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At The Gaming Table

Nerdarchy > At The Gaming Table (Page 5)
roleplaying hobby

Philosophy of Pen and Paper Roleplaying Game Hobby No. 1

Introduction of “why” in roleplaying games

While often the conversation of the roleplaying hobby revolves around the question of “how,” I find I spend most of my time asking “why.” While discussion of effective Game Mastering, playing a compelling character, and the like can be useful tools, these are simply to treat the symptoms of the obstacles we face in this hobby. Understanding why we take on such an odd and complex undertaking and dare to call it fun gives us insight on what drives us and when we know why, we know when we fall short of why. This concept of why is what we’re here to explore: Why do we play, Why do you play, and why is this important for roleplaying gamers.

Fantasy Grounds College

Keep Your Campaign On Track: Missing Players

Hello nerds! Nerditor Doug here, welcoming back guest poster Elyunn who shared a great story along with tips and advice for getting started with Fantasy Grounds. She is back with us again, and this time around she adds to the Keep Your Campaign on Track series.

Elyunn spoke with some folks over at Fantasy Grounds College to glean their insights on a situation all roleplaying game groups experience at some point or another…

Fantasy Grounds College

How Fantasy Grounds College Taught Me to Overcome the Human Condition and Love Gaming Again

In the ’80s it was a lot harder to be “cool” and a “nerd” than it is now. Back then those words were mutually exclusive. Dungeons & Dragons was not cool. It was something weird that only “weird” people played, or for kids to horrify their parents with. In those days, as both a female and a nerdy kid, you had to have thick skin.

horror game

Heightening the Horror Atmosphere For Your Game

November marks NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Last year I met the goal to write 50,000 words of a story by the end of the month and this year I hope to do it again (although that doesn’t seem likely as this point). This year my focus is on a short story, maybe two as time allows. At the moment I am on the edit stage of the first, a supernatural horror about a young girl who made friends with the monsters haunting her in the night. Not wanting to ignore my Nerdarchist work for all of November I decided this would be a great opportunity to write an article about how to apply horror to your game.

Adding Detail into the RPG Experience

My friends and I were discussing what it is that makes the great memories of the gaming table different than the mundane. What it is that makes the Game Master and players play off of one another to amazing results. What we realized is every time the game reached those truly epic levels, it was because those involved went above and beyond to describe their game, character, or scene.

Wyatt Ferris #PlayForWyatt

Wyatt Ferris Inspires Gamers to #PlayForWyatt

It’s truly a testament to how awesome the gaming community is that when tragedy took an awesome person from our nerdy world, and his mom reached out, gamers around the globe answered the call.

Hello Awesome Crafters, Last week my 17 year old son Wyatt Ferris took his own life after suffering a traumatic brain injury. He was very active in the gaming community, both as player and GM. In order to show our endless love for Wyatt and to honor his countless hours at the gaming tables, we’re asking GMs and storytellers around the world to add Wyatt as an NPC in your games. Wyatt was a paladin, cavalier, war priest, rogue, swashbuckler, investigator, Hellknight bodyguard, and more. Please see the photos here of Wyatt and use the hashtags #Play4Wyatt #WyattNPC so we can follow his continued adventures. Thank you for helping this broken hearted mother mend after this tragic loss. I love the gaming community for starting this for my son. My Twitter is @baddicebad. Please Like, Comment, Share and Subscribe!

RollPlay roundtable

RollPlay Roundtable Digs Deep into D&D with Matt Mercer, Adam Koebel, Mike Mearls and Matt Colville

In case you missed it, a very thought-provoking event took place on Oct. 9, 2017 for anyone in the Dungeons & Dragons or tabletop roleplaying game community.

Hosted on the itmeJP YouTube channel. Adam Koebel moderated a roundtable discussion including fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons co-creator and creative lead Mike Mearls, Critical Role Dungeon Master and voice actor Matt Mercer and video game writer and author Matt Colville, whose popular YouTube channel and presence in the D&D community has had a powerful impact on the hobby.

RollPlay Presents: A 5E Roundtable Discussion began with a deceptively complex question.

Dissecting the X-Card Controversy

Very recently, the controversy over the X-Card was brought up again. For those not in the know, and I was one of those up until it was recently brought up in our writer’s chat, the basic premise is a system where roleplaying or simulation game players can silently signal the subject at hand is making them uncomfortable, usually in the form of index cards with an X prominently marked on it, that they can tap or raise. While the subject was recently rebroadcast in a vlog, a very cursory Google search has brought up a debate about it that existed at least two years ago.

The Reroll Rule Problem

The Article Abstract: To highlight the issue with confusing rules from one system to another. While it can be very useful for homebrew and discussion, the danger is that it can cause confusion and arguments between friends. The solution, unfortunately, is to simply be prepared for the situation when it comes up and to simply allow the Game Master to adjudicate the situation. Being able to support your position with documentation helps your case, but ultimately it is the responsibility of the GM to keep the game moving and keep it overall enjoyable.

Pay-to-Play RPG Paid GMs: Are You Worth It?

What would you pay for a Game Master?

Almost every tabletop RPG requires a GM, yet when it comes to constructing a group the dreaded question is “who will run it?” Many players are put off by the role of GM, whether they are new to the hobby, they don’t want to manage the expectations of others or they prefer to control a single character. I know there are notable exceptions; I am someone who prefers GMing to playing a character, but that is a rare exception. Even I want to step out of the place of control and experience someone else’s world from time to time. In the event that you are a player who cannot find a facilitator I ask, what price are you willing to invest for paid GMs?

D&D Dragonborn Illustrate Why the Reason Why Matters

The inclusion of breasts on dragonborn in Dungeons & Dragons is a subject that I’ve noticed come up on occasion. I’m aware that it’s a thing that was included in fourth edition D&D dragonborn, but they’ve since been removed from fifth edition D&D. This is official canon, coming straight from the mouth of the developers themselves:

Theatrical Roleplaying in Modern RPGs

Beowulf graphic novel, translated by Santiago Garcia and art by David Rubin

In the past, I’ve talked a lot from my perspective as a writer, and from what I’ve learned from my college education in literary theory and rhetorical criticism as an English major. There are other aspects of my life, though, that I haven’t really touched on much.

In my article about utilizing critical success and failures, I mentioned some tenants of improv, which I’m tangentially familiar with from my 15 years of acting on stage. While it was mostly school and community theater work, and I haven’t been on stage in 15 years (although, lately I’ve been thinking of trying to break back in), it’s not a thing that ever leaves you.

However, I didn’t come here to talk about my past exploits.

I started out laying out an overview of my credentials because I want it to be clear what I have to say comes from a place of experience, even if those experiences were a lifetime ago. That’s because today I wanted to talk about approaching roleplaying your characters, whether you’re a Game Master or a player, from the perspective of an actor.

RPG Game Master

Campaign Rebirth: How to Keep Your Campaign Fresh

Campaign Rebirth

How to Keep Your Campaign Fresh

campaign

All campaigns experience highs and lows, even if you’re the party on the cover of the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide. [Art by Tyler Jacobson]

I just wrapped up a campaign that had been going on for about six years. In that time we had a few lulls, and a few highlights. The thing is, we kept things changing and getting them to refresh as needed.

This is something many groups fail to do in various roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons, World of Darkness, and Pathfinder. Changing the focus, the goals, or the theme to spice things up. The problem is that not every group can do this, and some cannot even recognize when it is happening.

I hope that this little article will help you in both these regards and assist you in steering the proverbial horse away from the cliff. Let’s delve into campaign rebirth

Slavery in RPG Campaigns: Making a Case for Inclusion

Slavery.

slavery

A master leading his slave. [“Iron Ring Slaves” art by Jason Engle]

I want to let that hang there for a minute, because this is going to be a pretty serious topic. I want everyone to know this is going to be held with extreme gravity.

Slavery is a thing that’s been a problem throughout human history as much as it is exists in modern a fantasy tabletop RPG campaign like D&D.

It’s not necessarily everywhere, but it’s in there. Slavery is a subject included in these entries in the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual: on page 5 (under towns and cities), and described in the aboleth, azer (the efreeti attempted to enslave them), beholders, bugbears, devils, red dragons, driders, duergar, drow, fomorian, genies, fire giants, gith, grimlock, hags, hobgoblins, jackalweres, kuo-toa, lamia, mind flayers, mummies, salamanders, yuan-ti, and even the commoner.

It’s in there.