DM Tips: Passive Doesn't Mean Active

Brace yourself, kiddies. I've finally got another topic to talk about and yes, it is about 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons.

What does it mean to use your Passive Perception? As written, the rules want you to treat it as taking 10 on your skill check. But does this create a believable scenario in terms of story?

DM Tips: Combating Indecisive Players

A Quick Note: As I am writing this, it has come to my attention how Dungeons and Dragons 4e centric I am. I tried to make this article as generic as possible so that it could be applied to various roleplaying games, so forgive me if I slip into 4e on occasion.

I was looking at how people were finding my blog (I always get a laugh when I see I was once found with the search keywords of "magical shopping arcade abenobashi tits") when I discovered that someone found me when searching for help with indecisive players. Well, it is your lucky day, sir and/or madame.

DM Tips: Combating DM Burnout

The players have finally broken you. You have essentially given up on the game, for what is the point if you are not having any fun? Just like every other roleplayer, you are not a robot (unless you are, in which case I welcome my future overlords to the blog). As a human, you cannot last forever. If the demand of a game is starting to become too much like work, you begin to get weary of it. The hobbies you do for fun should not drain you. You fear the end if nigh. You, the Dungeon Master, have burned out. But fear not! There are methods you can take to save your game from certain doom.

DM Tips: Organic Skill Challenges

There comes a time in all good roleplaying games where we must take a step back from combat and accomplish something that does not require swinging a sword or firing a crossbow. There is always a cliff face that needs climbing or an outraged paladin that needs to be talked down. In Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition, you can complete such tasks with a Skill Challenge. But, a lot of people find that the Skill Challenge itself is a mechanic that needs not exist. They say it "kills roleplaying".

There has been much debate on the subject and many attempts at "fixing" the problem. There are those that say you should announce when a Skill Challenge presents itself. There are those that say you should abolish the whole idea and just make a skill check when appropriate. I, for one, use a third, more organic, option.

DM Tips: Combating Newbie Disease

Do you remember what it was like during your first roleplaying game? You could do ANYTHING. The world was your burrito and damn the consequences! And then you look up and see your Dungeon Master, red faced and fuming. Maybe you later found him crying in the bathroom, flushing his notes down the toilet. In any case, there is a reason from this and no, there is nothing wrong with him. It's you. You are suffering from none other than Newbie Disease.

DM Tips: Realigning Alignments

I have the unfortunate pleasure of having a party full of uncaring bastards. To be more clear, all the PCs in the game I am running are Unaligned.

The current game I am running has four PCs, all with the Unaligned alignment; a Gnome Warlock, a Dwarven Fighter, a Human Slayer, and an Eladrin Bard. In the Warlock's defense, dark characters are his strong suit and usually come with a redemption story of sorts. I attribute the choice of alignment with the other players to Newbie Disease; the realization that you can do anything in a role playing game without any real world consequence, other than frustrating the Dungeon Master.

I got to thinking about why these players are acting out, bordering on evil at times. I am convinced that the vague nature of the Unalignment is one of the reasons for this acting out...other than Newbie Disease, a topic I wish to tackle in another article. In comparison to 3.5e, the Unaligned alignment in 4e essentially encompasses the Chaotic Good, Lawful Neutral, True Neutral, Chaotic Neutral, and Lawful Evil alignments from 3.5e, making Unaligned a rather vast alignment as compared to, for example, Lawful Good.

I can't decide if creating an army of undead orphans is Unaligned or not.

While I admit that I haven't done a thorough search, I have yet to find any mechanical use for alignments in 4th Edition outside of which gods to worship and frankly, that seems more flavor based than mechanics. So, without any strong mechanical use for alignments, then why don't we just revert the alignment system back to 3.5e?

If we return the alignment system to what it once was, then players that align in the gray could have a stronger focus. When it comes to moral choices, a PC in the Lawful Neutral alignment will have less difficulty considering what to do as compared to someone who is Unaligned. A character with a more focused alignment will also be subjected less to debate about what is in character or not.

As I end this article before I risk restarting the Alignment Wars of the '00s, I think the 3.5e alignment system will be making a reappearance at my gaming table soon. Next order of business, see if I can get these uncaring bastards to stop chopping off peoples' delicate body parts.

DM Tips: The DM Action Point

As I stated in my previous post, My House Rules, I mentioned how I used something I call Dungeon Master Action Points, or DMAPs, to supplement the need for Action Points in games where my players travel long distances between encounters. Unlike regular Action Points, these ones do not reset to 1 after an extended rest. You earn them and spend them.

DM Tips: Deal or No Deal

You know what is fun? Making deals with your PCs.

In my current game, my friend, Jason, is playing a Dark Pact Warlock. He wanted to give his character a little extra damage. I said "Yes, BUT..."

As a Dungeon Master, the "Yes, BUT..." can be a powerful weapon. I gave my friend the extra damage he wanted, but I twisted it with something partially story and partially mechanical. With each damaging power he uses, he has a chance to fall into a blind murderous rage, attacking friend and enemy alike.

Don't be afraid to make deals with your players in the interest of fun. Bringing in this unnatural rage not only makes the story that much more interesting, but offers a goal and some motivation for the character. He is now trying to find a way to stop the rage from ever surfacing again. Do I smell a Minor Quest?

DM Tips: My House Rules

It suddenly came to me not too long ago. "Damn. Do I have too many house rules? Is this still D&D I'm playing?" Okay, maybe it isn't that bad. But still, I have a good amount and by God, it is actually helping my players enjoy the game. Originally, upon introducing some of these elements, I was worried about it bogging down an already rules-y game. Somehow, somewhere, sometime...it is all coming together nicely.

More after the jump break...

DM Tips: A Small Dungeon Solution

No one likes a dungeon that lasts for multiple game sessions.

Well. No one I have played with, personally (except my wife).

Our groups tend to want to get to the next plot point quickly. Not to say that there isn't plot that occurs in dungeons, but it feels like the standard dungeon just drags on for too long. Many people online, especially recently, have been complaining about the dungeon setting, as well as trying to solve it or get rid of the concept entirely. As an active Dungeon Master, I have seen what these dungeons do to a game:

• Players forget why they were there in the first place.
• Players become bored.
• Players forget that this is a Role Playing Game and not a tactical simulator.
• Players begin to get distracted increasingly with each session in the same dungeon.

DMs, I have the solution. Well, maybe not THE solution, but A solution.

Create smaller scale dungeons.