Character creation & development. Thinking outside the box.

So we all know that in most editions of Dungeons and Dragons there are just some skills, talents, feats or abilities that seem to rise to the top. For example a fighter in 3.5 just about has to take the desired weapon focus and specializations for his weapon of choice, and feats like power attack and cleave are almost impossible to ignore. So more often than not we start too see the same old fighter, rogue and wizard rising to the surface, with only the alignment, race and the way they are role played to offer diversity. Well of course if you are going to play in a min max environment, then you are going to take whatever feats you can to make you as bad ass as possible right? Most people immediately gravitate towards making their character powerful. However in this topic I am going to challenge you to think outside the box and remember that the best part of any role playing game, is the role playing itself!

Now when you create your character you have a wealth of options available to you, but yet most people only concentrate on getting big stats, and feats or talents etc that make their character Mr awesome. I have had many epic characters (stat and ability wise) in the past three plus decades and many gimp ones. The most boring character I ever played was a Knight who was seriously over powered. At the time I fell foul to the same trap as many and continued to take him down a development path to ultimate power. The luster of slaughtering every foe wore of quick and what was left was the fun of role playing his personality. In contrast the most fun I ever had was with a one armed thief with poor stats. He was so much fun to role play, and the failures he had were down right entertaining, while his successes were more epic due to his minimal chance of victory.

When you create your character, other than selecting a race and maybe the base class, you should begin by write his or her back story. I know many people write the back story after the character has been created, but doing it first will change the outcome of your decisions. A point about race selection. If you are going to be demi-human then for the love of Gygax make sure your character feels demi-human! Do not play it like its a human with special abilities. Explore the culture of the race in your character creation process, and let that be a part of who they are. Go back to your characters childhood and decide on things that happened to him that shaped his personality and desires. Put thought into his past life before becoming an adventurer, and then take this well developed story and decide where he would have gone next. At this point you can begin building the character, but instead of picking the “go too” talents for your class, pick ones that make sense for him to have acquired. Spend skill points based on experiences and not just on what skills make you the most effective.  It can be challenging to do this, as often you will be picking situational abilities that may be great at times but not as commonly used as something like Dodge, and the desire to be a powerful combatant will need to be repressed.

In regards to stats. Just because a clerics prime stat is wisdom, should he always put his highest stat in that ability? what if his wisdom was just adequate, but he decided to be smart and use his head as much if not more than his divinity? What if a fighter decided to make dexterity his highest stat, and use light weapons and go for feats like weapon finesse instead? Would a swashbuckler or duelist emerge instead?

As your character develops and levels, try to think about the tasks he performed, and the situations he went through, and spend skill points and pick feats that reflect them. Do this instead of picking the next logical feat that improves his bad assness. Try selecting non common feats for your character. Feats like improve trip or improved sunder are often ignored, but they can bring a lot of diversity and fun to the game and make your character something different from the norm.

In our current Howreroll campaign “The Children of Drakhar” , we have a female monk with some interesting ability choices. I am very interested in seeing how this character develops, and already her choice of improved trip has proven far more useful than something like cleave.

With a non standard character design your options for role playing this character will change. When this happens you will find you are able to embrace a different personality for the character, and as such break from the cliche. The fun to be had role playing a weak or less than perfect character, or just being different is far greater than that when your warrior kills an ogre in one attack round.

Giving your character a few quirks, even if they offer some type of disadvantage (like only having one eye) can give depth and open new doors when it comes to role playing the character. Choosing to be hard of hearing may mean you take a penalty to your listen checks, but it could be fun in certain social situations.

The characters I remember most from my years of gaming are the ones that were different and stood out. Not because they had max stats and were seemingly invincible, but because they were memorable due to being different and the unique quality they brought to the gaming session. For example. The Green Flash was a ranger who acted like a super hero. Bruce Custard was a Halfling chef and barber who fought primarily with a sling. Thaal was a barbarian that used to rip enemies apart bare handed. Tom “Nubby” Denton was a one armed human thief. Lindsafel was an overly compassionate and gullible female Druid. Fritzgig the bull headed dwarf, that played chicken with a charging Rhino and liked to headbutt his enemies. All these characters stick with me due to their interesting quirks and not their effectiveness in a situation. In fact many times Nubby Denton failed as a thief, and his failings out numbered his successes by far. Thaal could have done more damage with a two handed axe, yet when he lost his temper and just waded in fist firsts, it was far more memorable. And the Green flash was so full of himself and loud in both personality and appearance that he stood out like a sore thumb in any wilderness setting.

In time the joys of playing a powerful character fade, and you look back and do not even remember the names of the characters you played, or met along the way. That being said some will stick with you for ever. For me it has always been the ones that broke the mold or challenged the norm. Seeing the joy those characters bring to a gaming session can not be quantified for me as a Dungeon Master, and I am always willing to work with any player that wants to bring something “unusual” to the table, as long as it is going to improve the story and enrich every ones experience at the gaming table.

My challenge to any player is “make me believe in your reality”. I want to know without asking why you performed a certain action. I want to understand who you are and why you do what you do. I lose interest in cliche characters that act based on what is “best” for themselves all the time.

Learning how to create a good character is more than just knowing what stats to put where and what feats or skills make you optimal. I cringe at the growing movement for optimal character builds, and the way people are encouraged in making their characters like its something from a video game. A pen and paper role playing game character needs to have many more levels to it than just its stats, skills, feats and abilities.

Try building your next character outside the box, and really “going for it” in a role playing sense. You wont be sorry…………………

Finding your Dungeon Master persona.

Every Dungeon Master has there own way of doing things. Of course there are those archetypes that some people fit into, but each one will and SHOULD still be different from the next. Just as each player has to develop a persona for his or her character, the Dungeon Master has to develop a persona for himself. Now I am not saying you should  become a short, stubby, red robbed wearing little guy with bad hair. No I am saying you have to find YOUR way of Dungeon Mastering. So lets look at some ways for the up and coming Dungeon Master to develop his style.

BE YOURSELF.

You are your own person. You have spent years learning to be the person you are so do not try to change who you are around the table. struggling to repress a personality is a sure way to be an awkward mess behind the Dungeon Masters screen, so let your personality live. If you are not an outgoing flamboyant type of person, then do not try to force yourself to become that when running the game. If you feel uncomfortable, you are not going to do the best job, so find a way to be yourself and still achieve your desired goal. A quiet reserved individual can run a game. They can take more of a third person approach and develop a more narrative style if they feel uncomfortable speaking AS the Non Player Characters. Your personality and how you interact with the players, will be part of what defines your game sessions.

Now while I just said to “be yourself” I will say that some personality types are not well suited to Dungeon Mastering. I find those who feel the need to “always be right” or lack compromise make poor Dungeon Masters, as do those who think being the Dungeon Master makes them some kind of god or overlord around the table. The job of a Dungeon Master directly goes against these kinds of personalities. Read this post for a better explanation.

BE REALISTIC IN YOUR COMMITMENTS.

Some people have more time on there hands than other. As such some of you may have plenty of free time to devote to writing adventures, creating encounters and world building. Other on the other hand may barely have time to run the session, let alone prep for it. Now while it goes without saying, being a Dungeon Master is work, you can lessen the work load in a number of ways. If you do not have a great deal of prep time, or you are not particularly creative then use the published adventures and material out there. You may find reading a pre written adventure and running it is a lot easier for you and less time consuming. Also if you do not have that “flair” for writing your own stories, you are probably going to have better game sessions that way. I have seen some horrible home made adventures being run recently, and the weak and lame story behind them made me cringe. Be realistic, and know that not everyone has that creativity. I am not telling you not to try your hand at creating your own material, far from it, just be honest with yourself and make sure you have the talent and the time to do it justice. If you realize writing your own material is not for you, well there is no shame in that. All editions have plenty of published material for you to use. Pathfinder (or D&D 3.75 as some call it) probably has the most frequent and regular support material that is always flowing off the press, so it may be a good system to use if you just don’t like or have time to write your own material. The bottom line is, if you do not have time to prep properly, then you are doing yourself and the players an injustice, so only play as often as you reasonably have time to prep for. Its better to run a good game every other week than a bad game twice a week.

BE CONSISTENT.

The idea of developing a persona or style is to allow you to be consistent. If you know you do not like speaking AS the Non Player Characters then run your game in the third person as apposed to the first person, but be consistent. If you have the talent to voice act and are going to do so that is great, but be consistent. If you are going to be a stickler for following the rules as laid out in the handbook, that is fine but be consistent. Players like to know where they stand. They do not appreciate a Dungeon Master who changes up the playing field too often. They lose trust in the Dungeon Master and begin to feel lost at the table. If you are Consistent the players will feel comfortable and settled. If you realize you do need to make a deliberate change to the way the game is running, to a rule or any aspect that your players have come to know as standard then you should discuss and inform your players before hand.

BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF.

Know what you can do well and what you can not. If you have an amazing memory and like to learn and read, then you can be one of those Dungeon Masters that can run his game without much need of referring to the manual. On the other hand if you may have a gift for storytelling and would rather play a rules lite version of the game. If you have a flamboyant personality, and a good vocal range you may want to voice act and role play your Non Player Characters to the fullest, but if that is not you, then you maybe you can become a great narrative Dungeon Master. The key here is to be honest with yourself and know what your strengths and weaknesses are. Do not try to run a game in a manner on which you are not comfortable or skilled at. We all like to think we have talents in certain areas but truth is often we are deluding ourselves. I was blessed with a varied octave range and little to no shame, so I have no problem acting like and impersonating a woman and even flirting with male party members. I know plenty of Dungeon Masters however that just would not and probably should not do that. On the other hand I know some Dungeon Masters that are walking encyclopedias and can quote you a rule as written and what page it is on and in which manual. I can not do that. I know my rules, but I sometimes have to refer to the manuals to clarify things. I just do not have that memory. Be honest and own your shortcomings and embrace your talents.

DON’T EMULATE.

I can not stress this enough. Why? well because it basically means you will not find your style or persona, and will go against everything we have already said. In this world of social and multi media (as I have mentioned before), I get to watch a lot of Dungeon Masters and players in action on line, as well as in gaming stores or other venues.

I have seen some good and couple of great “mechanical” Dungeon Masters. These are Dungeon Masters who concentrate on the depth and accuracy of the game and do not bother so much with first person, Voice acting, or being particularly animated. The Good and great ones know their rules inside and out when it comes to the game, and run awesome narrative stories. The poor ones however do not know the game and tend to fumble about the place and spend half the time checking on the rules.

I have seen some good, and a few great “storytelling” Dungeon Masters. The good and great ones really know how to develop the scene, set the mood and develop tension levels appropriate to the moment. While the poor ones do not seem to have a flair for language or description and lack the skills to develop mood and atmosphere in their game.

I have seen a couple of good or great “animated” Dungeon Masters. The good and great ones use their personality and voices to full effect. They truly become the characters that they are portraying and seem to be able to attribute and remember a vast variety of voices to their Non Player Character stable. They pull faces, wave their arms around and really throw themselves into it. On the other hand most I have seen are inconsistent in their method, have limited vocals and quiet honestly look more awkward and foolish than believable.

once again I say BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF! If you are not a walking encyclopedia, then do not try to be. Use the books. If you do not have the talent or comfort level to literally become your Non Player Characters, then don’t. Instead concentrate on clear and concise delivery of your narrative and information. It is far better to be good or great at what you CAN do , than poor at what you try to do and fail. Do not try to emulate others, trust me it shows when you do and if you do not have the skill set you will fall short. I do not name people directly but as I am writing this, my mind is thinking about those that I consider great at their destined style and method, and those that I have seen that I want to slap and say…. “NO! that’s not you, you cant be that person so stop trying to be, you look like a tool and you are doing your players an injustice”.

Every person is a make up of many things. So is a Dungeon Master. My hope is to help you become the best that you can be at any given time. I have spent over thirty three years honing my craft as a Dungeon Master and as I have said prior to this, I had to learn to be honest with myself and be critical of my own performance. I have improved immensely over time and most of my improvements were made by being honest with myself and asking for feedback. Once upon a time I studied the rule books and read them cover to cover like novels. I retained a good bit but certainly not as much as I would have liked. I have been jealous in the past of a friend who could read a book once, and seemingly memories it cover to cover and when he Dungeon Mastered never needed to pick up a manual of any kind during play. He (on the other hand) was equally jealous of my storytelling skills and ability to adopt a personality for each and every Non Player Character. Both of us however knew we did not posses the skill set that the other had, so were content to run the game our way, with the confidence that we did it well with our own particular style.

I finish by saying to be a good Dungeon Master requires much more than just developing a persona or style, but it is part of what will make you a successful one. I have been fortunate to play with many people over the past three plus decades, and I can say without a doubt all the good Dungeon Masters I have played under all had their own style that was true to who they were as a person. The poor ones all tried to be something they were not, and it showed………..

About the Mechanics. Initiative.

About the Mechanics is a new series of topics where we will discus and examine a particular aspect of the game mechanics and how and when to use them. Now this may seem redundant and you may be thinking “well I already know how to use the game mechanics, what is there to discuss? Well hear me out and keep reading….

In this post we are going to look at Initiative. Initiative is what determines the order in which players and Non Player Characters act in an encounter. Depending on what edition of Dungeons and Dragons you are playing, typically you will be rolling a D20 and adding or subtracting a modifier from the roll. For example in 3.5 Edition you may have Plus two from your dexterity bonus, and the improved initiative feat, giving you total plus six to your Twenty sided dice roll. Usually you roll initiative at the start of combat, and then that order stands for its duration. The Dungeon Master will roll for the adversaries in the encounter and then the order of action for all involved will be determined. Some Dungeon Masters may choose to roll initiative for every single Non Player Character or monster in the encounter, others may roll once for them all, or once for all types. I personally roll for each type and separately for leaders or key Non Player Characters such as leaders. For example if my players face four orcs, four goblins and an Ogre, I would roll once for the orcs, once for the goblins and once for the ogre. Combat can be hectic enough to keep track of without having a ton of different initiative numbers to keep track off.

OK so why do I feel a blog post needs to be dedicated to this mechanic? well it is not the mechanic itself that I want to discuss, but WHEN to say that well known phrase “Roll for initiative!” You see when the Dungeon Master utters those words, everything changes. The players mood changes, their attitude changes and the tension level changes. The rolling of initiative typically marks the beginning of combat. No matter where your players heads were at, unless they were already hell bent on a fight, telling them to Roll for initiative is almost like ringing the bell in a boxing match and is going to start a fight. If they were thinking of trying a diplomatic solution, or evading the encounter, being told to roll initiative kind of implies the fight is on, and will most likely stop the characters from continuing with other courses of action, and just wade in to battle. On the other hand if you do not ask your players to roll for initiative your players may perceive that the encounter may not be intended for combat, or that the Non Player Characters they are facing are not hostile. This of course may be totally wrong and then, when the Bad guys suddenly jump the players they may be upset that you did not give them a chance to roll for initiative to begin with.

Rolling or requesting a roll for initiative also drastically changes the mood and mindset of the game and the players at that point. If I (as the Dungeon Master) ask them to roll for initiative during a heated discussion, it snaps the tension bar and says to the players “OK FIGHT”! This may rob them of any continued diplomatic efforts or role playing options. In my story I never want to alter the natural flow, feel or atmosphere of the game at an inappropriate time. If I am going to ask them to roll for initiative, I want it to be the epic start of the conflict and battle and not disrupt a flow of negotiation or exploration of non combat options.

I know some Dungeon Masters that like to PRE roll initiative. They get each player to roll a number of times prior to the game session and then use them in order for each encounter (applying modifiers as needed at that time). This is not a bad idea, but I feel it also offers to take away some of the epic tension moments that arise as combat is about to kick off.

My solution is to never prompt a roll for initiative without a combative or aggressive declaration first. Either I will say something like “The ogre rushes towards you, with his club raised high, intent on crushing your skull”, or a player will declare that they are engaging in some way. At that time, I will often say “EVERYONE roll for initiative to determine the order should it be needed”, or just ask the specific individual who chooses to enter combat to roll, depending on the current situation. I use descriptive language and I roll play demeanor and intent to let my players know how an encounter is going. They can tell by my voice and actions if a negotiation is going sour and a fight may be imminent.They can then choose to act first if they wish or wait and see what happens. Either way I am not going to request an initiative roll until a blow or spell or other timed action is about to take place. It can be hard enough to get the correct feel for an encounter, without ruining the immersion by bringing game mechanics to the fore front. This is why I do not mention the initiative roll, until it is one hundred percent clear that it is now required.

Initiative can also be used in non combat situations of course to determine the speed of almost simultaneous actions. I remember one time I was running an encounter where everyone tried to rush through a door first. The situation leading up to that lead everyone to the same conclusion and each player (in turn around the tabletop) declared the same action. So I had them roll initiative to see who has the faster reflexes in that situation and got their foot in the door first. If I had said prior to the declaration of intent “OK I want each of you to roll for initiative” I guarantee they would have all stopped and hesitated, as they as players would have expected a possible combat, even though there had been nothing to suggest that to their characters. Even those that try hard not to meta game, still fall foul to a change in emotion and may act differently when lead to expect something is going to happen.

In closing, treat initiative as the mechanical resolution to an in game declaration. It should not be requested before it is needed, and the Dungeon master should do his job properly and allow the scene to imply weather or not it may be imminently required. It should be the last thing to happen before a sword be swung, a fireball be cast or a dagger thrown. If you do not care about the feel and immersion of your game, then I guess it matters less to you when to request a roll. I live to tell a story, and not play a game. I believe in immersion over mechanics and Role Playing over ROLL playing. If a dice is going to be rolled it better be for a good reason, and as it is almost always going to determine the outcome of an action, I want the appropriate tension level to be present when it is rolled.

happy Gaming……

Gorebad.

Home Brewing and House Rules.

One of the great aspects of any Role Playing Game System is that while the designers go to great lengths to create a wealth of material and game mechanics for us to use, none of it is set in stone. The forum posts I see where some Dungeon Master complains about this rule or that rule make me cringe, and the battle over which edition is best is just as agitating.

Before I go any further I want to make a point. While the mechanics are called “RULES” this term should be taken lightly and with a huge pinch of salt. I prefer not to even call them rules. The term “rule” implies that it is set in stone and must be followed or obeyed. This is far from the truth with any Role Playing Game system. Instead think of them as nothing more than game mechanics that are at your disposal to help facilitate the running of the game, and the telling of the story. Once you do this, you can see more clearly that any of these mechanics are open to change or modification by you the Game Master.

In truth any Game Master (with experience) worth his salt will have altered and modified the game mechanics to suit his own brand of story telling or game in some way. This article is going to address this and both give some advice and make some observations.

Each Game Master will (over time) develop his own style. This style will reflect how he runs the game, and the way in which he tells the story. The Game system that you use is the frame work on which your story will be built, and the mechanics are the tools you will use to create the outcome of events. This article applies to any Role Playing Game but for the sake of simplicity I will relate it to Dungeons and Dragons.

So lets look at Dungeons and Dragons as a game. It first come to light in January 1974 with a three booklet set. in 1977 it was divided into Basic and Advanced rules sets. In 1989 the second edition of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons was released, and brought with it many more options for players. In 2000 we saw the third edition come to light (under the new ownership of Wizards of the Coast), and shortly after (in 2003) was the revised three point five edition. Third edition changed much of the mechanical system that had for the most part remained fairly similar for the past twenty plus years. The year 2007 brought us fourth edition and almost simultaneously pathfinder (by Paizo publishing) which was a revised three point five rules set. Then the current release of fifth edition hit the shelves in 2014. Over the span of the games history it has gone through many changes. The current edition is a far distant cousin of the original game concept, and for those of us that have played through every edition that has ever existed, we can draw vast differences in not only how the game mechanics work, but in the overall feel of the game.

I am often asked “which edition is your favorite?” In truth I can not answer that. I have many fond memories of First edition and Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. I have a crazy amount of game hours with many groups of people sunk into running three point five, and I have had fun and new experiences with some younger players with fifth. My favorite edition changes based on who I am running the game for, and what kind of feel I want for the story. You see to me an edition is nothing more than a tool set to tell a story. Whichever edition I have to modify the least to get the feel I want to achieve is the edition I will use. I am not an edition puritan. I hear people give reasons why they prefer fifth edition over three point five, or why pathfinder is superior. Each to their own, but I do not view mechanics the same way as many. I borrow “rules” from various editions and discard others. I change and modify things to suit my style and the situation.

As mentioned in an article you can find here, I run a game differently for a virtual tabletop than I do a physical one. Regardless of who I am running the game for, or what base edition I am using for my tool set, one thing is certain. Its Home brewed.

The term Home Brew is basically the more recent buzzword for what us old guard used to call house rules. That is to say it is our own custom rule set or mechanics that we use for our individual game. To Home Brew with any benefit can only be achieved with some experience behind you. I know some fledgling Dungeon Masters that refer to their Home Brew system and it makes me chuckle a little inside. They barely know the game or have a good grasp or understanding of the mechanics, so to be changing them already is kind of like a new chef trying to restructure a family recipe after one taste. It is not a requirement, or a status symbol to have your own set of Home Brewed mechanics.

Before you begin butchering and modifying years of work, you should truly understand it. Only then can you make changes to it that can infer any benefit. Changing rules or mechanics for the sake of it can only impose a negative result. Each time a Dungeon Master changes and modifies a rule he alters what his players have come to know and expect. If he is going to do this he should be able to explain why he wishes to do so, and convince the players that it is a change for the better. Back in the early editions of Dungeons and Dragons, you gained experience points for gaining gold and treasure. It was originally envisioned to reward the thief class, but it did not differentiate effectively. This was one of the first rules I remember changing. When I found myself limiting treasure, not to be stingy to the party in wealth terms, but because I did not want them gaining to many experience points to fast, I realized I did not care for this rule. I explained my thoughts to my players, and pointed out that if wealth was linked to experience, then every foppish young rich noble would be a level nine fighter. I also told them that I refrained from giving out wealth at times because I did not like the fact that it encouraged players to horde and hold back treasure and caused imbalances in experience. They understood and agreed and so we changed the rules. You see the rules change ultimately offered improvement to our idea of the game that we wanted, and as such was welcomed and mutually embraced by all. I often speak about trust. The players have to be able to trust their Dungeon Master, and if they feel he changes the rules without their knowledge or understanding it damages that trust. Also any change should be mutually applied to both players and Non Player Characters where applicable. IF for any reason this is not the case then the Dungeon Master should be able to explain (with justification) why.

I do not intend to discourage home brewing in anyway, in fact I encourage it, but I urge Dungeon Masters and Players alike to not do so until they have a clear understanding of the system mechanics as is. Sometimes when you alter a rule, you indirectly break others. You should realize the effects your changes will have on all aspects of the game, and not just the individual situation in which you applied them. For example creating and using a critical hit system can seem like a great idea, but how does it work with the improved critical feat, and does it then make that feat over powered? So now do you have to modify that rule? and alter the crit range of certain weapons? also if it is to be a mutually used rule are you prepared to have a goblin lop off the rangers right arm? Often there is more to consider than you may see at face value.

Beginning play with a set of home brew rules, is also easier than altering and changing as a game progresses. If you begin a certain way, its easily accepted but if you change it mid flow, you have to look at who it may hurt or hinder and how will they feel about it. Remembering my golden rule that you (the Dungeon Master) are there for the benefit of the players and not the other way around is paramount. You may not like a rule but do your players feel the same way? You should consider discussing it prior to coming up with changes or implementing anything. Players will be accepting of a rule change that they know is coming but will almost certainly rebel at one that is imposed upon them without prior knowledge. The game after all belongs to everyone at the table, and not just the Dungeon Master.

When you feel the need to alter a rule, firstly you should be able to identify why it needs altering. Knowing the reason then allows you to measure the impact of the rule on the game, and think of ways to better balance this impact. At this point, you should mention your thoughts about why a rule does not seem to work to your players and see if they agree. Once you have an idea for how the change will work you should then discuss it with your players and see how they feel about this solution, or if they have any input on a better way. Once the idea of change is agreed upon, and the method of change accepted, then you can implement it. Doing this will ensure acceptance of the change, and make sure you continue to have trust in your players.

Another observation is that many do not record the changes to a rule or what home brew rules they use. You should. Writing these changes down is important for a few reasons. For one it is good to have for your own records but it is also good to be able to show a player the rule (as written). I typically also write the date that I applied the change. This serves to show players that it has been in practice since that time, and not something I just came up with and threw at them. Writing things down also helps you to commit them to memory.

I have different sets of home brew mechanics. Some rules I use with my very experienced players, that I would not with newer ones. I also have some that I use for younger players (kids) that i do not use with adults. I do tent to let people know however when I am using a particular modification and again I always come prepared to explain why. I remember one case when I mentioned a home brew rule I wanted to use (that i had done so with many other groups) and it was met with resistance. That particular group did not like the idea of the rule, so after we had discussed it and everyone put fourth their thoughts, we collectively modified it. They understood why I had changed the particular rule, but not how I had changed it, so we collaborated to find a solution. By doing this I showed the players that I was fair and that I was there to run the game for their enjoyment. It developed trust. I know several Dungeon Masters that would not have changed the rule and some who would not have even told the players that it had been changed. To me that is the typical “the DM is god” mentality that piss poor Dungeon Masters seem to share.

In closing, I say Brew your proverbial asses off! However only do so where needed, and be sure that your players know about it, understand it and agree with it. No one likes a dictator………….

The one when the Paladin died twice!

I have mentioned this tale a couple of times live on Howreroll, so I figured it was time to tell the entire story with all the juicy details.

Many years ago I was running a game of second Edition Dungeons and Dragons for a group every Tuesday evening. The group of players consisted of a Dwarven Fighter, an Elven Ranger a Human Paladin, a Human Barbarian, and a Human Druidess. The alignments spattered from Lawful Good (in the case of the Paladin) to Chaotic Neutral (the Barbarian). We had been playing a couple of years and had run through many adventures and campaigns including the most excellent “Curse of the Azure Bonds”. During the parties adventures, several times the Barbarians choice of actions would be borderline questionable when it came to the morality of his decisions, and typically the Paladin was there to keep him on the right track and prevent or dissuade him from carrying out his desired plan. Of course, this lead to several arguments between characters, and often the Druidess (being true Neutral) would find herself stuck in the middle playing devils advocate and trying to find the compromise. One such situation arose when they were rescuing a prince from an evil mage, and had to break into a stronghold to free him. On the way in they had a scuffle with a patrol or guards, and after defeating them, took one alive to question for information. Well firstly the Barbarian wanted to “slap him around a bit” to get him to talk, and the Paladin protested this course of action and instead wanted to make a deal with the guard. The paladin (like always) got his way and approached the tied and bonded guardsman. “Now my big brutish friend here would see harm done to you, where I would seek to avoid such unpleasantness” began the Paladin. “I am sure you are guarding this citadel for payment, so I shall offer you fifty gold pieces and your freedom if you tell us how many others are inside, and show us a way to get inside undetected“. Well as the Paladin had correctly deduced, the guard was indeed only here for financial reward, and had no real loyalty to his employer. He agreed to the terms and after informing the party that the citadel had a Garrison of forty men at arms and the wizard that employed them he showed them to a secret way in through the water drainage tunnel of the citadel. At this point the Paladin intended to just let the man go, but the rest of the party did not like this course of action. “I don’t trust him to sod off quietly!” said the Dwarf. “I agree” said the Elven Ranger, “what if he alerts them to our presence“. “I gave him my word!” said the Paladin, “and I shall not go back on it!” As was often the case the Druidess stepped in with some sense of compromise. “Why don’t we tie him up and gag him, and leave him just inside the tunnel for now“, she began. “We can free him on the way out, that way he can not raise the alarm and you sir knight will not be breaking your word.” After a little more discussion they agreed to this plan. All except the Barbarian. “I say we kill him to be safe“, he protested. “It’s the only way to be sure, besides what if we don’t come back this way?” “well then his fate is tied to ours,” said the Druidess. The party decided to tie him up and leave him in the tunnel despite the Barbarians protest, and made their way down the tunnel. The Ranger scouted a little ahead, with the Paladin not far behind and the Barbarian brought up the vanguard. However the Barbarian decided to lag behind a little and once he was sure the Paladin was out of ear shot, he promptly broke the guards neck, and caught up with the rest. Our heroes saved the prince and left the citadel by way of the same tunnel they entered through, as the Paladin was insistent that they go back to free the guard. Well upon finding the guard with his neck snapped, the Paladin immediately suspected the barbarian and set to questioning the rest of the party as to how the guard came to be killed. He stated that only the Barbarian and perhaps the Dwarf were strong enough to literally snap the guards neck like a chicken and  stated that he did not believe the Dwarf would do such a thing. The Barbarian denied the accusations, and eventually the party let it go and moved on, but the Paladin stated that he would be keeping a very close eye on the barbarian from here on out, and that he did not trust him in the least. These kind of things happened often through out their adventures and a deep seeded resentment began to take hold of the barbarian.

This brings us to where this tale really begins. During the Curse of the Azure bonds, our heroes had made some very powerful enemies. One of which was an Ancient White Dragon named Shiverlended. The Evil Dragon had sworn revenge on the party, and a couple of years later had found them and was ready to enact his revenge. He setup a trap in which one of his sons, an adult white Dragon named Ebenblight would attack some local farms and villages, and make sure he was seen retreating to some nearby mountains. Our heroes (as per the dragons plan) would seek him out to destroy him, and when they came to do so Shiverlended would also be waiting and together he and his son would destroy the heroes once and for all.

The party did indeed take the bate and set out into the mountains to find the white dragon and slay him. Eventually they found evidence of a lair upon a large ledge on the mountains east side, and prepared to enter and slay the beast. They made their way into the large cave and in doing so found not one white dragon but two! “Remember me you filthy human scum?” bellowed Shiverlended. “Now DIE!” Both dragons unleashed their breath weapons in unison, and the heroes were terribly injured. Although none died (partly due to good saving throws) the Druidess was down to only eleven hit points and it was clear to the party that this was not a fight they could win right here and now. There only option was to retreat, but they had no time to discuss an exit strategy.

Now I will take this moment to mention these were some decent players. They did not meta game, or abuse player interactions around the table to discuss things at length that should happen in mere seconds in the game world. There was none of the common reactive actions that you often see from players. for example, when a player says something like “I rush forward and attack the wizard,” and another player says “No don’t do that we need to take him alive.” The players character did not SAY he was about to do it out loud before he acted, he just did it, therefore by the time the rest of the party was aware of his intended action it was happening. Their was no time to discuss it, so they could only react to it after it happens. This is a pet peeve of mine, and while I will be a little tolerant of it from new players, I have zero tolerance for it in players that should know better.

Anyway getting back to the story. With this in mind, the players did not discuss any plans, but just reacted in turn. The Paladin at this point declared in a bold voice, “There is no way we can outrun these beasts, I will hold them off as long as I can, you all save yourselves!” and before the rest had time to protest he charged head long at both the Dragons with a valiant war cry. This of course was suicide but as a Paladin he was willing to lay down his life so that his friends may live.

The rest of the party did indeed retreat as they realized if they did not they would also perish and his great sacrifice would be for nothing. The paladin of course was killed but it was a memorable death, and one worthy of a fifteenth level Paladin of Tyr. The rest of the players commended the player of the Paladin for his selfless act (one that I know many players would not have done, as they would not have voluntarily gave up a fifteenth level Paladin that they loved). At this point the Barbarian surprised everyone by simply saying “NO!” “We can not allow such a sacrifice to be made for us without trying to save our friend”. “I say we wait, and go back up there and reclaim his body, then find away to have him resurrected. Such a valiant act deserves no less“. The party agreed and I wrote a new side adventure in which the party would quest to have the Paladin resurrected.

The side quest took several weeks and during this time the player who owned the dead paladin was playing a twelfth level rogue in the short term. The quest was not easy, and the Druidess almost lost her life in the process, but eventually they were able to have the Paladin resurrected.

It was a joyous time around the table top. The Paladin was back! His heroic sacrifice to save the rest of the party was going to be talked about for years to come. And of course the Paladin himself was glad to be back among the living once more, ready to face the forces of evil in Tyrs name once again. And then it happened.

Freshly resurrected, the Paladin was low on hit points. A simple matter of a few healing spells from the Druidess would solve this minor issue however, that is it would have if she had been given the chance. Suddenly the barbarian launches a full attack on the Paladin and hacked him to pieces making him dead for the second time. The Paladin had barley been alive enough to thank the rest of the party for bringing him back and now he was dead once more. The rest of the players looked on in horror as this even unfolded, and as the Barbarian stood looming over the twice dead Paladins body he utters the words that to this day get repeated by the players. “I hated that guy, but no one kills the Paladin but me!“……

The art of war. Combat in Role Playing Games.

Combat is a thrilling  aspect of any Role Playing Game. Many players live for the thrill of the fight and enjoy it more than the actual Role Play itself. Rolling dice and seeing those desired numbers show face up, or landing those critical hits is exciting. Combat is however more than just rolling dice and having the numbers dictate the outcome. In this topic, we will look at how to make combat really come to life, and how to get the most out of those battle encounters.

We will begin by looking at designing a good combat encounter. Firstly we need to ask ourselves why will this encounter result in a combat? If it is a simple ambush, well then you already know the answer, but many encounters can result in combat where they perhaps did not need too. When I have an overzealous party that tends to hit first and ask questions later, or who has problems keeping their ego in check, I often deploy an encounter I like to refer to as a “swing encounter”. The Gorebad swing encounter is basically one that can go either way depending on the attitudes of the characters. For example I recently used a rather grumpy and agitated Weretiger to do just this. The characters had begun to bully their way through encounters, and had started developing egos that were eventually going to result in them biting of more than they could chew. I saw this eventuality looming so I decided to drop in this Lycanthrope. Now Weretigers are typically true neutral in alignment, so their actions are largely situational and are dictated by other outside social triggers. The characters met him in human form, and he was (for reasons that would become clear later) viewing the characters with suspicion and was a little stand offish. I had decided that he would either help or hinder them depending on how they interacted with him. A positive interaction would win them a potential ally, while a negative one would land them in a tough combat situation. I did this to illustrate to the players how sometimes you just have to know when to not push back and hold your tongue. The players chose wisely and avoided combat. If this had become a combat encounter however, I would have had a clear understanding of how and why the fight took place, and as such would have known how my Non Player Character or monster (in this case the Weretiger) should act. The combat would have taken place in a wooded area, one that my Weretiger would have been very familiar with and one that my players would not. This being said I would have used the monsters knowledge of the terrain to his advantage. Also depending on how the combat was going he may well have retreated and possibly came back at a more advantageous time. Determining the motivations behind the combat is important in being able to run it with substance. Are the players the aggressors or the victims? Is it on either sides home turf? Do the Non Player Characters have strong motivations to stand their ground, or may they break and flee? Are reinforcements close by? etc.

It is important to set the scene for the combat encounter also. Terrain and surroundings play an integral part in how a combat plays out. History tells us that three hundred Spartans held the narrow pass of Thermopylae for three days against tens of thousands. This was only achievable due to the location that the battle occurred. If they had met on an open battlefield it would have been a short and bloody massacre. Chapter ten of Sun Tzu’s the art of war discussed terrain and its effects on a battle. Indeed it enlightens us to how a battle can be won or lost based on where the battle takes place. This can and should be a factor in the combats in which your players find themselves in. Aspects such as height of terrain, difficulty of movement, items of cover, visibility and temperature all play a factor. Too many Dungeon Masters ignore this aspect of combat and allow combat to become a toe to toe turn based dice fest.

Not every combat has to start and end in one encounter. Indeed many good battles play out over several encounters. Recently on Howreroll the players took three separate encounters to take down one particular Necromancer. Making what could have been a simple end boss encounter, a chase that lasted a couple of weeks in game time. It also made for a much more climactic showdown when they finally did corner and ultimately defeat him. After the first battle both the characters and the Necromancer knew a little of the others tactics, so the dynamic changed the second and third time they fought. And again this change in dynamic altered the combat substantially. A good reoccurring villain can be a great source for great combat encounters in this way. Either he manages to evade capture time and time again or the players may keep slipping through his fingers if he is the pursuer, but each encounter has epic potential, especially if used with correct timing, and not over done.

The next thing we will look at is how to describe combat. Simply saying “you hit, you miss” is boring! I like to describe the combat step by step and blow by blow. Players love to hear the details of how the final blow dispatched their foe, or what the effect of a particular successful sword strike was. On our live Dungeons and Dragons show, I try to describe each and every hit, miss, crit and fumble. I keep the descriptions short, but I make sure they are imagined. My descriptions are dependent on the players actions and the outcome of the dice rolled. So for a narrow miss I may say something like, “you lunge with your long sword at the Orcs unprotected belly, but at the last minute he is able to bring his cleaver around and manages to narrowly deflect your blow to the side”. Or for a high damage hit that does over twenty five percent of the enemies hit points I may say, “your powerful overhead swing strikes the ogre and opens up a deep gash in his thigh. He glances at the open wound as the blood flows down his leg, and he takes a step back to reassess the situation. He no longer seems so eager to rush in”.

I recently had a private message from one self proclaimed “veteran Dungeon Master” (of ten years) who told me that I should not describe the players blows and I should let them do it themselves. I totally disagree and here is why. Hit points are relative to the creature. Hitting a goblin for six damage may be an almost fatal blow, where as to a hill giant it is little more than a scratch. The players do not know how many hit points a particular enemy has, especially in relation to enemies with a class, so they are not effectively able to accurately describe the outcome of any given hit. That being said I am all for and encourage a player to tell me and describe what he is TRYING to do, but the outcome of his action is mine to explain. I also like to improvise advantages and disadvantages that may occur to one side or another during combat. If the players make a particularly high damaging hit on a monster, I may have it back of, and hold its attack that round, as it rethinks its strategy. Or I may have a high damaging blow drop the target to one knee, robbing him of part of his move action the next round. While these things may not be part of the combat mechanic, they add something to the combat that makes it feel more real.

We just mentioned that we should encourage players to tell us what they are trying to do. I do not mean in them saying I attack the Troll, or I cast Magic Missile, no I mean describe how it is to happen. “I swing my broadsword with all my might at the Dire Boar” can be a descriptive way for a player to let you know he is using his power attack feat. Or a player who’s character is a bard may start singing an eighties power ballad and in doing so lets you know he is using his inspire courage ability. I like to encourage descriptive combat in my players also so I will often give bonuses or allow successful skill checks to infer combat bonuses. Here is an example of what I mean by that. A group of players are battling some pirates aboard a ship. One of them just finished of his adversary on the raised bridge of the ship and looks down and sees one of his comrades pressed by two cutlass wielding sea dogs. He knows if he runs down the stairs it will be two rounds before he can aid his friend so he asks “are there any ropes or anything I can use to swing down to the lower deck”. I like where this is going with this, so I tell him “YES, there is a rope within reach that is tied off on the rail behind you”. “OK” he replies, “I try to swing down on the rope and I want to try to slash at one of the pirates as I swing by”. In this situation I would have him make a skill check to swing down on the rope and a bad roll may land him in a compromising situation (or give him disadvantage in fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons rules) where as a good roll may have a bonus effect (or give advantage). Never be afraid to reward creativity in your players when it comes to combat. They will be more inclined to be descriptive and really get into the fight if their actions can change the outcome and make it more exciting.

A prime example of some of this coming together can be seen here at minute 42.30. During this episode of the Marks of intrigue, a bar fight breaks out and all manner of improvised attacks and terrain come into play.

Finally lets look at mortality in combat. When two groups of people engage each other with weapons and magic, people have a tendency to die. While it is common for the monsters and some Non Player Characters to bite the dust, it is a much bigger deal and less common when it happens to a Player Character. With this in mind what is a Dungeon Master to do when he confronts the players with a fair challenge and due to their poor dice rolls and his good rolls the players are loosing to a band of goblins that they should easily be able to defeat. Well this really comes down to your individual style of Dungeon Mastering. many Dungeon Masters will tell you that they will modify a few of their own dice rolls (behind the Dungeon Masters screen), to balance this. Others will tell you that they do not baby their players, and the dice can be a cruel mistress to all equally at times and it is down to the players to retreat from a fight that is going badly for them (assuming they have the option). I have my own views on this and they alter a little depending on who I am playing with. With a die hard experienced group of players, sometimes I roll openly and let the dice fall as they may regardless. Other times I may fudge a roll here or their to be lenient to a newer group of players. Regardless I always allow dice to fall where they may during epic encounters or if the players put themselves in harms way through stupidity, despite fair warning. To me it comes down to trust. The players must trust you as their Dungeon Master to be fair and treat them with consistency and equality. As long as you achieve this I am not going to berate you for your choices. My goal is always to strive for open rolls but I also realize from time to time this can add to much of a random element to something that should be less so.

Combat is not the be all and end all of Role Playing, but it is a fun and integral part of any system. Taking steps to bring it to life and make it believable, is just as important as the work you put in to develop a viable world for your players to explore. There is so much more I could say about combat, but rather than lengthen this topic any farther I will just leave you with this.

“War is hell, but that’s not the half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love. War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man; war makes you dead”. ~Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried

Controlling your Emotions in a Role Playing Game.

As a Game Master or Player in any Role Playing Game, we have the opportunity to become something other than ourselves. We are afforded a chance to be a powerful wizard, a space marine, a great warrior or even a dragon. As we play out these roles we act in a manner different than our own true nature right?

Well truth be told while most of us do in fact “play” the character or Non Playing Character and give them a twist of personality, many of us inject our own subliminal character traits into said character without much thought or control. Often we will allow our own emotions that we feel as the player, directly influence the actions of the character. In many cases this is not a bad thing, as if we feel empathy to a situation, then maybe our character would too, or If we feel saddened by something that occurs during the game, maybe our character is upset also. For example. Recently during a game session on Howreroll two of our heroes were faced with a dilemma to acquire the song of a Siren. They needed it as a bargaining chip to free a fellow part member and sister to one of the characters. They made a deal with the Siren, that they would find and return to her a stolen heirloom, in exchange for her voice (that she would sing into a magical box that they had been given). Upon returning to her with the heirloom it was time for her to make good on her part of the bargain. She was very emotional about parting with her voice and as such the players began to feel guilty, So much did I pull at their heart strings (sad back ground music and all), that one of the players actually teared up. Her character in turn became very emotional and it made for a great moment of role play.

I have also had many other occasions when a player allowed their negative emotions to affect the decisions of their character. Either the player getting mad at an influential Non Player Character (or me as I am the one playing it), and then in turn their character reacts in a foolish way or in a way that really should not have been characteristic of that particular character. I have also had situations when a player who has had a bad day, projects his grumpiness on his character and as such the character is short and snappy in his responses to others. When the negative emotion of a player is allowed to affect the choices made by their character, it often leads to issues at the gaming table. Poor choices and decisions are made, where calmer and less emotional people would have chosen better ones.

The unchecked emotions of a person can have a negative influence on game play both as a player and as a Game Master. We will look at both separately, but several of the points we will touch upon apply to both sides. Then we will look at ways to help control the situation so that it does not have a negative impact on play.

Controlling your Emotions as a player.

As a player you have a character that you are in control of. This character is represented by statistics, skills, abilities and traits that provide the understanding for the make up of the individual you are playing. He may also have an alignment (in the case of Dungeons and Dragons) that lay out some basic guidelines to how he should act. Beyond that the personality of the character is decided upon and played out by the player himself. Everyone is different. Some people are laid back while others are bold. Some are quiet while others are loud and boisterous. The challenge is in playing a character that does not match up to our own personality. Its easier for a quiet and timid bookworm to play a withdrawn and reclusive wizard, just as it is easy for an outgoing and confident person to play a bold and brash warrior. For the bookworm to play the “in your face” Barbarian, that is the challenge. To see him be able to  act in a fashion that he typically shy’s away from is more outreaching. The test for a player comes in being able to separate the feeling he has as the player and decide if those feelings are appropriate for his character. To do this it requires you to be able to take control of your personal feelings and emotions and put in your own stop checks.

Firstly if you are one of those people that can be honest with yourself and are able to understand your personality, then you are far more likely to be able to take steps to control it. Some people have issues with confrontation, or have a problem keeping their temper in check as in the player I mentioned in a previous post that you can find here. Of course in that post it was more an issue with the temper of the player around the table and not that he injected his temper into his character. More frequently the issue is that the player allows his personality to affect the actions of his character. I have even seen a very negative individual try to play a Paladin, and it be one of the worst portrayals of that class that I have ever seen. in fact after only four sessions his Paladin lost his abilities and fell from grace. Sometimes even the most level headed and positive individual has a bad day. Being able to put that in check when you sit down at the gaming table is important. Bringing negative emotions to the game can literally get you killed!

It is vitally important to remember that the Non Player Character you face is NOT the Dungeon Master! If you are ticked at your Dungeon Master you should not transfer that to each and every Non Player Character he presents you with. In turn you should not be aggravated at your Dungeon Master just because a particular Non Player Character got under your skin. It is a foolish player that does this, and it will only ever serve to hurt your character in the long run.

Many people have an Ego. An ego at the gaming table is rarely a good thing. Keeping your ego in check is important, even if your character has a big ego. Your personal ego will cause you to write checks that your characters body can not cash. Understand that your ego and the characters ego should come from different places. Whatever events that happened in your life to shape your ego are different from the ones that happened to shape the ego of your character. So once again it is important to separate your ego from your characters.

Controlling your emotions as a Game Master.

As the person who is ultimately responsible for the control of the game, you can less afford to have unchecked emotions than a player. If you have read other topics on this site you may have heard me say several time that not everybody should be a dungeon master. This is another reason as to why. If you are the kind of person that can not control your emotions you should never be a Game Master. I mean it, NEVER! There is nothing worse than a Game Master that acts based on feelings towards his players or based on his emotional state that the day has caused.

As the person running the game, it is your job to serve a great game to the players and do so with fairness and impartiality. You must also have the trust of your players. If you can not be impartial you will not have trust and your game will implode. I have seen way to many dungeon masters play favorites, or due to a current negative feeling towards a player they pick on his character. I cringe when I see this. They can try to fob it off with excuses but as a student of personality and as an empathetic person I see right through it.

Here is a hint. If you ever play in one of my games, do not ever think you can fool me by reacting in a certain negative way and then trying to palm it of as “that’s what my character would do.” I see the expressions on players faces as they act, and I can tell when an action is based of off personal emotion state, or made with a level head.

For the Game Master trust is everything. If your players do not trust that your actions will always be fair and impartial then you can not have a good game. I will not play with a Game Master who clearly plays favorites, or with one who is guilty of emotional outbursts. The biggest issue (when discussing emotional control) I see with Game Masters is in unchecked egos. There is no place for an ego in a Game Master. You can be an egotistical prick in real life but if you can not park that ego at the gaming table do not run a game! As a Game Master you can do anything. You can kill the players on a whim so what is there to be egotistical about? The player all know you have the ability to kill them, so you have nothing to prove. This being said it is frightening how many Game Masters have “god” syndrome or feel they need to remind their players of the power they wield. Once again these people have unchecked egos, and they do not have the respect of their players. I actually heard a Game Master say this once. “Hey you better be nice to me, or I will upgrade those six orcs to six trolls and then your fucked!’ He was kind of joking (partially at least), but this was the kind of personality that he had. These kinds of comments are just a reminder to the players that you (the Game master) are god. Well those who think that need to get over themselves and learn what being a Game Master is really about. As I have said before you are more servant than ruler.

So we have outlined the responsibilities of both player and Game Master when it comes to emotion and ego management. It is fair to assume that some of you reading this may have difficulty at times in checking your feelings, and may even be able to own up to times when you have been guilty at the gaming table. Lets look at some ways to help you keep it in check.

1. Create a ritual that allows you to switch into game mode, and shed the negative aspects of your day. This is one of the reasons I believe a thirty minute pre-game session is a good idea, as it lets you get the stink of the day off of you and get mentally prepared to play.
2. STOP and remind yourself before any action that you are NOT your character. It can help you refrain from acting on personal feeling and allow you to rein back in those emotions.
3. Remember that nothing is personal to the player during the game. The negative things that occur during game play are to the character, and not the player.
4. Develop and practice trust. Make sure that you remember that the players and Game Master need to have mutual trust, and remind yourself of it before you act.
5. Remind yourself that it is a game. Yes you can have personal ties to your character but at the end of the day it is still part of a game and the negative things that happen to it should never be allowed to cause negativity in the real world.
6. Be honest with yourself. Being able to realize when you may be acting in a negative way is important in keeping it in check.
7. If its that bad DON’T play. If you really are having a hard emotional time of it, then its better to remove yourself from the situation. No one likes missing sessions and in the case of the Game Master we often feel obligated to play even if we do not feel like it. Truth be told if you do play under these circumstances you are probably doing an injustice to your fellow players.

Because Role Playing Games are a social endeavor, it is important to understand how emotions can play such a large part in the outcome and fun of the game. Most of us know better than to be rude to a stranger in real life just because we got a parking ticket ten minutes before, yet many are OK with their character being a total ass to the first Non Player Character they meet, just because they themselves are in a piss poor mood. Remembering that during play, you are responsible for the actions of your character, and his or her actions should be based on their situations and experiences within the game world. They should be unaffected by the events of our world, and by your emotional state…………….

The Art of Story Telling Part 2.

Part 1 Here.

In the first part of this series, we discussed how to prepare your story and how to enhance your ability to describe a setting or scene to your players in order to get the most out of their imagination and ability to visualize their surroundings. Today We will look at the use of ones voice in story telling, as well as how to be animated.

The voice.

We all use our voices a great deal. Some probably more than they should, but when it comes to story telling, mastering the way you use tone, pitch and inflection is paramount to developing great technique. No one wants to listen to someone waffle on and on in a monotone voice, or feel like they need to adjust the volume knob either up or down on the speaker. Most people truly do not understand their own voice that well, and if you listen to yourself speak on a recording you may think to yourself “Do I really sound like that’? Also most people do not like the sound of their own voice. As a story teller you need to get used to it. become comfortable with your vocal sound, and learn to adjust it. Just like a fine instrument it needs tuning from time to time. We will begin by the use of tone, or volume. Tone is used to imply the emotional element in language. In speaking as apposed to music, higher tone is achieved by the use of increasing volume, and lower by decreasing. When you speak quieter you encourage people to listen more intently, and it sets an air of tension and intrigue. When you speak loudly it becomes dynamic and dramatic. When you switch from quiet to loud you can create a sudden impact or even startle or frighten your listeners. read this next paragraph but when you do read the the standard text quietly in your head and the bold loudly.

“You creep towards the casket. Your breath can bee seen as you exhale in the cold night air. As you get closer you remove the wooden stake and hammer from your coat and tremble with anticipation. You slowly begin to remove the lid SUDDENLY the lid bursts open and a grotesque monstrosity sits bolt upright!”

Reading it is not the same as hearing it but you understand the point. The use of volume is important if you wish to entice emotion and reaction. When I speak quietly I typically lean forward a little. As human nature is such that we often mimic, my players will follow suit. Then when my vocal volume suddenly increases they are startled. This is a great way to capture the right mood around the table. I may often employ the use of correct lighting too, but that is more of a prop than a part of the story telling itself.

Next we will look at pitch. Pitch is the resonance in ones voice. Pitch is similar in use to tone but a higher pitch can imply a brighter outlook, where as a lower pitch a more somber one. A higher pitch will often also increase the tone, but it does not have too. A deliberate decrease in volume can be achieved as one increases pitch if you so desire. Pitch can also be used to capture mood in storytelling. Think about reading the night before Christmas to a child on Christmas eve, and saying “not even a mouse” in a higher pitch. Or better yet,  Bilbo telling the little hobbits about the troll encounter in the first of the lord of the rings trilogy (the fellowship of the ring).

“So their i was at the mercy of three monstrous trolls! and they were all arguing among-st themselves about how they were going to cook us. Whether it be turned on a spit, or whether they should sit on us one by one, and squash us into jelly. Well they spent so much time arguing the whether too’s and the why fores, that the suns first light crept over the  trees POOF!and turned then all to stone!”

At the end when he says “and turned them all to stone”, his pitch goes up, but his volume does not. This use of pitch when accompanied by tone is the key to using voice to illicit emotional response from your listeners, and in our case our players. On Howreroll, I am not only speaking to my players, but also my viewers. It is this use of pitch and tone that I get across the desired emotional response from my audience.

Finally we will look at vocal inflection. Now while it is true that inflection is the modification in tone and pitch of the voice, and as such has already been covered in part above, it is more than that. It is used to create change in the form of a word to express a grammatical function. Inflection can alter the entire meaning of a statement. for example.

“I am all out of spells, what can I do?” If used with raised pitch at the end of the sentence implies disrepair, where as if said more like this “I am all out of spells, what CAN I do!?” it implies are more thoughtful questioning statement.

It is important to master inflection as a storyteller, as it makes for a much clearer understanding of a situation. Incorrect use of inflection can be misleading, and in the case of game play, may even cause a player to perform a different action or make a different decision than he would have. Be conscious of your use of inflection, and make sure that it is applied clearly so that your audience can gain the correct intention.

A final note on the use of your voice is in regard to voice acting. This is a passion of mine, and as I was blessed with a very varied set of vocal chords and an unyielding disregard for my own shame, I voice act almost all of my Non Player Characters and use vocal sound effects for monsters grunts, roars and other strange unnatural sounds. IF this is something you have a talent for then by all means use it. It can really bring to life your characters, creatures and your world in general. That being said, you need to be honest with yourself. If you do NOT have a talent for it then DON’T DO IT! you will end up failing with your inflections and use of tone and pitch, and will actually detract rather than add to your storytelling. I respect those that do not voice act and know that they are not good at it. You can be a good story teller without it. unfortunately I know and have watched several Dungeon Masters who simply fail at it, and it really hurts their content delivery. Some of them I know do it because they feel they should emulate those of us that do, but if you do not have a talent for it, or are comfortable enough to be flamboyant with it, you are far better shying away from its use all together.

Finally I want to look at an often overlooked tool of the story teller. The human body.

Animation.

In a story telling sense I am not referring to animation as cartoons or drawings. Animation is in the use of your body language to amplify your delivery. In a previous article (here), I discussed the differences between a physical and virtual table top, and in how I am able to be more animated at the physical table. If you watch me Dungeon Mastering on Howreroll, I am limited in my animation. This is because I am confined to a small pip camera window and can not move much without going out of frame. Around the physical table however, at times I can become a proverbial whirling dervish. When describing a scene of a combat I hurl my arms and legs around and jump up out of my chair quiet often. I move around the table and get right up on individual players when a Non Player Character would be getting close and personal with a players character. I crouch down next to them, with a squint and tilted head that moves awkwardly from side to side as he leans in quietly and says “I know what it is you seek!”. Many of us talk with our hands. That is to say as we speak to someone our hands become animated. This use of body language helps us bring a visual aspect to what we are saying and is also used to imply intent. For example. If we say ‘Hey you over there!” to a single person as we look directly at them, they know we are referring to them. If we say the same to a group of people and they all look at us we point, to clarify which person we were directing the comment towards. We throw our hands up to express disrepair or to imply we are questioning something. We may ball up our fist to express or amplify our frustration. This use of body language is a great tool that should not be ignored by the story teller. You can use your entire body to help tell your story. From demonstrating an action to tilting your head to imply that your Non Player Character is listening more intently than before.

I have played in several games where the Dungeon Master was content to sit on his ass and slough in his chair. Not one of these sessions did I ever truly enjoy. The lack of enthusiasm is a killer for me at a gaming table. In this same way I hate running games for players that do the same thing. If you are at my gaming table you WILL sit up, pay attention and be enthusiastic. If not I will send you home! For a Dungeon Master of story teller to act this way is unforgivable.

A good Dungeon Master and story teller will be enthusiastic. This enthusiasm is often exemplified in their use of body language and the level of animation they display at different times. If we are in a tense combat situation, I want to stand up and be active. Often demonstrating the thrust of a dagger, or the chopping motion of an axe. It all adds to developing, enhancing and maintaining the correct mood and emotion from the players around you.

“I’m a story teller, and my stories must be told!”

Story telling is an art. Any art must be practiced. Some people are more natural at it than others, but everyone can improve and learn to become better tellers of tales if they put their mind to it. Too many people assume they can tell a story. Many can not do it well. Its like a good joke. Some people can tell a joke and its just not funny. A good comedian can tell the same joke and people will laugh their ass off. Its not in the words chosen, but in the manner in which the joke was delivered that made it funny. The story is no different. Tell a story with no passion or emotion and it is boring. Tell it with vibrantly and with vigor and it is exciting……..

The Art of Story Telling. Part 1.

As a Dungeon Master you will wear several hats. You are the referee, adjudicator, administrator and creator, as well as playing the part of a  host of Non Player Characters and monsters. One of the most important however is that of the storyteller. In fact some Role Playing Games even refer to the Games Master position as the storyteller! Being a great story teller has little to do with knowing the rules of the game . It is about understanding how to create and deliver content to your players and bringing your world and each scene to life. In this multi part series we will look at ways to improve your ability to deliver content, and make you a better story teller.

If you have played more than a few games of Dungeons & Dragons with several different groups, then undoubtedly at some point you will have played with that dry monotone Dungeon Master. He may be well versed in the rules of the game, but reads everything as if from a script, and has little inflection in his voice. He may have been a bit stuffy and academic in his approach and as such it is a stretch for you to imagine the world around you. On the other hand you may have also been lucky enough to have played with a vibrant and enthusiastic Dungeon Master, who delivers great descriptive content and knows how to provoke, and spur on your imagination. Some players like a mechanical academic game and may be fine with the first option, but most, especially those that truly love the game and want to throw themselves wholeheartedly into their characters probably will not. As a Dungeon Master the way you deliver your content is just as important as the content itself. In some cases it is more important.

Years ago I helped a guy out that I met in a gaming store. We shall call him “Dave”. He had been a Dungeon Master for three years but he was frustrated. He had a hard time with experienced players staying in his groups, and felt like he had hit a wall in his skill set. He was thinking of abandoning trying to run games and just go back to playing. We had a good chat about his experiences, and he asked me if I would run a session for his group. He wanted me to show him everything I did prior to the game, and sit over my shoulder as I ran it. A few days later I sat down with him several hours before our planned game session. I showed him my prep work. I went over the adventure I was going to run, and each encounter. I also reviewed each character sheet and explained how I saw each character fitting into the story. He was in shock. “Wow, I had no idea you did so much work before hand” was his comment. Well lets fast forward to the game session itself. So he had six players. Each arrived and came into his home, and he greeted them and introduced me. Soon they all were sitting around the table in their favorite ritualistic spots and we got underway. Four and a half hours later we finished the sessions and all the players and their Dungeon Master were smiling and bouncing of the walls. “No offense to you Dave, but that was the best game of Dungeons and Dragons I have ever played” was one comment. Dave was not offended, he was instead full of energy and enthusiasm. After the players left I sat down with Dave and we went over the differences between our Dungeon Mastering styles. We went over the key differences and discussed how he would implement change in his game. Much of what he was doing wrong was correctable. Speaking in first person and not third person. Referring to his players by their character names and not the players names. Giving more thought provoking descriptions and describing combat other than simply saying “You hit, you miss” etc. We also drew comparisons in our personalities, and there were not many. Bottom line was we were very different people and he was not probably going to be comfortable with standing up, hurling his arms around and voice acting bar wenches. So we ironed out his strengths and worked with those. In the end however despite the personality differences, we were able to make him a better story teller, which was where he was really falling down. I continued to bump into Dave and some of his players for a couple of years afterwards, and their game sessions had vastly improved. Anyone can learn to be a better storyteller but you have to realize who YOU are as a person, and be able to figure out the best way for you to tell a story with your personality.

When it comes to story telling there are several key aspects.  Many of which can be implemented by each and every Dungeon Master, and a few that you either will be able to do well or should not do at all! Some times it is better to omit a certain aspect than do it poorly. Know yourself and be honest with yourself. If you do not have the skill set for somethings, be honest enough to admit it and avoid it. We shall now go over the most important ones.

Preparation.

Prepare your story. This is not the same thing as preparing your game session or your adventure. Story preparation is more about mentally visualizing the story unfolding ahead of time. Try to run it through your mind and imagine each character and Non Player Character. Think through and visualize each encounter. By doing this you will see it. Seeing it will help you become better at giving descriptions. You will notice the things that “pop” in your mind, and can use those to enhance your delivery when you describe the scene to your players. If you do not have a creative imagination and are unable to do this, well I am sorry to say you should not be a Dungeon Master. One thing a good Dungeon Master has to have is a vivid imagination.

Description.

Being able to describe the scene to your players in such away as to spark their imagination and create a mental picture is important. How you do this requires an understanding of how people think. You need to know how to deliver your description in such a way that they will listen to the details and visualize them. One fault many Dungeon Masters make is reading a detailed description to their players like reading from a book. DON’T! Its boring and sounds rehearsed. It is far better to describe the scene free form so that you can use your voice to inflect tension and atmosphere. Its OK to make yourself notes, but do not read them like a page from a book. Also learn to use your voice. Change the tone and pitch when describing something foreboding, be enthusiastic when describing something that should be wonderful etc. Now here is something that I learned from my vast years of experience and I am going to share with you to hopefully really help you improve your ability to create a visual picture for your players. Do not rob your players of their own ability to imagine! As Dungeon Masters we often feel it is our job to describe the scene. We take pride in going into great detail and telling our players what they see. This can be counter productive. You can go to far. It is better to give enough detail as to spur the imagination but do not try to control what the player imagines.

No two people will imagine the exact same thing the same way, and this is OK. As a Dungeon Master saying a simple phrase like “Imagine an abandoned spooky three story mansion” is more powerful than going into para-graphic depth with a description about each broken shutter and spooky looking tree in the courtyard. Allowing your players to imagine things is a great way to allow them deeper immersion, as their minds will create what they can imagine to be believable. I often start with a simple teaser like that. I am going to give you a couple of examples and then discuss them.

Example 1.

“You emerge from the edge of the pine forest and into the clearing. The bright sun hits your face and assaults your eyes as you step into the open. It feels far warmer, and several degrees hotter in the clearing than it did while you were protected by the forest canopy. You squint your eyes as they become accustomed to the light and hold your hand to your forehead, to keep the bright sun from obscuring your vision. As you look ahead you see what looks like a ruined building. It is half sunken into the ground, and covered in vines and creepers. The walls are mossy and in ill repair, one area of the left wall has stones missing, and much of the details of the architecture has been washed away by the elements over the centuries. As you move closer, and as your eyes continue to adjust to the light, you can see warn markings around the edge of the arched doorway. The marking look mysterious and possibly of an arcane nature. The door way itself sits at an angle as the left side of the building has sunken deep into the ground. You wonder what subterranean event has caused the foundation of the vast stone temple to sink in such away. You notice the lack of birds singing, and the general absence of natural sounds that you would expect to hear in a forest clearing of this kind. It is clear to you by the undisturbed plants that cover the ground around the clearing, that no one has entered the clearing in a long while. You feel apprehensive and wary as you contemplate what may lie inside the temple, or in the sunken depths of what lies bellow”.

Example 2.

” As you leave the forest and look into the clearing, you see a ruined temple ahead. It is bathed by the rays of the bright sun. Try to imagine a ruined temple covered in vines. It has sunken into the ground somewhat. The door way is visible beneath an arch that has markings around it”.

The first example takes great lengths to describe the scene in detail. However, if you read this to your players as if it were a page in a book, Much of the detail will be missed and will slip through their minds, and as they try to imagine the scene exactly as you describe it they will struggle. As you read it I bet most of you reached the end and had already forgotten the fact that I had mentioned part of one of the walls had bricks missing which may be an alternate way in if explored. Thus an important clue may be overlooked.

The second does just enough to provoke your players imaginations and their minds are allowed to conjured up the image.  They will then ask questions to validate their mental picture, and you can then tell them about the arcane looking symbols over the arch and the missing stones in the left wall etc. It will then be more meaningful and and observed.

Here are some points to raise about the two examples. They will know it is hot and bright it is, by the fact that you mentioned it was bathed in the suns rays in the second example, so it is not really necessary to describe it as we did in the first. You also do not need to tell them details about undisturbed plants, and by including it, you rob some players of chances to use skills such as tracking, and imply that they are all equally observant about those facts. You did not give them a chance to perform some actions prior to leaving the clearing in the first example and maybe the players did not WANT to approach the temple yet. The way you deliver the above two examples vocally, will help dictate how the mental pictures form in your players mind.

The second example (if delivered correctly) is by far a better way, and not only allows for, but encourages your players to use their imaginations. It would be OK to maybe give a hint of more detail in the second example, but I find many times it is just not necessary. Of course, you have to be ready to fill in the blanks and answer the questions that the players throw at you. Learning how to deliver the content takes practice, and you will find you may have to tweak your delivery method several times before you find the right balance between given detail and provoked imagination. If you are worried that the players will not ask the right questions as to discover the important details such as the arcane marks or missing stones from the wall, this is where you utilize a little trick. If the players ask the right questions, then they get the right answers and feel accomplished in doing so. If not you take the opportune moment to bring it up yourself. For example. When a player says “OK I move slowly over towards the arch way”, you can then interject by saying “as you get closer your eyes are drawn to strange markings carved into the stone above the arch”. These skills can make a huge difference in your ability to set the right mood and will get a different reaction when delivered in this way than if you just explained them as part of the initial description.

In the second part of this series we will talk about using your voice, and about being animated, as well as other aspects of story telling.

Happy Gaming………..

Understanding your job as the Dungeon Master.

You are probably reading this topic from one of two different stand points. Either you are wanting to become or are a New Dungeon Master, or you think you already know what it is to be a Dungeon Master and are just curious to read what I have to say about the subject. In the first case hopefully I can enlighten you as to what a Dungeon Masters job really is. In the second case you will either be agreeing with me or I will be reeducating you!

This topic is not aimed at telling you how to perform each duty or action or improve it. It is instead aimed at telling you what your duties are and pointing out pitfalls. The items bellow will be covered in depth individually in other posts at other times.

So lets begin.

I know more “Dungeon Masters” than I care too, if I use this term loosely. However as it is used as a title, or to describe a position at the gaming table it really is a little misleading. The word master is often misconstrued in this situation as it implies excellence. If I take the word in the title to mean excellent, then I would say I know very FEW Dungeon MASTERS!

So many people decide to become Dungeon Masters, or are nominated to take on the role, and they never really learn about the task they are undertaking. Yes they have a conception of what a Dungeon Master is, but they usually do not fully realize what it truly entails.

The biggest and first mistake that many fledgling Dungeon Masters make is in not understanding their primary responsibility. They become so empowered by the position that they buy into this the “Dungeon Master is GOD” ideal. This could not be more wrong. In fact the Dungeon Master is a servant! The Dungeon Masters primary job is to serve the players and provide them with the best story and game session he can. It is a position of responsibility and trust. If you are going to expect people to spend a valuable currency on a product that you are going to deliver, you should be ethical enough to provide the best darn product you can. The currency is time and the product is your game session! I cringe when I hear Dungeon Masters brag about how their encounter stumped their players. Or scoff at how dumb they thought their players were when it came to solving a problem. Yes as a Dungeon Master you have a power. One that most will abuse!

Those that know me have probably heard me say the following statement at some point. “As a Dungeon Master, you are there to serve the players, and not the other way around”!

Yes you are the referee and adjudicator but that is only a duty and responsibility that you take on. When you decide to become a Dungeon Master you are taking on a work load. If you think you can just spend an hour or two reading books, scribbling down notes and throwing together adventures for your players to bumble through, well you are going to be one of the masses of piss poor Dungeon Masters out there. Is this how you run a game? Could you be better prepared? A hard thing to do in life is to examine yourself and your skills and be honest about it. Yet to be a Good Dungeon Master you must.  My first experience as a Dungeon Master was in October 1980. After a couple of years and a few campaigns under my belt I used to think I was a good Dungeon Master. I was wrong. A decade later I thought I was a veteran Dungeon Master as I had over a decade of experience. I was still wrong! Yes I was better than I had been, and I continued to learn and improve, but then I was a fanatic about improving. I played every second I could, and I was never ashamed or so proud as to refuse to learn from those that had more experience or had put more hours in. Here I am over thirty three years later as a Dungeon Master, with thousands of hours invested and only the last decade do I really think I have honed my craft. Paid offers to write adventures for people or come and run games for them now come due to the opinion that I actually know what I am talking about. Well for the most part I do but I still come from the stand point of opinion. My way is not the only way, but it is a tried, tested and proven way.

Before I continue about what the real job of a Dungeon Master is, lets look at some of the mistakes that lead to being a poor Dungeon Master or worse!

The worst kind of so called Dungeon Master is that idiot that thinks he is playing against the players. He tries to defeat them, even if not obviously or openly. He gets of on beating them. This is the moron that brags about how his encounter defeated his players or how they miss used a spell or screwed up the use of a wish. They even enjoy being viewed as a bit of a tyrant. I have zero respect for this type of Dungeon Master and do not entertain them, yet more of them exist than you would realize. If you can be honest with yourself know you are guilty of any of this, STOP IT NOW or go back to playing! This is the Anti Dungeon Master. A good Dungeon Master never tries to serve his own ego and plays WITH the players to tell the story, and not against them.

Another failing that some Dungeon Masters have is in poor preparation. They think they can wing it, and for over ninety five percent of them they are wrong. Yeah they may get through a session but they really are robbing their players of the quality game that they deserve. They fail to read a published adventure thoroughly before running it, or just come to the table with a scrap of notes and just do not have the talent or experience to fill in the blanks as they go. A good Dungeon Master is studious and well prepared.

Others are inconsistent. They change the rules to frequently or apply them differently to the players and Non Player Characters or monsters. Or they change their play style or try to emulate a style that is just not inline with their personality. A good Dungeon Master is consistent and learns his OWN style.

Some lack communication skills and do not talk to their players about the game outside of the game itself. They feel the players should just go along with whatever they line up and are oblivious to realizing what the players may actually want from the game. A good Dungeon Master talks to his players.

Some lack personality and are a little self conscious . While you can be a good technical Dungeon Master without much personality, I will argue you will be missing the ability to bring real depth and emotion to your game. Their is a reason that not everyone should be a Dungeon Master. Many should not. At the very least they should play to their strengths and accept their lack of certain skills. This is not to say that they should not attempt to acquire new skills or improve, but they should not try be who they are not. For example. I voice act almost all of my Non Player Characters, and use my voice to perform sound affects for monsters. I pull funny faces and really try to “become” the characters I present. I am comfortable with this and have some skill at it. Many I see try to do this with awkwardness, or inconsistency and to be honest it takes away from their game instead of adding to it. Not everyone is comfortable doing this or has a talent for it. If this is the case they should not do it. Instead they should focus on aspects or skills that they do have. They should also find players that are OK with a more technical game.

In order for you to be able to perform your duties to the best of your abilities you must establish a trust. Your players must trust you to always be fair and even handed. They have to believe that you will not alter the rules you put in place, and that you will be consistent. If you do alter a rule they should understand why you have done so, and know that it applies to everyone. They should know that you do not play favorites and will treat each player equally. They should be able to trust that you have done your homework, and prepared the game you offer them to the best of your ability. Above all they must trust that you will not abuse your position or in anyway serve your own ego or try to compete with them.

From time to time some situations will arise where opinions differ, or something happens in such a way that you and the players may disagree. Maybe there is a conflict between players. A rule may have more than one interpretation or may be misconstrued. In these situations you are the one expected to make a decision and adjudicate. To be able to do this and have your ruling respected you again must have established trust with your players. They have to know that your decision is based solely on the nest interests of the game and was made impartially and fairly. You are not the judge, jury and executioner. You are the even handed council that ways everything before making a decision. You should also have the social skills to never belittle a player at the table or reprimand them.

Being a Dungeon Master you are expected to know the rules. The rules are vast, so knowing each and every little detail is not realistic or necessary, but the rules that pertain to running a good flowing game is necessary for any decent Dungeon Master. The less you have to pick up a book and research something during the game session the better, so try to minimize this.

It is also your job to be the lead in telling the story. As Dungeon Master it is not your soul responsibility to tell the story, but you are the one who guides it along and manages it. The players have equal responsibility when it comes to the story, but you are expected to drive it. Being a great story teller is a skill and one that you should strive to improve or acquire.

You need to be creative. Especially if you want to make and run your own adventures, or build your own world. You need experience to do these things well so it is a good idea to run several published adventures first. If you do decide to run published material then READ IT! do not just skim over it, read it all and make sure you understand the flow of the adventure from start to finish. Do not just read the first few chapters and think that its enough to cover the next gaming session. If you do not understand the end you can not appreciate the beginning or the journey and you will fail and let down your players.

One final skill that any good Dungeon Master should have or learn is to SELL. Learn to sell yourself to your players and sell them the story. Make them believe in your world and believe in you as their Dungeon Master. You want to feel pride when your players refer to you as “their Dungeon Master’ and not as “A Dungeon Master”. I get messages on face book, or on twitter often from players reminiscing about games past. I feel great pride when a player from twenty years ago says that they still have not had a Dungeon Master since provided the same level of game as I had done. This is mostly due to the work I was willing to put in.

The most important thing any Dungeon Master can learn and realize is that he is only there to provide the game for the players. Yes this within itself is fun and rewarding, so it is not like a thankless and laborious task with little reward, but he is not there FOR his or her own fun. Selfish people make poor Dungeon Masters. This is a fact I have come to realize over the past three plus decades. Egotistical people make poor Dungeon Masters too. At least those who allow their ego to compete with the players.

Some people make (what I refer to as) good “technical” Dungeon Masters. They have a great grasp on the rules, the game mechanics and are walking encyclopedias about the subject. This being said they may lack a little of the personality to really bring the game to life. Others make great “immersion” Dungeon Masters. They have a talent for really bringing the game to life and pulling their players into their world on a deeper level, even if they are not walking rules lawyers. Some are both. Not many are suited to be both, but those that are are the potential GREAT Dungeon Masters.

Now for a quick rant.

What I am about to say may sound harsh, but with new media outlets to play Dungeons & Dragons online, I am able to observe many more games being played and many more Dungeon Masters at work than I was once able. I am typically disappointed. My disappointment does not stem from those that I view having a lack of experience, but in the lack of effort put forth or in how weak the story telling and prep work obviously is. There are a few that I enjoy however and a couple are fairly new to the task. Most unfortunately, come across as fumbling novices that would do better to concentrate on playing the game in private and improving their skills, rather than trying to broadcast it. This being said Dungeon Mastering over a virtual tabletop is very different than around the physical table. I have discussed this in another topic you can find here. This is not the reason why I do not care for them however. I feel that to many today see Dungeons & Dragons as a pen and paper version of a video game and not as a story telling social experience. The substance of their games are hack and slash, or weak story plot lines held together by combat encounters. As such few Dungeon Masters seem to bother to acquire or improve many of the skills we discussed above. If this is what you want from your game of course, that is your prerogative it just is not for me. As mentioned earlier everything comes from a stand point of opinion. Mine just comes from one with a wealth of experience and decades of hard work……