“Council of Three”- Out of The Box D&D Encounters # 28
Introduction:
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Studs: Fashionably Useless Studded Leather Armor VS Brigadine
We, as a race, tend to have a bad habit of believing what we are told. In the days before the internet this 
was especially true since fact checking often involved going down to the local library and pouring over texts. It is no surprise then that Gygax and company made a few errors in their initial attempts at something as extensive as what Dungeons and Dragons would become.
This doubly true when at the time sometimes the scholarly text they were basing their information on was what was incorrect! Which brings us to the biker punk fantasy that is studded leather armor.
Studded leather armor, as you might realize at this point, did not exist. The most commonly accepted reason this misconception came to be is probably misidentified brigandine. Many pieces of brigandine look a ton like studded leather armor from the outside. The armor is essentially a leather outer layer with studs holding oblong metal plates under the armor. This is all well and good but one thing to bear in mind is that armor, especially organic armor, is almost never found in a state that looks as it did when a medieval person was using it.
In defense of Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons and its streamlined approach
Several Dungeons & Dragons miniature figures. The grid mat underneath uses one-inch squares. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Considering for decades Dungeons & Dragons has been the most recognizable name of all tabletop role-playing games, and considering the popularity of Fifth Edition D&D, it might seem the game itself needs no defending. However, from time to time I have noticed online forums with various concerns or complaints raised against the game.
The most common complaint I’ve read is that in Fifth Edition a player cannot make the type of character he or she wants, that more rules are needed in order for there to be more character diversity, that currently only similar, cookie-cutter characters can be created because of the limited number of classes and rules.
I understand. I disagree, but I understand.
“Jailbreak” – Out of the Box #27 D&D Encounters
The Formaggio di Fernando Caper- D&D 5e, SRD Compatible Adventure
The Formaggio di Fernando Caper
D&D 5e, SRD compatible adventure.
Written with thanks to Scott Garibay for his Five Page Tabletop RPG Adventure Design
Launch:
Two large towns have been in hot competition with each other for commerce and farmland. Either could overshadow the other in the next couple years and become full cities. Rumors run wild and it is great time to be a merchant or caravan leader with roads in good repair and banditry near nonexistent as the towns outdo each other to attract business. While journeying from one town to another, and they are about one more day from their destination, the adventuring party makes camp. They are awakened in the morning by a cavalry group that outnumbers them two to one. Unfortunately for the adventurers they are in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The cavalry members are all paladins or clerics and are under orders to search the countryside for a spy. They do not have a clear description but do know he is with a group. If any character in the group has a strong background story like a Folk Hero or Noble or a solid alibi, the cavalry members will relax, but insist on following orders and will “escort” them to their superiors for questioning. They will be “guests” until the spy has been determined, which depending on behavior could mean anything from a jail cell to an expensive suite with personal guards. It should be clear the characters are implicated and assumed to be the spy and cohorts.
Locations:
- The Campsite (Where the adventurers bedded down to rest before finishing the last day of their journey)
- The Outpost (Where the cavalry have set up a base camp with a commander’s tent)
- The Commander’s Tent (The Adventurers will be brought here first to be searched and questioned about the spy)
- The High Lord’s Estate (A training grounds and place where the Adventurers will be detained)
- The Club and The Flask (A disreputable tavern and known hangout for less law abiding folk and out of work mercenaries)
- The Red Lance (A fancy brothel where the spy lost his cover)
- Black Stone Pastures (Dairy farm blackmailed into being cover for the spy)
Blast from the Past: Dungeons & Dragons Tomb of Horrors
[caption id="attachment_13611" align="alignright" width="340"] 1978's Tomb of Horrors[/caption] [caption id="attachment_13613" align="alignright" width="336"] 1981's Tomb of Horrors[/caption] Few words raise the ire of long-time Dungeons & Dragons aficionados more than “Tomb of Horrors.” The words “Fourth edition” come to mind, but that’s fairly recent and probably somewhat unfair...
Resolving Conflict and Argument in an RPG
So I had total plan to move on to Vampire and maybe some other stuff too but some thing in my life
popped up that have inspired me to write for both my own benefit and yours. You see dear Nerdarchy reader, at the gamer table conflicts can arise from a variety of sources and as such there is a need for the tools to combat the evil known as inter party conflict. Well here is a few things I have learned, and a few things to look out for. I sincerely hope this comes to your aid.
When it becomes Player versus Player…
Sometimes you can have arguments at the table between players on how to interpret a rule. Maybe one learned an earlier version, maybe the rule was written vaguely. Whatever the reason, you can find yourself at the table arguing over the way imaginary heroes swing a sword or vault a horse. Seriously, I have seen it happen for stupider reasons than these but rules are the most common thing to argue about between players. Anyway, no matter the cause, the fact is it is a game. Calm down, and listen to the other side of the argument.No matter how ridiculous they are in your opinion, they deserve the same treatment you would desire.
When both sides are done, I suggest reading the rules as written and checking to see if there is any errata on the rule in question. Very often that can answer the question right then and there as we are only human and thus fallible. I will admit that there has been times I thought a rule read one way but I ended up being very off. What I am getting at is, be ready and willing to admit you are wrong. It happens, to everyone at one time or another. Finally, there is a certain someone who is at the table that has the job of mitigating and arbitrating these situations.
Kickstarter – Deep Madness – Tabletop Miniature Board Game Inspired by Lovecraftian Design
"Deep Madness is a co-operative miniature board game for 1-6 players, with truly immersive horror experiences, highly intense and fast paced combat, and deeply strategical challenges." It all starts with a group of investigators deep on the ocean floor. Something goes horribly wrong and the...
“Ribbet, Ribbet, WHOOSH” – Out of the Box #26 D&D Encounters
Kickstarter – Lazer Ryderz! The Totally Rad Tabletop Racing Game!
Our friends over at Cardboard Fortress Games are at it again. This time they jumped into a time machine and took us back to the 80s. Not only because their game reminds us of Tron, but the artwork, lingo and even their video harkens back to that time frame.
Lazer Ryderz! is a great board game where even the shape of your playing space can have an effect on the game. Each player in Lazer Ryderz! takes the place of one rider zooming through space trying to claim these prisms. When your marker crosses a prism completely it changes to your color and you are that much closer to victory.
When you claim a prism the blank prism goes back onto the board thus increasing the number of prism available. One once player has three prisms claimed at the same time they win the game. But it is not as simple as that. There are complications.
It’s All Right for Your RPG Characters to Change
Recently I’ve run across two situations as a Game Master I believe are worth sharing with a wider audience. First, one of my players came to me concerned he had not played his character’s personality correctly during a recent fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons session. Second, a player in a different campaign (one in which I play and am not GM) came to me worried his character had done something out of character.
You Can Have Story and Rules in an RPG
There is a long standing argument between which is more important in a roleplaying game, and for the record I always side with the story if I must choose. That being said, I just wanted to chyme in with a few tidbits of advice on...
“Procession” – Out of the Box #25 D&D Encounters
the first highways of the ancient world, and are still major thoroughfares to this day. The same should be true in a fantasy setting. Rivers should be a constant resource for encounters of all kinds, be it lizardmen, pirates, goblins in rickety steamships, or orcs in war canoes. In this instance, however, I will draw from ancient history and base this encounter around a funeral procession.&#%!@?: D&Dizing Al Swearengen
[caption id="attachment_13352" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) stands dead center among many of the characters from the HBO television show Deadwood.[/caption] If you’re not familiar with the Al Swearengen character, then you must not have watched much, if any, of the HBO western drama Deadwood...
Four Reasons We Think You’ll Love Open Legend
Four Reasons We Think You’ll Love Open Legend
Written by: Ish Stabsoz
We know that RPGs are a dime a dozen, and that you can find a system out there for almost any type of game you want to play – and that’s exactly why we are so honored to have a chance here on Nerdarchy to talk to you about why we think you’ll love Open Legend. In this post, we’ll explore the reasons we created Open Legend and talk about why we’re so excited to share our game with the roleplaying community.
It plays like D&D but with more creative freedom
Open Legend was born out of a frustration with a game that we grew up with, a game that we loved (and still do), but, ultimately, a game that held us back from achieving the stories we wanted to tell. It was in the midst of 4th edition D&D that we began experimenting with the home brewed system that eventually became Open Legend. Our experience with 4e was the same as a lot of hardcore D&D fans: it felt too restrictive.
Obviously, we aren’t trying to bash D&D. It’s a great game for players and GMs who want to tell fantasy stories with recognizable tropes and archetypes. And with the strides that fifth edition has taken, D&D is perhaps the best game to achieve that goal in the industry.
But Open Legend was born out of a desire to let players tell any story at the gaming table that they had read in a book or seen in a movie. We didn’t want restrictions like pre-determined class abilities to prevent players from creating the character they’d always dreamed of seeing in action.
We think you’ll love Open Legend because even though it isn’t D&D, it still plays a lot like the roleplaying game that introduced most of us to the hobby. We love what games like Dungeon World, FATE, and Cypher have done to challenge the expectations of how a roleplaying game feels, but we also realize that not everyone is looking for that sort of paradigm shift. A game of Open Legend still feels a lot like D&D. You still roll for initiative, combat is still conducted turn-by-turn and blow-by-blow, and hit points are still the primary indicator of your character’s health.
