of Dice and Dragons

In issue #370, Random Encounter Tables, Johnn treats us to a guest article by Charles Ciaffone who offers a different spin on random encounters. He leaves the party level out of the equation and instead focuses on using the encounter to further develop the region which then gives more depth to the gaming experience.

For those that are big into browsing gaming information online (like me) check out the reader submitted tip using Stumble Upon more effectively - you might even find of Dice and Dragons on it!

In issue #371, Alternative Dungeon Environments, Johnn gives us another guest article, this time by Garrison Sutton. This article takes the idea of a dungeon and turns it on its end and asks the question, “what could be run like a dungeon but isn’t a dungeon?” There are a lot of ideas tossed out in the article and well worth the read, especially to help get the creative juices flowing.

Enjoy.

Issue #370 - Random Encounter Tables
Contents:
–> A Brief Word From Johnn

–> This Week’s Tips:
1. Pre-Roll Encounters
2. Define the Region
3. Craft Side Adventures From Too-Powerful Encounters
4. Character Development
5. Add In Random Plot Devices
6. Encounter Table Generation
7. Regional Tables
8. Political Tables
9. Sample Random Encounter Tables

–> Readers’ Tips Of The Week:
1. Rumours…Or Are They?
2. That’ll Be Cash, Thank You
3. Map-up World Creation
4. Using StumbleUpon Effectively

–> Interesting Game Master Links
1. D&D Villains
2. Free Diagramming Tool
3. Fractal World Map Generator

Read Issue #370, Random Encounter Tables online.

Issue #371 Alternative Dungeon Environments
Contents:
–> A Brief Word From Johnn

–> This Week’s Tips:
1. Example Alternative Dungeon - The Swamp
2. Apply The Dungeon Format To Alternative Settings
3. Pick A Location-Based Theme
4. Offer Clear Connectors
5. Other Example Alternative Dungeon Ideas

–> Readers’ Tips Of The Week:
1. Three Levels of NPC Creation
2. Let PCs Set Their Own Traps
3. How To Make Your Players Paranoic
4. Let Rumours Get Misinterpreted
5. World Idea: Spontaneous Genesis
6. Keep Things Interesting: Try Higher Power Levels

Read Issue #371, Alternative Dungeon Environments online.

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

May your dice roll well.

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I’ve seen this topic discussed many times and typically the conversations are aimed at the music used and methods of organizing it but the question I have is do you use music at all?

Has your group agreed to have it or not? Is it up to the current GM or maybe the host? Do you use background music only for certain things or game systems and not at other times?

I’d like to hear what other groups out there are doing along with whether this is an area you’d like to see delved into deeper here.

May your dice roll well.

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At this point most everyone is aware of the announcement made at GenCon about the release of 4th Edition D&D, for those that haven’t and need a quick overview check out the write up at Gaming Report.

I would like to hear thoughts and opinions on this - will your group rush out and pick it up as soon as it hits the shelves (PHB in May, MM in June and DMG in July)? Or will your group wait? Maybe you’re group will decided to stick with 3.5 over move to a different system entirely.

I have to admit I’m intrigued by online components, not just the online versions Dungeon and Dragon magazines but also the tools that Wizards will be adding for online play, character creation and campaign management - which will also supposedly work will Gleemax.com. It’ll also be interesting to see what they price it at and what this will do to all homegrown tools that are out there for our use.

So please, take a minute and post your thoughts on this one - I for one would be interested to hear what everyone say on this topic.

May your dice roll well.

Comments(3)

The latest issue of Role-playing Tips, #369 features a guest article from Kit Reshawn,Four Common Pitfalls for New GMs

In the feature Kit goes over four common issues that we as GMs frequently run up against, the first on in particular I’ve been guilty of - I had an NPC save the party on a couple of occasions and the group began to feel cheated so I faded the NPC into the background over a couple of sessions. I would also suggest taking a good look at Pitfall #4, PC Death, figure it out ahead of time how you’re going to handle it so that everyone is on the same page at the beginning and you’ll save yourself a lot of grief should it happen.

Also take a couple of minutes and check out the reader tips. I found the tip call “Stranger Than Fiction” of particular interest as it show how you can use your day to day life as source material for events in your campaigns. There are also some pictures associated with the 3D props tip which are worth a look to get some ideas on what you can do to pull your game out of the 2D world of “just maps.”

Enjoy.

Contents:
–> A Brief Word From Johnn

–> This Week’s Tips:
Pitfall 1: Cooler Than Thou Syndrome
Pitfall 2: Let Each Player Shine
Pitfall 3: The Clue Bat
Pitfall 4: Player Character Death

–> Readers’ Tips Of The Week:
1. Stranger Than Fiction
2. Reminder - Give PCs Meaningful Choices
3. Borrow Ideas From Movies
4. Use 3D Props

You can read Issue #369 online here.

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

May your dice roll well.

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Over at Treasure Tables Martin made the following statement in his posting
PC Backgrounds: Opening and Closing Doors

If you imagine the hooks and plot elements in the PCs’ backgrounds as open doors, it’s a good idea to close those doors during play.

A very true statement which I thing all GMs should take heed of - something I was (to a point) negligent of during my last campaign.

In a number of instances I would spin part of the tale, sometimes using material from the background of the PCs, that would open up new possibilities for my players - hints of new places, strange artifacts or a new villain to deal with.

Problem was, I didn’t close nearly enough of them.

That in and of itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing but when you leave more open than you close the players begin to feel that they aren’t accomplishing anything which leads to dissatisfaction with the game - not a good things when one of the tenets of gaming is to have fun.

My suggestion is to keep a running list of those plot lines you’ve opened and ask your players to give you a list of those plot lines they think are open so that you can compare them. This way you can at least get a better idea of what everyone’s perception is and hopefully you’ll be able to “close a few doors” and give your players a bit more enjoyment at the table.

May your dice roll well.

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