of Dice and Dragons

The latest updated for the D&D FAQ has been posted to the Wizards site.

This update includes new material for the Beguiler, Dragon Shaman, and Knight classes; and some clarifications on some weapon, magic item and miscellaneous rules.

You can grab a copy here.

May your dice roll well.

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It’s something that I’ve seen frequently, all the opponents that the PCs face are creatures. Why is that?

Why do many GMs insist on bringing out the monster book for a given role-playing system, select the creature of the week and then set things up to make sure you encounter this particular foe?

First off it’s easy. The stats are all there for you along with the typical tactics employed.

Second, there’s no need to develop motivations or goals for the creatures. If they’re not killed outright no one really seems to care what happened to them.

In my campaigns I try to have a balance, some encounters and threats that are creature based and others that either directly use PC races or minions of those individuals.

There’s nothing wrong with just using creatures if that’s what your group likes. As it is often said, “it’s suppose to be fun, after-all it is a game!”

I’d be interested in what your group does.

May your dice roll well.

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Issue #354 of Role-playing Tips Weekly is now available online - How To Work With Crummy Character Backgrounds 12 Options For Solving “X killed Y.”

In this issue David R, a gues writer, shares with us a dozen ideas on how to overcome the “X killed Y” character background challenge. I think all of the ideas are good ones and David includes an exmample for each - examples that most will be able to associate with.

There are also a number of helpful tips and links from readers as well - be sure to check them out.

Enjoy!

Contents:
–> A Brief Word From Johnn

–> This Week’s Tips:
1. 99% Solution
2. It Was All A Lie
3. The Haunting
4. Almost Family
5. The Non-Human Connection
6. Amnesia
7. It Was Faked
8. They Live
9. Memories And Dreams
10. I Read It Somewhere
11. Often It Is The Servants Who Suffer
12. There Is Always Time For Family

–> Readers’ Tips Of The Week:
1. Start Sessions Mid-Combat
2. Encounter Template: Threat, Problem, Resource, Or Reward
3. Example GM Organization
4. New PocketMod Tool

–> Links Of The Week
1. Voice Chat With Teamspeak
2. Free Dungeon Tiles Mapper & Tiles
3. System Reference Document v3.5
4. New Site And Zine: The Campaign Builders’ Guild

You can read it online here.

If you don’t already subscribe I would recommend it, you can do that here.

May your dice roll well.

Comments(0)

Has this happened in your campaign?

The PCs have just obtained a new level and as they head out for parts unknown they discover that their new encounters are all beefed up - almost as if they gained a level as well. I know I’m guilty of it, new opponents or the same ones as before with a level or two added to match up with the party’s new level.

I think that it’s due to two factors, the players’ desires and the systems we play.

My group plays D&D primarily and the leveling system is aimed at combat encounters - specifically combat encounters that are of an equivalent level to the PCs’ party. If you give them weaker opponents it slows down their progression which in turn makes for unhappy players as they want to advance their characters and get the “new stuff” associated with the new level (spells, feats, skills, etc.).

So what happens? The opponents continue to get tougher, combat sessions get longer and character advancement slows down as it now takes more sessions to reach the next plateau. You’ve created the same slow progression issue, you’ve only used a different method.

As a suggestion I would recommend you, as the GM, set a guideline for how often you want to level the group and then follow it. For most groups I think you’ll find that advancing a level every 4-6 sessions will be about right. That should be fast enough to make your players happy but not so fast that you can’t keep up. We took this approach and everyone seems to be happy with the results.

So that takes care of the leveling of characters but what about the encounters?

There is actually a simply solution, don’t change the opponents or at least not right away. This sounds easy but the habit a lot of GMs have (and I’m guilty of it myself) is that you want to challenge the party. We all have a sense of competition in us and even though the GM and party are not suppose to be competing, it can sneak into your game.

In most fantasy settings low level parties go up against low level creatures such as orcs or goblins - so why don’t they face them at higher levels? Think about this way for a moment, if you give your higher level party opponents that use to take them to the limit but now are more easily handled, aren’t you making a more enjoyable game? Think about it from the player’s perspective, now that level means a bit more, they can actually see the value of their increased melee ability or powers. Of course don’t go totally soft, give them a “big baddie” once in a while as well, but now those opponents will be a focal point of an adventure and not just another combat that they need to survive.

So remember, just because the party level goes up doesn’t mean that the encounters have to follow suit.

May your dice roll well.

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It looks like there’s going to be another role-playing game on the market as Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd. has reached an agreement with Warner Bros. Television and DC Comics to produce a game based on the television show Supernatural.

From the news clip:

The role playing game will offer an exciting game experience, as well as serving as a thrilling companion product for fans of the show. The game will make use of the Cortex System rules created for the Serenity Role Playing Game and the Battlestar Galactica Role Playing Game (also produced by Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd.). The first product will be a Quickstart Guide, which will provide a preview of the game, including introductory rules and a short adventure. The next release will be the Supernatural Role Playing Game Core Book, a self-contained collection of rules and source material that will contain everything a group needs to start playing. Additional products will follow the release of the core product. The entire line will be supported by an interactive website.

You can read the whole news clip at Gaming Report.

May your dice roll well.

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