epending on the kind of game that you are running, you may wish to plan escape routes.
Here’s what I mean: have the character come across a single-use item of magic that is all but useless, say a magical broach of protection from feathers. Whatever player ends up with this trinket you mark carefully. After many gaming sessions and many years you should have a couple of aces for every character – really stupid and improbable defences or exceptions that will certainly be forgotten by the players on a day-to-day basis.
When it comes time for the coup de grace roll in the life or death situation, make sure that you set up the out. “The mighty chieftain spins around with his war-spear and cries a mighty battle cry to Aarok of the sky. His face a half-mockery of man and bird as he plunges his bird-spear into [your character’s] chest.”
Then you turn to the open dice roll to determine if the character lives or “dies”. If the result is death, be immediate in announcing that the mighty war-spear of the chieftain – a strangely fashioned weapon – pierces the chest of the character and that the character of 10 years of play has been unequivocally killed. The group will be silent, and after a few moments of reflection you know that one of the players in the group may ask the inevitable question “what is it made of?”
If they don’t, continue to resolve the battle as normal. Organically, and in stages let the revelation occur that the spear is made from the feathers of a Roc or giant eagle and let the winds blow where they may.
You now have many options. The players could call you on the construction of the weapon and declare that the character is immune to the blow –trumping your determination and giving the players no end of satisfaction. The rest of the party could be defeated and taken captive in an “impossible” situation where the “dead” character could remarkably recover to save them. Whatever the outcome – you have planted an ace in the hole and can heighten the gaming experience through manipulation of a situation that on the surface appears beyond prejudice.
I am anxious in sharing this trick of the trade as I know that it could be horribly over-used and abused. Characters should play the game and the dice should be left to their job in many cases. After a few years of experience a GM should be able to bend the story where appropriate. Like any magician’s trick it takes slight of hand and practice to execute. Doing this kind of thing poorly will quickly ruin your campaign.
Fighter using a dead hollowed-out goblin as a bag to hold his magic biscuits?
Wizard hurling bottles of poop and eggs instead of fireballs?
Frenzied berzerker being slowly and agonizingly drowned by a giant clam?
Time for a Madness Check.
Showing posts with label dm tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dm tips. Show all posts
Dealing with difficult personalities
When a PC has a difficult personality trait (stubborn, rebellious, loner, outsider, etc.) it can create unnecessary tension between the players. The player will want to play his loner personality, but this makes it difficult for the party to bond, and eventually irritates the other players.
A way to solve this is to have a foil - not an enemy, but essentially an NPC that the PC can take out his roleplaying thirst on. This way, the player can act standoffish or boorish towards the NPC, and the party can give him a pat on the back for treating the annoying NPC suitably. The player will probably be satisfied at being able to roleplay his character they way he wants, and cooperate with the plot/campaign/party as a result. This also gives the PC extra motivation to like the party, something that is often hard to naturally come by.
A way to solve this is to have a foil - not an enemy, but essentially an NPC that the PC can take out his roleplaying thirst on. This way, the player can act standoffish or boorish towards the NPC, and the party can give him a pat on the back for treating the annoying NPC suitably. The player will probably be satisfied at being able to roleplay his character they way he wants, and cooperate with the plot/campaign/party as a result. This also gives the PC extra motivation to like the party, something that is often hard to naturally come by.
Tucker's Kobolds
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
From Dragon 127, pg. 3 Tucker's kobolds
This month's editorial is about Tucker's kobolds. We get letters on occasion asking for advice on creating high-level AD&D game adventures, and Tucker's kobolds seem to fit the bill.
Many high-level characters have little to do because they're not challenged. They yawn at tarrasques and must be forcibly kept awake when a lich appears. The DMs involved don't know what to do, so they stop dealing with the problem and the characters go into Character Limbo. Getting to high level is hard, but doing anything once you get there is worse.
One of the key problems in adventure design lies in creating opponents who can challenge powerful characters. Singular monsters like tarrasques and liches are easy to gang up on; the party can concentrate its firepower on the target until the target falls down dead and wiggles its little feet in the air. Designing monsters more powerful than a tarrasque is self-defeating; if the group kills your super-monster, what will you do next‚ send in its mother? That didn't work on Beowulf, and it probably won't work here.
Worse yet, singular supermonsters rarely have to think. They just use their trusty, predictable claw/claw/bite. This shouldn't be the measure of a campaign. These games fall apart because there's no challenge to them, no mental stimulation - no danger.
In all the games that I've seen, the worst, most horrible, most awful beyond-comparison opponents ever seen were often weaker than the characters who fought them. They were simply well-armed and intelligent beings who were played by the DM to be utterly ruthless and clever. Tucker's kobolds were like that.
Tucker ran an incredibly dangerous dungeon in the days I was stationed at Ft. Bragg, N.C. This dungeon had corridors that changed all of your donkeys into huge flaming demons or dropped the whole party into acid baths, but the demons were wienies compared to the kobolds on Level One. These kobolds were just regular kobolds, with 1-4 hp and all that, but they were mean. When I say they were mean, I mean they were bad, Jim. They graduated magna cum laude from the Sauron Institute for the Criminally Vicious.
When I joined the gaming group, some of the PCs had already met Tucker's kobolds, and they were not eager to repeat the experience. The party leader went over the penciled map of the dungeon and tried to find ways to avoid the little critters, but it was not possible. The group resigned itself to making a run for it through Level One to get to the elevators, where we could go down to Level Ten and fight "okay" monsters like huge flaming demons.
It didn't work. The kobolds caught us about 60' into the dungeon and locked the door behind us and barred it. Then they set the corridor on fire, while we were still in it.
"NOOOOOO!!!" screamed the party leader. "It's THEM! Run!!!"
Thus encouraged, our party scrambled down a side passage, only to be ambushed by more kobolds firing with light crossbows through murder holes in the walls and ceilings. Kobolds with metal armor and shields flung Molotov cocktails at us from the other sides of huge piles of flaming debris, which other kobolds pushed ahead of their formation using long metal poles like broomsticks. There was no mistake about it. These kobolds were bad.
We turned to our group leader for advice.
"AAAAAAGH!!!" he cried, hands clasped over his face to shut out the tactical situation.
We abandoned most of our carried items and donkeys to speed our flight toward the elevators, but we were cut off by kobold snipers who could split-move and fire, ducking back behind stones and corners after launching steel-tipped bolts and arrows, javelins, hand axes, and more flaming oil bottles. We ran into an unexplored section of Level One, taking damage all the time. It was then we discovered that these kobolds had honeycombed the first level with small tunnels to speed their movements. Kobold commandos were everywhere. All of our hirelings died. Most of our henchmen followed. We were next.
I recall we had a 12th-level magic user with us, and we asked him to throw a spell or something. "Blast 'em!" we yelled as we ran. "Fireball 'em! Get those little @#+$%*&!!"
"What, in these narrow corridors? " he yelled back. "You want I should burn us all up instead of them?"
Our panicked flight suddenly took us to a dead-end corridor, where a giant air shaft dropped straight down into unspeakable darkness, far past Level Ten. Here we hastily pounded spikes into the floors and walls, flung ropes over the ledge, and climbed straight down into that unspeakable darkness, because anything we met down there was sure to be better than those kobolds.
We escaped, met some huge flaming demons on Level Ten, and even managed to kill one after about an hour of combat and the lives of half the group. We felt pretty good — but the group leader could not be cheered up.
"We still have to go out the way we came in," he said as he gloomily prepared to divide up the treasure.
Tucker's kobolds were the worst things we could imagine. They ate all our donkeys and took our treasure and did everything they could to make us miserable, but they had style and brains and tenacity and courage. We respected them and loved them, sort of, because they were never boring.
If kobolds could do this to a group of PCs from 6th to 12th level, picture what a few orcs and some low level NPCs could do to a 12th-16th level group, or a gang of mid-level NPCs and monsters to groups of up to 20th level. Then give it a try. Sometimes, it's the little things‚ used well, that count.
Roger E. Moore
From Dragon 127, pg. 3 Tucker's kobolds
This month's editorial is about Tucker's kobolds. We get letters on occasion asking for advice on creating high-level AD&D game adventures, and Tucker's kobolds seem to fit the bill.
Many high-level characters have little to do because they're not challenged. They yawn at tarrasques and must be forcibly kept awake when a lich appears. The DMs involved don't know what to do, so they stop dealing with the problem and the characters go into Character Limbo. Getting to high level is hard, but doing anything once you get there is worse.
One of the key problems in adventure design lies in creating opponents who can challenge powerful characters. Singular monsters like tarrasques and liches are easy to gang up on; the party can concentrate its firepower on the target until the target falls down dead and wiggles its little feet in the air. Designing monsters more powerful than a tarrasque is self-defeating; if the group kills your super-monster, what will you do next‚ send in its mother? That didn't work on Beowulf, and it probably won't work here.
Worse yet, singular supermonsters rarely have to think. They just use their trusty, predictable claw/claw/bite. This shouldn't be the measure of a campaign. These games fall apart because there's no challenge to them, no mental stimulation - no danger.
In all the games that I've seen, the worst, most horrible, most awful beyond-comparison opponents ever seen were often weaker than the characters who fought them. They were simply well-armed and intelligent beings who were played by the DM to be utterly ruthless and clever. Tucker's kobolds were like that.
Tucker ran an incredibly dangerous dungeon in the days I was stationed at Ft. Bragg, N.C. This dungeon had corridors that changed all of your donkeys into huge flaming demons or dropped the whole party into acid baths, but the demons were wienies compared to the kobolds on Level One. These kobolds were just regular kobolds, with 1-4 hp and all that, but they were mean. When I say they were mean, I mean they were bad, Jim. They graduated magna cum laude from the Sauron Institute for the Criminally Vicious.
When I joined the gaming group, some of the PCs had already met Tucker's kobolds, and they were not eager to repeat the experience. The party leader went over the penciled map of the dungeon and tried to find ways to avoid the little critters, but it was not possible. The group resigned itself to making a run for it through Level One to get to the elevators, where we could go down to Level Ten and fight "okay" monsters like huge flaming demons.
It didn't work. The kobolds caught us about 60' into the dungeon and locked the door behind us and barred it. Then they set the corridor on fire, while we were still in it.
"NOOOOOO!!!" screamed the party leader. "It's THEM! Run!!!"
Thus encouraged, our party scrambled down a side passage, only to be ambushed by more kobolds firing with light crossbows through murder holes in the walls and ceilings. Kobolds with metal armor and shields flung Molotov cocktails at us from the other sides of huge piles of flaming debris, which other kobolds pushed ahead of their formation using long metal poles like broomsticks. There was no mistake about it. These kobolds were bad.
We turned to our group leader for advice.
"AAAAAAGH!!!" he cried, hands clasped over his face to shut out the tactical situation.
We abandoned most of our carried items and donkeys to speed our flight toward the elevators, but we were cut off by kobold snipers who could split-move and fire, ducking back behind stones and corners after launching steel-tipped bolts and arrows, javelins, hand axes, and more flaming oil bottles. We ran into an unexplored section of Level One, taking damage all the time. It was then we discovered that these kobolds had honeycombed the first level with small tunnels to speed their movements. Kobold commandos were everywhere. All of our hirelings died. Most of our henchmen followed. We were next.
I recall we had a 12th-level magic user with us, and we asked him to throw a spell or something. "Blast 'em!" we yelled as we ran. "Fireball 'em! Get those little @#+$%*&!!"
"What, in these narrow corridors? " he yelled back. "You want I should burn us all up instead of them?"
Our panicked flight suddenly took us to a dead-end corridor, where a giant air shaft dropped straight down into unspeakable darkness, far past Level Ten. Here we hastily pounded spikes into the floors and walls, flung ropes over the ledge, and climbed straight down into that unspeakable darkness, because anything we met down there was sure to be better than those kobolds.
We escaped, met some huge flaming demons on Level Ten, and even managed to kill one after about an hour of combat and the lives of half the group. We felt pretty good — but the group leader could not be cheered up.
"We still have to go out the way we came in," he said as he gloomily prepared to divide up the treasure.
Tucker's kobolds were the worst things we could imagine. They ate all our donkeys and took our treasure and did everything they could to make us miserable, but they had style and brains and tenacity and courage. We respected them and loved them, sort of, because they were never boring.
If kobolds could do this to a group of PCs from 6th to 12th level, picture what a few orcs and some low level NPCs could do to a 12th-16th level group, or a gang of mid-level NPCs and monsters to groups of up to 20th level. Then give it a try. Sometimes, it's the little things‚ used well, that count.
Roger E. Moore
Quick Player Scare
It's easy to put together a trap that is inescapable, but not lethal--a good example being a magically concealed pit, that when fallen in, has iron bars slide over the top, and the pit fills with water (or whipped cream, even), then just before certain death, the water drains, a ladder appears, and at the top of the ladder is a note reading "You have been warned. The next trap will be fatal. Go home." Such a trick is sure to plant doubts into the minds of the players, and even if the trap is completely isolated and nothing comes of the warning, it will get the players on edge and make them cautious.
Making a Mystery Character
If one of your players just cannot come up with a character concept they like, there is the option of asking them to play a mystery character. This will be an ordinary, simple character, but the player knows there is something about this character that no one (not even themself) knows. There is just something mysterious that will become apparent as the game proceeds. Troubling dreams, strange memories, sudden, unexpected powers, these are all possibilities. The reason this works is because the character doesn't know they have these powers, just as the player doesn't. As the player learns everything, so too does the character.
This also lets the player flavour the character however they see fit, which may or not contrast wildly with what the character's eventual secret is. Simon of Space is a good example; his old self is a ferocious, tyrannical leader, while Simon is meek and humble and easygoing...BUT has the hidden "power" of name recognition, being rich, and connections that he stumbles upon.
This also lets the player flavour the character however they see fit, which may or not contrast wildly with what the character's eventual secret is. Simon of Space is a good example; his old self is a ferocious, tyrannical leader, while Simon is meek and humble and easygoing...BUT has the hidden "power" of name recognition, being rich, and connections that he stumbles upon.
Universal Combat Move
from ars ludi
Next time you want to do something a little different but have no idea how the M&M rules support it, try the Universal Combat Maneuver:
1) Think of an appropriate description of your maneuver, including how it's different from your normal attack.
2) Use a Move action to perform the maneuver.
3) Take a +2 on either Attack, Damage or Defense and a -2 on one of the other two. The adjustments apply to your next attack and last for a full round.
The description can be anything you want, so long as it fits your character and at least vaguely describes why you are getting the bonus and penalty you picked. For example:
• Stand very still and take careful aim with your bow, shooting more accurately but making yourself an easier target (+2 attack, -2 defense)
• Grab a telephone pole and swing it wildly (+2 damage, -2 attack)
• Use your telekinesis to hurl a spray of small rocks at your target instead of one big rock (+2 attack, -2 damage)
• Throw up a sheet of fire to singe the werewolf and keep him away from you (+2 defense, -2 damage)
• Dig in and channel the spirit of the thunder god and throw sizzling bolts of electrical death (+2 damage, -2 defense)
There are as many as you can think of. They can be actions specific to the character (”I'm doubling-down on my wrist gattling guns!”) or they can be based on the situation or the environment (”Water on the floor? Instead of grabbing him I'll lean down and electrify it with my Shock Gauntlets!”).
The same move doesn't have to use the same bonus and penalty each time. It all depends on how it is described. One round Uber Girl picks up a telephone pole and takes a vicious wild swing (+2 damage, -2 attack). Later she picks up a similar pole and swings it in a broad arc that's hard to avoid, but throws herself off-balance in the process (+2 attack, -2 defense).
The idea is to encourage players (and the GM) to come up with creative descriptions in combat, and let them adjust the odds a little bit in the process.
Next time you want to do something a little different but have no idea how the M&M rules support it, try the Universal Combat Maneuver:
1) Think of an appropriate description of your maneuver, including how it's different from your normal attack.
2) Use a Move action to perform the maneuver.
3) Take a +2 on either Attack, Damage or Defense and a -2 on one of the other two. The adjustments apply to your next attack and last for a full round.
The description can be anything you want, so long as it fits your character and at least vaguely describes why you are getting the bonus and penalty you picked. For example:
• Stand very still and take careful aim with your bow, shooting more accurately but making yourself an easier target (+2 attack, -2 defense)
• Grab a telephone pole and swing it wildly (+2 damage, -2 attack)
• Use your telekinesis to hurl a spray of small rocks at your target instead of one big rock (+2 attack, -2 damage)
• Throw up a sheet of fire to singe the werewolf and keep him away from you (+2 defense, -2 damage)
• Dig in and channel the spirit of the thunder god and throw sizzling bolts of electrical death (+2 damage, -2 defense)
There are as many as you can think of. They can be actions specific to the character (”I'm doubling-down on my wrist gattling guns!”) or they can be based on the situation or the environment (”Water on the floor? Instead of grabbing him I'll lean down and electrify it with my Shock Gauntlets!”).
The same move doesn't have to use the same bonus and penalty each time. It all depends on how it is described. One round Uber Girl picks up a telephone pole and takes a vicious wild swing (+2 damage, -2 attack). Later she picks up a similar pole and swings it in a broad arc that's hard to avoid, but throws herself off-balance in the process (+2 attack, -2 defense).
The idea is to encourage players (and the GM) to come up with creative descriptions in combat, and let them adjust the odds a little bit in the process.
Action Spots
A moment in a battle/confrontation where the players can shine by using the environment, a plan, etc., anything OTHER than just standing and exchanging blows. Sub-scenes, basically. They take place in a bigger scene (the battle) but they are memorable and let the players be creative and imaginative.
Usually splits the scene into smaller scenes, which leads to a more frantic and exciting play.
Examples:
• The octopus fight, there was fighting happening on the beach, and mike drowning, and the stone bridge
• Skeleton hallway - THREE Action Spots. Jeremy vs the Skeleton, Mike behind him vs skeleton, Jamie vs skeleton with Shaun & Cam helping, even almost a fourth as the downed skeleton crept up from behind.
Usually splits the scene into smaller scenes, which leads to a more frantic and exciting play.
Examples:
• The octopus fight, there was fighting happening on the beach, and mike drowning, and the stone bridge
• Skeleton hallway - THREE Action Spots. Jeremy vs the Skeleton, Mike behind him vs skeleton, Jamie vs skeleton with Shaun & Cam helping, even almost a fourth as the downed skeleton crept up from behind.
Revelations and Clues
Keep a checklist of important clues and info tidbits that the players need to learn. That way, you can drop them as the situation arises and check them off, rather than try to force them into a specific scenario. This leaves you free and relaxed and if the party doesn't end up in the scenario that you were planning to drop the clue? No biggie, it stays on your list, unchecked, waiting for the next available opportunity. FLEXIBLE.
Emphasize Failures
Don't just say a Scorching Ray missed, say it lit a tapestry on fire, blew out a store window, burned a hole through a nearby door...anything to add flavour and descriptiveness. Besides, anything that you introduce in this manner is another prop/detail for the players to use. Maybe they'll throw the burning tapestry on someone. Maybe they'll leap through the now-broken store window. Maybe they'll peek through the hole burned in the door. Anything works, as long as it gets them involved and thinking.
The above are purely cosmetic changes, but who says you have to stop there? Affect the battlefield. Mess people up. Change the course of battle. Who cares! Break the rules. Maybe the tapestry lights on fire and falls on whoever is nearest. Enemy? Cool. PC? Well, tough luck.
And if it's a PC failing dramatically, yes they still fail, but they're in the spotlight and failing.
The above are purely cosmetic changes, but who says you have to stop there? Affect the battlefield. Mess people up. Change the course of battle. Who cares! Break the rules. Maybe the tapestry lights on fire and falls on whoever is nearest. Enemy? Cool. PC? Well, tough luck.
And if it's a PC failing dramatically, yes they still fail, but they're in the spotlight and failing.
Roleplaying vs Rolling
from ars ludi
Rolling for Roleplaying: the Virtual Roll
Player: “… and after enumerating the logistical problems, I finish up by explaining that if the King invades now, he’s just repeating the same mistakes that doomed Badon IV when he marched into these very lands two hundred years ago, a fatal error that brought his glorious reign to an ignominous end.”
GM: “Ooooh nicely done! Now roll your Diplomacy!”
Player: “… I roll a 3.”
You’ve seen it happen. A player says something really interesting, really moving in character when trying to use a social skill, but cannot back it up with dice to save their life.
The first urge as GM is just to say “well forget the numbers, that sounded good to me, it works.” Good call, but the downside is that then you are just ignoring character stats entirely, which penalizes players who maybe aren’t so eloquent or pithy but still built characters who are supposed to be charming masters of discourse.
A better solution would be to combine roleplaying and character stats, taking the best of both worlds. How would you do that? How about assigning a virtual roll based on how good the roleplaying was, then apply character abilities to that virtual roll just like normal? Let roleplaying replace the dice instead of having the dice replace roleplaying.
I’ll use d20 as a specific example, but the concept should work for any system that uses dice to resolve social interactions.
The Virtual Roll
When a character roleplays a social action that would normally require a roll, instead of the player rolling a die the GM assigns the result of the die roll based on the roleplaying (”your speech was good enough that we’ll say you rolled a 15″). If you want some consensus democracy you can let the whole group decide what the virtual roll should be, or even just let the player assign their own score — it all depends on what kind of group you have (insert social contract here).
The default is a 10 (aka taking 10) even if you don’t roleplay at all or have nothing interesting to say. This is important because the goal is _not_ to penalize people who aren’t up for roleplaying. You should only assign a number below 10 when the player uses an argument that is particularly bad for some reason (like threatening the king, or unintentionally citing a bunch of mistakes he made recently and is still sore about).
Assign a number that seems right to you. A 15 is nicely done, and a 20 is reserved for really impressive roleplaying (naturally). You shouldn’t have a hard time coming up with the virtual roll, because you’re already used to thinking in terms of these scores — years of gaming have given you a keen sense of how good it would be to roll an 18, for example.
Now that you’ve determined the virtual roll, just proceed to add skill ranks, ability modifiers, etc to the roll and resolve the results as you normally would.
Let’s take a classic diplomatic example:
A PC knight tries to convince a weary king to join the war and save the besieged city. The character has a moderate Diplomacy score, but the player is making really good arguments, bringing in the King’s past, the plight of the people, rah rah rah.
After some consideration everyone agrees the knight did a very good job, and the group decides on a virtual roll of 16. He has a Diplomacy +6, so he gets a total of 22. Not bad.
To make things interesting let’s say another player is against the idea, and her character is trying to point out all the flaws in the plan, how it will mire the country in an unwinnable war, etc. Her priest has very sharp social skills, but the player is just saying “err, I tell him it’s a bad idea. It will go badly. Really badly.”
The priest doesn’t throw in any roleplaying, so she just takes 10, but her Diplomacy is +11 so she gets a 21. Or since she isn’t roleplaying, you could just have her roll as normal.
An interesting side effect is that you even though you aren’t penalizing people who don’t roleplay, you may encourage people who normally don’t roleplay much to do it a little bit more because of the small incentives. A player can say nothing and get a 10, but maybe if he says just a little bit, tries to get in character just a smidge, he could get an 11 or 12 pretty easily.
Is this enough to encourage some players to roleplay a bit more? Maybe, maybe not.
Why not just use bonuses?
But wait, you ask, why not just give a bonus for good roleplaying? Isn’t assigning a 16 about the same as giving a +6 bonus? No! A bonus changes the possible range of success (i.e. in this case you can a get a maximum 26 instead of a maximum 20 before factoring in your stats), whereas assigning a roll doesn’t change the range at all since you still can’t “roll” higher than a 20. And let’s face it, no matter what kind of bonus you assign the dice are still pretty random.
But what if you like the random? Well in lots of cases there is still randomness on the NPC side of the roll. If the PC rogue is just trying to deceive the NPC king, you are still rolling for the king’s ability to sense deception. There are also wacky things you can by making part of the die random and part assigned (using a d10 instead of a d20 and calling the other half the assigned score part) but I’ll leave that as an exercise for the student.
And then there’s the big question: why just social skills? What about applying a virtual roll to other things the players do? Sure, if the player works out a cunning plan to build his fortress where the marshes run up to the fork in the river to make it hard to storm, assign him a high virtual roll for his War Architect skill. Attentive readers may even now be considering how to use this idea to make decision-driven Spot checks without giving up on having some characters more perceptive than others.
How far can you take it? Try running a bar room brawl where you assign virtual attack rolls based on how interestingly players describe kicking a stool to trip someone up or swinging from a chandelier to tackle a ruffian. Or assign virtual saving throw rolls based on clever descriptions of exactly how the players avoid the fiery dragon breath, or magic rolls based on florid descriptions of mystical mumbo jumbo. You can even mix it up and let some people roll, some people roleplay, as you prefer.
Rolling for Roleplaying: the Virtual Roll
Player: “… and after enumerating the logistical problems, I finish up by explaining that if the King invades now, he’s just repeating the same mistakes that doomed Badon IV when he marched into these very lands two hundred years ago, a fatal error that brought his glorious reign to an ignominous end.”
GM: “Ooooh nicely done! Now roll your Diplomacy!”
Player: “… I roll a 3.”
You’ve seen it happen. A player says something really interesting, really moving in character when trying to use a social skill, but cannot back it up with dice to save their life.
The first urge as GM is just to say “well forget the numbers, that sounded good to me, it works.” Good call, but the downside is that then you are just ignoring character stats entirely, which penalizes players who maybe aren’t so eloquent or pithy but still built characters who are supposed to be charming masters of discourse.
A better solution would be to combine roleplaying and character stats, taking the best of both worlds. How would you do that? How about assigning a virtual roll based on how good the roleplaying was, then apply character abilities to that virtual roll just like normal? Let roleplaying replace the dice instead of having the dice replace roleplaying.
I’ll use d20 as a specific example, but the concept should work for any system that uses dice to resolve social interactions.
The Virtual Roll
When a character roleplays a social action that would normally require a roll, instead of the player rolling a die the GM assigns the result of the die roll based on the roleplaying (”your speech was good enough that we’ll say you rolled a 15″). If you want some consensus democracy you can let the whole group decide what the virtual roll should be, or even just let the player assign their own score — it all depends on what kind of group you have (insert social contract here).
The default is a 10 (aka taking 10) even if you don’t roleplay at all or have nothing interesting to say. This is important because the goal is _not_ to penalize people who aren’t up for roleplaying. You should only assign a number below 10 when the player uses an argument that is particularly bad for some reason (like threatening the king, or unintentionally citing a bunch of mistakes he made recently and is still sore about).
Assign a number that seems right to you. A 15 is nicely done, and a 20 is reserved for really impressive roleplaying (naturally). You shouldn’t have a hard time coming up with the virtual roll, because you’re already used to thinking in terms of these scores — years of gaming have given you a keen sense of how good it would be to roll an 18, for example.
Now that you’ve determined the virtual roll, just proceed to add skill ranks, ability modifiers, etc to the roll and resolve the results as you normally would.
Let’s take a classic diplomatic example:
A PC knight tries to convince a weary king to join the war and save the besieged city. The character has a moderate Diplomacy score, but the player is making really good arguments, bringing in the King’s past, the plight of the people, rah rah rah.
After some consideration everyone agrees the knight did a very good job, and the group decides on a virtual roll of 16. He has a Diplomacy +6, so he gets a total of 22. Not bad.
To make things interesting let’s say another player is against the idea, and her character is trying to point out all the flaws in the plan, how it will mire the country in an unwinnable war, etc. Her priest has very sharp social skills, but the player is just saying “err, I tell him it’s a bad idea. It will go badly. Really badly.”
The priest doesn’t throw in any roleplaying, so she just takes 10, but her Diplomacy is +11 so she gets a 21. Or since she isn’t roleplaying, you could just have her roll as normal.
An interesting side effect is that you even though you aren’t penalizing people who don’t roleplay, you may encourage people who normally don’t roleplay much to do it a little bit more because of the small incentives. A player can say nothing and get a 10, but maybe if he says just a little bit, tries to get in character just a smidge, he could get an 11 or 12 pretty easily.
Is this enough to encourage some players to roleplay a bit more? Maybe, maybe not.
Why not just use bonuses?
But wait, you ask, why not just give a bonus for good roleplaying? Isn’t assigning a 16 about the same as giving a +6 bonus? No! A bonus changes the possible range of success (i.e. in this case you can a get a maximum 26 instead of a maximum 20 before factoring in your stats), whereas assigning a roll doesn’t change the range at all since you still can’t “roll” higher than a 20. And let’s face it, no matter what kind of bonus you assign the dice are still pretty random.
But what if you like the random? Well in lots of cases there is still randomness on the NPC side of the roll. If the PC rogue is just trying to deceive the NPC king, you are still rolling for the king’s ability to sense deception. There are also wacky things you can by making part of the die random and part assigned (using a d10 instead of a d20 and calling the other half the assigned score part) but I’ll leave that as an exercise for the student.
And then there’s the big question: why just social skills? What about applying a virtual roll to other things the players do? Sure, if the player works out a cunning plan to build his fortress where the marshes run up to the fork in the river to make it hard to storm, assign him a high virtual roll for his War Architect skill. Attentive readers may even now be considering how to use this idea to make decision-driven Spot checks without giving up on having some characters more perceptive than others.
How far can you take it? Try running a bar room brawl where you assign virtual attack rolls based on how interestingly players describe kicking a stool to trip someone up or swinging from a chandelier to tackle a ruffian. Or assign virtual saving throw rolls based on clever descriptions of exactly how the players avoid the fiery dragon breath, or magic rolls based on florid descriptions of mystical mumbo jumbo. You can even mix it up and let some people roll, some people roleplay, as you prefer.
Doing Away with Spot Checks
from ars ludi
DM: “You see a few white, eyeless fish, and various stone formations in a pool of water about 4′ to 6′ deep and about 10′ long. That’s all. Do you wish to leave the place now?”
Player 1: “Yes, let’s get out of here and go someplace where we can find something interesting.”
Player 2: “Wait! If those fish are just blind cave types, ignore them, but what about the stone formations? Are any of them notable? If so I think we should check them out.”
– Dungeon Master’s Guide, 1979
Here’s a Generation Gap moment for some of you: old-school D&D did not have a Spot check.
There were no rules to determine if you saw something, or heard something, or smelled something, or whatever. There were rules for surprise, rules for listening at doors (but only doors) and there were rules for finding a secret door (”tie the elf to a stick and wave him around!”), but a generic Spot check did not exist (or Search check, or Listen check, or Notice check or whatever).
Wow, you think, things are so much better now in this modern world! Now I have an accurate way of determining whether a character notices something or not. Now I can give them fair unbiased information about the world around them with a simple die roll!
How did those primitive gamers survive, you ask? Simple: players listened to the GM’s description of the game world. Then they asked questions. Then the GM (ahem, DM) told them the results.
Rolling dice is not supposed to replace your brain. Making Spot checks all the time is just a lame way of saying “well, you haven’t asked anything that would really tell me if you would notice this or not, so we’ll just roll and let the dice decide.”
And if the information you may or may not notice is pertinent to the plot, it is asinine-by-design to decide whether to reveal it with a die roll. Scene from a GM lynching: “well if you had rolled better you would have seen that the tribe had red banners instead of black and that whole game would have probably made more sense to you, but hey, you failed your Spot check…”
One Roll to Rule Them All…
Why am I picking on the poor Spot check? Partially because I’m a big bully, but mostly because it’s a good example of a bad trend.
It’s not surprising that as a game evolves, people expand the rules to cover more and more cases. Do we have rules for car chases? No? Better add some. Even if it’s just a question of applying a core mechanic where it has not been applied before, its logical to want to be able resolve more and more situations with dice.
The trick is that dice are supposed to improve the game, not replace the gamer. What’s the final outgrowth of resolving more and more things with dice instead of brains? The one-roll adventure: if you make the roll you win! Game over. No player decision making needed.
What are dice supposed to do? They’re supposed to resolve things that cannot be resolved in the polite confines of a kitchen table or in the physics of our world. Does my car explode when I crash into that tanker truck? Does my broadsword cut off that dragon’s head? Does my magic spell levitate the castle?
If it’s something you can do at the table, you should do it, not roll for it. Unless it’s boring. Or rude.
Your character is your representative in the game world, not your replacement. Tell your character what to do. Ask the GM questions. Explore the environment. Think, play, etc.
Here’s the challenge: if it’s not a combat situation or about to become one (aka checking for surprise or attacks at unawares), don’t use Spot checks. At all. None. Zero. Let players describe what they look for or how they are behaving and just arbitrarily decide what they see or don’t see.
Once your players get the gist of it, see if they become more inquisitive, interactive and basically just play more instead of falling back on the Spot check crutch.
DM: “You see a few white, eyeless fish, and various stone formations in a pool of water about 4′ to 6′ deep and about 10′ long. That’s all. Do you wish to leave the place now?”
Player 1: “Yes, let’s get out of here and go someplace where we can find something interesting.”
Player 2: “Wait! If those fish are just blind cave types, ignore them, but what about the stone formations? Are any of them notable? If so I think we should check them out.”
– Dungeon Master’s Guide, 1979
Here’s a Generation Gap moment for some of you: old-school D&D did not have a Spot check.
There were no rules to determine if you saw something, or heard something, or smelled something, or whatever. There were rules for surprise, rules for listening at doors (but only doors) and there were rules for finding a secret door (”tie the elf to a stick and wave him around!”), but a generic Spot check did not exist (or Search check, or Listen check, or Notice check or whatever).
Wow, you think, things are so much better now in this modern world! Now I have an accurate way of determining whether a character notices something or not. Now I can give them fair unbiased information about the world around them with a simple die roll!
How did those primitive gamers survive, you ask? Simple: players listened to the GM’s description of the game world. Then they asked questions. Then the GM (ahem, DM) told them the results.
Rolling dice is not supposed to replace your brain. Making Spot checks all the time is just a lame way of saying “well, you haven’t asked anything that would really tell me if you would notice this or not, so we’ll just roll and let the dice decide.”
And if the information you may or may not notice is pertinent to the plot, it is asinine-by-design to decide whether to reveal it with a die roll. Scene from a GM lynching: “well if you had rolled better you would have seen that the tribe had red banners instead of black and that whole game would have probably made more sense to you, but hey, you failed your Spot check…”
One Roll to Rule Them All…
Why am I picking on the poor Spot check? Partially because I’m a big bully, but mostly because it’s a good example of a bad trend.
It’s not surprising that as a game evolves, people expand the rules to cover more and more cases. Do we have rules for car chases? No? Better add some. Even if it’s just a question of applying a core mechanic where it has not been applied before, its logical to want to be able resolve more and more situations with dice.
The trick is that dice are supposed to improve the game, not replace the gamer. What’s the final outgrowth of resolving more and more things with dice instead of brains? The one-roll adventure: if you make the roll you win! Game over. No player decision making needed.
What are dice supposed to do? They’re supposed to resolve things that cannot be resolved in the polite confines of a kitchen table or in the physics of our world. Does my car explode when I crash into that tanker truck? Does my broadsword cut off that dragon’s head? Does my magic spell levitate the castle?
If it’s something you can do at the table, you should do it, not roll for it. Unless it’s boring. Or rude.
Your character is your representative in the game world, not your replacement. Tell your character what to do. Ask the GM questions. Explore the environment. Think, play, etc.
Here’s the challenge: if it’s not a combat situation or about to become one (aka checking for surprise or attacks at unawares), don’t use Spot checks. At all. None. Zero. Let players describe what they look for or how they are behaving and just arbitrarily decide what they see or don’t see.
Once your players get the gist of it, see if they become more inquisitive, interactive and basically just play more instead of falling back on the Spot check crutch.
Saved, Or Are We?
If the party is in a spot of unexpected trouble against a group of generic foes (ie, not directly related to the plot or major villains), a standard way of "saving" the party is to have a group of powerful NPCs show up and rescue them. But not only is this fairly implausible, but it also feels cheap.
However, a good twist on this is to have the party's Arch-Nemesis show up. He's been keeping tabs on them, he's gathered his henchmen and buffed them all to hell, and he's ready to take his revenge. The whole group teleports in, and sees the party getting attacked.
"DOGS! HOW DARE YOU STAND BETWEEN ME AND MY PREY!" and the villains starts laying into the people whupping on the party. That's when you pass the party leader, or hell, just anyone in the group, a note that says: "RUN FOOLS!"
Not only does this save the party, it's a great memorable experience, AND it's a way to show off the villain's tactics and forces available to him.
However, a good twist on this is to have the party's Arch-Nemesis show up. He's been keeping tabs on them, he's gathered his henchmen and buffed them all to hell, and he's ready to take his revenge. The whole group teleports in, and sees the party getting attacked.
"DOGS! HOW DARE YOU STAND BETWEEN ME AND MY PREY!" and the villains starts laying into the people whupping on the party. That's when you pass the party leader, or hell, just anyone in the group, a note that says: "RUN FOOLS!"
Not only does this save the party, it's a great memorable experience, AND it's a way to show off the villain's tactics and forces available to him.
Easter Eggs
For some nice bonus appreciation, throw in Easter Eggs that allude to iconic, recognizable figures/events.
For example, in a Firefly session, the party could find a shipment of goods/supplies, which include a recommendation that Sergeant Malcolm Reynolds be promoted to the rank of lieutenant in recognition of his heroism during the Battle of Serenity Valley.
By doing this, this also avoids the potential problem of having the party meet iconic figures, and immediately try fight them or influence them so as to change history.
Unfortunately, the lack of extensive Dragonlance/Forgotten Realms knowledge limits this in our games to all but the most major of people, such as:
• Dragonlance - Lord Soth, Tasslehoff Burrfoot, Sturm Brightblade, Raistlin Majere
• Forgotten Realms - Elaith Craulnober
• Ravenloft - Strahd
For example, in a Firefly session, the party could find a shipment of goods/supplies, which include a recommendation that Sergeant Malcolm Reynolds be promoted to the rank of lieutenant in recognition of his heroism during the Battle of Serenity Valley.
By doing this, this also avoids the potential problem of having the party meet iconic figures, and immediately try fight them or influence them so as to change history.
Unfortunately, the lack of extensive Dragonlance/Forgotten Realms knowledge limits this in our games to all but the most major of people, such as:
• Dragonlance - Lord Soth, Tasslehoff Burrfoot, Sturm Brightblade, Raistlin Majere
• Forgotten Realms - Elaith Craulnober
• Ravenloft - Strahd
Interactive Cutscenes
Interactive Cutscenes
Instead of a "movie" cutscene where all the players are spectators, make it interactive and have the players determine what happens in the cutscene.
Use sparingly so that players don't get used to playing other characters than their real one.
Index cards are used, for SCENE cards and ACTOR cards. Scene card has the place, what's going on, and the goal of the characters involved. It should also describe the significant characters involved, ie an Ogre raid on a town, it would specifically point out the ogre leader, an ogre shaman maybe, and maybe a leader in the town. Any additional roles will be "Ogre #3" or "Human Archer #5."
Let the players choose which actor to play. This way it lets the wizard player be a wizard (that they're comfortable as) or change it up and be a grunt.
On the Actor cards, have stats, equipment list, feats, etc. Essentially a quick stat block. Maybe also have a personality trait or two, something that the player can use to enhance the character in everyone's mind.
WHEN TO USE
In the Ogre attack example, a good time would be when the PCs are meeting a Guard Captain who is telling them about a recent Ogre attack. Cue flashback/cutscene. It should happen before details about the setting are known, so that whatever happens in the cutscene becomes the setting in the present time.
Some other examples of when to use:
• A merchant is telling the PCs how she barely escaped with her life after a kobold war party attacked her caravan.
• A bard in the local tavern sings about a legendary band of heroes.
• A noble tells you of how he managed to persuade a Dragon to spare him.
• A peasant tells the party a chilling story of how her town was reduced to ruins.
• One of the members of your party receives a dream or vision.
• The PCs find the remains of a skeleton or corpse, and then in a cutscene they learn exactly how that person met with their fate.
Other Ideas
• The actors can only use the stats/feats/spells on the actor card, so it becomes sort of like a puzzle. (Escape a dragon only by using Use Rope, a 10 foot pole, a needle and thread, and some ink?)
• Whatever happens, happens. Both the players and GM must keep true to the consequences.
• Players aren't necessarily going to win! The nice thing about a cutscene is it's a one-time deal. It might be a hopelessly doomed encounter, in which case they can all die and it's fine (like the Dream scene in Dragonlance.)
• Recurring scenes: Like in Kingdom Hearts, where we keep seeing glimpses of the evil villains and what they're doing. Obviously it doesn't work quite the same because evil plots can't be revealed, or else the players will have metagame knowledge. But they can still establish their personalities. In this case, having the same villain played by the same player established consistency, but having a villain played by different players each time allows for more and more personality growth and mannerisms to develop.
• Foreshadowing - classic TV strategy. Flashback: a mentor teaching a beguiler student (the PC) how to pick locks, and the student being unable to do so very well, and has to rely on magical tricks. The mentor chides the student for relying on magic. Present time: the beguiler has to pick a lock to save the party, and it's the same lock as he always failed to pick in the training, only with an antimagic field as well. Kind of like Drizzt's double crossdown move dual appearance. In this setup, the flashbacks can be used to drop hints as to how to beat the lock, or remember what the mentor said as a tip, etc.
Some Necessary Rules (using the Ogre/Town as example)
• The players can't just sabotage the scene, ie suiciding the ogres. No exp awarded. If the scene is played out properly, then exp is given, perhaps directly related to how realistically the actors are played. The ogres might fight amongst themselves, or one could kill the leader and take over, all this is fine as long as the MAIN goal is still carried out. (see next point).
• ANYTHING IN THE CUTSCENE IS FAIR GAME, AND EXPENDABLE. The actors, the setting, the relationships between actors...as long as the main, central goal (ogres attacking the town and are a legitimate threat) is executed, all else is gravy.
• NPCs and "Important" Things - they are fluid, and can change. If the captain of the guard was the one who initiated the cutscene, and he's also an actor in the cutscene and dies, well then the person the real party is talking to is the replacement captain. Needs improvisation skills.
• Metagame knowledge.
Instead of a "movie" cutscene where all the players are spectators, make it interactive and have the players determine what happens in the cutscene.
Use sparingly so that players don't get used to playing other characters than their real one.
Index cards are used, for SCENE cards and ACTOR cards. Scene card has the place, what's going on, and the goal of the characters involved. It should also describe the significant characters involved, ie an Ogre raid on a town, it would specifically point out the ogre leader, an ogre shaman maybe, and maybe a leader in the town. Any additional roles will be "Ogre #3" or "Human Archer #5."
Let the players choose which actor to play. This way it lets the wizard player be a wizard (that they're comfortable as) or change it up and be a grunt.
On the Actor cards, have stats, equipment list, feats, etc. Essentially a quick stat block. Maybe also have a personality trait or two, something that the player can use to enhance the character in everyone's mind.
WHEN TO USE
In the Ogre attack example, a good time would be when the PCs are meeting a Guard Captain who is telling them about a recent Ogre attack. Cue flashback/cutscene. It should happen before details about the setting are known, so that whatever happens in the cutscene becomes the setting in the present time.
Some other examples of when to use:
• A merchant is telling the PCs how she barely escaped with her life after a kobold war party attacked her caravan.
• A bard in the local tavern sings about a legendary band of heroes.
• A noble tells you of how he managed to persuade a Dragon to spare him.
• A peasant tells the party a chilling story of how her town was reduced to ruins.
• One of the members of your party receives a dream or vision.
• The PCs find the remains of a skeleton or corpse, and then in a cutscene they learn exactly how that person met with their fate.
Other Ideas
• The actors can only use the stats/feats/spells on the actor card, so it becomes sort of like a puzzle. (Escape a dragon only by using Use Rope, a 10 foot pole, a needle and thread, and some ink?)
• Whatever happens, happens. Both the players and GM must keep true to the consequences.
• Players aren't necessarily going to win! The nice thing about a cutscene is it's a one-time deal. It might be a hopelessly doomed encounter, in which case they can all die and it's fine (like the Dream scene in Dragonlance.)
• Recurring scenes: Like in Kingdom Hearts, where we keep seeing glimpses of the evil villains and what they're doing. Obviously it doesn't work quite the same because evil plots can't be revealed, or else the players will have metagame knowledge. But they can still establish their personalities. In this case, having the same villain played by the same player established consistency, but having a villain played by different players each time allows for more and more personality growth and mannerisms to develop.
• Foreshadowing - classic TV strategy. Flashback: a mentor teaching a beguiler student (the PC) how to pick locks, and the student being unable to do so very well, and has to rely on magical tricks. The mentor chides the student for relying on magic. Present time: the beguiler has to pick a lock to save the party, and it's the same lock as he always failed to pick in the training, only with an antimagic field as well. Kind of like Drizzt's double crossdown move dual appearance. In this setup, the flashbacks can be used to drop hints as to how to beat the lock, or remember what the mentor said as a tip, etc.
Some Necessary Rules (using the Ogre/Town as example)
• The players can't just sabotage the scene, ie suiciding the ogres. No exp awarded. If the scene is played out properly, then exp is given, perhaps directly related to how realistically the actors are played. The ogres might fight amongst themselves, or one could kill the leader and take over, all this is fine as long as the MAIN goal is still carried out. (see next point).
• ANYTHING IN THE CUTSCENE IS FAIR GAME, AND EXPENDABLE. The actors, the setting, the relationships between actors...as long as the main, central goal (ogres attacking the town and are a legitimate threat) is executed, all else is gravy.
• NPCs and "Important" Things - they are fluid, and can change. If the captain of the guard was the one who initiated the cutscene, and he's also an actor in the cutscene and dies, well then the person the real party is talking to is the replacement captain. Needs improvisation skills.
• Metagame knowledge.
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