Today was just one of those days when you realize you should have listened to your mother when she tried to convince you to become a cleric. Things started out great; the mayor finally left town on a short vacation to visit her family, and I finally got the chance to sneak into her home and take a look around. But that’s where the good luck ran out!

First, the tip of my best lock pick bent as I was about to open the back door. Just as I was trying to figure out what to do next, the constable wandered down the alley. Now, me and the constable have had our run-ins, but this… this was bad. Usually he only suspects I’ve been lurking where I shouldn’t have been; this time he actually saw me.

Not realizing yet how much worse this day could get, I figured I could talk my way out of a lengthy stay as the constable’s guest. After all, what good’s a silver tongue if it doesn’t keep you out of trouble every once in awhile. So I started reminiscing about last year’s harvest festival and the constable’s remarkable performance at the archery contest. We started to wander back down the alley, and as we walked, I discretely dropped my lock pick in a shadowy spot next to a small pile of debris, knowing I could always come back to get it later when the constable was occupied somewhere else.

Just as it looked like I would get off with only a warning, I felt a slight tug on my pant leg. I looked down to see a street urchin gazing up at me with her big, bright eyes. “You dropped this,” she said in an innocent voice, and, to my horror, she held out my lock pick. The constable’s eagle eyes had no problem discerning what she was returning to me, and putting two and two together, he was no longer so keen to share his archery secrets. Instead, he marched me along to the jail.

It was too much to hope that my bad day would end there. Once back at the jail, the constable took all my picks, as well as the other various tools of my trade. And, of course, my belt pouch. Now, I don’t normally carry much with me… coins can make too much sound during inconvenient moments. But I had been out late the night before, plying my craft at the tavern where a “good game of cards” is always fun (for me); I hadn’t had the chance to add my current bounty to my savings. The constable, of course, decided that my earnings just about covered my crime and confiscated all of my gold. He told me that after another day in jail, I would be able to wander free… under his watchful gaze. I couldn’t decide which was more upsetting: the loss of my coins or the addition of the constable to my every day life.

I’m beginning to think that the life of a cleric might not be a bad idea, even it if sounds rather dull. Maybe a mage would be a better option… surely there’s a great spell to open locks without having to rely on picks.

Yesterday, Stupid Ranger posted a great piece discussing chemistry and group dynamics. As the Dungeon Master, it is important to cultivate skills in reading the group chemistry and tweaking the way you run your game.

Group Composition

Stupid Ranger mentions yesterday that often the reality of your group chemistry falls into group composition: that is, the people that make up your player group. If you do happen to find yourself in a situation where your group is unbalanced in some way (say, too many leaders or arch-enemies within a group) you can often leverage your storyline to help balance the mix within your group.

If you have a group with too many leaders, for example, and the group is very invested in the storyline you might be able to actually capitalize on this dynamic by creating a plotline that splits your group in some way. This will allow your multiple leaders to flourish and the rest of your group to get some respite from the conflict that comes from this particular type of chemistry.

Plot can be used to solve a lot of these problems, however it is not a silver bullet. Engineering too many of these “artificial” balms to group dynamics will quickly become obvious and hackneyed, so use them somewhat sparingly.

Balance is a difficult thing

I am running into the same difficulty that SR is… describing what good chemistry (and good management of group dynamics) is a difficult thing to explain in words. I am reminded, however, of a certain Futurama episode where Bender is set adrift in the universe and encounters a deep-space godlike entity.

Bender is perplexed at how to direct the small pocket society that had collided with him, and the godlike entity tells him he has to have a light touch, and eventually is quoted as saying: “When you do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all.”

Extending that notion to managing group chemistry is the mark of a truly fantastic Dungeon Master, I can only hope to aspire to this kind of effortless plot execution and group management!

A few weeks back, I posted about the characteristics of a good group, and as our friend from RolePlayGateway remarked, chemistry is a big part of a group dynamics. Today, I want to focus on chemistry for storytellers.

Chemistry & Group Composition

In a story-heavy situation, chemistry is really essential, and good chemistry can often be traced back to group composition. You have to have a position relationship with the other players in order to work together on developing the story; arch-enemies don’t play well together, and the story will suffer. The leadership has to be just right: not too many leaders pull the story every-which-way, but not too few to keep it moving. The group has to be emotionally connected to the story as a group; if the whole group isn’t invested in the story, part will be pulling toward resolution and part will be dragging behind.

Good Chemistry Is Hard to Find

As I’m sitting here thinking about all this, I am finding it very difficult to describe good storytelling chemistry. It just happens, like magic for a sorcerer. Players contribute to the story and move the plot forward with little prodding from the DM. Everyone enjoys a piece of the action even when action is not involved; you may not have drawn your weapon, but you still saved the world. Those who have experienced good storytelling chemistry know it, but it can be an experience that eludes description.

It’s Chemistry, Not Botany…

Chemistry won’t grow on trees. In my experience, if your group doesn’t have the chemistry for a story-heavy campaign, chances are likely that it won’t develop. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve known each other or how great of friends you are, some groups just don’t manage to tell stories together.

I’ve seen better success in smaller groups, and I think it’s because with smaller numbers, players get more of a chance to interact with the story. But that doesn’t mean all small groups can be storytellers or that all large groups have no hope. Every group is different, every group’s dynamic is different, and it can be very difficult to foresee storytelling potential.

Your Chemistry & Your DM

The DM is the story-weaver, and it will be up the DM to coordinate the story and your group’s abilities. Don’t be afraid to talk to your DM if your level of storytelling is not where you want it to be; s/he may need to reconsider story-driven elements or negotiate between the storytellers and non-storytellers in the group to keep everyone at a happy balance so that everyone has a good time.

As many of you recall, a few weeks ago we returned to our video gaming roots over here at StupidRanger Central by purchasing an Xbox 360. As I traversed the different options made available through the Live Marketplace, I was presented with many games from years past.

This made me particularly nostalgic and got me thinking about some of the things that led me into D&D. One such game was the Milton Bradley classic game HeroQuest.

Ah, the good ol’ days

This game came out in 1991, and unfortunately it was during the Dark Times when I didn’t have many friends that appreciated the nerdish tendencies that I possessed. My sister wasn’t really old enough to play the game, however I was able to get a few of my neighborhood chums to play a few times.

I hadn’t quite grasped the notion that you could have creativity alongside a board-game, so I stuck to the stock adventures that came along with the system. The game was played with miniatures and cardboard tiles, and the game master led the players through a dungeon and the goal was to escape alive.

The interesting thing about this game was that it had elements that spoke to pretty much all aspects of roleplaying gamers: character creation (you had to pick a class and learn their skills), dungeon creation (or just a storyline if you are a player), miniatures including set pieces (my first exposure to mini’s), and my favorite part… the treasure cards.

Basically, they were fancied up “Chance” cards a la Monopoly. I remember that the cool things seemed to outweigh the bad, but there was always a chance of unearthing a monster or trap when you searched an area for treasure. They really tickled the part of me that would later embrace Magic: The Gathering for many, many years (thankfully, I broke that habit midway through college).

Reflecting

It is interesting to consider how this game was a good teaching tool for the budding Dungeon Master. All the elements are there… building interesting traps/encounters, doling out treasure, killing bad guys… and the best thing about it was it was designed to be a classic dungeon crawl.

I don’t know what became of my set… I have a feeling it met with either a leaky closet ceiling or the wrath of my mother’s Spring Cleaning… I found a link over at BoardGameGeek that indicates that I could replace it for a scant $111.

Unfortunately, I don’t see that outlay of cash happening anytime soon… I’d rather have the memories intact anyway.

I was reading through some of my backlogged blogs and came across this great post over at Jeff’s Gameblog about his musings regarding original D&D (OD&D) house rules. The post continues to discuss the fundamentals that make a system important, and it is a solid read for anyone interested in a very intelligent look at the metamorphosis of D&D over time.

Looking Forward

I have looked at very little regarding the upcoming 4th edition, however I have heard many concerns starting roughly ten seconds after the announcement at GenCon last year. I decided to break the veil tonight, did some poking around, and came up with the pre-PHB that has been put together from pre-release materials by the fine folks over at the Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition blog.

I have to say that I’m feeling a lot better about this system seeing some of the known details laid out. Many of the stat block simplifications address some things that have dramatically slowed down our gaming sessions. I’ve not read into the detail surrounding the combat changes yet, but the character creation stuff looks decent too.

Dealing with Change

Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments! I’d love to hear what everyone else thinks about the new edition and how your group plans to handle the transition. As previously mentioned, our group is somewhat change resistant… here’s to hoping the good outweighs the bad moving forward!

Last weekend, Dante & I were thrilled to find a new local game shop! We have been without a real gaming shop since college. I had nearly forgotten the thrill of walking in, the displays of CCGs, miscellaneous sets of dice, miniatures, books…. *sigh* To enjoy that again was heavenly! Plus our new shop, Gamers’ Sanctuary, has video games. Who could ask for more?

For all of us gamers, we know the significance of a game shop, how integral it can be to our everyday gamer lifestyle. But most importantly, we know that our local game shop is one of the few places we can find acceptance.

If you haven’t been lately, I encourage you to visit your local sanctuary and re-acquaint yourself with the thrill of the shop.

And for those of you in Central Illinois, I encourage you to visit the Gamers’ Sanctuary at 1618 Valle Vista in Pekin.

Vanir and his lovely wife efreak welcomed their son, Samuel Enzo, into the world yesterday afternoon at 4:15 pm. Everyone is doing fine, and we want to congratulate Vanir and efreak on their new bundle of joy!

All throughout our co-DM experience, we’ve been trying to cultivate excitement and leave our player characters wanting more. As our characters have become longer in tooth, it is becoming harder and harder to make those special suspenseful moments pay off in a meaningful way.

Often it comes down to timing…

In our campaigns, we tend to like to build up to big reveals. Unfortunately, most of our attempts to build suspense and create that “oh crap” moment end up taking place at the end of a long session when everyone is thinking about the drive home, or are floating off to dreamland at the table.

In the situations where we see this coming, sometimes we forgo the Big Neat Thing until the following session. This often works, however in times when there is a few weeks between sessions this can get diluted by our players forgetting where we were last session, or the tabletalk that inevitably drifts in after a break like that.

Pacing is an extremely important skill to learn to combat these two boundary cases:

1. Play regularly and know your audience.

   Knowing who has to work the following day, or who just got done with a 12 hour shift might help identifying when to launch the major plot point for the night. Playing regularly helps to cut down on the cycle of getting re acclimated to the game and keeps your plot-to-date fresh in the players minds.

2. Keep long battles to a minimum (or early in the session.)

   Lately much of our plot advancement has been slowed down significantly by the extra time required for battles at a high level. If your setting and plot allows, try to get major battles out of the way early in the night to get everyone engaged and leave plenty of time for the storytelling before your player’s off switches start to get thrown.

3. Design a plot puzzle.

   Sometimes the key to building appropriate suspense is simply not having a huge plot point to hatch. I have successfully used the “plot puzzle” design, where a series of small non-events get combined in a meaningful way to lead to plot advancement. These small elements can be sprinkled in with normal character development or in between battle encounters.

   This also helps character engagement and development, because often the pieces of the plot puzzle don’t make sense on their own. As the characters try to put the puzzle together, they may lead you into some scenes that you didn’t explicitly have planned. This can be a fun diversion for everyone and give you the opportunity as DM to work on your impromptu skills.

The final (and perhaps best) way to really build suspense is to not make every last piece of your plot obvious. Often, the thrill of the unknown is enough of a driver to really make the players engage.

Speaking of… there has been some suspenseful things going on around StupidRanger Central this week, you’ll just have to tune in next time for the reveal!!

Continuing with our recent theme of prestige class discussions, I wanted to highlight a short, simple prestige class, the Tempest. I found this prestige class in Complete Adventurer, and it’s one of my favorites because it’s a simple, elegant and natural progression for a two-weapon fighter.

Here’s What I Like About It

Two-weapon fighting doesn’t happen by accident. If you’ve taken the effort to develop your fighter into a two-weapon fighter, you have put some thought into what weapons you wield. These weapons are your signature, they’re part of your character.

The Tempest prestige class doesn’t require a specific combination of weapons; you can use whatever two weapons you want. So this prestige class works as well for my elven thinblade/short sword combination as it would for an axe/dagger combination or a double-weapon. I like that I don’t have to fit a stereotype to follow this prestige class; it’s adaptable to my character.

Here’s What I Love About It

The Tempest prestige class finally recognizes that your fighter is intelligent. The class features credit your character with the ability to become a more efficient fighter as you grow into proficiency with your two weapons. You gain AC bonuses, you reduce your two-weapon fighting penalties. And, my personal favorite, you gain the effects of certain feats for your secondary weapons; for example, if you have Weapon Focus for one of your weapons, you gain its abilities for your other weapon.

These class features (there are more, so read up if you’re interested) demonstrate that your character is growing as a fighter throughout this process. I love that it’s a natural progression of skills we might expect a two-weapon fighter to develop.

The Moral of Today’s Story

Whether or not you ever take this prestige class, there is something important I want you to take from this discussion. Your prestige class should be a natural complement to your character, and any sacrifices (pre-req’s) should be easily outweighed by the class benefits. Do your research and enjoy!

OK, maybe not. But apparently, someone out there has thought at length about how to calculate the terminal velocity of the Balrog while he was fighting Gandalf in the motion picture version of The Two Towers. (link via Monkeyfilter)

Man, there are nerds, and there are neerrrrrrrds. I wanna be this dude when I grow up. 🙂