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.
Map Your Combat with an RPG Battle Game Mat
Maps.
Many Dungeons & Dragons players begin their journey into fantastic adventures through the allure of maps. Carefully constructing dungeon complexes on trusty graph paper, building them with digital tools like Pyromancer’s Dungeon Painter Studio or drawing them with a Wacom tablet like ENnie Award winner Elven Tower remains a vital part of the hobby for countless players.
D&D Beyond Campaign Creation Walkthrough
As an unabashed D&D Beyond advocate I discover new and useful aspects of the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons digital tools service everyday. Developer responsiveness to issues is top notch and the monthly live developer updates with product lead Adam Bradford show dedication to continual improvement and innovation.
One particularly useful area of DDB is the campaign tools. As both a player and Dungeon Master I’m involved in two games using these tools and they’re invaluable for both. While not as robust as I imagined the tools would be, they’ve already updated capabilities several times and I’m confident they’ll continue evolving.
Worldbuilding: My D&D Campaign Setting Approach
My usual week is taken up with many mundane tasks. Between getting my son up and ready for school, generally keeping the house and preparing materials for games, videos and articles, I keep pretty busy. One thing I try to do is keep my articles about things I think others will find interesting to read about.
A rule of thumb I go by is if someone can read my article and use something in it either in their games or elsewhere in their life (the interdisciplinary applications of the Reroll Rule Problem for example) then I have succeeded in my task.
Roleplaying as a Challenge
There are near-limitless types of challenges within the world of gaming. From combat challenges to puzzles, there is something about conquering a problem that resonates with the adventurer’s soul within us all.
My Starfinder game had a challenge unique in so many ways. The challenge to conquer was in roleplaying, and not a simple amount of attacks or skill checks. The group ran into a completely alien species they did not share a language with, or even body shape to communicate through miming.
This got me to think of all the ways I have seen roleplaying be the deciding factor in a victory. Of the times when the players had to think and act on their feet to succeed. Let’s see how things roll, shall we?
The Evils of Exposition Ex Machina in D&D and Other Roleplaying Games
It would be be completely understandable if you don’t understand what I mean by Exposition ex Machina. It’s a derivative phrase I’ve personally been using for a very long time, but it’s by no means commonly used. It’s derived by the very old ancient Greek theater term, Deus ex Machina, which is translated as “god from the machine.” (Critical Role fans might be interested to note that Vox Machina is literally “voice machine.”)
In modern usage, a deus ex machina is a narrative device where an outside force abruptly saves the day, which is mostly used when the protagonists are bound by an impossible to escape scenario. To me, it’s one of the most abhorrent plot devices, and easily the laziest. That’s generally the implication when I use a term followed with “ex machina.” It’s a mechanical, forced plot device.
D&D Worldbuilding: Fictional Song and Things a Bard Does
Salutations, nerds! What are the bards in your fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons world singing about? That’s what we’re going to be talking about today.
The songs of a fictional D&D world are a really big deal in terms of how the world breathes and the general feel of it as a setting. Remember, once upon a time before we had easy access to the printed word, news was spread through story and song and spake in rhyme so the layfolk would more easily remember it. And if a few things got embellished along the way, well. That’s just the nature of the music made to sooth the beast, isn’t it?
Voice Acting In Roleplaying Gaming for Everyone
Voice acting in gaming
I have been cast for an upcoming voice acting gig, and this made me think of how this applies to gaming. At first glance I noticed the only one who gets into this at many tables is the one who runs the game. Though with the rise of broadcasts and live streams of gaming such as Maze Arcana and Scarlet Sisterhood, this is going away a bit but the question is why you should put in the amount effort needed to bring a character to life?
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.
D&D Worldbuilding – Getting Players to Help with RPG Creation
Over on the Nerdarchy YouTube channel, there’s a whole playlist of videos devoted to tips, advice and insight for worldbuilding. Creating a setting for your fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign – or any tabletop RPG – is an exciting part of the game for many players. Even if you use an established setting like Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Dragonlance or Dark Sun, the people, places and events in your game shape the shared imaginative space and make it unique.
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.
Worldbuilding: Fantasy Currency
Hey nerds! I’ve been thinking a lot lately about coinage and currency and how they relate to worldbuilding. In Dungeons & Dragons, we pretty much accept that ten copper pieces are a silver piece, ten silvers are a gold, ten golds in a platinum and we leave it at that. It doesn’t matter, most of the time, where you are, the same coins still apply. [EDITOR’S NOTE: But what about poor, forgotten electrum, the US half dollar coin of D&D? Read on…]
Anyone who’s ever traveled abroad in real life, though, and had to go through the awkward song and dance of having their money exchanged for local tender knows that isn’t true at all. Of course, we don’t bother tinkering with that in D&D most of the time because it’s not really the focus of what we’re doing and for most campaigns – it’s going to be way too distracting to be worth it. But for things like fantasy fiction and the rare campaign that gets down to a lot of roleplay and the brass tacks of the world you’re in, this can be a really nice touch.
Geek and Sundry GM Tips with Satine Phoenix…and Nerdarchy!
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztH7NtxVl2M[/embed] Thanks to so many awesome Nerdarchy fans and supporters, Nerdarchists Dave and Ted were able to make it out to Los Angeles earlier this year to appear on GM Tips with Satine Phoenix. The Geek and Sundry program features different Game Masters each week tackling...
