Wow, wound up being quite a busy week; but, finally a day to rest.
So, you've played an adventure or two and now your play group would like a world a little more concrete. Choosing between use of a predesigned world or creating your own is quite a tough choice. Especially considering that most people get to thinking "how in the world will I ever manage to create that much detail?". I'd say the first thing you should consider is how much time you have to invest in world design. Remember not only would you have to design the world, but also the dungeons, adventures, etc. . . . AND you have to introduce it to your players. All this, preferably, without giving away the secrets of the world in the process.
Currently I am working up a campaign using the Al-Qadim setting. I love the setting, but I don't like how it is located so closely to Faerun. So, I'm going to move the continents a lot farther away. I'm also increasing the size of the Al-Qadim world.
The trick to making a world come alive is how much understanding of it you can get across to the players. Thankfully, Al-Qadim has a couple of books I can get to the players so that they can read up on the society and such. That knowledge of the inner-workings of the world will aid them in creating more believable characters. In turn, that will make the game more exciting for all involved.
Either option you choose has a lot of work associated with it. They both require getting out information to others. The big difference is that one has a lot of reading/researching, the other involves creating the material. The advantage to creating the material is that you know it very well. The advantage to pre-fabricated setting is the cohesion and detail you don't have to worry about.
Both choice work fine if you put the time into it. Don't forget you can also mix and match to your liking.
Happy gaming
Friday, July 16, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
AD&D Subability Scores
Well here you go. I said I would talk about the option of subability scores and here it is. Some people liked it, some hated it, and some were never sure. The point behind the whole thing is to simply allow the characters ability scores to be a little more in depth so as to aid in the fleshing out of the character. It does this by simply making the six standard ability score charts more flexibly in that it breaks them down into twelve charts. Sound complicated? Don't worry, it's not at all.
I think strength is by far the best example. Roll whatever method of choice you use and generate a number for Strength. We will use the number 10. So, Fighter 1 has rolled a 10 for his strength, that's all great (lol not really all that great but whatever). Now the subability scores for Strength are Stamina and Muscle. You can either put a 10 in both and just read across the Strength table, or you can divide it up like this: Double the number (we will get a 20), now divide that among Stamina and Muscle where they are no more than 4 points apart. That means you could have 8 and 12 as the maximum difference. So what does all of this mean? Ever heard the phrase "great out of the gate, but not much for the race"? Assume that the person wants a character that can get along pretty good, but isn't so much for raw power. Well, they would have a 12 in Stamina, and an 8 in Muscle. Make sense?
I'm not going to copy the Player's Option tables and stuff down, but here is how it will break your ability section down:
Strength
-Stamina: Weight Allowance (also influences Sprinting, Fatigue, and Proficiencies)
-Muscle: Atk. Adj.; Dam. Adj.; Max Press; Open Doors; BB/LG
Dexterity
-Aim: Missile Adj.; Pick Pockets; Open Locks
-Balance: Reac. Adj.; Def. Adj.; Move Silently; Climb Walls
Constitution
-Health: System Shock; Poison Save
-Fitness: Hit Point Adj.; Resurrection Chance
Intelligence
-Reason: Spell Level; Max # Spells; Spell Immunity
-Knowledge: Bonus # Profs.; % Learn Spell
Wisdom
-Intuition: Bonus Spells; % Spell Failure
-Willpower: Magic Def. Adj.; Spell Immunity
Charisma
-Leadership: Loyalty Base; # of Henchmen
-Appearance: Reaction Adjustment
I'm sure you are thinking, "well that's nice and all, but what's the point?" Well, page 21 in the "Player's Option: Skills and Powers" says it best, but I'm gonna sum this up.
With the subability score, you have subability checks. The way the rules implement them is for each point above 15 a player has in a subability score, the character may roll an additional 1d20 when it comes to checks involving that score. This gives, as per their example, the 17 Muscle Fighter a much higher degree of success lifting a heavy object than the 6 Muscle Wizard. However, it still doesn't take care of the fact that sometimes a character with a low score. To deal with that they add in another suggestion. You can make things tougher by making some things require multiple successful rolls to accomplish. For example if a boulder needs moving it may require two successes instead of one. Well, the fighter gets to roll two twenty sided dice, and the wizard only gets one. Therefore, even on a massive success, the wizard will NOT be moving the boulder that the fighter is incapable of moving.
I don't see why you couldn't apply the multiple rolls system to the regular ability score system though. Seems it would work just fine.
Thanks for reading, and happy gaming.
I think strength is by far the best example. Roll whatever method of choice you use and generate a number for Strength. We will use the number 10. So, Fighter 1 has rolled a 10 for his strength, that's all great (lol not really all that great but whatever). Now the subability scores for Strength are Stamina and Muscle. You can either put a 10 in both and just read across the Strength table, or you can divide it up like this: Double the number (we will get a 20), now divide that among Stamina and Muscle where they are no more than 4 points apart. That means you could have 8 and 12 as the maximum difference. So what does all of this mean? Ever heard the phrase "great out of the gate, but not much for the race"? Assume that the person wants a character that can get along pretty good, but isn't so much for raw power. Well, they would have a 12 in Stamina, and an 8 in Muscle. Make sense?
I'm not going to copy the Player's Option tables and stuff down, but here is how it will break your ability section down:
Strength
-Stamina: Weight Allowance (also influences Sprinting, Fatigue, and Proficiencies)
-Muscle: Atk. Adj.; Dam. Adj.; Max Press; Open Doors; BB/LG
Dexterity
-Aim: Missile Adj.; Pick Pockets; Open Locks
-Balance: Reac. Adj.; Def. Adj.; Move Silently; Climb Walls
Constitution
-Health: System Shock; Poison Save
-Fitness: Hit Point Adj.; Resurrection Chance
Intelligence
-Reason: Spell Level; Max # Spells; Spell Immunity
-Knowledge: Bonus # Profs.; % Learn Spell
Wisdom
-Intuition: Bonus Spells; % Spell Failure
-Willpower: Magic Def. Adj.; Spell Immunity
Charisma
-Leadership: Loyalty Base; # of Henchmen
-Appearance: Reaction Adjustment
I'm sure you are thinking, "well that's nice and all, but what's the point?" Well, page 21 in the "Player's Option: Skills and Powers" says it best, but I'm gonna sum this up.
With the subability score, you have subability checks. The way the rules implement them is for each point above 15 a player has in a subability score, the character may roll an additional 1d20 when it comes to checks involving that score. This gives, as per their example, the 17 Muscle Fighter a much higher degree of success lifting a heavy object than the 6 Muscle Wizard. However, it still doesn't take care of the fact that sometimes a character with a low score. To deal with that they add in another suggestion. You can make things tougher by making some things require multiple successful rolls to accomplish. For example if a boulder needs moving it may require two successes instead of one. Well, the fighter gets to roll two twenty sided dice, and the wizard only gets one. Therefore, even on a massive success, the wizard will NOT be moving the boulder that the fighter is incapable of moving.
I don't see why you couldn't apply the multiple rolls system to the regular ability score system though. Seems it would work just fine.
Thanks for reading, and happy gaming.
Friday, July 09, 2010
Dungeons and Dragons Resource - Ability Scores
In Dungeons and Dragons ability scores are not only one of the first things you do when creating a character, but also the base upon which everything else stands. I've heard a lot of whining when it comes to how these scores are generated across the different editions of the game. This is where you get to be more creative than you may think as a DM, particularly if you play 3rd or 4th editions and don't like how the books have the scores generated.
Third edition states that players should roll 4d6 six times and assign to the ability scores as they desire. Fourth edition uses a point buy system as a default. Nothing is wrong with either of these. As a matter of fact, I think 3rd easily falls into a high power game, hence the default use of 4d6 being assigned as the player likes. The point buy system in 4th edition is also viable for not only simplicity and putting everybody on an equal field, but it also prevents cheating players. Personally, if I can't trust the players I don't want to play with them; and, I make them roll ability scores in front of everyone anyway.
However, no resource I have found has put as much emphasis on this aspect of the game than the second printing of the 2nd Edition AD&D Players Handbook, AD&D Player's Option: Skills & Powers, and the 2nd Edition AD&D Dungeon Master's guide. And these generation systems are very easy to pour over into your game regardless of the edition you play with. So, lets take a look at the systems.
Method 1 - 3d6 in order - I love this system. Not only is it the fastest, but with most ability scores in the 9-12 range it fits in well with the 2nd edition games I run. I encourage players to play their weak roll and not whine about it. Though this system may not work very well for a power gaming group, I think it could be interesting there as well if the group plays it right.
Method 2 - 3d6 two times, choose the score you want, assign in order - Kind of the same as the above, but it really gives players a second chance if they are unlucky enough to roll more than one really low score.
Method 3 and 4 are a simple variation of methods 1 and 2. Roll the scores as in methods 1 and 2, but assign them to the stat you wish. Still the same score range as in method 1 or 2, but there is a kicker here and important reason for this method. In 2nd edition there were minimum ability scores that a player had to meet in order to play races and classes. I liked this as opposed to the 3rd edition free for all.
Method 5 is the same as in 3rd edition, 4d6 drop the lowest, but with the stipulation that the scores are placed in order. I used this a lot in 3rd edition and players liked it.
Method 6 - I think this method sucks, but I know people that used it. Each score starts at 8. Then the player rolls 7d6 and assigns those dice to the ability scores. The whole dice total must be applied to the score, but multiple dice can be applied if you wish. No score can be more than 18, and if a dice will not total to 18 exactly, then you cannot have an 18. I think this leads to too much complication. No offence, but we all know some people are kinda dense and this method would be confusing.
Method 7 - Each player has 75 points to divide among all six ability scores. No score may be lower than 3, and none higher than 18. In 2nd Edition all racial maximums and minimums must also be observed.
Method 8 - I LOVE THIS METHOD!!! This method is fun to watch people do. The player doesn't assign dice totals or points to ability scores, instead . . . players assign 24d6 among the six ability scores. Each ability score must have at least 3d6, but no more than 6d6, devoted to it. After this, they roll each score and the three highest results become the score.
Method 9 - Point Generation Chart - this uses the point buy system, but puts more variation into it. A player rolls 2d6 to determine the number of points they will have to assign to abilities and the maximum each ability may be. Here is the chart as best I can reproduce:
2d6 Roll--------Points----------Maximum
2----------------68---------------18
3----------------70---------------18
4----------------72---------------17
5----------------72---------------18
6----------------74---------------17
7----------------74---------------18
8----------------76---------------17
9----------------76---------------16
10---------------78---------------16
11---------------78---------------15
12---------------80---------------15
Method 10 is a specifically tailored point buy system for 2nd Edition. It's the 75 point system such as Method 7, only fighter classes can purchase 10 points of exceptional strength for an extra point.
Then when all of that is said and done the 2nd Edition Dark Sun campaign introduced some generation methods for some incredibly high powered character possibilities. These methods will generate scores from 5-20. When dealing with non fighter classes I count 19's and 20's in strength as the same as 18's, for fighter classes I counted them as 18/01-50 and 18/51-75 respectively. And the methods are as follows:
Method 1 - Roll 4d4+4 six times, once for each ability score,
in order. The totals rolled are written down as
rolled.
Method 2: Roll 5d4 twice for each ability
score, keeping the higher of the rolls.
Method 3: Roll 5d4 six times and assign
the rolls to the ability scores as desired.
Method 4: Roll 5d4 twelve times and
assign the six best rolls as desired.
Method 5: Roll 6d4, discarding the
lowest die, six times. Assign the six totals to the ability
scores as desired.
Method 6: Roll 5d4 six times, once for each ability score, in
order. The totals rolled are written down as
rolled.
Method 7: Each ability score starts with
a score of 10. The player then rolls 10d4. These
dice can be added to the character's abilities as desired
(with some restrictions.) All of the points on a
die must be added to the same ability score and no
ability score can exceed 20 points.
Well, if you ever wondered about other systems there you go. My next post will discuss the Player's Option: Skills and Powers method of sub-ability scores in 2nd Edition. As always, happy gaming and you can find the products discussed in this post in the store at the bottom of the page.
Third edition states that players should roll 4d6 six times and assign to the ability scores as they desire. Fourth edition uses a point buy system as a default. Nothing is wrong with either of these. As a matter of fact, I think 3rd easily falls into a high power game, hence the default use of 4d6 being assigned as the player likes. The point buy system in 4th edition is also viable for not only simplicity and putting everybody on an equal field, but it also prevents cheating players. Personally, if I can't trust the players I don't want to play with them; and, I make them roll ability scores in front of everyone anyway.
However, no resource I have found has put as much emphasis on this aspect of the game than the second printing of the 2nd Edition AD&D Players Handbook, AD&D Player's Option: Skills & Powers, and the 2nd Edition AD&D Dungeon Master's guide. And these generation systems are very easy to pour over into your game regardless of the edition you play with. So, lets take a look at the systems.
Method 1 - 3d6 in order - I love this system. Not only is it the fastest, but with most ability scores in the 9-12 range it fits in well with the 2nd edition games I run. I encourage players to play their weak roll and not whine about it. Though this system may not work very well for a power gaming group, I think it could be interesting there as well if the group plays it right.
Method 2 - 3d6 two times, choose the score you want, assign in order - Kind of the same as the above, but it really gives players a second chance if they are unlucky enough to roll more than one really low score.
Method 3 and 4 are a simple variation of methods 1 and 2. Roll the scores as in methods 1 and 2, but assign them to the stat you wish. Still the same score range as in method 1 or 2, but there is a kicker here and important reason for this method. In 2nd edition there were minimum ability scores that a player had to meet in order to play races and classes. I liked this as opposed to the 3rd edition free for all.
Method 5 is the same as in 3rd edition, 4d6 drop the lowest, but with the stipulation that the scores are placed in order. I used this a lot in 3rd edition and players liked it.
Method 6 - I think this method sucks, but I know people that used it. Each score starts at 8. Then the player rolls 7d6 and assigns those dice to the ability scores. The whole dice total must be applied to the score, but multiple dice can be applied if you wish. No score can be more than 18, and if a dice will not total to 18 exactly, then you cannot have an 18. I think this leads to too much complication. No offence, but we all know some people are kinda dense and this method would be confusing.
Method 7 - Each player has 75 points to divide among all six ability scores. No score may be lower than 3, and none higher than 18. In 2nd Edition all racial maximums and minimums must also be observed.
Method 8 - I LOVE THIS METHOD!!! This method is fun to watch people do. The player doesn't assign dice totals or points to ability scores, instead . . . players assign 24d6 among the six ability scores. Each ability score must have at least 3d6, but no more than 6d6, devoted to it. After this, they roll each score and the three highest results become the score.
Method 9 - Point Generation Chart - this uses the point buy system, but puts more variation into it. A player rolls 2d6 to determine the number of points they will have to assign to abilities and the maximum each ability may be. Here is the chart as best I can reproduce:
2d6 Roll--------Points----------Maximum
2----------------68---------------18
3----------------70---------------18
4----------------72---------------17
5----------------72---------------18
6----------------74---------------17
7----------------74---------------18
8----------------76---------------17
9----------------76---------------16
10---------------78---------------16
11---------------78---------------15
12---------------80---------------15
Method 10 is a specifically tailored point buy system for 2nd Edition. It's the 75 point system such as Method 7, only fighter classes can purchase 10 points of exceptional strength for an extra point.
Then when all of that is said and done the 2nd Edition Dark Sun campaign introduced some generation methods for some incredibly high powered character possibilities. These methods will generate scores from 5-20. When dealing with non fighter classes I count 19's and 20's in strength as the same as 18's, for fighter classes I counted them as 18/01-50 and 18/51-75 respectively. And the methods are as follows:
Method 1 - Roll 4d4+4 six times, once for each ability score,
in order. The totals rolled are written down as
rolled.
Method 2: Roll 5d4 twice for each ability
score, keeping the higher of the rolls.
Method 3: Roll 5d4 six times and assign
the rolls to the ability scores as desired.
Method 4: Roll 5d4 twelve times and
assign the six best rolls as desired.
Method 5: Roll 6d4, discarding the
lowest die, six times. Assign the six totals to the ability
scores as desired.
Method 6: Roll 5d4 six times, once for each ability score, in
order. The totals rolled are written down as
rolled.
Method 7: Each ability score starts with
a score of 10. The player then rolls 10d4. These
dice can be added to the character's abilities as desired
(with some restrictions.) All of the points on a
die must be added to the same ability score and no
ability score can exceed 20 points.
Well, if you ever wondered about other systems there you go. My next post will discuss the Player's Option: Skills and Powers method of sub-ability scores in 2nd Edition. As always, happy gaming and you can find the products discussed in this post in the store at the bottom of the page.
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Dungeons and Dragons - What makes a good DM?
Well, since I started playing Dungeons and Dragons that question has come up more times than I care to count. There are so many things that I feel a Dungeon Master needs to be capable of in order to make the game good. You need to have an understanding of the basic rules, know when and how to change things as the need arises, creativity is must (and yes, you can learn this to a degree), know how to tell a story, and you have to be organized enough to keep track of what is going on and not have to spend half of the gaming session looking through books.
Basic understanding of the rules is probably the most important. After all, it's hard to change things up when you don't know what the hell is going on in the first place. You need to know how to create a character inside and out. And by that I don't mean memorizing everything. There are instructions in the Player's Handbooks on how to create characters, you should be able to find any questions your players have while creating their characters. And if you have customized the process this is even more important because if you don't know your rules then who does?
Impromptu gaming is an important skill as well. If a player decides they want to throw a 10 lb. dumbbell at a creature then you need to come up with the damage and such associated with that task . . . not spend fifteen minutes looking over your charts for an answer. This flows right into creativity and organization. If you make something up for the game, write it down where you can find it if you have to reference it later. This helps with consistency in the game.
And storytelling . . . to me that is the meat of the game. It is the reason I play. It should be a crime for a DM to not take the time to research how to read and write a story that makes some kind of sense. I think the best thing a DM can do is take some free creative writing workshops and such on the internet, there are many of them if you take the time to simply search Google. Something I find that compliments knowing basic story structure is keeping a thesaurus on hand (a good one, not some $5 junk, an actual large thesaurus), if you use your computer a lot in gaming then you can go to www.reference.com . It's very useful.
My next few posts will get into the details of specific changes, and that's where we really start breaking out of the mold. As usual here are some things you may find helpful in your journey to becoming a better DM.
Happy gaming.
Basic understanding of the rules is probably the most important. After all, it's hard to change things up when you don't know what the hell is going on in the first place. You need to know how to create a character inside and out. And by that I don't mean memorizing everything. There are instructions in the Player's Handbooks on how to create characters, you should be able to find any questions your players have while creating their characters. And if you have customized the process this is even more important because if you don't know your rules then who does?
Impromptu gaming is an important skill as well. If a player decides they want to throw a 10 lb. dumbbell at a creature then you need to come up with the damage and such associated with that task . . . not spend fifteen minutes looking over your charts for an answer. This flows right into creativity and organization. If you make something up for the game, write it down where you can find it if you have to reference it later. This helps with consistency in the game.
And storytelling . . . to me that is the meat of the game. It is the reason I play. It should be a crime for a DM to not take the time to research how to read and write a story that makes some kind of sense. I think the best thing a DM can do is take some free creative writing workshops and such on the internet, there are many of them if you take the time to simply search Google. Something I find that compliments knowing basic story structure is keeping a thesaurus on hand (a good one, not some $5 junk, an actual large thesaurus), if you use your computer a lot in gaming then you can go to www.reference.com . It's very useful.
My next few posts will get into the details of specific changes, and that's where we really start breaking out of the mold. As usual here are some things you may find helpful in your journey to becoming a better DM.
Happy gaming.
Dungeons and Dragons - Styles of Play
When it comes to table top role playing games there are as many styles of play as there are games. This holds as true for Dungeons and Dragons just as much as any of the rest. Conflicting play styles can put a play session in its' grave as quickly as anything else if the group doesn't reach a middle ground of some sort. Very few people share the same views when it comes to how to play the game to get the most fun out of it. The trick here is to identify how each individual, including yourself, likes to play and what can be tweaked on everyone's part to make the game enjoyable for everyone. Let's start by identifying a few playing styles.
(Note: this is covered in the 2nd edition Dungeon Master's guide, and 'm pretty sure it's in the 3rd edition one's as well. But, I'm just gonna wing it.)
You will have a variety of players sit down to play your game. Among those will be the power gamer (min-maxer), role player, combatant/hack'n'slasher. That's all without breaking it down into extremes of each category, and you of course have the typical Dungeons and Dragons player that is a mix of all three. Now before we discuss them, you have probably picked out one or two styles that annoy you. Well, all three can be annoying as hell when taken to extremes. But my personal dislike would have to be a power gamer, a.k.a., the Meta Gamer. Enough of that, let's discuss how to accommodate them.
We will start with the role player. I know I'm going out of order, but I will save the power gamer for last as I think it is the most complicated. Role players come in a few varieties, but most typically fall into Light and Heavy RP. Some will say Medium, but there really is no such thing. Light role players are pretty easy to make happy in your game because most of their interest revolves around a simple story involving their characters. You don't have to write a novel or keep up with one-hundred extra pages of notes. Heavy RP on the other hand can prove extremely difficult. With Heavy RP the players tend to get so involved with the most minute of details, almost to the point of treating it like real life. There can be an advantage to this if you have a group of heavy role players because they will feed off of each other and create the bulk of the story themselves leaving the DM to just have to work the major story points and a general outline.
The Hack'n'slash players are easy enough to accommodate . . . kill, kill, kill, bigger monsters, kill, kill, kill . . . with challenges of course *wink*. But, it can get old fast; and, our combat minded players can easily slip into becoming power gamers and meta gamers.
Let's define the difference in power gaming and meta gaming even though in my experience they tend to flow hand in hand with players. Power gaming is working every aspect of the game you can in favor of making your character the most powerful it can be. Meta gaming is taking player knowledge such as armor class, and knowing what special abilities a creature has, and acting like your character knows it. This tends to be the cause of people having trouble learning to role play. They simply can't break away from the numbers. This type of player will choose a 1d8 damage weapon over one that deals 1d6 simply because of the damage.
I'm sure you can look farther into each play style and see more pro's and con's with each, but that pretty much sums it up. Balancing the game so that all of your players can enjoy it takes a lot of practice. You have to start somewhere though. Start small. There is nothing wrong with your first play session being a haunted shack that players hear about in town. The shack has two rooms with three little monsters and a treasure chest. It's simple, but a good DM can bring it alive. A little role play to get into the situation, some combat to get out of the situation, some loot to distribute, and a little closing role play. Games like this can be memorable for everyone, you just have to expand on it depending on what your players like and make sure everyone gets in the spotlight.
I really recommend the 2nd edition adventure below from Amazon.com. It was one of the first published adventures I purchased, and I have ran it multiple times in both 2nd and 3rd edition. You will have to convert it to 3rd, but it isn't very difficult. I just eyeballed it. "The Accursed Tower" is easy to follow, just have your DM read through it a couple of times and write down a few notes and you can make many game sessions out of it if you wish, or you can tackle it in one evening. If you buy it I'm pretty certain you will enjoy it, even if it's just for a good read.
Happy Gaming.
(Note: this is covered in the 2nd edition Dungeon Master's guide, and 'm pretty sure it's in the 3rd edition one's as well. But, I'm just gonna wing it.)
You will have a variety of players sit down to play your game. Among those will be the power gamer (min-maxer), role player, combatant/hack'n'slasher. That's all without breaking it down into extremes of each category, and you of course have the typical Dungeons and Dragons player that is a mix of all three. Now before we discuss them, you have probably picked out one or two styles that annoy you. Well, all three can be annoying as hell when taken to extremes. But my personal dislike would have to be a power gamer, a.k.a., the Meta Gamer. Enough of that, let's discuss how to accommodate them.
We will start with the role player. I know I'm going out of order, but I will save the power gamer for last as I think it is the most complicated. Role players come in a few varieties, but most typically fall into Light and Heavy RP. Some will say Medium, but there really is no such thing. Light role players are pretty easy to make happy in your game because most of their interest revolves around a simple story involving their characters. You don't have to write a novel or keep up with one-hundred extra pages of notes. Heavy RP on the other hand can prove extremely difficult. With Heavy RP the players tend to get so involved with the most minute of details, almost to the point of treating it like real life. There can be an advantage to this if you have a group of heavy role players because they will feed off of each other and create the bulk of the story themselves leaving the DM to just have to work the major story points and a general outline.
The Hack'n'slash players are easy enough to accommodate . . . kill, kill, kill, bigger monsters, kill, kill, kill . . . with challenges of course *wink*. But, it can get old fast; and, our combat minded players can easily slip into becoming power gamers and meta gamers.
Let's define the difference in power gaming and meta gaming even though in my experience they tend to flow hand in hand with players. Power gaming is working every aspect of the game you can in favor of making your character the most powerful it can be. Meta gaming is taking player knowledge such as armor class, and knowing what special abilities a creature has, and acting like your character knows it. This tends to be the cause of people having trouble learning to role play. They simply can't break away from the numbers. This type of player will choose a 1d8 damage weapon over one that deals 1d6 simply because of the damage.
I'm sure you can look farther into each play style and see more pro's and con's with each, but that pretty much sums it up. Balancing the game so that all of your players can enjoy it takes a lot of practice. You have to start somewhere though. Start small. There is nothing wrong with your first play session being a haunted shack that players hear about in town. The shack has two rooms with three little monsters and a treasure chest. It's simple, but a good DM can bring it alive. A little role play to get into the situation, some combat to get out of the situation, some loot to distribute, and a little closing role play. Games like this can be memorable for everyone, you just have to expand on it depending on what your players like and make sure everyone gets in the spotlight.
I really recommend the 2nd edition adventure below from Amazon.com. It was one of the first published adventures I purchased, and I have ran it multiple times in both 2nd and 3rd edition. You will have to convert it to 3rd, but it isn't very difficult. I just eyeballed it. "The Accursed Tower" is easy to follow, just have your DM read through it a couple of times and write down a few notes and you can make many game sessions out of it if you wish, or you can tackle it in one evening. If you buy it I'm pretty certain you will enjoy it, even if it's just for a good read.
Happy Gaming.
Dungeons and Dragons Resource - The New D&D Blog
For years I have explored every nook and cranny of the internet looking for resources for my Dungeons and Dragons games. Along the way I have found many websites with good content, but unfortunately most of those sites have either been taken down, are no longer kept up, or their "good content" is really limited to a small item or two that catches my eye for a brief moment. During the past few years life has been taking it's toll on me while I battle my real life demons of unemployment, and illness. So, I got to thinking . . .
. . . I could write a blog . . .
. . . but what would I write about? . . .
. . . would anyone read it? . . .
Well, I feel I am a pretty good DM and player.. I know a good bit and can discuss table top role playing from dusk until dawn. There aren't many quality sites out there, and what is there doesn't write about D&D like I do. My answer was right in front of my face.
That brings me to the next point. What will I be talking about in this blog? Well, I have ideas going through my head 24/7 and this will be where I get them all out to share and discuss. Hopefully along the way I can help out some aspiring DM's and players to enhance their games in many ways. I will discuss every aspect of the game that I can, but most importantly I will be looking at "rules" and helping teach people how to break out of the box and customize their games to anything they can imagine. To get you started I'll give you this little piece of advice: Take inspiration from anywhere you can.
Well that's all for tonight. I'll get started putting some content on here tomorrow.
Happy gaming.
. . . I could write a blog . . .
. . . but what would I write about? . . .
. . . would anyone read it? . . .
Well, I feel I am a pretty good DM and player.. I know a good bit and can discuss table top role playing from dusk until dawn. There aren't many quality sites out there, and what is there doesn't write about D&D like I do. My answer was right in front of my face.
That brings me to the next point. What will I be talking about in this blog? Well, I have ideas going through my head 24/7 and this will be where I get them all out to share and discuss. Hopefully along the way I can help out some aspiring DM's and players to enhance their games in many ways. I will discuss every aspect of the game that I can, but most importantly I will be looking at "rules" and helping teach people how to break out of the box and customize their games to anything they can imagine. To get you started I'll give you this little piece of advice: Take inspiration from anywhere you can.
Well that's all for tonight. I'll get started putting some content on here tomorrow.
Happy gaming.
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