I've taken up painting my terrain, as well as using combat "Zones". I've posted many of my paint jobs on The Tabletop Crafter's Guild page on Facebook. Some folks put forward the idea of my starting a youtube channel for painting. The job market isn't panning out so why not?
Here's the first few videos!
I'm going to explain my methodology for creating campaigns, and to do that, I'm going to start with Encounters. They are the basic building block of every adventure or campaign.
An adventure is a plot with a series of problems (Encounters) that need to be addressed to solve the adventure. Common Encounters involve fighting, socializing, exploring, or chasing.
A Bad Encounter is one that gets resolved with one or two rolls. It's a blip, a minor inconvenience that did not require the players to engage with story.
A Good Encounter is one that causes the players to strategize. If they are talking about what to do next, they are playing the game. And their solution may not be what you have planned, but be flexible enough roll with it. It might be that their idea is way cooler than what you had planned.
A Great Encounter is one that allows the players to strategize, but there's a timer going.
Treasure rewards for encounters are very minor, like a handful of coins or a spare common item. There's going to be a lot of Encounters so don't overpower your heroes with rare rewards. Usually the main reward for an encounter is being able to progress the story.
Failing an Encounter is a minor penalty and often just means they don't get the reward. This shouldn't make the rest of the adventure impossible, just a little more difficult. Give players the room to fail, but still find success.
If they failed the Encounter because everyone died... well that's another Blog Post I will need to write.
Once was a rock onna ground,
I figure to give it a pound,
But if I missed
It's 'cause I'm pissed
an I'm not good at being profound.
'Dis has been Thog Thoughts."
Others have noted it, leveling doesn't necessarily make your character better. They just face tougher monsters and the fights take longer. I won't cover that already well-tread ground.
I want to take on the assumption that without leveling, without significant character bonuses earned over time, that a game is only good for a one-shot. Unfortunately, leveling is the default for "character growth" in RPGs because it is simpler than developing a character narratively. Characters growing in a narrative way are much more complex as there are no handy yardsticks to measure it.
To those who think leveling is necessary to hold a player's interest over long games, let me ask you a few questions.
A) Did you ever watch Scooby Doo when you were a kid?
B) Did you keep coming back to see the next week's episode? (okay maybe just the older folks need to answer this).
C) From the first episode to the last episode, how many levels did Shaggy gain? Did he improve in any way or change at all? Nope.
Most sitcoms, cartoons, and weekly TV shows featured no character growth beyond "who's hooking up with who". Yet fans came back for more. They wanted to see the problem of the week unfold, hear the funny quips, and try to guess how it all ends.
Without the goal of levels, perhaps the players will become more invested in the tale. Less "what will my character become" and more "what will my character do". If you can accept and enjoy that playstyle, you don't need leveling to enjoy a game for a long, long time.
Acting for the stage is very different than acting for a movie.
It's all to do with where your audience is.
On the stage, the closest audience member is 5-10 feet away. So your acting needs to be big! Your voice, even in whisper, needs to project so that even those seated in the cheap-seats can hear. Your body should animate with huge gestures to show who is taking.
Acting for the camera means going small. The camera (thus audience) is right there, looking at the pores in your nose, the twitch of your eye. Your speech needn't be loud or bellowing, but soft and subtle. A great actor can convey so much emotion through such subtle acting.
So please, consider how far away your audience is at the game table, and try to act accordingly. Especially if there are other people around you.
This has been a message from Thoggius "Uses-Squirrel-As-Club" Ponderbrain III. Have a functional day.
Like Hollywood, many GMs are under the impression that the bigger the Threat to Existence, the more compelling the story will be. In my opinion, that's not going great for Hollywood right now and it may not be working great for your campaign either.
One problem with Epic storylines is that if you revisit a storyline based on saving All of Existence, your next story has to be even bigger (Dragonball Z)! Because it has nothing else really going for it except spectacle, does it? Sooner or later, you or your players will either get fed up with increasingly outrageous ways to threaten the universe (Star Trek: Discovery) or you'll just reboot or abandon it.
Not every story needs to be about saving All of Existence. Heroes can get just as much or maybe more enjoyment from just saving a village from the Barbarian Raiders. But if the heroes are working to save a village, I bet the village will know about it.
Your heroes fight the spectacular battle with the Forces of Naughtiness, and though it was tough, they prevail. But... I've noticed a trend in Epic Stories where the world isn't necessarily aware it is in any danger, only the heroes and the villains know what is truly going on. And while a heroic victory without seeking glory is very noble, this is a game of Fantasy. Your players might be looking for some positive reinforcement beyond treasure for what they've done. How about a parade, or at least a heartfelt "Good Job" and "Thank You". Your players likely aren't getting thanks in their real life.
However, all too often the heroes stand alone.
Take Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi. During the final battle over Endor, Skywalker has a serious battle of his own going on and the death of Palpatine and Vader may have helped turn the tide of the war. But I doubt anyone except Leia was told about what when down. There are parades for the Rebellion, but not for him. Very noble, the cause is more important than the person.
But! Your players might prefer a different ending, one where the people being saved know that the heroes are there doing what they can. It's all unfolding right in front of them. And when it is all over, the heroes get the recognition they've earned (see Army of Darkness).
All I am trying to say is that if the world is in constant danger of being obliterated every week, what does that say about the world? If the novelizations of Star Wars are to be believed, Republics are made out of tissue paper.
And the Mandalorian? He just wants The Child back. That's all his story needs.
They say Thog stop evolving long, long ago.
Thog remember. That when Thog accept that he perfect just the way he is.
Think like Thog, 'cause gills are over-rated. You be you. No more, no less.
'Dis has been Thog Thoughts.
I'm tired of counting coins and cracking silvers into coppers and NONE OF IT IS FUN!
It's an almost proven fact - As math increases, entertainment decreases.
So here's how we simplify things:
The Basic Unit - A Handful of Coin. What kind of coins? Who cares. How many coins? Who cares. A Weapon costs a Handful of Coin. A toolkit costs a Handful of Coin or two. A days food and lodgings costs a Handful of Coin. If the cost of an item is significant enough to note, it probably costs a Handful of Coin. When you search a goblin for loot, it might have a Handful of Coin.
The Sack of Coins. More expensive items cost 1 or more Sacks of Coin. Horses, Wagons, Sailboats, passage for a long voyage, their costs would be in Sacks of Coin. If the heroes are being hired for a "simple" job, they're going to be paid in Sacks of Coin. 1 Sack of Coin equals 10 Handfuls of Coin. The hero can carry 2 Sacks of Coin before becoming encumbered.
Chest of Coin. For the big payments. Magic items, castles, warships, blackmail, it costs Chests of Coins. A Chest of Coin equals 5 Sacks of Coin. Heroes are encumbered if they are carrying a Chest of Coins, so better get a wagon.
Thus we keep wealth descriptive, math is at a minimum, and you can easily gauge whether a hero should be encumbered by their loot or not. And it should be easy to guess-timate the price of anything.
I got the idea from movies, tv shows, Vikings, etc. They never talk about amounts. When someone buys something, they toss a handful coins down and get what they want. The villain always pays a sack of coins to his nefarious henchmen for a dirty night's work. Kingdoms pay ransom to their attackers in chests of coins. The vikings never sat and counted each coin when they were paid off. They just threw open the lid, looked at the loot, and the deal was done.
Edit>> I thought about just using individual coins to represent the wealth, but then heroes would only find single coins. Getting a Handful of Coins sounds better.
They announced a new edition of D&D, as well as the promise of a new setting.
Here's my prediction:
...a 5E version of BECMI, with Mystara as the setting. I believe (hope) that they come up with an even more simplified D&D5e ala Basic Edition. It will come in a boxed set like the original (maybe multiple boxed sets). Then revive the Gazeteers of Mystara.
Why?
Because modern 5e is too super-powered. That's why many people still play Basic or search out OSR. And while I love the indy press, WotC has the means to crank out support books on a regular basis.
Also because, while 5e is easier than many predecessors, it requires a $50 buy in per core book and each book is a hefty tome for a new player to wade through. That's why they created the Essentials boxed sets. But making an rules-lite-r version of D&D may hook a broader audience. Some may stay with Basic, while others may move on to advanced, but support both game styles.
Of course, I'm probably way off base. I suspect my crystal ball is actually plexiglass.
It is a rules light system. Incredibly rules light. So what?
All rpg dice systems boil down into "What are you aces at?", "What are you okay at?", and "What do you suck at?" Most games add in a bunch of fiddly numbers to measure your suck-age in 5 or 10% increments.
Tiny D6 forgoes using math to describe your character. Instead you get Traits.
Example: On a scale of 1-10, how strong is Chewbacca? What ever number you come up with, it's just a guess. What do we know? We just know he's Strong. That's one of his Traits. And we don't need a paragraph of rules to explain how being strong affects the game. You can already infer that Chewbacca is going to have an advantage in any roll that involves heavy lifting.
Describing characters with words instead of numbers? HERESY!
Maybe, but it feels so nice.
So how does Tiny D6 system work? Well, you roll with 1 to 3 6-sided dice. Any die that comes up a 5 or a 6 is a Success. If you roll at Disadvantage, you get 1d6. Standard Test is 2d6, and Advantage is 3D6.
For those that like knowing the odds of Success -
This game can be learned easily, and gets the hell out of the way when you want to get into story. And it doesn't feel jarred by constant rules lookups and shouting attack roll numbers and difficulties. Instead you get...
Player: "I want to swing across the chasm."
GM: "Okay, but your not an athlete. You're an accountant, right? I'm certain you suck at this. Roll with Disadvantage."
Player: Rolls 1d6. "5?"
GM: "Against the wishes of gravity and all of your clients, you successfully swing across."
And since it uses d6s, I don't have to look for a game store southern #Okkamuggatawa (not a real place).
My only complaint is that Heavy Weapons deal the same as Light weapons and armor does nothing. However, with such a simple system, it was easily house-ruled. Here's what I came up with:
Light weapons deal 1 Hit per success rolled. Heavy weapons deal an extra +1 Hit. Using Light Weapons lets you carry a shield.
Armor adds to Hit Points. If Hit Points are Timers (and Tiny d6 openly embraces the idea with weapons dealing 1 Hit), and armor makes you stay up longer, then armor just needs to add to Hit Points. If you get dropped to 0 Hit Points, your ruined armor is the least of your worries.
Light Armor adds +1 HP, Heavy Armor adds +3 HP, and Shields add +2 HP.
I have to say that the system edges out ICRPG for my new go to system, but only barely. The GM advice and philosophy of ICRPG are indispensable and I do not regret my purchase.
Final Verdict: If you play with new players, this is an excellent choice. If you play with kids, this is an excellent choice. If you are a seasoned rpg player and can get over not-knowing if your hero is 10% stronger than their opponent and can let yourself go with the narrative, this game may be all you need. If you're frustrated that you can't get the feel you want from more restrictive systems, Tiny D6 is incredibly easy to modify.
I think I may be done looking for a multi-genre system.
I don't know about the Supers game though. But I rarely ever run Supers campaigns. I don't have the knack for it.
Edit: I have one other complaint/ desire. I wish there was a way to publish unique settings for it but as of yet it doesn't look like there's any kind of open license or approval method. But that's just me, feeling overly crafty.
"Roses are Red,
All covered in Goo.
If I catch you and eat you,
you'll turn into poo.
'Dis has been Thog Thoughts"
"Thog one day understand, in battle of wits, first brain to hit the floor looses.
Be careful or Thog out-smart you too.
'Dis has been Thog Thoughts."
Today's post will talk about two different types of playstyles and analysis using my thoroughly uneducated pop psychology. These are personal opinions based on my experiences and should not be taken as gospel. Also, individual players can fall anywhere on the spectrum between these two extremes.
First up, Mentats. Others call them Munchkins, but I don't like that term. It's meant to be derogatory and imply that these players are having BadWrongFun. I think Mentat is a better description, and not insulting.
A Mentat gamer is one that derives joy from navigating the mathematics of a game, find the loopholes, and seeing just how strong they can make a character. This is fun to them. These players tend toward complex and crunchy RPGs as they gave a solid framework for the calculations. These players want to know the odds of success before they roll so they can make the most potent choice available. If you understand that, then you as a gm should focus your energies on making interesting and challenging encounters for these players to test their engines of destruction. I have noticed that Mentats are also more likely to be a part of the miniature wargaming hobby as well.
Mentats prefer games like Hero System, Pathfinder, etc. They might play a rules-lite game as a one-shot, but it likely won't hold their interest for a long campaign.
A Dreamer gamer is one that derives no joy from the complex maths and find them a distraction to the narrative. These players are just as happy playing Theater of the Mind as they are using a battlemat and minis. They carry their character in their head more than on their character sheet. They wonder why they can't have a Spear with all the same properties as a Rapier instead if they are proficient with both. Can't it just look like a spear? Would that break the game?
These players want the freedom to be imaginative without being penalized by the rules. They tend more toward Rules Lite systems like Tiny D6, ICRPG, Fiasco, Fate, or Quest. If your player is a Dreamer, then you need compelling adventures, dire stakes, fantastic locations. Also, these are the players that want you to mine their backstory for adventures.
Where do I fall? I'm leaving mid-Mentat and leaping into Dreamer. I just find more creative freedom with these games, and I can take it with me to introduce new people to the hobby. I love helping players make the character they want instead of the one that gives them the best options. And lastly, I just need to know what your hero is supposed to be good at, okay at, and suck at. All the degrees in between just don't interest me anymore.
Disclaimer: I have not been paid or endorsed by any of the game companies linked in this post.
It's just an idea that popped into my head one cold and windy eve. The idea was "why not put a GMPC with the party?"
WAIT! Hear me out!
The Storyteller
This character travels with the heroes and fulfils the roll of telling players what they don't know. Typically this is left to the players - the one's who don't know yet. Result? The GM distributes the exposition and the player/ bard replies "Yeah, I say that".
Well, let's get rid of the middleman? The GMPC should be the bard of the group. He's a total non-combatant, and is just tagging-along to write the heroes' saga. So what can he do?
1) Speak in character while extolling pertinent information.
2) Be used as an adventure seed. A player might mention "I wish I had a magic shield that I could throw and have return." Then the musty old Tenku bard fixes a bleary eye on the character. "You mean like the mighty shield of Kappn M'rika? Perhaps I shall tell you the tale when we have less important work to do." Then, when you've figured out the side quest for the Shield of Kappn M'rika, the bard can tell the tale (of where it is and how well it is guarded).
Now this bard provides no other support. He's just there to give that juicy backstory you worked all night on that the players wouldn't encounter otherwise. He isn't there to talk the party's way passed the guards, gather information, cast magic of any kind. He's just an encyclopedia for your heroes.
You could also make Mr. Exposition an exceptionally well informed Henchling (the one who carries the luggage).
Oh yes, remember you can always kill him if the heroes become too fond of him.
While waiting for a new game to start, I decided to make a party of four adventurers in my ICRPG setting WORLD OF ARYN and run through the original Basic D&D adventure Keep on the Borderlands. I haven't been through since I was 10 years old. I'm adapting the monsters to ICRPG as I encounter them.
The Party:
I started with Cave Entrance D. The Goblins gave a good fight but fell to our mighty swords... but they had children with them. I don't remember any children! I decided to lock them up with some food.
Next rooms had Hobgoblins and prisoners. I took out the hobs and freed the prisoners. Torkka had gone down three times. Next room, a lot of Hobgoblins (9) and their children. WTF! I lost the fight so the hobs tied up the party. Fortunately Rook is a master of lockpicking. He got a semi-conscious Torkka free just as a pair of hobs came to check the prisoners. Torkka took out her frustration on their crunchy heads.
Okay, things are getting dicey. The party decides to camp in the woods and have Vahn forage for healing herbs. He crits. He decides that he also needs to feed the party so he forages 4 meals and 3 herbal poultices.
We go back in and fight what I hope is the last of the goblins. Guess what, MORE KIDS!!!
It's quite horrific. Do I leave the kids to starve or put them down? They'll never make it alone since I broke into their home and murdered their families in front of them. In fact, this whole cave network is like a monstrous Melrose Place.
I think I may be the baddies...
I'm trying to break my habit of prep, prep, prep, and never play. I'm looking for a more holistic approach. Imagine having a game world that can be everything you want it to be, where you aren't pigeon-holed by pre-generated content. Imagine a world that holds as many surprises for you as for your players!
I'm talking about a fluid setting: Basically a name, a high concept, and a sample starting location. Everything else is generated by the GMs imagination only when they need it.
It's still just a rough idea, but this is what I got so far...
Once you make a world map, the world becomes finite. There's nothing left to explore if it's all been decided ahead of time. As long as there is no map, the world is infinite. Anything, or anywhere can be in it.
Why do we roll for initiative they way we do? It's needlessly slow and dull, even requiring table gimmicks to keep track. But here's a few facts:
If a player rolls a d20 and the GM rolls a d20, then the player has a 50% chance of beating the GM and gaining initiative.
After Initiative order is set, who goes first is no longer important after the first round since everyone is taking turns.
How do you speed it up? First, use team initiative. The players will have more flexibility that way and beyond the first round, it's just alternating turns.
The GM is the only one who rolls an Initiative die (d6). If he roll 3 or lower, the enemy goes first. If he rolls 4 or higher, the players go first. Want to spice it up? If the GM rolls a 1, then not only are the monsters aware of the heroes, they've set up an ambush. Their are more monstrous reinforcements waiting to spring on the heroes. If the GM rolls a 6 then the heroes have taken the enemy completely by surprise. Hey, sometimes you don't have to be stealthy to scare the hell out of someone rounding a corner.
The well has run dry? If you've read my other posts then you'd know I have been there too. Here's a few things that helped me out of it:
1) The Runehammer Channel on Youtube - If you are stuck in a cyclone of rules, watch these videos. Especially the ones about ICRPG. Hankerin Ferinale snapped me out of my slump and freed my creativity that had been stifled recently (Pathfinder Society did more harm than good to my GM skills, I think).
2) Online title generators - There are several, I use many different ones. Generate a bunch of titles until one grabs your attention. Treat your campaign like a pulp serial of the 30's. Today's Episode: The Tree of Whispers!
Wait, what does that mean? I don't know but thinking about it gives my mind a target to focus on. Before I was staring at a blank canvas, with nothing there to inspire me. Now I have a title!
Here's what comes to my mind: An unknown, feral group of forest elves ritually hunt those that wander too deeply in their forest. They give their sacrifices to feed their Great Tree: Annanus. Annanus has grown old, corrupt, and mad. The tribe and the tree are one. Enter our heroes...
There, now I have the over-arching story. But I need to add dimension to this campaign. What two other problems are there in the area? Are they symptoms of the primary story, or a separate problem that also needs to be addressed immediately?
Side Problem 1) - We can kick off our campaign with this. A lord's son has disappeared (in the elves' forest). Unfortunately he was to be a peace envoy to a nearby kingdom and tensions have reached the boiling point. Since no one is aware of the elves' presence, one side believes the other has captured or killed the prince. Only his return can prevent the war. The heroes may run into scouts of either military force in the forest and neither will want to leave witnesses.
Side Problem 2) - The heroes will be fumbling around for months searching the forest. They need a guide. There is a tribe of Kobolds that have kept themselves hidden from the elves (or the elves didn't find hunting kobolds challenging enough. The heroes stumble across the Kobold, Yatzhee, hanging from a tree snare and panicking. If the heroes free the Kobold and befriend him, he can take the heroes to some of the Prince's company. The Kobolds took pity hid the retinue in their dens. Unfortunately the Prince was taken by the elves. Yatzhee volunteers to guide the heroes to the elf tribe and will tell them all he knows about them.
Let's add one more Side Problem - When the heroes reach Annanus, they see that an entire elf army is preparing to march. If it strikes the two kingdoms while they war with each other, the elves would triumph over both. How can the heroes warn and convince both kingdoms to ally when they must also find and rescue the prince?
Now I would go about roughly outlining the campaign as I recommended in my post - Campaign 101: Villainy is Afoot!
I hope these ideas help you!
I'm not saying it can't be done. The premise of Shadowrun is sound, the world embraced technology because magic didn't exist. Magic awoke onto the scene so it makes sense that they would be in conflict.
But let's take your typical D&D Fantasy-Land. Magic is all around. Despite the claimed "rarity" of magic items, the heroes will come across a lot of it, usually in the hands of the villain. Magic has been tamed, identified, and spells can be repeated and taught. Magic is the technology. Given how powerful the idea of magic is (getting something for basically nothing), why would anyone pursue mundane technology? Technology would only advance in areas that magic can't. This is why it's important to know the limits of magic in your setting.
So would there be guns in Fantasy-Land? Traditional guns? Not likely, unless they were developed in a place of no magic and brought into Fantasy-Land. Why invent a gun when Flame Bolt and Eldritch Blast wands are options. A "Gun" developed in Fantasy-Land would likely be magic based, a wand shaped like a modern firearm. In which case, does it matter if you reskin wands as pistols?
Here's another instance of unlikely technology in Fantasy-Land, medical kits. Medical kits take time to use and they suck. However, the dearth of healing potions and low level healing spells are far more efficient and effective and would drive out the medical kit market. Heck, the presence of resurrection magic (if you are rich), throws a huge wrench into the circle of life (see Altered Carbon).
I'm not saying you shouldn't use magic and technology in the same setting, I'm suggesting that you think of them as one and the same. Whatever tech you want in a Fantasy setting, consider a magic-themed item that would do that. The gunfighter in a fantasy setting has been done before. Try adding some new spice to the old trope. If you absolutely want them in the same setting for contrast, make sure they each have limits that only the other can fill. Otherwise the inclusion of both may just feel like cheap fan-service.
Also, consider that if technology is there to make ordinary people as powerful as mages, magic will feel far less amazing in your setting.
Time in campaign worlds is often overlooked. I am referring to calendars and yearly cycles. It rarely seems important. But every now and then someone decides it will give there fantasy world more depth and they create their own fantasy calendar. The GM promptly stops using it after a while since it only confuses the players more.
"So what day is it?"
GM: It's the twelfth of Grune.
"When is that?"
So why bother? Well, the GM was right. Adding an actual fantasy calendar does help in breathing life to the world but the information that calendar conveys has to be useful/translatable to the players. So how do you do that?
Well step right up my friends because I have the only calendar you will ever need for your Fantasy Realm. It's suitably foreign yet strangely natural to understand. First let's take a jaunt back into our own history and the creation of our modern calendar. Suffice to say what we use today was heavily developed by the romans (July for Julius and August for Augustus Caesar). Before that, the year was marked by two things: Seasons and Astrology. Months are a product of our world that may never have been adopted by yours.
So how about Astrology? You could tell your players what stars are in which constellations, but unless they have your night sky memorized, this will be information the won't digest.
So how about Seasons? Yup. Let's say my world convenient has a 360 day year (close to our year). Divide that by four seasons and you get 90 days a season. Since most common folk can tell what season it is, and it's primary importance to farming (astrology was more for kings), that will likely be how they mark their calendar.
So the next time your player asks "What day is it?", you can tell them it's the 45th day of spring. They now know what season it is, what the climate will be like, and that spring is on the way out. No months necessary.
Okay so what about sci-fi? If your heroes are visiting alien worlds, then time matters less to them. The players will be visiting different weather biomes and time zones so seasons will be whatever they are at the location. If you want, just keep a generic Stardate like 202110.12 (that's todays post date: Oct 12, 2021) and just update each game day to the current date.