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,…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
Wisdom from the Masters: Realizing Villainy
This article was first broadcast in Episode Seventy Nine on 3rd July 2019. Lennon: Well the topic is “villainy”, but I don’t see the Killer DM hat. Ryu: Yeah, after I showed you how to break in to the vault last week, Ostron decided it wasn’t safe to keep the hat there. Lennon: Oh, so did he manage to hide it somewhere you couldn’t find it? Ryu: Not really. Ostron’s good, but… how do I put this… he always thinks in such 5 dimensional terms. Besides, I consulted with KayDee on this, and she’s… Protesting… Ostron: Somehow I doubt that involves signs and picket lines Ryu: No, I talked her down a bit. She just doesn’t see why people wouldn’t know everything they need to about villains by watching her. Lennon: Did you try to explain about the sliding scale? Ryu: She wasn’t talking to me by that point, but I wasn’t totally sure what you guys meant by…
Wisdom from the Masters: Non-combat Roles
This article was first broadcast in Episode Seventy Eight on 26th June 2019. Ostron: Ryu? Why are you teaching Lennon how to pick the lock on the vault? Ryu: Oh, well, I’m going to be DMing a bunch of new players so I wanted to brush up on how to teach people new skills. Ostron: I thought we have a policy against you DMing new people? Ryu: You have a policy against KayDee DMing new people. It’s just going to be me. Ostron: What’s that bunch of white and red fuzz I can see in your pocket? Ryu: What? Lint! I’m sure it’s just lint. I washed these pants with some fuzzy towels. That’s beside the point. Lennon: Regardless of… that… Ryu, gotta be honest, I don’t think this kind of thing is the best way to teach new players about non-combat activities. One of the hardest parts of playing DnD is learning what to do in various…
Unearthed Mundana: Naval Ghost Stories
This article was first broadcast in Episode Seventy Seven on 19th June 2019. Lennon: Oh, the year was 1778 — how I wish I was in Sherbrooke noooooow… Ryu: Lennon? Doing some remodeling on the guild house? Lennon: No, I’m going sailing! Building myself a boat, off to the high seas! Ostron: Sailing to where? Lennon: Oooh, avast, ye landlubber. You don’t need a destination; the joy is in the sailing! Ryu: You have no idea what you’re going to do out there, do you. Lennon: Look, Columbus didn’t need directions — Ryu: — and Columbus thought he landed in India! Lennon: Well… I’m sure inspiration will come to me! Ostron: Would you mind if we offered some suggestions? With the release of Ghosts of Saltmarsh, it’s possible for campaigns to spend more of their time on the water and have meaningful gameplay experiences while on the high seas. However, while the Saltmarsh book provides several sea-themed adventures, a lot…
Wisdom from the Masters: The Blushing DM
This article was first broadcast in Episode Seventy Six on 12th June 2019. Ostron: Okay, that’s a researching case, that’s less urgent. Ryu: I think this one…yep, chronic dice fudging. “Dear sir, No, you can’t rub the numbers off, just put down the d20…” Lennon: Um, problem? Ostron: Yeah, we’ve got letters from a bunch of DMs with trauma after their first sessions. Okay, that’s a classic rules lawyer… anyone got a potion of Charm Person I can mail out? Lennon: So our last primer didn’t cut it then? Ryu: I think it was okay, there’s a few things we should add though. I’ve been keeping a list of common complaints. Last time we talked about some general tips for preparing for your first session as a DM, but we didn’t touch on a lot of things that might happen while actually playing the game. We’re going to cover some of the most common issues that cause…
Wisdom from the Masters: You Signed Up For This
This article was first broadcast in Episode Seventy Five on 5th June 2019. Ostron: I realize what I’m asking here but could the KDM help? Lennon: Does she ever? Ryu: Oh come on, you know she does! But I don’t think so in this case; I’m pretty sure KayDee doesn’t get nostalgic about stuff like that, and everyone she DMed for in her first game is probably gone. Ostron: Yeah, people move away, get older, you lose touch… Lennon: Oh yeah, I’m sure that’s why none of the KDM’s first player group is still around. All right, let’s see what we’ve pulled together so far. Other than a certain someone in a cursed santa hat, the most common reason D&D groups tend to fall apart or never form in the first place is actually scheduling issues. But following closely on the heels of time management is the ever important and divisive question: “who’s gonna sit…