Wisdom of the Masters: The Third Wheel
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Forty Two on 28th June, 2023. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. There are several challenges around tying combat into an overall story in D&D. Almost all DMs have a story about setting up an epic battle with a foe that the players steamroll over after one round of combat, fouling your epic final battle narrative. Or the combat the characters are supposed to run from but the try-hard members just keep fighting until half the party is bleeding out on the floor and the players are yelling at the rogue and the wizard to run back out into the room with the three demons to retrieve their bodies. We’ve addressed several of these scenarios in the past.…
Wisdom of the Masters: How Not To Say Something
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Forty on 23rd May, 2023. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Presentation always matters. Sometimes with Dungeons and Dragons, you need to be direct. In combat, for example, being vague and misleading about enemies actions doesn’t do anything but confuse and frustrate people. But simple, obvious descriptions don’t always work for storytelling. In fact, there are many so-called purists who want to avoid as much out-of-game information as possible. Those are the kind of people who don’t want to hear “the giants are CR 9”. They want you to be creative and say something like “the giants are much larger than you, they have finely crafted armor, and they move like trained fighters who’ve seen a few battles.”…
Wisdom of the Masters: Your Sword Says “Hi”
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Thirty Six on 22nd March, 2023. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Sentient magic items are another common trope in many fantasy or fantasy-adjacent stories. The One Ring from the Lord of the Rings is an obvious example. All the characters who knew about it talked as if it had a will of it’s own, such as when it supposedly abandoned Isildur and then Gollum in its quest to get back to Sauron. More recently, in the Marvel movies, Dr. Strange’s cloak of levitation is another item that has it’s own will and makes decisions and takes actions due to an intelligence of its own. And in Disney’s adaptations of the Aladdin story, the magic carpet found by…
Wisdom of the Masters: Everyone’s Getting… A Gun!
Combat in D&D can quickly become repetitive once the characters are at a high enough level and players are familiar enough with their abilities to figure out their best moves. This is especially true if there isn’t a lot of variety in the nature of monsters or environments combat happens in. Apart from changing the type of monsters (like using one or two large ones rather than multiple regular foes) the next easiest way to make combat different is to change the environment around. Pits, changing terrain, and verticality are easy ways to change up the battlefield. However, if you have a campaign taking place in a normalized environment like, say, Waterdeep, that gets a little harder. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to have a pit of lava guarded by Yetis in a warehouse down by the docks. And that’s apart from the fact the Yetis would probably…
Wisdom of the Masters: You’re Coming With Me
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Twenty Eight on 2nd November 2022. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. The heroes being captured is a fairly common trope in most adventure stories. Princess Leia on the death star, Merry and Pippin in Lord of the Rings, the dwarves in The Hobbit, or James Bond…practically always. It’s usually used in the story to present an immediate problem for the heroes to overcome, and to showcase their capability when they don’t have all their resources or weapons available. It’s also sometimes used as a way to move the plot forward; either a villain will monologue at the heroes and divulge their plan for ultimate domination, or the heroes come across vital pieces of information while imprisoned, either…
Wisdom of the Masters: Architectural Philosophy and the Five Room Dungeon
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and One on 3rd March 2022. Lennon: All right, I’ve gathered you all here because I’m afraid we have to let something go. Ostron: Okay, first of all there’s only myself and Ryu, and I’m not 100% sure Ryu’s not an HR clone, so it may just be the two of us. Lennon: How do you know I’m not an HR clone? Ryu: I’m pretty sure HR would not allow anything associated with it to start off with an idea that’s this silly. Lennon: I haven’t even told you what it is yet! Ostron: Your track record is not encouraging. For the sake of argument, though, lay it out for us. Lennon: Right, so the guild house has too many rooms. We need to get rid of two of them. Ostron: And we’re done here. Ryu: Hang on, hang on let’s…give…
Wisdom of the Masters: Intelligent Villains
This article was first broadcast in Episode One Hundred Eighty Eight on 10th November 2021. Lennon: Okay, so I don’t think Acererak needs gold…his house is already pretty impressive… Ryu: What are you doing? Lennon: Oh don’t bother; you can’t help me. Ostron: Well I’m still not opening a portal to the nine hells for you so you may as well see what she’s got to offer. Ryu: Standing right here guys. Lennon: Fine. I’m trying to figure out how to DM and roleplay the big bad for my campaign. They’re supposed to be super intelligent and I’m…less so. Ryu: Are you saying I’m too dumb to help? Lennon: No, but I mean if you need to DM an evil person you just put on the hat and stop worrying about it. Ryu” Well as much as I love her, KayDee sometimes is…less gentle with people than I’d prefer. I have to DM evil masterminds just as much as you do.…
Wisdom of the Masters: OP Mitigation
This article was first broadcast in Episode One Hundred Seventy Two on 7 July 2021. Lennon: Okay, so I’ve called everyone together to discuss protocol. Ryu: Stop worrying; I donate all of your gold to charity. Ostron: I don’t think a Gold Fund Me titled “Ryu needs a dragon” counts as charity. Ryu: I have a totally legitimate parchment from the local king saying it does. Lennon (legitimately confused): Not what we’re talking about. I just…I don’t know I just have this nagging sense that if we get a dangerously powerful artifact in here we need to have a plan for how to deal with it. Ostron: I’m on board with this. Ryu: No, I’m still confused. What kind of dangerous artifacts are we talking about? Okay, so most veteran DMs have dealt with this scenario before: somehow, some way, the players have acquired an item or ability that has turned the power curve into a vertical wall. Whether…
Wisdom of the Masters: I would skulk 500 Miles: Dungeon corridors
This article was first broadcast in Episode One Hundred Sixty Eight on 9 July 2021. Ryu (attacking): All right, hands up and drop everything you’re carrying or I’ll paint the walls with…oh. Hi Tony. Tony (nervously): Hi…is there a reason I was almost murdered? Ryu: I just thought you were staying in the recording booth. Confused you with someone else. Tony: Don’t tell me who they are. I probably already know too much. Also, how did you sneak up on me like that? Ostron: How high is your wisdom score? Tony: You don’t get to be a good lawyer if you can’t spot people lying through their teeth, eyes, or whatever other body part and I’m a pretty good lawyer. Ryu: Okay, so your perception is probably good too, but I mean…I’ve got the carpeting in the recording booth, all the ambient noise around, and of course there’s the hallways. Tony: What hallways? Ryu: Exactly. Tony: I’m lost. Ryu: No you aren’t. Tony: I…
Wisdom of the Masters: Whyfor The Locked Door?
This article was first broadcast in Episode One Hundred Sixty Five on 12 May 2021. Ryu: Aaaand done. Vault is open, all of the treasures are mine, I win again. Lennon (sighing): Well so much for the vaunted house of Kundark. You’re fired, by the way. (angry dwarf sounds) Ryu: I do feel kind of bad; I hope it wasn’t too expensive to bring him in from Eberron? Lennon: Oh what does it matter, you would have stolen the gold anyway. I just…I mean what’s the point of having a vault if you can just break into it so easily? Ryu: I’m sorry, easily? How long have I been down here? Lennon: So what? You can still get through the door. Ryu: Yeah but the beholders are a pain. Lennon: What beholders? Ostron: The research beholders. I have one of them checking the vault every fifteen minutes to make sure Ryu isn’t breaking in. Lennon: But…then why do we bother with…