Adventurer’s Journal: Blending Your Character’s Story Into the DM’s Story
This article was first broadcast in Episode Eighty Four on 14th August 2019. Ostron: *sound of firebolt and then burning* Aaaaand boom. That’s all set now. Ryu: Please tell me that was a mathematical summary we don’t have to discuss in the Gnomish Workshop Ostron: No, that was one of my players’ backstories. Lennon: That thing was like 20 pages, who do you have as a player, George RR Martin? Wait, no, that backstory was finished… Ryu: Fleshed out backstories are good! Lennon: And it’s better than not getting anything. Remember the player I had from last week. Ostron: Yes, but there’s a limit. Some people need prodding and cajoling to come up with a backstory for their D&D characters. As we mentioned previously, many people simply make do with the descriptions in the character backgrounds from various sourcebooks, or they play the “mysterious stranger” card and claim to have an unimportant past and secret, unknowable reasons for adventuring,…
Heroes Rise, eighty-fourth entry: My Ol’ Stones
Welcome, brave adventurers… to the eighty-fourth entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday August 10th, and released Wednesday August 14th over at heroesrisepodcast.com.
Backstories: Back to Basics
This article was first broadcast in Episode Eighty Three on 7th August 2019. Lennon: Ugh, come on, not again! Ryu: Did you miss the knife throwing target again? I told you, wrist flick. Lennon: No, it’s…I’m having to send out another note to remind a player that they need a backstory. Ostron: It’s funny how often people skip that. Backstory development isn’t something that’s usually focused on a lot when the subject of new characters comes up, and you can argue some of that is Wizards’ fault. Since the “backgrounds” mechanic was introduced in fifth edition, some players and DMs just assume the backgrounds from the Players Handbook or module sourcebook are all you need, and everything else just comes about through playing. At a basic level that’s fine, and backstories are certainly not something players should be obsessing over during their first game, when character mechanics and actually playing the game are more important.…
Heroes Rise, eighty-third entry: That is the Question
Welcome, brave adventurers… to the eighty-third entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday August 3rd, and released Wednesday August 7th over at heroesrisepodcast.com.
Unearthed Mundana: Superstitions, Monsters and D&D
This article was first broadcast in Episode Eighty Two on 31st July 2019. Killer DM (tinkering): That’ll do I think. ROSTRO: Your assistance is appreciated. I believe we can now conclude the matter at hand. Lennon: Does the matter at hand have anything to do with the research beholders doing laps between here and the Candlekeep annex? ROSTRO: Surprisingly astute observation The rules of Dungeons and Dragons enumerate an extensive bestiary of creatures benign and belligerent. Fifth edition currently has a comparatively tiny collection of creatures when compared with previous incarnations. Many of those editions had at least three monster manuals in addition to ancillary materials collating collections of fauna, easily bringing the total number of creatures to a count of multiple hundreds. I’ve been working with ROSTRO here to figure out where they all came from. I’m obviously a master at inventing new ways to terrorize and mutilate players but I didn’t think I could…
Heroes Rise, eighty-second entry: Draconic Horse Stalls
Welcome, brave adventurers… to the eighty-second entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday July 27th, and released Wednesday July 31st over at heroesrisepodcast.com.
Heroes Rise, eighty-first entry: Third Party Clerics
Welcome, brave adventurers… to the eighty-first entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday July 20th, and released Wednesday July 24th over at heroesrisepodcast.com.
Archives of Candlekeep: Revisiting Realism
This article was first broadcast in Episode Eighty One on 24th July 2019. Ryu: I want it noted for the record that I’m really trying to solve this without the hat. Gath: Solve what? Did we have a fight on-air I wasn’t aware of? Ryu: No, no, this is with my players. I’ve got a couple that are whining about wanting more realism and they really don’t know what they’re asking for. Ostron: The Killer DM already covered some of the variant rules the DMG says make things more realistic. Ryu: Yeah, these players are still whining. Ostron: Ugh, yeah, they don’t know what they’re asking for. Gath: What’s the problem? As we’ve discussed previously, and as many marketing materials and reviews have pointed out, a major goal of 5th edition D&D is to keep things simple. It’s still a tabletop RPG with a number of classes, races, and mechanics, so it can only get so simple before it…
Heroes Rise, eightieth entry: Professional Villainy
Welcome, brave adventurers… to the eightieth entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday July 13th, and released Wednesday July 17th over at heroesrisepodcast.com.
Wisdom from the Masters: Maintaining Villainy
This article was first broadcast in Episode Eighty on 17th July 2019. Mikey: Oh thank goodness. Given the topic I thought the Killer DM was going to be here again. She always seems to show up when I come out of the cave. Ostron: How bad was this fight? Does this mean you put the hat away for good? Ryu: What? No! We patched things up days ago. This time she’s just sitting out from contempt. How did she put it? Killer DM: If other DMs don’t know how to keep their best characters alive that’s not my problem. They should just call me in to help. Ostron: I’ve been halfway tempted. Mikey: You can’t be serious. Ostron: No, really. Half the time it seems like when I introduce a villain in a campaign, they end up dead before they’ve finished their name, never mind trying any sort of villain monologue. Mikey: Well, that comes down to how you…