Convention Gaming

Creative Mountain Games hosted August's Blog Carnival on Convention Gaming and here is my contribution, a little on the late side. I actually started writing it in August, but just never got around to finishing it until now, and spurred in part by last weekend's TridentCon.

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So you're thinking of running a game at a con? Well good for you! There aren't enough GMs out there willing to step up and do the work. There are some very important things to keep in mind. The most important one is that running a convention game is vastly different than running your home game. Generally you're going to be running for people you don't know, or don't know well, and probably running something that they either have never played before or absolutely love. Either way, you've got 3-4 hours to get it right.

So what do you need to do to get it right?

Energy
First off, you're going to need energy. No one is interested in playing a game with someone who's bored. Be interested in what you're doing, and be interested in what your players are doing! Stand up. Move around the table. Use funny voices. Act things out even!

Don't be overly distracting to the other tables. That's just rude.

Know the game
You don't want to be fumbling through the rule book trying to figure out what's supposed to be happening. Also, know what makes this game something special. Is it the rules? The setting? Or is this just an awesome new adventure? Whatever the answer, you'll want to highlight that fact. Bring it front and center and make sure that your players get to see it.

Don't get so caught up in the rules that you squash the fun. Again, this isn't your home game, so be a little flexible.

Keep it appropriate
Unless you're playing Cards against Humanity or something like that, or are playing at an adults only event, try to keep things PG-13. Especially if there are kids around. Plus, you never know what the sensibilities of the players are going to be, even if those sensibilities seem silly to you. Someone flinches when you say "bastard sword" next time call it a "hand and a half sword" or something. Need a vulgar NPC to employ salty language? Check out these articles on profanity in fantasy and sci-fi.

Spread your attention
Your game can't shine if your players aren't engaged. This means all of them. Granted, there isn't much you can do if they've got their faces stuck in their phones, but baring that, you need to make sure that you regularly check in with each player. Has everyone had a chance to do something cool? Has everyone had a chance to talk and give their input? Some people will be more outgoing than others, but that doesn't mean you should ignore those that sit more quietly.

Remember to have fun!
Chances are really good you aren't being paid to do this. You might even have had to pay to do it! So have fun. Remember you're sharing something you enjoy doing with other people who are open to having fun with you. Let them, and let yourself. You never know what may develop,

Things got a little beardy during a dwarf themed prison escape game at TridentCon!

How and Where I Prep - February RPG Blog Carnival

This month's RPG Blog Carnival is hosted by Leicester's Ramble, and the topic is about when and where you write and/or do your game prep.

Most of my prep is done in the evenings, usually too late in the evenings, as both my energy and creativity are flagging. But that's usually when I have free time. Free time to write it down, anyway. I spend about 3 hours a day in the car, 4 days a week, and I hate for those to be wasted hours. A lot of the time I listen to audio books, mull over ideas in my head, and even try out NPC voices where no one else can hear me.

Super helpful Alicemonster the Charismatic

My computer is in the corner of my dining/game room, in an overly large corner desk. I usually have one or both of my dogs at my feet, and some movie soundtrack playing in the background. Lately it's been a lot of Tron Legacy, John Carter, Star Trek (various), and of course Conan the Barbarian. Tonight, as I write this, it's Star Trek The Next Generation Best of Both Worlds.

I keep my books handy. In the picture above it's the Rules Cyclopedia and the 5e Monster Manual. Not in the picture, but within easy reach are the DCC core book, the rest of my 5e books, Castles and Crusades PHB, Frank Mentzer's Basic D&D, and a number of zines as well as my dice.

What I work on depends. Sometimes it's just a random (or like this one, not so random) blog post. If it's a session report, I'll have my notes handy. If it's session planning, then it depends on what game I'm prepping for. Standard is whatever rulebook is appropriate. Lately that means 5e.

For my Wednesday night Adventure's League, I'll also have the Horde of the Dragon Queen book handy, as well as the Hack & Slash remix pages up on the computer.

My Friday night Weird New World group, I'll have a couple of Dyson's zine's handy, as well as Vornheim and my copy of Michael Curtis' DCC Adventure The Chained Coffin.

For Saturday's Stonehell game, obviously the main book is Michael Curtis' Stonehell volume 1. I'd have volume 2 handy, but I'm still waiting on Curtis to get the damn thing published!

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So how and where do you do your prep?

And if you want to get ahead of the game, March's topic is Best GM Ever, hosted by Creative Mountain Games

The Archmage's Octavo: Issue 1

Normally on Mondays I share a new monster. Today, I'm sharing issue 1 of my zine: The Archmage's Octavo. In this inaugural issue I've included the variant rules for wizard carousing (aka research), a new monster that fits in very will with this month's RPG Blog Carnival theme of invasive species, and an adventure location that ties together the research rules, the monster, and a ruined tower map by Dyson Logos.

Download The Archmage's Octavo Here! (now linking to the corrected version)

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Formatting note: This PDF is designed to be printed front to back, and folded booklet style.

New Monster: Crested Worm

The young kobolds arrayed themselves around the field, each pair standing next to a hole as big around as their thighs. *Ready?* Krik asked her clutch, who flicked their tails in acknowledgement. As one, they dumped their buckets of excrement into the holes, then held the empty buckets over the holds.

Each yipped out a short note once the buckets were down. *Be ready* Krik cautioned a moment before the buckets began to slam beneath them. *When you feel it in the bucket, flip and cover it!*

The kobolds holding the lids each stood ready, and one by one, their companions tipped the buckets quickly over, and the lids were slammed down. One of the lids didn’t come down fast enough and the bright flash of green, orange, and red told Krik that at least one of her clutch wouldn’t survive the night.

Crested Worms
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 1+1* to 2+1*
Move: 90’ (30’)
Attacks: See below
Damage: 1d4 + poison
No. Appearing: 1d12 (1d12)
Save As: F1
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: Nil
Intelligence: 2
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 19 to 35

Crested Worms aren’t actually worms at all, but are a cross between a snake and a millipede, with thin black striped jade green scales, a bright orange crest atop its fanged head, and red jowl-like poison sacks hanging down below its mouth, and seemingly hundreds of tiny legs along the bottom 80% of their length. They range in size from 4’-8’ long.

Crested worm venom is highly corrosive, and is used to allow them to burrow through the ground, creating massive warrens, even in stone. They can spit their venom up to 15’ away, taking a -2 to hit at 10’ and a -4 at 15’. Anyone struck by the venom will take 1d3 points of damage, and must make a saving throw vs dragons breath. Failure means the venom will continue to burn for 1d3 damage for 1d6 additional rounds, and any armor worn will be reduced in effectiveness by 1 point for every round the venom burns.

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Nothing like waiting till the last day to do my entry into June's RPG Blog Carnival "What's in the hole?" hosted by Moebius Adventures

Virtual Table Tops

I feel a little bad only just getting to this months RPG Blog Carnival hosted by Gaming Ballistic, but it's a good topic, and one definitely worth addressing - Virtual Table Tops.

While I've done a fair bit of gaming over G+, I've only recently begun to use a VTT. Everything prior was just the table top of the imagination, as things were described, rather than shown. It's just a step removed from being at the table, really. The hardest part can be figuring out everyone's voice, and showing things on the camera if you have a map or a picture. The virtual table top kind of addresses that last issue...

So what about that? I haven't run a game with a VTT, but as a player I've used Fantasy Grounds 2. Getting to see the battle map, with the monster and player tokens, getting to see the images that the DM has picked out to illustrate the various NPCs, the world map, all of it is just the biggest advantage to using a VTT over just using skype or G+.

On the other hand, if everyone isn't really comfortable with the program it can slow things down. I've definitely noticed that, being a novice with the program. The other thing that I've noticed is that with the chat feature, when other PCs are whispering with the DM, it's easy to get distracted, and since typing takes longer than talking, what might take a moment in person, takes much longer. So when the DM and a player are whispering everyone else is just sitting on their own computers, waiting.

Overall, I think with VTT's can bring a lot to playing online, and I'd recommend that DM's running online games check it out.

GMs are the worst players!

If there is one thing a DM needs to be good at, it's being in charge of the game. It's your table, your rules, and while it's not an absolute dictatorship, at the end of the day you, the DM, are in charge.

So when we end up on the other side of the screen, it's sometimes hard to give that up. It's understandable given the amount of time and effort we've invested to be good DMs, how we've trained ourselves to run games, and provided the framework for a good time. Setting that  aside isn't easy.

I know that I've spent a lot of time on the player's side of the screen thinking about what my DM is doing, and criticizing (sometimes harshly) the decisions they're making. It's hard not to, since I'm always on the lookout for new ideas, new techniques that I can bring to the table, but it can take away from my enjoyment of the game.

We're our own worst enemies! 

I know this isn't unique to me, as I've played and run games that are made up of players who are also experienced and regular DMs. While they all relish their time as players (just as I do) there's also the occasional suggestions that are voiced at the table. It isn't too bad most of the time, but it can cause a bit of a kerfuffle if everyone decides to weigh in.

On the other hand, experienced DMs provide the best post-game critique and followup!  

My suggestion to my fellow DMs is when you find yourself pleasantly on the other side of the screen, put away your natural tendency to try to run the game, and just immerse yourself in playing it. For once, don't take charge of the game, take charge of your character, and try to make it as fun for yourself as you do for your DM.

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This is both #26 in the 30 Days of Gamemastering Challenge, and my entry for December's RPG Blog Carnival "Taking Charge" hosted this month at Casting Shadows.

Nov. RPG Blog Carnival

So what about you, RPG Bloggers? Why do you write about games? In what form does writing crop up in your campaigns? What’s your process, your stumbling blocks, your passion? How has writing helped you or your table? Or is writing more like a CR 8 Succubus whose torturous, siren song hurts so good and dominates your very being?

It’s funny that this was November’s RPG Blog Carnival topic, since it’s the month I’ve written the least for a long time. Not writing, not posting, and having the words and thoughts and ideas stuck in my head has actually been a physical ache.

So why have I been quiet? It isn’t exactly writers block. The thoughts, and even the words are there. It’s more a combination of stress, frustration, exhaustion, and just a general feeling of being overwhelmed. The fact that I’m in the middle of my second to last class for my Masters degree probably is a contributing factor...

So why do i write about an old pen and paper fantasy RPG?

I’m sure nostalgia plays a part, but the real reason is because when my mind wanders it tends to drift around to fantasy and sci-fi. So what makes Dungeons and Dragons my default go to as opposed to Middle Earth, Narnia, Starfleet, or any of the zillions of other worlds found in books? D&D is a game, a sandbox, and it literally doesn’t exist without the involvement of players. While I can steal ideas from all of those other worlds that authors have created, I’m not limited by them.

So maybe even more than writing is the creating. The monsters, places, magic items, characters, and everything else are all mine!

I think that is why I write.

Established Settings

Dice Monkey is hosting the September Blog Carnival and the topic is Established Settings.

Why do we play in settings others have created? What are your favorite? Why is it that we are continually drawn to them? Are they a crutch? Do you modify your established setting to match your game?

I’ve played in other people’s sandboxes for a variety of reasons, but the most common one is because it helps to create the shared experience for everyone at the table.

When I first started playing D&D, my games were set in Thunder Rift, as much as they were “set” anywhere in particular. It was mostly just a name. When I moved to 2e in high school I also moved to the Forgotten Realms, and while I tried to initially use as much of the stuff that had been written for it, I quickly adjusted my thinking, especially once I realized that my players knew the Realms better than I did! Suddenly it went from being “The Forgotten Realms” to being “My Forgotten Realms” and a whole host of baggage was tossed overboard. With the release of 3rd edition I glanced briefly at Grayhawk, but returned almost immediately to “My Forgotten Realms.”

Why the Forgotten Realms? Mostly because it was what my players knew, and so it became the lingua franca of our table. Red Wizards, Harpers, Undermountain, and yes, even Elminster all showed up.

Not Drizzt though. He doesn’t exist in “My Forgotten Realms” nor do his clones!

Having a common understanding of where the players fit into the world provided a structure right from the start. I didn’t have to take time to either explain it, or to show it through roleplaying. Everyone already knew. When it was different from what they thought they knew, I’d remind them that this was “My Forgotten Realms” and that crap you read in the newest book? Doesn’t count.

Is the Realms my favorite published setting? No. Yet at the same time it has everything - all of the D&D tropes, and then some.

My favorite published setting is Birthright, even though it doesn’t really support the standard fantasy rpg experience.

Ravenloft also makes a great setting, though better in theory than the actual implementation.

Now I find myself much more interested in running my own setting, rather than someone else's. Yet I'm sure I'll still steal my favorite bits and pieces from them.

What’s in *your* backpack?

Today’s post is a part of the RPG Blog Carnival*, hosted this month by Game Knight Reviews. The topic is What’s in *your* backpack?

This is my backpack

In the front flap there are 2 pockets. One holds a selection of pens, pencils, and usually a sharpie and highlighter. The other pocket holds my eyeglasses case that usually has my sunglasses in it.

In the little zipper pouch I have a small bottle of advil.

In the middle pouch is a box of colored pencils, a deck of playing cards, a set of dice, a zip tie, and earbuds from the flight home from vacation.

The main pouch has my lunch box, a book of graph paper, and the most recent D+D Next playtest materials.

Attached to the zipper pull of the main pouch is a compass. On the side is a net pouch designed to hold a drink bottle.

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*Nevermet Press, the former ringmaster of the Blog Carnival has passed the big hat to the RPG Blog Alliance.

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Also, there's a new poll off to the right - Are you backing the Reaper Bones Kickstarter?

I need a hero

It’s rare to find big damn heroes in classic Dungeons and Dragons. The entire game is designed around tomb robbers. Occasionally players will take on “altruistic” causes, but this usually involves their being able to keep a percentage of treasure that they find (aka loot). In my limited experience playing classic D+D, my players tended toward chaotic good. More than happy to do good deeds, but generally wanting something for it. When I got to play, I usually played in that same moral vein. Good people, but not generally heroes.

During my 2e days I know that no matter what their character sheets said, my players tended toward neutral evil. On the rare chances I got to play I usually ran either an elven bladesinger or a paladin. I was usually the only good character in the party, and while I was trying to emulate the high fantasy hero that was so often depicted in the art of 2e, both my party and my DM usually failed to support me in this. My fellow players by being NE jerks, and my DMs by not providing any sort of situation in which to be actually heroic. They tended to be subscribers to the school of thought that believed Lawful Good = Lawful Stupid. This is not a great situation for the player of a paladin to find himself.

With the introduction of 3e and d20 Star Wars I began to see more heroic acts, though not too often. Like back in my classic D+D days the general alignment had shifted back toward good, if not lawful. Being able to play Jedi in Star Wars certainly helped with that. There’s just something about the lure of lightsabers that proved impossible to resist.

4e, and it’s lack of emphasis on collecting treasure, seems a much more heroic game, which does cheapen the whole point of heroism in a fantasy rpg. It’s one thing when you’re playing a superhero game, but another when playing D+D.

Is looking for a hero in Dungeons and Dragons a fool's quest? Maybe, but then where else do you find a hero, but on a fool's quest?

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This post brought to you by the RPG Blog Carnival, hosted this month by Runeslinger of Casting Shadows. The topic is Heroes.

Black Dawn

Black Dawn
A Get Ready, Get Set, Go! Classic D+D adventure set in The City a generic big city.

Get Ready:
The sun cresting over the horizon is blotted out by the skyships of the dread air-pirate Don Karnage!

Get Set:
The warning bells will ring all over the city when the ships are spotted. All able-bodied persons are expected to aid in the defense of The City - adventurers included!

Go!:
The pirates are aiming for the Royal Treasury. Turns out, it’s actually just a distraction. While everyone is focused on the pirates, someone tries to assassinate the Mayor. Don Karnage is the only one who knows this, but he’ll trade his life for this info. The Assassin flew in with the air-pirates, but dropped off at the Lord Mayors palace, mostly unseen.

If the adventurers don't dither too much, there should inevitably be an encounter with the noble and assassin facing off against each other, both appearing to be the Lord Mayor, and the guards frozen with indecision.

Important NPCs:
Don Karnage, Sky Pirate (F10, AC: 2, HP: 56, Attack: Rapier (1d6+3), Double Hand X-bow (2d3+2), Morale 11),
Sky Pirate (F4, AC 5, HP 20, Attack: Rapier (1d6+1), X-bow (1d6), Morale 10),
Assassin Doppelganger (AC 5, HD 7, HP 48, Attack: Bite (1d12+3), Morale 8)
Lord Mayor (6HD Noble)

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This is adventure 7 of 25 that is roughly designed to take characters from level 1 to 25 that I will be sharing over the month of September. These posts are a part of Asshat Paladin's OSR Short Adventure Challenge, and utilize his Get Ready, Get Set, Go! format.

M is for Megadungeon Maps

Welcome to the Tower of the Archmage’s April A to Z Challenge!

Today’s post is brought to you by the letter “M” the number “13” and the support of readers like you.

Thank you.

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Lucky entry 13 brings us a number of wonderful things. First, it’s the half way point in the challenge. Second it ties the A to Z challenge in with this months RPG Blog Carnival about dungeon cartography as hosted appropriately enough by the mapmaker extraordinaire Dyson Logos.

I’m actually a little behind on posting some of my newer maps from my megadungeon, so I thought I would take this opportunity to play a little catch-up.

This map connects with the map 2Z  along the corridor marked G. I think I’m going to need to do a zoomed out view of this level just for my own sanity. That giant chasm is going to cause problems if I’m not careful.

This is the start of the 3rd level, and is at this point connected to map 2A.


If I had the time and the technical ability I’d drop my maps into GIMP, or even better into Google Sketchup, so that I could keep track of the whole thing. I bet doing a walk-through in Sketchup would be a very insightful experience. Sadly I have nowhere near the time to learn sketchup well enough to do it right now.

I’m also going to share some work in progress maps with you. I’ve been struggling with doing some real multi-level rooms. I know what I want it to look like, but when drawing it out it never comes out quite right. I’ve actually considered using multiple layers of tracing paper or different colored pens. Experimentation Shall Continue! Suggestions are welcome!

These are random doodles that haven’t gone anywhere yet, but have not been abandoned either!

Pictures cropped and adjusted for better viewing.

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I also would be remiss if I didn’t point out this awesome Pac-Man Megadungeon!  It’s currently at 1420 levels, and just by sheer volume beats everything the OSR has done. The monster selection still leaves a lot to be desired though.

Life and Death in RPGs

This month's RPG Blog Carnival, hosted by Campaign Mastery is about Life and Death in RPGs.

Life is cheap in most of the games I run. Well, for the NPCs anyway. My player's PCs mostly tend to do pretty well for themselves, unless they're stupid or unlucky. I just never really had that killer DM instinct. I'd rather just put the challenge in front of the players, and see what they do with it.It's often more entertaining than anything I could have come up with on my own!

I have given players some morally ambiguous situations, specifically the orc/goblin/kobold baby situation. I've only done it a couple of times, as each time resulted in a less than satisfactory session for just about everyone involved. I really don't recommend it, at least not for the average D&D group. It may work better for other games, and groups that are interested in exploring such gray areas.

For the occasions when player death has been the end result, it is often the final result. As magics to return the dead to life are fairly high level and generally divine I have kept them rare in my games. I dislike the idea that bringing someone back is a simple thing, an easy thing, or an inexpensive thing, so made it complicated, difficult, and expensive. It's probably helped that no one ever played clerics that achieved high enough level to receive such magics. I'm less sure how I would have handled it in that case. In fact, I'm much more likely to allow the players to make a quest of it directly, rather than just going off and doing X for the high priest and bringing back a sack of ground up diamonds. It's much more satisfying for everyone (except maybe the high priest) if they can go to the underworld and bring their friend back themselves.

What inspires my game?

This month’s RPG Carnival, hosted by Campaign Mastery, poses the question:

What non-game media have most inspired your games and how?

Initially my gaming inspiration came from a number of sources:


Greek Myths:
My mother would read me Greek myths as my bedtime stories.  I was always fascinated by the minotaur and the labyrinth (I drew lots of mazes as a kid), and the tales of Jason and Hercules.


Conan the Adventurer:
This cartoon show was a big influence on my early D&D games, as it was running at exactly the same time as I started playing D&D.  Even then I did realize that I couldn't lift things straight from the show, because my friends watched it too. 


The Chronicles of Narnia:
Prior to this series I was not a reader.  I could read, and did when I needed to, but never for pleasure.  I was assigned to read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe for school, and I fell in love with the series borrowing them from the library, and devoured them as quickly as I could lay my hands on them.   This also corresponded with my introduction to D&D, and it lead my to consume as much fantasy as I could get my hands on.


Saturday afternoon movies:
You know the type; older action adventure, sword and sandal, biblical, and silly sci-fi movies.  I spent way too much time watching them, and the sense of some of the over the top stuff that can go on in a game.  


More currently my inspiration comes from some of the amazing art that I've seen both online and in real life, as well as the vast number of books I've read in the last 2 decades.  Movies continue to be an inspiration.  My exposure to music has exponentially expanded since I first got into D&D, and now the right track can set my mind alight with inspiration.

It's time I went to the carnival!

Mistakes – ones you’ve made in the past and how you got past them, one’s you’re making now and don’t know how to solve

When I first started playing D&D it was entirely solo games with my friend Mike.  Sometimes he would DM, but most of the time I'd DM.  We never got too crazy, and I'm sure there were a fair number of mistakes that I made, but we had fun so it was all good.

Lately I've been having trouble getting a solo game going with my wife.  We have different priorities when it comes to gaming.  We both want to have fun, but our ideas of fun are light years apart.  For instance, in my previous post on How to Host a Dungeon, when I rolled a Great Wyrm during the primordial age I pictured this:

Whereas she pictured this:

The mistakes I'm making when I try to run D&D with her include:
I over-prep
I say no when i should say yes
I get impatient that she isn't interested in the aspects of D&D that I'm interested in
I become upset and feel guilty that I'm not running a fun game for her

I don't know how to break out of this.  Could it just be that I can't DM D&D for her?  Should I try a different game?  Am I just so out of practice, and so stuck in a certain style of gaming that I'm ruining gaming for her?

I don't know.
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