This grand helmet crest can be worn only with a set of Half Plate or Full Plate. It grants no additional armour beyond that conferred by a helmet of the appropriate type, but has several enchantments. Firstly, the wearer gains a +8 bonus on saving throws against any Fear effects, and grants allows within sight a +2 Morale bonus on saving throws against Fear effects. Secondly, any time the wearer makes a successful saving throw against a Fear effect, any enemies within a 30’ radius burst are affected by a Doom spell until the end of the wearer’s next turn. The helm crest may be dislodged from the wearer if an enemy who strikes a critical hit chooses to target it. If so, the wearer takes no additional damage from the critical hit, but the helm crest is dislodged, and needs 10 minutes of repair to reattach to the helmet. In addition, when the crest is dislodged, the wearer suffers a -2 penalty to saving throws for the next 1 hour, or until the crest has been restored, whichever is shorter. Aura: moderate Evocation; Weight: 2lb.; Value: 4,000gp (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 27 February 2018) Categories All Today’s article is going to challenge people, because it’s about vulnerability- no, not the kind you take double damage from, but the kind where you make yourself flat-footed for your friends, and they do the same for you. This is all about emotional vulnerability. Now, don’t worry, this isn’t going to be a self-help manual. This is about how to be a better player at the table (and the GM is definitely a player as well!). To connect as friends, we *need* to create emotional openness. That won’t come easily to people, because we shut that stuff down in most Western society. But by forming bonds, and stretching the boundaries, we create a community with our friends. So, I start with silly voices. Pick something everyone can relate to, and associate with- a hunchbacked gravedigger named Igor. People would be disappointed without a “yairssss, marster!” Sing Goblin raiding-songs (Pathfinder has some great ones). Throw on an outrageously exaggerated thick accent for a Dwarven King! Because when people start talking back, *in character*, you’ve earned experience points as a GM. Don’t laugh or ridicule people, make it a space where all of the players can share that openness with each other and share in the joy of play. This touches on my article from a couple of days about ambience in the room, and will be difficult if you’re in a crowded game shop, but you can make it work. Have the chutzpah to carry it off (roll +Charisma)! If you’ve got observers, whether they’re people interested in the game, or just coming along to be the driver, ask them to participate too. Get them to be a shopkeeper first, or a Goblin- something that doesn’t matter if it goes off-script. Someone else sitting there and judging makes everyone else less open, so ask them if they can do you a favour and just help out with this bit... you may make yourself a new player! The endnote of this rant is this: people who participate in something together share that experience. If only one player is ‘roleplaying’ and everyone else is ‘rollplaying’, you’re really going to struggle getting anyone to commit to being vulnerable together. Be the first one, lead the way and leave a safe path for everyone to follow. It may reward you! (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 25 February 2018) Categories All The difference between a prop which a player physically gets to handle and read, and two minutes of you reading awkwardly purple prose from a scripted handout, is immense. Where possible, “show, don’t tell”. If you want some aged paper, mix a pinch of instant coffee into some warm water, scrunch your paper lightly and then smooth it back out, and then pour the coffee-water lightly over your handout. After this, put it on a tray in your oven on the lowest setting and DON’T FORGET ABOUT IT (few things spoil a prop more than being on fire, unless that’s the point). Leave it maybe 10-15 minutes, but keep an eye on it. You don’t want it burned around the edges, but the act of wetting and drying it will make it more brittle than normal, and will make it look aged. You can also hand-write it if you want to spend some time on calligraphy, but that can be hard (and I’ve worked as an engraver, trust me). It does add a *lot* to the appearance, though. Study up on the language you’re writing, too. If you can get a digital font which is Dwarvish or something (dafont.com , or rpgnow.com have some good ones), this can save you a lot of time, and will look ‘right’ if you keep it consistent. You may even have a player who takes this to heart, and does their own research, which can really pay off for you. Don’t let them write their whole character sheet or hit points in another language, though... that can backfire! ;) Let us know about props you’ve used in-game! (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 25 February 2018) Categories All We’re all keen to sit and roll some dice with friends, but where you choose to do that makes a big difference. You could potentially sit down in a food court and play something, but the background noise and general busy-ness of the place will make the difficult. Ideally, you want something with as little outside interaction as possible, both for noise levels, and for the privacy of your own gaming group (I’m going to touch on this in another post later). If you want background music, pick something unobtrusive (like, Lord of the Rings soundtrack is great, but if the Bridge Of Khazad-Dum track is playing when someone is negotiation with a shopkeeper, it doesn’t fit the mood), or keep control of the tracks so that you can flick between ‘dramatic music’, ‘suspense music’, ‘action music’, and ‘calm music’. Pick your location in the room, as well- if bad lighting is a problem, can you move the table, or close the blinds? I’ve tried, playing by candlelight is actually really hard! Can you dim the overhead lights a little? Enough to create atmosphere, not enough to need squinting. Getting some cheap chair cushions can make a great deal of difference, too- sitting for hours on cheap uncomfortable chairs is hard, and will detract from your players’ attention after a few hours. If you have a dedicated gaming room, can you have maps and appropriate pictures up to really ‘get in the feel’ of your campaign world? I ran a campaign which lasted over three years recently, and a big poster-size map of our world really helped in remembering which kingdoms were which, and how to travel to locations. Ease of access to books, miniatures, maps, and supplies (and the BATHROOM!) can not be overstated, as well. Try to remove or cover things that will distract from the game, like a TV or game console going in the same room. What’s your ideal games room setup? If you had three wishes and infinite gold, how would you spend it to kit out your gaming group? Let us know! Categories All You’ve fought all of the monsters on the surface of the earth. But what about BELOW the earth? In the last (currently) of the ongoing Campaign Ideas posts, I’m going to wind the clock back to 1986’s Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide. This fantastic time was filled with rules on realism on adventuring in caves and caverns below the earth, descending to many many miles below the surface. It included a vast lightless sea, a portal to the Elemental Plane of Earth, and Drow cities, over the course of four absolutely tremendous maps. Journeying into the trackless black winding passages of the Deepearth (this was before they had quite hit on the much more catchy ‘Underdark’) required courage, experience, and lots and lots of lamp oil. Inspirations: Descent, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, just about any old Underdark-based D&D adventure. Gather your courage, bring lots of rope and plenty of lamp oil, and tell us your tales! (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 23 February 2018) Categories All The struggle to remain alive is at the core of each character, to keep their blood and organs inside, and to keep breathing. But what it it wasn’t? Today’s campaign idea will take a turn for the morbid, with the consideration “what if everyone was dead?”. Now, without going too far into Tim Burton land, the concept doesn’t have to be Grimdark and awful. Being dead can have challenges and humor all to itself, and the interplay between living and ‘dead’ characters can humanize the whole process. And sometimes it can be goofy- let your players have fun, too! What powers your undead? Is it just unremitting hatred and desire for vengeance? Is t some kind of magic idol or force? Without death as a punishment/consequence for failure, how do you motivate players to do things? One consequence could be constantly losing memories (experience points?) to be able to rebuild themselves after being damaged. So a fight (probably) won’t destroy your undead knight, but she may lose her last memories of the scent of her daughter’s hair, or the taste of wine, or how to address a Duke. Inspirations: the Skullduggery Pleasant books, the Skeleton Warriors TV show from the 90s, Medievil video game, D&D’s (admittedly, pretty awful) Ghostwalk campaign setting. Let us know if you have any ideas, inspiration, or concepts! (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 21 February 2018) Categories All So, you need to pick a campaign setting... right? I mean... that’s how it’s always been. But what if you didn’t have to pick one? What if you picked ALL OF THEM? Try a game reality-hopping! Zip back and forth to different realities, see the setting where everyone has awful mustaches, or the reality where the bad guys won that last war, or the reality where that tragedy didn’t happen... There have been several examples of this kind of setting, most notable the TV show Sliders, and the X-Men spin-off, Exiles. In one setting, they were trying to find their ‘home’ reality and get back (from the few episodes I watched), while the other had a reality-controlling mastermind sending the characters on missions to accomplish certain things in different realities to fit the needs of his own plan. You can do all this and more... send the players to the reality where their nemesis is the only one holding together l the tenuous alliance against a greater evil. Or send them to the reality where one of the PCs is the bad guy, and must be stopped. Send them to the reality where it rains donuts, why not? This style of campaign setting requires a little more book-keeping, for keeping track of events, NPCs, and different realities, but can be a real change of pace. Inspirations: Sliders, Exiles, Doctor Who (sort of). Any alternate realities, multiversal travel, or ideas? Let us know! (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 20 February 2018) Categories All We've all been there- you're sick of medieval European generic fantasy, sick of dwarves and elves and dragon. So where to go? Have you considered... DINOSAURS? Don't bother writing history for a whole new world... in fact, just throw out history altogether! Your players can be at the forefront of creating history, civilization, and innovation. This can appeal to all kinds of players, from the Conan-style barbarians, to the rangers and druids happy that they're finally doing a wilderness-based campaign, to the wizards who are literally inventing the cheat codes to the universe and sharing knowledge with the unenlightened masses. Inhabit your world with vast tangles of hostile terrain, gigantic creatures, and savage otherfolk (lizard folk, ape folk, or whatever inspires you). Don't have to an for overarching political conflict, deal with might-makes-right tribal diplomacy, or teach the moral codes you're being handed by your deity! The world is your oyster! Now go out and find some pearls! Inspirations: A.C. Doyle's The Lost World, or Jules Verne's Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, Jurassic PArk, Beastmaster, Conan, Turok. Sid note: I have an area called the Lost Lands hidden in my world, a vast sunken area inhabited by a dying empire of Lizardfolk. At the heart of the empire sleeps the most terrible lizard of all- the dreaded Tarrasque! I use this as a tourist spot to shake up my world when needed. (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 19 February 2018) Categories All Sometimes, just threatening the end of the world isn’t enough. Sometimes, you just need to get it together, don’t listen to all the people saying “maybe this is a bad idea”, and call the Apocalypse. This means you can throw all the existing power structures out the window. Don’t like that King/Kingdom? Burn it down! Annoyed that Elminster keeps swooping in and saving your players? Blow him up! Frustrated with all the high-level characters littering the setting, and feeling like it’s hard to threaten things if they could just solve all the problems? Literally send them to Hell! This has got to be carefully done, of course, because otherwise your characters just vaporized. You want to make it an exciting event for them, and something they can potentially avert, change, or at least affect. Some good inspirations: Dragon magazine’s ‘Incursion’ event featuring the Githyanki, which actually had an article recommending how to “apocalyze the campaign world”, the Diablo series of games... in fact, there are a lot of games out there that do this. See what inspires you! Tell your stories of how you changed the game world, if you thought it back again afterwards, and how you did it! (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 18 February 2018) Categories All In my ongoing series of campaign ideas designed to spark an idea in your thoughts, allow me to present another idea: aquatic games. Exploring the land has been done. All your players know the maps. Where to go? What about... BELOW? Aquatic campaigns present your players, and their characters, with a while new set of challenges- travel logistics, the fragility of battling monsters in a box made of dead tree, and the ever-present balance of armour vs. swimming ability (“full plate gives me a -16 on Swim checks??!?”). Even when using technology or magic to brave the depths, underwater environments give you the capacity to play with some truly *tremendous* monsters. On land, people might scoff at a creature the size of a dragon. Underwater... no, most people will just take that for granted. This can also extend to space travel, for those of you who want to play in those environments. Journeying through the unknown, with little to separate you from cast gulfs of hostile *nothingness*, inhabited by alien creatures that don’t even follow the same biological standards as you’re used to, can be exhilarating and terrifying, enjoy it! Inspirations: 3.5’s Savage Tide campaign, the AD&D Terror From The Deep modules, XCOM 2 (the first time around, back in the 90s!), The Abyss, The Little Mermaid, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, and soooooooo many more! Had any interesting aquatic-based campaigns or adventures? Let us know in the comments! (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 17 February 2018) Mostly due to a fantastic article by Robin D. Laws from Dragon magazine way back in the day, I tend to look for ongoing campaign ideas in most of the TV shows I watch. I know that coming up with ideas can be really hard, though, and I thought I could run a series of posts on ideas for an ongoing campaign. Feel free to grab them for your whole game, or for minor story arcs, or an adventure, as you like! This can involve a whole bunch of standard fantasy tropes, like exploration, being shipwrecked, time travel or planar travel, or whatever strikes your fancy. The important part is knowing what your destination is, and being a long way away (or with reasons not to just teleport home). This could involve traveling cross-country through hostile terrain, hostile creatures, or other unknown hazards. So your characters might have a mission to accomplish, or a villain to defeat, or supplies to find. They might also be running into other side-quests to accomplish, maybe slowing down their main quest to benefit others- a true test of their moral strength. If you’d like, you can combine this with some kind of recurring villain (see my post from yesterday) for an appropriate thing to stop your characters just going home under their own power. Inspirations: Farscape; Star Trek: Voyager; Samurai Jack; The Hobbit/ Lord of the Rings; Monkey Magic. Have you had any exciting ‘journey home’ adventures or campaigns? Let us know what you’ve been through, and share your resources! (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 16 February 2018) Categories All Recurring Villains can turn a series of adventures into a great campaign. Characters like Darth Vader (fom Star Wars), Lord Verminard (from the Dragonlance adventures), or Scorpius (from the Farscape TV series), recurring villains let a GM really stretch the capabilities of their party, and their moral fiber. So, how can you use a recurring villain in your campaign, and keep your players from just killing them in their first encounter? There are a few tips, so read closely: First, make sure your villain has an interesting motivation. A bad guy who just wants to stomp puppies is boring, but one who wants to wipe out *just* the Elves in your campaign world begs further question. Second, give them a way to survive, whether that's some sort of one-use teleport bracelet, or a friendly mage who'll whisk them to safety. In addition, plan for your players to counteract / steal / neutralize this. Let them plan, and catch your vilain with their guard down for once. Third, give them a reason for your players to let them live (at least once)- orders to capture them alive, a bigger bounty if they're brought back, or something they want from the villain (where is the antidote? Who has captured the King?). Or was it not even that villain? Now that they're vanquished, they'll tell you that [the other bad guy] is actually the one who did the thing, and they were just playing along, or being contrary, the whole time? What if it all goes wrong? What if your players cut the villain's head clean off with a handy Vorpal Sword, or disintegrate them? Well, yes, that certainly puts a crimp in your plan.. but in most fantasy settings, being dead isn't the end. Was it a Clone? Or an illusion? Can the villain return as an undead monster? Worse, can they return as some kind of psychic construct / ghost / haunt which plagues the characters? Implemented well, a recurring villain can hang around for several campaigns. The groan on your players' lips when they find out that they have to deal with That Guy again can make all the difficulty worth it. Hope you have fun, and that we hear about some recurring villains from your campaigns! (Originally posted on 15 February 2018) Categories All War, like it or not, is often the catalyst for change at a national level, changing borders and Kings. Naturally, that makes it a frequent component of RPGs, whether the threat of it, or being in the thick of battle. And your players will want to be involved, so don’t leave them out! However, unless you’re playing Warhammer, pushing regiments of miniatures around the table isn’t what you want to be doing, as your players will end up feeling left out and very short on time spent. So what you want is to find a way of making war, and large battles, interesting but not overwhelming. Depending on your players’ influence and level, this means it’s a good idea to have different types of scenes for them. So, at lower levels, and in grim and dark settings, your players might find themselves not interacting with a large battle directly, instead seeking shelter, carrying messages, or scampering through big set-pieces and trying to stay out of the way. Once they’re past the first few levels, they’ll likely want to play a role- taking out specific enemy units (ogres are good for this, generally) or defending a bridge or small building. As their power grows, their capability will grow- a warrior can generally take on multiple skilled opponents, a spellcaster can obliterate vast groups of enemies, and rogues can plant traps and ambushes, removing elite enemies. This means that the adventuring party may be capable of accomplishing goals much like a larger regiment, as each has the capability and powers of many lesser soldiers. At even higher levels, the players may have the capacity to handle entire armies alone- and let them! Sometimes, getting to fight lots of low-level soldiers is a great experience which allows the players to throw everything they’ve got at an enemy- and have it work! So, remember to think about your players’ capabilities, and challenge them appropriately. Everyone wants to enjoy their experience, including the GM. So make it fun for everyone! (Originally posted on 14 February 2018) Categories All Everyone needs time off, even your adventurers! Having gone out of the house to just sit by the side of the river with some friends this morning has inspired today’s post. The recent game Tales From The Loop involves a mechanic where your characters needed to ‘connect’ with pre-designated people in order to recover energy and sanity. I like building this into the game- having some mechanic that means you have to personalize your character beyond being a collection of numbers and powers, and make you connect with them better. This was even a mechanic in the old Cyberpunk 2020 game, to restore your Humanity (lost through too much cheap cyberware and cheap violence). Have you seen any interesting mechanics like this? Something to help your characters just ‘chill out’ and relax? (Originally posted 11 February 2018) Categories All I’ve been lucky enough to be gifted Gloomhaven for Xmas, and have played 3-4 sessions of it. It’s very interesting in that it has level and character progression, but not much actual role-playing, *in the rules* (I’m an exception in that I tend to add role-playing components to everything, up to the Game of LIFE). However, it has a fantastic map, which you add elements to as you visit them, and build up your city which is tracked over 50+ sessions. It reminds me a little of the old AD&D Undermountain or Myth Drannor modules, in that it provides a place for you to adventure, and you’re just exploring and finding the things which the GM has pre-written. Honestly, I’d love to see a Fallout-based version, as I’ve been a massive fan since getting the demo in a PC PowerPlay magazine sampler CD in the 90s, but making this kind of sandbox is inherently difficult- it’s a lot of work to set up, and not all of it will pay off, unless your players are completionists. Have you had any great sandbox dungeons or campaigns? Any ideas you’d like to explore, or things you’ve always wanted to see in a game? Let me know about them! (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash 10 February 2018) Categories All |
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