So, it seems as though I’ve fallen head-first into the world of Dungeons & Dragons. This site will be an attempt to document my experiences as a rookie DM. I’ll do my best to share resources, show how I set up stories, and give a recap of what actually goes down in-game.
My first campaign is entitled, “Zidovia: City in the Shadow”. I guess it’s what you’d call a homebrew adventure consisting of mostly original content and little actual connection to any formal D&D lore.
Just as soon as I said, “I wasn’t going to spend that much time on maps.” I found some great elements on DeviantArt… Most of what you see above has been made available by Nejour: Christina Roberts.
If you were to go by the book, a Critical Fail when rolling to attack is, “If the d20 roll for an attack is a 1, the attack misses regardless of any modifiers or the target’s AC.” Pretty straightforward but lacking any real flavor. Most DMs enjoy taking this opportunity to describe the character’s epic failure, but this usually stops short of much more than some humorous insults.
My proposal is nothing new. In fact, I was toying with the idea when I happened upon the podcast Dungeon Master’s Block and their own spin on Critical Fails. (Check our their show. It’s great and they have a HUGE catalogue of episodes.) While I don’t remember exactly how they structured Critical Fails, I believe it was pretty similar to what I’m about to outline. Continue reading “Mechanic: Critical Fails!”
…the generosity of strangers.
In case you missed it, here is where we left off. Despite Nevan’s efforts, a couple of bounty hunters got the best of him and were in the process of transporting him north when their wagon was attacked by a mysterious force. Shortly after being thrown out of the cart and knocked unconscious again Nevan awakens to realize there is a new figure in the woods and they seem to be assisting in his escape. Dressed in dark and dirty robes the short figure of a man repeatedly vanishes into thin air, but also appears to send shockwaves through the earth and even push giant boulders out of the ground.
Rolf the beast spends much of his time confused and unable to act without direction from Lefty who takes a beating early on. Before she succumbs to her blows, Lefty manages to give Rolf one last command, “Flee”.
Injured, but stable, Nevan then confronts the mysterious newcomer. Why had he bothered to help Nevan?
Quite simply, the man needs a favor. He seems to struggle as he speaks, only strong enough to speak or summon a physical form. Never both. But his proposition is clear. Nevan isn’t safe anymore, but there is somewhere that he can be guaranteed anonymity and protection from his pursuers. It is unclear what the man needs, but as he disappears for the final time, a letter appears in his place. Continue reading “Post-Game Report: Prelude #2: Nevan the Bard”
Looks like we’ve got a new item on the menu, literally. “Items” have been added to the main navigation menu. Right now it consists of mostly trinkets held by one of the more prominent NPCs in my current campaign, Duncan the Collector. The list is sure to grow, and I might need to find a better way of displaying it all. But, for now, it does the trick!
This is my first post regarding some new mechanics I’d like to try in the game. That being said, it is entirely possible that something similar exists already, or that previous versions of D&D may have included a comparable dynamic.
Progressive Rolls: If at first you don’t succeed…
Normally re-rolls are considered to be a bad thing. A large part of what makes D&D fun is the fact that you can fail spectacularly at mundane tasks. Occasionally a DM will allow for a re-roll if it makes sense, but usually this is frowned upon because it bends the core concept of the game. However, we’ve all been in a situation that goes something like this…
PC: I’m going to look in the window first.
DM: Roll a Perception Check.
PC: Uh… it’s a four.
DM: You see darkness and then jump back in terror as you catch a glimpse of your own, hideous, reflection…
PC: Can I roll again?
DM: Nope.
Now, to be fair, there’s nothing wrong with this approach, and I intend to continue letting characters fail miserably. What I do want to test out is a system where characters encounter a situation where there is no way to succeed on a first attempt, and are encouraged to keep trying. Here are two examples. Continue reading “Mechanic: Progressive Rolls”
Zidovia: City in the Shadow: Prelude #2: Nevan the Bard
It’s about time for my second shot at DM-ing a one-on-one session in the prelude to my full campaign.
This time I’m going to take a crack at using Tabletop Simulator for laying out the initial scene. So far I like it quite a bit. It has a decidedly low-tech feel and the learning curve isn’t too bad. I’ve also snagged a copy of Unity, but it’s going to take me a while to learn the ropes for that software.
But, as far as Tabletop Simulator goes: Continue reading “Prelude #2: Nevan the Bard”
There were bells on the hill, but I never heard them ringing…
Okay, to be fair, Nevan was in the valley town of Hull’s Basin, not a hill. But there were bells. Lots and lots of very small magnetic bells.
As it turns out, the bard named Nevan is a little paranoid. Being that he’s on the run and doing his best to remain a free man, this is not entirely unreasonable.
The session begins with Nevan attempting to get a good night of rest in his room on the second floor of the Lowland Inn. The room itself was nothing of note until Nevan got his hands on it. With his training as a spy and a healthy bag of tricks, Nevan quickly and quietly turned the small room into a secure vault. Boobytraps, tripwires, and lots of bells on strings were used to make sure that no one could get in. And, if anyone tried, he’d be one step ahead. Continue reading “Post-Game Report: Prelude #1: Nevan the Bard”