Delving into the West Marches RPG Campaign Style: Better, Faster, Stronger
We continue this archiving of my experience running a West Marches adventuring campaign style and if you haven’t read the first article and second article, you really should for context. My tabletop roleplaying game background is one that heavily focused on narrative and story. With that being said, this new RPG campaign style is a bit of a departure. This article will focus on the portions of the West Marches formula that I fell in love with, the major changes I made and the additions I constructed to bring the game closer to what I consider makes an enjoyable campaign style.
Beyond the Fantasy Setting: Converting for 5E D&D Steampunk
Cogs. Steam. Cogs and steam. Have the itch to get some steampunk in your fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons life? You’re not alone. Steampunk, and other niche genres derived from it, is a great addition to any fantasy setting. You can start your D&D steampunk experience by simply reskinning equipment and environments with all manner of odd baubles and whirring mechanisms or as deep as to tinker and toil brand new home brew to bring your steamy thoughts into life.
Player Agency and Cooperative Stories Make a D&D Game Belong to Everyone
Its a very common phrase in the roleplaying circles that its “the Dungeon Master’s Game.” As with most aspects of this hobby, its not always so cut and dry. In your D&D game, you might find infusing some player agency through cooperative storytelling might get a you a new level of engagement from your players. This player agency can take many forms, to include working together with your players to collaboratively create the setting and world.
Dungeon Master the Art of Running a Great D&D Game
I thought what I would do for this guide is share with you the lessons I’ve learned when it comes to being a D&D Dungeon Master. I’ll get to work on some other blogs like this very soon. One of which will be on the Prisoner Dilemma. I’m still in the midst of making a video on my YouTube channel for getting started with roleplaying, which should hopefully be out soon. Anyway, on to the show!
Pathfinder Second Edition – The Revision of Paizo’s Giant
Big news is a bit of an understatement – this week Paizo has come out saying that a new edition of their beloved Pathfinder will be out for test play by August 2. I had always wondered when this would come. Pathfinder has run first edition for a staggering teb years. I’m not 100 percent on this but I don’t know of another game company that has had an edition run that long. Many have asked why now? Is the company in trouble? Is fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons 5E rising to be too much of an RPG juggernaut?
The Long and Short of an RPG Campaign
Tabletop roleplaying games, and Dungeons & Dragons in particular, are experiencing a resurgence in popularity due to many factors: live streamed content, ease of access, online resources, YouTube channels devoted to helping Game Masters new and old hone their skills and get groups together. But with more people joining the fray, there’s also a sizable portion of groups that stay together for a few months and then fall apart. We live in a modern, global world with lots of outside factors that constantly vie for our attention.
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?
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?
Theatrical Roleplaying in Modern RPGs
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.
Roleplaying Character Moments Within the Party
Salutations, nerds, today we’re going to talk about some fluffier stuff but by now I’m sure you know to expect that from me more often than not. I want to get into talking about the roleplaying moments between player characters within the party. RP with the PCs.
Dungeons & Dragons is typically a lot of back and forth between the characters and the Dungeon Master. At least 75 percent of the game should be like this, absolutely. It’s what drives the plot forward. We wouldn’t have any action without it. I’ve been thinking a lot, though, about the other 25 percent and what that entails. These are the parts that the players do that, in my opinion, can make or break whether a campaign is memorable.
This is something that has nothing to do with the DM and everything to do with the characters and it’s how you talk to each other during those downtime moments. D&D isn’t just about going on a quest and doing what the DM lays down for you – it’s about making a real connection between characters too.
Slavery in RPG Campaigns: Making a Case for Inclusion
Slavery.
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.
Out of the Box D&D Encounters, Series 2, #11 – “Building Bridges”
[caption id="attachment_22980" align="aligncenter" width="640"] This D&D party looks like they could use a team-building retreat. Say no more! This Out of the Box encounter is better than a trust fall for the party.[/caption] Introduction Have you ever needed an icebreaker encounter for either a new group, or...
Effects Of Age On A D&D Character Can Enhance the Experience
Effect of age in D&D
Age is a usually inescapable villain that hunts down any and all who walk this mortal coil.
That being said, there are ways to escape it. What we will deal with here are reactions left to those who don’t have the ability to visit the fountain of youth, become a lich or vampire, and have no chance to ascend to godhood.
The touch of age is something a lot of gamers forget but could do well to keep in mind. After all, the effect of it could very well enhance your gaming experience.
In previous editions of Dungeons & Dragons the effect of age was pretty easy to document.
In fact, your character could even use it as a form of min/maxing as your physical stats drop while your mental stats raise.
This could be a godsend to casters, especially the wizard and sorcerer who would want to push the DC of their spells as far as possible.
Conversely, a more physical type would run from the cold hand of time, as those physical abilities are their very bread and butter.
Using D&D 5E Unearthed Arcana Class Options for Worldbuilding
Due to the recent announcement D&D Beyond will fully launch on August 15, my mind has turned back to Xanathar’s Guide to Everything (or perhaps forward, since as of the writing of this article it’s still four months away from its release).
I’m really excited to see the new character options that are going to be available. Obviously we have a strong idea of some of it thanks in so small part to Wizards of the Coast’s Unearthed Arcana. There are some good ones out there. And there are some failures, too.
But no matter how good or bad, I’m not a fan of letting my D&D players use the class archetypes. The reason is very simple. Unearthed Arcana is subject to change because it’s test material.
The designers knew going into it what they had needed work. Partially because a lot of them did some really cool things, and really cool can either be largely ineffective or overpowered.
E69 YR1- D&D 5E Ranger Our 1st LOOK Podcast
Episode 69 of Nerdarchy the Podcast Year One In this episode we go back to the first time we looked at the 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons ranger. We examine the two archetypes. They will be later remained conclaves and a revised ranger will appear featuring...