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Archive for the ‘Gameplay Philosophy’ Category

Fellowship

02 Jul
The Fellowship of the Ring

Look to your left, look to your right.. you'll probably save and endanger both of them.

When I first wrote down a note to write this article, it was going to be about party creation — creating characters in a group to ensure a balanced party; however, further thought and a dash of unexpected inspiration have pushed me toward a different, more important approach.

If you have a regular group, your fellow players and DM are more than just your cleric, rogue, and endless supply of terrifying monsters–they’re your friends. The important part is keeping things this way! Bad blood can rip a gaming group apart worse than any dragon, and it takes a much longer time to heal.

This article provides some quick tricks for keeping your friends happy at the game table.

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Put Down the Book!

02 Jul
Rules Lawyer

Not pictured: Fun.

WHAM! Wood splinters shower over the party as Barbarian Grimlik kicks in the door to the throne room. Following Raldon the Paladin, you and the rest of your party charge into the darkened room. Suddenly, light bursts from the walls as twenty torches simultaneously combust. You see him, Saladir the Dark One, his face unmistakable – it has haunted your dreams since childhood; the man who slaughtered your family. As your fingers brush the hilt of your sword, your eyes select your target – the beating vein on Saladir’s neck. ——– “HOLD UP! It says here on page 12 of the supplement that Saladir is blind.. why would he turn the lights on? And for kicking in the door, don’t we get a surprise round?”

Immersion killed. No saving throw. Read the rest of this entry »

 

All Work and No Play…

30 Jun
Slide Ruler

The Slide Rule: All new players are responsible for their own slide ruler.

Recently I had a chat with a friend who has previously expressed disinterest in playing Dungeons and Dragons, despite enjoying roleplaying in general. His reason: It’s too complicated; I don’t want to do math, I want to play a game!

In a large part, this is true. I play D&D v3.5 almost exclusively, and it involves a lot of rules, a lot of dice, and a lot of math. Now, I am an engineer by trade and I highly support the learning and use of math skills, but there are times when perhaps we are doing too much work and not enough play.

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How to Kill Your Players

28 Jun
This is SPARTA!!

Sometimes a glorious death will be better remembered than a victorious battle.

First, let me stress an important point on the topic of killing player characters: The DM is NOT playing against the party, but with the party. Again, this comes down to trust; if your players view you as the enemy, they will not trust you. Players that do not trust you are more likely to challenge your decisions, goof off at the table, and generate ear-splitting rants when their character dies. Now, having said that, here is how to kill players and keep their trust.

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The DM is Playing Too!

26 Jun
A Stressed DM

This is supposed to be fun!

The main goal of any game is simple: have fun. Dungeons and Dragons is no exception. But a lot of the time the focus is put on the players having fun, and the DM is left to do all of the heavy lifting. It’s time to stop and remind ourselves: Hey, the DM is playing too!


This article outlines three easy ways for players to make the game more fun for their Dungeon Master.

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Ok, go!

26 Jun
I hate sandcastles!

Your new campaign is like a sandcastle waiting to be smashed.

How many DMs have stressed over preparing every last detail for their upcoming game, only to find all of their hard work wasted when the players choose to go another direction? Not me! (anymore, that is)

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