Wisdom of the Masters: PvP in D&D
This article was first broadcast in Episode Ninety Six on 13th November 2019. Killer DM: Mmmmm that felt almost too good. Lennon: I don’t think I want to know Killer DM: Of course you do, Lennon; we both know you’re constantly living vicariously through me and loving every minute of it. Lennon: I’m really not. Killer DM: Well keep lying to yourself then, but I just managed to get a TPK without any work at all. Ostron: Well, you are a big fan of the random rock fall. Killer DM: Oh no, it’s even better than that; the party killed each other! PvP combat in fifth edition is so easy and it’s great! Lennon: That’s…one perspective At some point, either through studying the rules, being the victim of a dominate person spell, or just noting how area effect spells work, players will invariably notice they’re fully capable of injuring their teammates in the same way they can with all the various…
Wisdom of the Masters: Crafting Confusion
This article was first broadcast in Episode Ninety Five on 6th November 2019. Lennon: So, what do you think would happen if I tried to make some modifications to ROSTRO? Ryu: I think KayDee would probably harvest all your organs and then stuff you into it. You know how she is about that thing. Lennon: As with most subjects where she’s involved, I try not to think about it. Ryu: Why do you want to fiddle around with that monstrosity anyway? Lennon: I was hoping to figure out a better way to get magic items made. The regular process is just…ugh. Ryu: I would have thought Ostron looked into that with all the time he spends in the workshop. Hey Ostron? Ostron: Yeah? Ryu: Making magic items? Ostron: Ugggh Ryu: Wow, okay, I didn’t realize this was that much of a thing. Lennon: Oh let me tell you … While it isn’t a staple of many tabletop RPG systems, players and DMs more familiar…
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…
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…
Wisdom from the Master: Actual Stealth Missions
This article was first broadcast in Episode Sixty-Nine on 17th April 2019. Lennon: This doesn’t bode well for my idea of having my players run a stealth mission. Ryu: What does that have to do with anything? Lennon: Well the whole party isn’t made up of Rangers, Rogues, and people who can cast “Invisibility” so they’re going to make it what? One, maybe two rounds before the guardhouses are alerted and we’re on the express train to murdertown. Ostron: Well, that depends on how you set up the encounter. If the hype and excitement around the release of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist showed us anything, it’s that a lot of players and DMs are excited about the idea of doing a heist or stealth infiltration encounter in their games. There are probably visions of the characters being a coordinated team of misfits like in Oceans’ 11 or the Italian…
Wisdom from the Master: Yes, DM: You, too, can Metagame
This article was first broadcast in Episode Sixty-Six on 20th March 2019. Lennon: No Killer DM today? I figured she’d want to see Ostron since she missed him last time. Ostron: Oh darn, so sorry about that. Ryu: She had a problem with the topic Lennon: Well she was arguing with Mikey about it last time, I thought she had more to say. Ryu: Yeah…how did she put it? Killer DM: You keep telling me I’m not supposed to kill people just because they’re wrong, but I refuse to encourage them when they are wrong. Ostron: Well, actually a lot of people agree with the Killer DM on this one. Because of the way metagaming is regarded in D&D, there is a pervasive assumption that the DM is unable to do it by definition. After all, if metagaming is introducing elements from outside the game and the DM is the ultimate arbiter of what is…
Wisdom from the Masters: Puzzling Issues
This article was first broadcast in Episode Sixty-One on 13th February 2019. Lennon: Ugh, Ostron! Oh where is he? Ryu: Something wrong? Lennon: The lock on the vault is messing me up again. Ryu: Oh, well, give me a few minutes with it…. Lennon: Wait, there he is! Ostron! Why does the lock on the vault look like an MC Escher painting!? Ostron: Well, parts of it are in another plane. Ryu: Oh, now that you mention it, that kind of makes sense! Lennon: Wait, how does that make sense? Most people are aware of the major “encounter” types in D&D: fighting monsters, chases, social encounters, and traps. But there’s another category of encounter that can make it’s way into your games: puzzles. Now, a brief terminology review. Puzzles are usually different from traps because they are designed to impede progress. Traps are usually one shot constructs that do damage to a player or players and are done. Puzzles,…