tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60621827667250446502024-03-13T09:56:39.199-07:00d20Things nerds should know aboutOakarmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05785310100341755424noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6062182766725044650.post-74171706850986472602011-05-18T11:06:00.000-07:002011-05-18T11:06:21.807-07:00DM: Story DecisionsThe thing that makes D&D really powerful is the ability to create an environment that can have events as powerful as Romeo and Juliet or action as awesome as Die Hard. However none of this is possible if your players or you as a DM refuse to make story decisions. <br />
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Now what exactly are story decisions? A story decision is any decision that you as a DM or a player makes that has an adverse effect on the story. For example, if your campaign is taking place during a time when the gods are in an uproar, having a cleric getting cut-off from his god could have an extremely powerful effect on the course of that character's life and on the rest of the game. From a player's perspective a story decision is a decision that a DM might not expect, such as defying the terribly powerful and corrupt king of a country, doing so might allow your character to join the resistance or become outlaws fighting for what they believe in. These decisions add a whole new level of depth to games and make players either feel powerful or helpless depending on the decision. <br />
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Now some players are sticklers for rules and probably one of my favorite approaches to this is stated in <u><b>The Gamers II: Dorkness Rising</b></u>, where a player is complaining to the DM about his breaking of the rules and how this creates a problem. The scene goes a little something like this:<br />
<blockquote><span style="color: blue;">Gary: I didn't even know it was possible to cut a cleric off from his god.</span><br />
<div style="color: red;">Kas:It's not at least not in the core rules it isn't</div><span style="background-color: #d9ead3; color: purple;">Lodge: It fits the story.</span><br />
<span style="color: red;">Kas: It doesn't fit the rules.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple;">Lodge: Story trumps Rules!...Which would you rather have an original fantasy world with its own mysteries and pitfalls or just another cookie cutter setting with no surprises. </span><br />
<span style="color: red;">Kas: You should have told us that in your world a cleric can get cut off from his god.</span><br />
<div style="color: purple;">Lodge: Why should I have told you that?</div><div style="color: red;">Kas: Gary would you have played a cleric if Lodge was going to shut him down?</div><span style="color: blue;">Gary: Hell no. </span><br />
<span style="color: purple;">Lodge: That's player knowledge not character knowledge. It's something you know but your character wouldn't.</span><br />
<span style="color: red;">Kas: That is so cheap, cheap cheap cheap. It's not fair to allow a character to advance that far and pull something that huge on them.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="color: purple;">Lodge: It was supposed to be a nasty surprise. Something you weren't expecting.</span><br />
<span style="color: red;">Kas: And because it was so unexpected the party died. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!</span><br />
<span style="color: purple;">Lodge: MAYBE THAT IT WOULD FORCE YOU TO ROLEPLAY!</span></blockquote><span style="color: black;">So that happened. Just if you're playing a game keep in mind that the story is more important to the rules. It even says that in the DMG that the rules in the books are just a guideline. So if your DM makes a decision, don't question it...ever.</span><br />
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Don't know whats going up tomorrow. But if you haven't seen The Gamers II, go watch it. It's funny in its own quirky, low budget, nerd humor kind of way. </span>Oakarmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05785310100341755424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6062182766725044650.post-72611330181104478372011-05-17T17:03:00.000-07:002011-05-17T17:03:59.673-07:00DM: Creating a Truly Diabolical VillainNothing adds depth to a campaign more than having a villain who your players would like nothing more than to eliminate. In many cases the quality of the villain and their alignment will affect how you as the DM decides to make them act towards other NPCs, their minions and cohorts, and the party. In most cases you're going to want to remember a few rules in general.<br />
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1) Make your Villain beatable.<br />
As a DM you have a lot of power in your hands, and well it is true, "Power corrupts, Absolute power corrupts absolutely, but it rocks absolutely too." and if this is allowed to go unchecked eventually you get a villain who only has one weakness that is found in the belly of an indestructible snake that is only found fifty miles underneath the jungles of the southernmost continent during the winter solstice. That being said it is fun to give your villain spell like abilities and some of the better equipment of the game because, let's be honest, he/she is your main villain and we wouldn't want him to be underwhelming now would we? The goal is to challenge the party in their final conflict, not to defeat them without breaking a sweat. <br />
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2) Make your Villain untouchable to the party.<br />
If your Villain is a prominent figure in the world or if he/she is invisible in his diabolical schemes, make sure that the party has no way of laying the blame on him/her ever. It is really fun to make it extremely clear to the party that this is the work of the main villain, and to leave clues that say that but to have it so that the guard in town is either oblivious or skeptical of the villain's existence or to have them being bought out or dominated by some sort of powerful wizard that the villain has in his/her employ. This will create a general feeling of hatred toward the villain as the campaign goes on and will make the final conflict that much more satisfying for the players.<br />
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3) Have the Villain use the party.<br />
Nothing makes a group of people more irritated than being used. For that reason I always make sure that my Villains have plenty of points in disguise, bluff and diplomacy and have items or spells that make their true alignment undetectable which creates them as a viable source of employment for your players, that is until your villain has your players do something that has a massive negative impact on the game world. In my case I had my villain have the players release a magma primordial which promptly destroyed an entire island...they despised my villain after that and wanted him dead more than anything. <br />
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4) Have your Villain ruin the PC's lives<br />
Going back to my first post, if your players told you their character's background then utilize this to your villains advantage. Your villain is likely to have a network of spies or intelligence gathering via mystical means and would know about anyone who hunts him/her. That being said a villain would do whatever it takes to demoralize or destroy their opponents, so don't be afraid to rough up your player's characters a little. A burned down house and missing loved ones can drive a hero a long way i.e. Gladiator. <br />
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5) Make your true Villain hidden in the midst of the heroes of the world.<br />
In most cases the surprise villain is usually the best type that no one expects. By having someone who is good and misguided in the world be the true villain of your campaign you can create a strong and emotionally charged ending to your campaign. <br />
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So those are my tips for today. Tomorrow I might throw out a review of an old game like Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn. Until then keep gaming, and take it easy world.Oakarmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05785310100341755424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6062182766725044650.post-75374650843936781942011-05-16T09:06:00.000-07:002011-05-16T09:06:04.136-07:00Making a well rounded Dungeons and Dragons character.I've played a few Dungeons and Dragons games some in the Advanced rule set, some in the 4th edition and a few in 3.5. Out of these I would have to say that my favorite version of the game is 3.5e because of its ability to create an awesome amount of character depth and a very well rounded first level character. So here are some tips and tricks to remember when creating your D&D character. <br />
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1) Remember that your character is unique. <br />
Your character shouldn't be just another cookie cutter hero. They should have traits, flaws, quirks, ideals, morals and other things that really make them stand out in the game world. When creating your character think about the type of personality they have, think about what they believe in, think about what they would do when a Gargantuan Red Dragon is breathing very angrily down their neck. When looking for traits you could either talk to your GM or look into Unearthed Arcana for the Traits and Flaws that will help flesh out your character for the game. Just remember that just as a character in a movie, video game, or play has characteristics, so too should your character. <br />
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2) Plan for your character's future. <br />
What is your character's goal in life? Does your character strive to be the very best at what they do or have they sworn that they won't let any more party members die? When thinking about your character in D&D it's a good idea to have a direction in which you wish to strive that way you know where to put your feats, ability points, skill points and which prestige classes to take, that way when you reach a higher level your character isn't a scrambled mess of assorted classes. On the other hand though, if the campaign starts at a higher level a scrambled mess of assorted classes might add to his/her character background and create an interesting and intriguing background which leads me to my next point...<br />
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3) Have an idea of a character background<br />
What walk of life did your character come from? Maybe they spent some years of their youth orphaned on the streets of a big city where they then became adopted by the Lords and Ladies and then became a Paladin, or maybe your character was abandoned in the forest by their brigand parents where a band of elven scouts picked you up and took you home and raised you in the ways of the Ranger. Whatever it is, have an idea of who your character is, what made them that way and what they were to do if they were to come across some people from their background. In fact if you share your background with your GM they are guaranteed to take key details from it and incorporate it into the game. Which leads me to my final point....<br />
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4) Talk to your GM.<br />
Is there an idea that you like but isn't in the rules? Is there an item that seems kind of interesting to you that you would like to start with? Any of these questions could be resolved by talking to your GM, and in doing so you guarantee to make the game more interesting by providing the GM with ideas of things to include in the game.<br />
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So there are some points on character creation for D&D 3.5. Any questions? You can always post them in the comments and I'll try to get back to you as soon as possible. No idea what I'm going to talk about tomorrow. But until then...Adieu.Oakarmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05785310100341755424noreply@blogger.com2