When someone dies with unresolved earthly business they just can't let go of, they linger on this plane as a ghost. There are countless ghost stories out there. Ghosts shouldn't always be evil, though the kind of obsession that keeps a person from passing on to the afterlife is indicative of a dangerous person regardless.</li>
<li><b>Specter</b>: These are the mad ghosts of people who died a sudden, violent death. They're a reflection of the horror and violence of their death. I like thinking of them as people who died in a horrible and sudden tragedy, like a shipwreck, mine collapse, terrible battle, or an orc slaughter. Instead of reflecting the personality the deceased had in life, the spirit reflects the violence and horror they experienced at the moment of their death. They're tragic, crazed, psychotic killers. Specters have varied in difficulty over the years, and in 5e, they're pretty easy foes. That's good, because unlike most ghosts, you'll probably want to use specters in groups to represent the haunt left over by mass tragedies. Specters also make good poltergeists, as the 5th edition designers recognized.</li>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Corporeal Ghosts</b></span></div>
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You don't have to be translucent and insubstantial to be a ghost. D&D has a bunch of traditional flavors of corporeal ghosts - living humans who have passed on but not left this world. Like other ghosts, each corporeal ghost is its own unique story.</div>
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<li><b>Bodak</b>: This ghost is the remains of a humanoid destroyed by the touch of absolute evil. This has cool implications. See the "basically demons" undead below for examples of absolute evil (Nightshades!) that might be good Bodak-spawners. Bodaks are people who aren't killed but instantly corrupted, so they're a sad, twisted, hate-filled version of their former self. In 5e D&D, there are no stats for the Bodak yet.</li>
<li><b>Death Knight:</b> The Death Knight is an awesome image: A powerful loyal warrior who served a dark god dies, and is preserved in death by the god's power. It's the fighter's version of a Lich (see below). Death knights are not really plots in and of themselves, like other ghosts (corporeal or not) are; instead, they're part of a greater plot about the servants of an evil god.</li>
<li><b>Lich</b>: Imagine if you were so afraid of death that you wouldn't leave your body even after it died. A lich is a wizard who figured out how to do just that. They're corporeal ghosts of wizards who used a profane ritual to bind their soul to this world forever, through a phylactery. The phylactery is an excellent plot device, because a lich cannot be killed without also destroying its phylactery.</li>
<li><b>Mohrg</b>: The corpses of truly awful villains who died "without atonement" rise again as mohrgs. It makes more sense to say they "died without justice" -- the villain slain by heroes to stop their evil scheme is not going to become a mohrg. The villain who lives to a ripe old age and dies of a heart attack might be brought back as a mohrg, though. A mass murder who dies in an accident might come back as a mohrg. A villain killed by another villain could come back as a mohrg (but see also Revenant!). There are no mohrgs in 5e yet, but you could re-skin the Revenant.</li>
<li><b>Revenant</b>: The body of a murder victim whose spirit won't leave the corpse until their murder is avenged is called a Revenant. They're not out for justice for the sake of justice. They're out for bloody revenge. So they're pretty awful monsters. They're full of hate and resentment and insane self loathing.</li>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Death Demons</span></b></div>
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Some creatures in D&D are traditionally (or currently) associated with the undead, but are more demons associated with death and the dead than the risen bodies or souls of dead people. Death demons should be connected to stories about thinning boundaries between life and death, foolish necromancers talking to demigods in the shadow world of the dead, or ancient death deities awoken from slumber to consume the souls of the living.</div>
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<li><b>Devourer: </b>A devourer was never a human to begin with. It's an undead extraplanar demigod who eats souls. Because it's associated with death and the land of the dead, and it's powered by human souls, it's often categorized as undead in D&D. Devourers are spooky mid to high level villains. There isn't a devourer in 5th edition D&D yet, so consider using the stats for a Vampire, but re-skinning it as a soul devourer and removing the folklore references.</li>
<li><b>Nightshade: </b>Half darkness, half absolute evil made manifest, a nightshade is a curse-demon that comes from Shadow. D&D created a meta-mythology of "shadow" as the energy of entropy, death, decay, and darkness, and it began infesting every setting from Dark Sun to Dragonlance. The Nightshade is one of the creatures made of pure shadow. There's no Nightshade in 5e yet. The Shadow Demon is similar to the Nightshade in theme, but not in power. You can use a Shadow Demon's stats for a Nightshade -- just amp up its power level with more HP, higher Proficiency bonus, more attacks, and some magic resistance to make it scarier.</li>
<li><b>Will o' Wisp: </b>In folklore, the will o'wisp is a bad faerie. In other editions of D&D, it's an extraplanar spirit. In 5e D&D, it's undead. It's not the soul of a dead person, but instead a faerie (or demon) that lures people into the swamp to kill them. </li>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Animated Corpses</b></span></div>
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There are a few ways corpses get animated in the D&D mythology. First, necromancers can animate the dead to serve them. These monsters are basically constructs, but with a corpse theme. A necromancer plot is a story of a magical mad scientist, basically. The undead aren't the story - they're just minor antagonists in a story about a human villain. Second, when tombs or graveyards are violated (by tomb raiding adventurers, villagers who don't know they're there, evil cults, bandits on the run from the law, etc.), the gods of good or death will animate the dead to protect the sanctity of the tomb, get revenge on the violators, and prevent further violations. The undead could be the villains, but the source of the problem is human intrusion into the domain of the dead. Third, a powerful curse or celestial event could animate the dead. The story here would be similar to the profaned tomb, but isn't necessarily linked to a graveyard. The bloody murder of a village priest by the town's alderman could cause the dead whose funerals the priest presided over to rise every night until the priest's body is found and their murderer is punished. The horror novel <i>Pet Sematary</i> is an "animated corpses" myth.</div>
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<ul>
<li><b>Flameskull</b>: This is an animated burning skull with animal intelligence, and it's almost always the creation of a necromancer. The gods don't like to break corpses up to make them into fire-weapons.</li>
<li><b>Flesh Golem: </b>Technically a flesh golem is not an undead monster in D&D, but it is a corpse re-animated by a magic-user to serve them, so it's not really too different from a zombie. There's a "Frankenstein's Monster" aspect to the flesh golem, though. It's created with alchemy and naturalism gone awry, while the zombie is created by channeling necromantic energy with arcane spells.</li>
<li><b>Mummy: </b>This is a catchall category of tomb guardians that protect the resting places of the dead. Mummies are returned to unlife for this purpose by mysterious "desert gods" in D&D folklore. But there are mummy myths in other Earth cultures. The draugr is a norse mummy protecting a tomb, returned to unlife for this purpose by norse gods, for instance. A mummy doesn't have to be a bandage-wrapped corpse. It can be a dried out husk of a corpse or a skeleton draped in its funerary shroud</li>
<li><b>Skeleton: </b>The D&D skeleton is a set of walking bones held together by magic. A skeleton is basically a medieval robot. In a departure from previous editions, in 5th edition D&D, they're semi-intelligent and not mindless. A distinction between skeletons and zombies is that skeletons are often the corpses of people who died many years ago, while zombies are the corpses of the fairly recently dead.</li>
<li><b>Zombie: </b>We all know about zombies. The D&D zombie is a shambling corpse. It's not infectious, so it's a lot more like a voodoo zombie than a <i>28 Days Later</i> zombie. It's also like a medieval robot, but a lot stinkier than a skeleton, you'd imagine.</li>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Infected</b></span></div>
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Another common undead story is the idea of undeath as a contagion. Because of the threat to D&D player characters, the game features several versions of infectious undead. In addition to classic story hooks, infected undead are defined by their epidemiology. <br />
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Note that 5th edition seriously modified the traditional D&D epidemiology of infectious undead! So the descriptions below are a bit longer, but they discuss those changes and give advice for DMs on how to make infected undead contagious once again. Mwa-ha-ha!</div>
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<li><b>Ghouls:</b> Like the typical zombie apocalypse, Ghouls can spread fast. They're hungry, so they're motivated to go eat. These are your "fast, infectious zombies." Traditionally, in D&D, when they touch you, you can be paralyzed (like people in horror movies who become paralyzed in fear). In 5th edition D&D, ghouls aren't specifically infectious. So where do they come from? Well you can use the ghoul as a death demon, based on the arabic myth they originate from: The ghul is a spirit that lives in graveyards and eats the corpses of the dead. You could also use them as curse-spawned or god-spawned animated corpse undead (see above). But I think it was a mistake to remove their infectious property. Their bite should transmit Ghoul Fever.</li>
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<li><b><i>Ghoul Fever (house rule): </i></b>A character who dies with Ghoul Fever rises again as a ghoul. At the end of each short or long rest, a character with Ghoul Fever must make a Death Save (regardless of their current hit point total). On a success, the character fights off Ghoul Fever. A failed Death Save works like normal: The character marks off one Death Save. After three failed Death Saves, the character dies and becomes a ghoul, even if their hit point total is positive. </li>
</ul>
<li><b>Wraiths: </b>Wraiths spread incredibly fast, basically turning a village into a literal ghost town overnight, but unlike ghouls, they can't travel far because they cook in even a little sunlight. They can't just sleep in a ditch during the day like a ghoul. Probably a lot of wraiths created in this manner get destroyed by sunlight because the area gets a little overpopulated, and I bet they squabble with each other over daytime resting places. So ultimately there would be a small number of wraiths haunting a vast, deserted dead area with absolutely no life: No animals. Maybe not even plants and insects. In 5e, a wraith creates specters instead of other wraiths, which fits with a specter's origin story (see above) but doesn't have the infectious quality wraiths had in past editions. Feel free to change it back to wraiths begetting other wraiths.</li>
<li><b>Vampires: </b>These leeches need blood, have some serious Achilles heels, and look totally normal. So they spread slowly and keep a lot of living humans around to feed on. Once they become powerful enough to openly dominate a whole region, like Count Strahd von Zarovich, they stop caring as much about secrecy. Vampires are conspiracies (dare I say... camaraillas?) hidden within human society like parasites infesting a host. Vampires are also a darkly romantic image, with the sexual metaphor of blood drinking and relationship violence metaphor of mental enslavement. Note that the 5th edition designers made vampires create vampire spawn, not other vampires. You can change this: Vampires can make other vampires, but it's a conscious decision.</li>
<li><b>Wights: </b>Wights are super ghouls. Traditionally in D&D, when they kill someone, they come back as a Wight under the killer's control. In 5e D&D, the victim comes back as a zombie under the Wight's control. Basically they're the zombie plague if it was smart. And they're smart. So they keep their spread secret, maybe form into armies or other spooky Deadite / Army of Darkness scenarios. Maybe they rule a valley as god-kings and keep a tribe of humans as their cattle. If you want to keep the 5e Wight epidemiology, that's fine - one Wight forms the villain at the head of a deadite army! But you could go back to previous editions and have a feudalism of Wights, with a "patient zero" Wight controlling a second tier, some of whom have their own sub-Wights.</li>
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<br />Run a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.com0