D&D on NBC??

Do you watch the show Community on NBC? I don't, but when I heard they had an episode about Dungeons & Dragons, I couldn't miss it! It seems I wasn't alone in this, and Scott Bennie, a member of one of the Yahoo Groups I frequent, had some interesting thoughts about the episode as well. His comments, after the episode (embedded video from Hulu.com):

The neatest thing about the episode is that its premise is a conscious repudiation of the 80s D&D scare. This is a Dungeons and Dragons game designed to *prevent* a suicide, as opposed to the "Radecki/Pulling D&D causes suicide" tripe of the 80s.

The group, instead of "trying to snap Neil" back to reality, which is the usual trope of a mainstream handling of an "escape is for the weak, RPG is evil" episode, is actively trying to use his fantasy to bolster his self-esteem, even when many of them don't particularly get it. Jeff may think the game is silly, but he understands the importance of the sword to Neil, though Neil's agenda dovetails with his own when it comes to Pierce. The one person who tries to make Neil "see reality" is Pierce, who ironically is far better than adapting to the milieu than the others, despite saying the game is "gay" and "stupid', showing contempt for the trappings of the genre (his obscene acts with Neil's sword, his eventual pathetic descent to using the "rape button", at the end, when confronted with the banality of his evil).

Neil's triumph isn't his repudiation of fantasy (as in most anti-RPG media depictions), nor is it his victory in a fantasy that's solely escapist (as one might expect in a blindly pro-RPG piece), but, when presented with a fantasy antagonist that's using the game as a passive-aggressive attack on him in the real world, he manages to recognize its pathetic qualities and, via an act of pity and grace, use it to achieve a victory in both worlds. The show's not damning escape nor lionizing it, but recognizing it as having value as long as the individual is capable of dealing with the real world.

It also plays into what I've said for years is the true capacity for evil in our hobby, not content -- these players are not going to become more violent or drawn into the occult from playing this game -- but in the capacity of being a tool that someone can use to be a creep and do people serious psychological harm, to act as a vessel to give reign to our darker (as the show would call it, most dickish) impulses. The group coming together, however, is a demonstration of what I think is RPG's greatest strength: It's potential to draw people into a communal experience that cements friendship, and reinforcing values of compassion that go beyond what's at the game table.

What are your thoughts?

You got Role-Play in my Hack and Slash!

My players consist exclusively of theatre majors. It's strange, though, that it is incredibly difficult to get them to role play. Any time I try to get them in a situation where they don't need to use their powers or skills they scratch their heads and wonder why they aren't killing anything. There are three techniques that can be used to engage those players that can't quite get into the role play portion of a role-playing game.

1. "Is this what your character would do?"
I ask this question when the player is using too much metagame thinking. Sure, Patrick knows that there's an enemy around the corner, but does Rune, his warforged warden? This also comes in handy when players are doing morally dubious things.

"The shopkeeper isn't being receptive to your haggling; you'll pay full price"
"Then I kill the shopkeeper"
"Really? Is your character so morally corrupt and socially inept to kill someone for such a trivial reason?"
"I pay full price..."

Situations like this happen when players think too much along the lines of "this is a game" and less about the role their character plays in a larger world.

2. "What does that look like?"
Another easy way to get your players thinking as their characters is by asking them to describe their actions. This is a great way to get players started in roleplaying. Model the behavior by describing enemy actions, then tell the player to elaborate their action. "I use Magic Missile" doesn't sound as good as "Green jets of energy shoot from Thuul's wand. They arc through the air as they seek Thuul's target. When they strike, a light green plume leaves the Wraith's body." Small steps like this, and during skill checks and skill challenges, creates an environment where you can continue to push their role-playing.

3. Mouseguard up the place a little bit.
I just started a SWSE game with a couple of people from my DnD4e group. As we did our cooperative character creation (ala DM Samuel), I asked my role-play light players what their character's instinct and belief were. Then, right before their mission, I had them create a goal. I rewarded the players with role-play xp. These Mouseguard-esque elements really show players that their characters are not super-versions of themselves; they are different people with different thoughts, beliefs, and skills than their players.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but these three ways have really upped the amount of role play in my sessions. If you have any other suggestions, or plain 'ol questions or comments, feel free to drop them off in the comments section!

How to Make a Pair beat a Full House

It happens all the time: you spent 2 hours setting up a game, meticulously matched schedules as if you were tracking a conspiracy theory, and what happens? You only have two or three players show up. What do you do in this situation? This week we focus on what to do with those three hours that aren’t as full as you’d want them to be.

1. Run some filler!

This option is done very frequently in Anime. The plot vets extremely interesting, then BAM two months of meaningless side story. With an incomplete party you have the opportunity to have a role-playing intensive session, where everyone learns a little more about their characters. Stuck in the desert and want to use some ice creatures? This is a great time to put some in front of the few that showed up. You could also do a flashback adventure, where players relive a moment in the past that was just fluff. This is especially fun for players because they get to act out a moment of story where they know the ending (it also makes DMing easier since the players railroad themselves).

2. Try a swap

As I mentioned in last week’s article, I mentioned that having fewer players makes a great time to have another person DM a game. If it’s their first time, it gives them a chance to try being on the other side of the screen without as many judging eyes. It also gives the game a fresh face, keeping players from thinking that the game is going to be a watered-down version of their normal game because there are fewer players. A DM swap can also introduce a one-shot or even a new campaign. This is done best when you frequently have fewer players than you would ideally. This way, when there are fewer players, there isn’t a nervous “Are we going to cancel” feeling, it’s just “Oh, we’ll do Campaign B now.”

Fewer players also should flag as a chance to play that Mouseguard game you’ve been hiding away for four months. Most players come to a game to play that game, but with fewer players, it shifts their thinking to where they’d be much more available to play a different game. It also gives you as a DM a chance to take a deep breath and step back from the current campaign, even if it’s only for one session.

3. Chillax

Our lives are hectic mishmashes of deadlines and responsibilities. Having a three hour space in time to game is a huge luxury that we don’t normally afford ourselves. Having fewer players can make us feel angry and frustrated because this is the only time they have in their week to slow down and play. It doesn’t have to be that way, though. Having three hours to spend relaxing with your friends, even in a non-gaming situation, is an incredible thing that we take for granted when we aren’t able to play. Honestly, odds are there is more than one player who are at that table that aren’t really feeling gaming that night, and would really just like a couple of hours to decompress. Having fewer players makes a great chance for you to reconnect with your players beyond what their new ideas for retraining are. Sometimes we forget that the people we stare at for three hours and try to kill are our friends, and we don’t have to be rolling dice to have a good time. Watch a crappy movie, a crappy reality show, or just sit back and enjoy each other’s company. You’d be amazed at how awesome your next game will be after sharing a relaxing evening with your friends.

The last thing you want to do after a busy week of preparing and scheduling to have fewer people than you’d like. Fortunately, there are plenty of things to do when you’re a little short. The most important thing to do is to have fun with the people you have. People may want to leave because there aren’t enough to run that game, but remind them they’d be spending that time here anyway, and there’s still fun to be had.

Me? DM? Surely you Jest!

Planning and running a Dungeons and Dragons game is hard. We all know that. We scour the interwebs for ideas on how to make it an easier process. We look at the wizards site, friendly gaming blogs, and even mass RSS feeds. There is a simpler solution, though. Simpler than any of the above options: You pawn it off on someone else. That’s right; today I’m going to talk about ways you can convince another person to run a game. That way, when the stress of the world hits you, you can just tell someone else to run the game this week.

1. Plant the Seed

The first thing you have to do is find a sorry sap to put the yoke of DMing on. Discussing game building with your party off-handedly at the end of a session lets you thin the herd. If they seem interested in what you were doing with the session, they probably have a desire to run a game. Keep this idea in the back of your mind when you start a session or are planning a session and you have only a couple of players. This is a great time to throw out, “hey, why don’t we switch hats today, John, do you want to take a shot at running an adventure tonight?”

2. Stoke the Fire

It takes a leap of faith to run an adventure in front of your friends. There is a lot of pressure when you are showing your creative powers, and you really want everyone to have a fun time. Add on the fact that the main DM is playing, too, and there is an incredible amount stress on this new player. It is your job as a seasoned DM to give guidance (not rules-lawyering) and to give lots of praise and encouragement. The goal is to give them enough confidence to run another game later, giving you the chance to take a breather.

3. Pull the Bandage

It’s difficult to do, but if you really want your future DM to want to continue DMing, you’re going to have to force the issue. You can do this one of two ways: skip and have another player convince the prospective DM to run a game, or set up a splinter game and have the new DM run it. You have to move them into a position where the pressure to DM is there and a true test of whether or not they want to do this long-term. If they make it through this step they’re ready for anything.

There it is, the three-step process to pinning some other poor sap with the horrible burden of being a Dungeon Master. Soon enough, your victim will be talking about the use of fantastic terrain, the advantages and disadvantages of lowering HP and increasing damage, and whether to railroad or sandbox. And we, the happy few who do the same, will never be more proud. Feel free to leave me a note in the comments, and stay tuned for some more changes.

D&D Homework - Collaborative Storytelling

Thadeous over at MyDNDGame.net posted an interesting article today called "Giving Up Some Power" that got me thinking about the current campaign I am running.


The party has been based out of the town of Everlund and has purchased a guild hall there. This town is supposed to be a moderately-sized trading town with streets setup like spokes on a wagon wheel, making it easy to move goods in and out of town from any direction. The party has only visited the guard barracks, purchased their guild hall where they stay, and went to a few nearby shops. They have yet to truly explore what the town has to offer. So, I sent my players the following email:

Hey guys,

I have a little bit of homework I want you each to do over the next 2 weeks.

Since Kron came in to town, the party took a little break and has spent 2 weeks shopping, hanging out, and exploring the town. Everlund is a good sized trading town but still has that "everybody knows your name" atmosphere about it. The party has only seen a few shops, the guild hall, and the guard barracks (so far, according to the story).

#1 - I want each of you to come up with 2 places that exist in the town. These can be as simple as a fletcher's shop in the market district (described in very little detail) or as elaborate as an underground sewer system (detailing the exit points throughout the town).

#2 - With each of the 2 places, create at least 2 (but no more than 4) unique NPCs that live/work/whatever in these new places. Give them a little backstory...why are they there?

#3 - Decide how/why your character has visited these places and met these NPCs over the last 2 weeks.

DO NOT share these places or NPCs with each other. Send me the information (if I have to DM-veto anything, I'll let you know) and let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks!

We'll see what they come up with! I'm looking forward to it and hope this opens the door for more collaborative storytelling and world design.

Have you ever been involved in a collaborative creation of people and places for a campaign you've played in? What were some of the pros and cons to what you or the players brought to the gaming table?

EDIT:

Here was my favorite immediate response:

oh goody, this should be fun :)

3 Player Monty

Dungeons and Dragons is not a popular game in my area. I should clarify that statement. Dungeons and Dragons 4e is not popular in Leavenworth or Lansing, Kansas. The two batches of students that I’ve had who played DnD were 3.5 fanboys who went into nerd rage when I mentioned 4e. I did have two 3.5 players come into my college group’s 4e game, but after a few sessions they dropped out (a mixture of scheduling conflict and edition frustration). My point for bringing this up? I’ve always had to run games with 3 or 4 PCs. In the beginning of our game it was 2 PCs and 1 DM controlled NPC. My group has been holding steady for the last 4 or 5 months with 3 PCs. This has posed some problems for me as a DM, because my XP budget is pretty low for encounter building. I have come up with some ways to deal with my small party dynamic, and I hope that these things could both benefit games that have an adequate number of players, and encourage people who have small player-bases to still get a game going.

1. Understand your enemy (the PCs)

This is a general tip for any DM, but especially for a small party, knowing who your PCs are and what they can do tactically. A three-player party (3PP hereafter) is going to be missing at least one role (my home game is missing two). This means that to make the game enjoyable for the players you as a DM have to look at what you can throw at them without demolishing them. My home game doesn’t have a defender, but it has two leaders. I rarely pit them against Soldiers because the high HP value and damage output can drop one or two PCs in the first couple of rounds without someone to soak up damage. With two leaders, though, I can pit them against an elite with a couple of soldiers right before an extended rest because they have the opportunity to use their healing powers and recharge before the next day’s difficulties. This could be a “Sissy DM” way of looking at encounter building, but one character dropped in a 3PP suddenly sinks player actions by 33%, creating an un-fun encounter quickly.

Understanding your PCs goes beyond combat. With fewer characters, there is more pressure on each PC to interact in a roleplaying situation. A smaller group means that the group has to be tighter-knit, and they have to work together for common safety; failure to do so ends tragically much quicker than in a larger party.

A short example: Manneo, the Barbarian, demands healing from the party Cleric. The Cleric states that she only heals when he is at least at his bloodied value, as per the party agreement, but Manneo demands healing. When the spider swarm flanks Manneo, he quickly drops to below his healing surge value. Manneo’s player begins to act aggressively towards the Cleric’s player in the real world, prompting the Cleric to not heal him at all. Tired of their bickering, the Druid drops a burst attack killing both the swarms and Manneo, ending the argument.

This situation is not exclusive to just a 3PP, but a larger party would still be able to function during a two-character breakdown; a 3PP falls apart completely, creating real world friction and a stall in playtime (funtime). A preventative measure for this situation for the DM is explained well in the next tip.

2. Gift the Masses



Treasure is an important part of any PCs life. The DMG explains that for 3 PCs they lose one magic item and some gold. That really doesn’t change the loot dynamic that much, but I find many of my parcels changed more by the nature of my treasures and the number of healing potions I give to players. Almost all of my characters have some form of the Onyx Dog (AV) that they can control with minor actions. I take advantage of the extra damage output to increase the difficulty of the encounters (see section 3).To survive the encounters that I set up for the party I also give my PCs 4-5 Healing Potions per level. This allows them to use their healing surges in combat and takes some of the friction off of the Cleric (as above). Another thing that I allow for my players are more frequent short rests. I gauge how many encounters they’ll have through a day depending on remaining party healing surges. Although healing surges run out pretty quickly around my group, as is evidenced from my final tip.

3. Lay on the Hurt, but Spread the Love



With an XP budget significantly lower than a 5 player party, the 3PP can survive surprisingly difficult encounters. Many of the encounters I’ve run have been on-par for 5 PCs and the 3PP can still thrive. There are a couple of things I do here that allow for that. As stated above, the PCs have Onyx Dogs that basically add up to another whole PC in the party, and with their extra healing potions, it allows me to up the XP budget to 4 PCs. Most of my encounters fall into the “hard” category (level +2 or above). How do I do this without TPK everyday? I put in a lot of minions. A low XP budget means few monsters, and few monsters make stale encounters. Waves of minions don’t let the PCs think they’re in a smaller encounter, and lets them get that mighty feeling of threshing through enemies. The other key thing I do combat-wise to help the PCs is I rarely focus fire. Although it is the intelligent thing to wail on one PC until they fall, it makes that PC feel bullied and hurt (that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen: if the barbarian rushes into the fray before the artillery have time to set up, he’s going through the meat grinder). I try to make sure the monsters I pit the PCs against have the opportunity to battle everyone. With one melee and two ranged, all of the creatures have ranged attacks to keep the artillery from feeling safe. I usually use the buddy system for PC attack. One or two monsters will pick a PC and attack them until goaded into attacking a different PC. This sets up grudge matches and gets the PCs invested in the combat.











































These are a few of the things that I use to keep my 3PP happy. My players have never complained that they wished that they had another player to make the game more fun, and the only time I’ve seen them yawn in a game is during Finals week. Have any of you readers encountered a small party situation? How have you handled the lack of personnel in the game? Let me know in the comments!