Before I get started today, I want to explain why this post is later than my usual Monday post time. This weekend I went to the hospital with heart trouble. After spending the weekend in the hospital, I discovered that I am in for a medicine regimen followed by one of two procedures designed to restart the electric pulses in my heart. Needless to say, this kind of news does not leave one a whole lot of time to think about gaming matters.
Which leads me to my topic for today: Time and Gaming. When I was younger, I ran several games a week, played in at least one, and had sessions that averaged 10 hours per game. Today, I have a job, a baby and other responsibilities that only allow me to play 4 weeks out of six, for an average of 5 hours a session. (Not counting the time during the session that the baby needs attention)
I am finding it somewhat difficult to get used to this reduced time. I had gotten spoiled by the ability to keep playing until the adventure was done. Now, I am left with two choices: plan shorter adventures, or be willing to end the session in the middle of an adventure. Mostly I have tried the former, but there is something unsatisfying about forcing your adventures into a pre-set time limit. (Unless you are running games at a convention, as those can be quite fun). So I find myself wanting to attempt the other tactic more.
The main difficulty in breaking a session in the middle of an adventure, is that everyone (players and GM) can have trouble remembering where you left off. I am not only talking about what room of the dungeon the party is in, but things like pieces of puzzles or clues can become much less important over a week long break. I am considering combating this problem with a group email sent out the day before the session reminding everyone of the important bullet points of the last session. While this could prove effective, it is another drain on my time.
The benefit of this method is that I will have more control over the pacing of the adventure. If I do not have to focus on finishing an adventure at a certain time, I can feel more comfortable in allowing each encounter or RP scene to unfold itself. This is the way that I have always liked to run my games, and much of the reason for the older sessions having 10+ hour run times, and it will be nice to be able to have that feeling again.
The other thing to consider when drawing out your adventures over multiple sessions, is when and how to award Experience. I have always been a big believer in awarding XP at the end of each session. With a multi-session adventure there are things to think about. For example: what happens when a PC levels up at the end of a session, will if break suspension of disbelief for a character to develop new abilities from one room to the next? The other thing to consider is that the XP totals for each session will be lower, seeing as the party is only getting story XP and quest XP every few sessions. It is important to be clear with your players about this, as the impression of slow advancement may lead them to losing interest.
Pacing is a difficult skill for any DM to master, and one that I am finding that I need to relearn as more of my time is eaten up by life. My hope is that by re-examining both the way I run my games, and the way that I plan for them, that I can maximize my time and continue providing an entertaining gaming experience for all.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Tweaking your Setting
As I have discussed before, I run games primarily in one of two home brewed campaign settings: Meaghana and Gorbaldin. I have spent some time before talking about my different approaches to creating and running these settings, and today I would like to continue that topic by looking at how I have allowed for these campaigns to grow and change.
On Meaghana, I have, for the most part, allowed any large change to come as the result of player action. By that I mean that I created the world and the only major changes that I have made in it have been due to the characters accomplishing (or sometimes failing to accomplish) things that they have set out to do. Example: On Meaghana, there was originally a pantheon of 9 gods, one for each of the alignments in 2e D&D. Through the two campaigns, the actions of the player characters elevated a number of them to Godhood, leading to a major change in the pantheon, with some of the original Gods being killed and being replaced by the Characters.
Secondly on Meaghana, I have made all these changes additive. Meaning that when a change is made that it is added on to, or changes what already exists. The benefit of this approach is that it aids in the world seeming real. There is a history of the world that is well known and can be discovered by the characters. It also allows for the players to feel like they are important parts of the world and that their actions have meaning. Both of these I think are important facets of a campaign world, but there is also a downside to them. With this amount of history, it can be difficult for new players to enter into the campaign world.
With Gorbaldin, being a newer campaign world, I am tempted to make some modifications in a different manner. Some of the changes that I want to make, particularly to the pantheon, would not be possible to do in the same manner that changes come to Meaghana. As such, I am contemplating simply altering a few things about the game world, and saying that it has always been like that, a move known in the comic world as a Retcon (Retroactive Continuity). Now, when making this kind of change there are some things that you must be aware of. First of all, you should not attempt to Retcon any part of your world that the players have already engaged. Example: If you were to retcon the existence of the God that the party's cleric follows, you are likely going to annoy that player, who then has to choose a new deity for his character to follow, and try to make it make sense with how they have played their characters thus far.
Secondly, Retcons must be used wisely and sparingly. If you begin to retcon something new every few weeks, you will get to the point where your players stop caring about the world. If they see that anything can be changed simply by your whim, they will eventually stop trying to make any sort of meaningful additions to the game world. This will result in your campaign world becoming stale, something to be avoided.
It is one of the most difficult jobs of a DM to create a world that remains engaging to the players while at the same time creating one that they are happy with. Sometimes to maintain that balance, the DM needs to make changes to the campaign world, both large and small. It is important however to remember that the players are also your audience, and to make whatever changes are needed in a manner that will not disappoint them, or distract from their enjoyment of the campaign world.
On Meaghana, I have, for the most part, allowed any large change to come as the result of player action. By that I mean that I created the world and the only major changes that I have made in it have been due to the characters accomplishing (or sometimes failing to accomplish) things that they have set out to do. Example: On Meaghana, there was originally a pantheon of 9 gods, one for each of the alignments in 2e D&D. Through the two campaigns, the actions of the player characters elevated a number of them to Godhood, leading to a major change in the pantheon, with some of the original Gods being killed and being replaced by the Characters.
Secondly on Meaghana, I have made all these changes additive. Meaning that when a change is made that it is added on to, or changes what already exists. The benefit of this approach is that it aids in the world seeming real. There is a history of the world that is well known and can be discovered by the characters. It also allows for the players to feel like they are important parts of the world and that their actions have meaning. Both of these I think are important facets of a campaign world, but there is also a downside to them. With this amount of history, it can be difficult for new players to enter into the campaign world.
With Gorbaldin, being a newer campaign world, I am tempted to make some modifications in a different manner. Some of the changes that I want to make, particularly to the pantheon, would not be possible to do in the same manner that changes come to Meaghana. As such, I am contemplating simply altering a few things about the game world, and saying that it has always been like that, a move known in the comic world as a Retcon (Retroactive Continuity). Now, when making this kind of change there are some things that you must be aware of. First of all, you should not attempt to Retcon any part of your world that the players have already engaged. Example: If you were to retcon the existence of the God that the party's cleric follows, you are likely going to annoy that player, who then has to choose a new deity for his character to follow, and try to make it make sense with how they have played their characters thus far.
Secondly, Retcons must be used wisely and sparingly. If you begin to retcon something new every few weeks, you will get to the point where your players stop caring about the world. If they see that anything can be changed simply by your whim, they will eventually stop trying to make any sort of meaningful additions to the game world. This will result in your campaign world becoming stale, something to be avoided.
It is one of the most difficult jobs of a DM to create a world that remains engaging to the players while at the same time creating one that they are happy with. Sometimes to maintain that balance, the DM needs to make changes to the campaign world, both large and small. It is important however to remember that the players are also your audience, and to make whatever changes are needed in a manner that will not disappoint them, or distract from their enjoyment of the campaign world.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
The Danger of Miniatures
As most of you know I have recently returned to playing 2nd edition D&D after a long stint playing 4th edition. Forth edition is a very solid game, mechanically, but it does require the use of miniatures more than any other edition of the game so far. I don't want to say that this is a totally bad thing. I love pulling out my Dwarven Forge Dungeon sets, and filling a table with miniatures as much as the next guy. However, I have noticed the effect that this has had on the way we game in general and that is that I want to talk about today.
When I was younger, I used to play D&D with nearly nothing for miniatures. When they were absolutely needed, we would sometimes just use dice to represent where each character was in relation to each other. Generally, we were able to keep things straight in our heads. This did sometimes lead to confusion, but it also lead to a more free form way of looking at combats and promoted more general creativity in the players actions.
Since we began playing 4th edition, I had noticed a tendency to be more concerned about squares of movement and spell areas and more concrete rules. This seemed to limit (or at very least downplay) creativity in player actions. When their turn came around, the players were busy counting the squares of movement to reach the next enemy and rarely came up with the sort of off the wall ideas that characterized games in my youth.
I do not want to remove miniatures from the game, as I feel that they are nice to help avoid confusion, as well as aiding in immersion when everyone can see what your character looks like. (Not to mention that painting miniatures is a lot of fun.) So to combat this, I have told my players that the minis and battle mats we are using are purely relational. By that I mean, I am not focusing on counting squares of movement, and I am more eyeballing the area of effects for spells and the like. This change in focus has helped them break from the board a little. My players are spending less time counting squares and more time focusing on playing their characters.
Like many hobbies, Gaming can suffer from too great a reliance on accessories. It is important that the players and DM remember that those accessories are only there to support the purpose of the game: to have fun. When the accessories threaten to limit that fun, instead of support it, then it is the DMs job to change the way he is doing things to bring the focus back where it belongs.
When I was younger, I used to play D&D with nearly nothing for miniatures. When they were absolutely needed, we would sometimes just use dice to represent where each character was in relation to each other. Generally, we were able to keep things straight in our heads. This did sometimes lead to confusion, but it also lead to a more free form way of looking at combats and promoted more general creativity in the players actions.
Since we began playing 4th edition, I had noticed a tendency to be more concerned about squares of movement and spell areas and more concrete rules. This seemed to limit (or at very least downplay) creativity in player actions. When their turn came around, the players were busy counting the squares of movement to reach the next enemy and rarely came up with the sort of off the wall ideas that characterized games in my youth.
I do not want to remove miniatures from the game, as I feel that they are nice to help avoid confusion, as well as aiding in immersion when everyone can see what your character looks like. (Not to mention that painting miniatures is a lot of fun.) So to combat this, I have told my players that the minis and battle mats we are using are purely relational. By that I mean, I am not focusing on counting squares of movement, and I am more eyeballing the area of effects for spells and the like. This change in focus has helped them break from the board a little. My players are spending less time counting squares and more time focusing on playing their characters.
Like many hobbies, Gaming can suffer from too great a reliance on accessories. It is important that the players and DM remember that those accessories are only there to support the purpose of the game: to have fun. When the accessories threaten to limit that fun, instead of support it, then it is the DMs job to change the way he is doing things to bring the focus back where it belongs.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Dice: Fickle Gods of Fate.
The vast majority of gamers that I have met have been rational, sensible and reasonable people, with one exception: their dice. Talk with almost any gamer about their dice and you will likely hear any number of superstitions about how they get their dice to roll well, or a horror story about how they have been betrayed by those very same dice.
Before I begin a general discussion of dice superstitions and their impact, I want to come clean about my own superstitions. While I understand that dice are designed to operate within well understood laws of probability, I hold to the following dice superstitions.
1) I roll better with dice that are cool-colored, preferably blue or purple. (Exception: Any die that is precisely the color of Mountain Dew is a player killer in my hands, and generally useless whenever I am not the DM)
2) Dice roll better after being charged. (Set on a flat surface with their highest number showing)
3) Dice roll better when they are part of a complete 7 die set.
4) Borrowed dice never roll as well as dice you own.
Right now, the non-gamers reading this are shaking their heads in disbelief. You are likely asking yourself how I came to such outrageous superstitions. First, I will state that as far as dice superstitions go, mine are fairly minor. I have seen people have specific "time out bags" for dice that are behaving badly, and even my wife buys a new set of dice for each character she plays and retires that set when she finishes playing that character. (She does the same with her miniatures, so we have a small shrine of her old characters and their dice in our bedroom)
As far as how those superstitions came to be, this is the crux of today's post. Roleplaying is very different from any other kind of game that one can play. I have played monopoly hundreds of times, and yet I don't have any special attachment to the sportscar piece. However, each character that I have played (and many of the NPCs) have been brought to life in such a way that I truly come to care for them as my creations. I think this added level of attachment is the foundation of many of the superstitions that gamers develop.
Dice represent the hand of fate, the one force that the player and their character has no influence over. Many times, I have seen a beloved character die due to die rolls. In such situations, it is very easy to put the dice into the role of the villain who mercilessly struck down a favored character. Spend any time in a gaming convention or a game shop and you will likely hear something to the effect of, "Those dice got me killed." It is easy to blame the dice when bad things happen, and many players will begin to take steps to combat that in the only way they can: superstitions.
It usually starts with a single event: a specific die roll coming out just as the player needs in a bad situation. It can then become a favored die, or whatever the player did with that die before the roll can become a lucky charm, and before long you are only playing with dice of a certain color, in full sets and charging them before rolling them.
The last thing I want to touch on, regarding this topic is, dice etiquette. As you can imagine, with the prevelence of supersitions among players how you treat the dice of other players can be a source of tension in a game. To combat this, I have always supported the following rules of dice etiquette.
1) Do not touch another player's dice without permission.
2) Do not mock another player's supersitions.
3) Be quiet when another player is rolling, specifically in high tension situations.
These are the three big rules that serve in most situations. There is nothing worse than a player constantly rolling your dice, or running their mouth when you are trying to make that one crucial roll. Keeping both the supersitions of your fellow players, and the general rules of etiquette in mind will help to make sure you are the kind of player that people will want to keep inviting back to game.
Before I begin a general discussion of dice superstitions and their impact, I want to come clean about my own superstitions. While I understand that dice are designed to operate within well understood laws of probability, I hold to the following dice superstitions.
1) I roll better with dice that are cool-colored, preferably blue or purple. (Exception: Any die that is precisely the color of Mountain Dew is a player killer in my hands, and generally useless whenever I am not the DM)
2) Dice roll better after being charged. (Set on a flat surface with their highest number showing)
3) Dice roll better when they are part of a complete 7 die set.
4) Borrowed dice never roll as well as dice you own.
Right now, the non-gamers reading this are shaking their heads in disbelief. You are likely asking yourself how I came to such outrageous superstitions. First, I will state that as far as dice superstitions go, mine are fairly minor. I have seen people have specific "time out bags" for dice that are behaving badly, and even my wife buys a new set of dice for each character she plays and retires that set when she finishes playing that character. (She does the same with her miniatures, so we have a small shrine of her old characters and their dice in our bedroom)
As far as how those superstitions came to be, this is the crux of today's post. Roleplaying is very different from any other kind of game that one can play. I have played monopoly hundreds of times, and yet I don't have any special attachment to the sportscar piece. However, each character that I have played (and many of the NPCs) have been brought to life in such a way that I truly come to care for them as my creations. I think this added level of attachment is the foundation of many of the superstitions that gamers develop.
Dice represent the hand of fate, the one force that the player and their character has no influence over. Many times, I have seen a beloved character die due to die rolls. In such situations, it is very easy to put the dice into the role of the villain who mercilessly struck down a favored character. Spend any time in a gaming convention or a game shop and you will likely hear something to the effect of, "Those dice got me killed." It is easy to blame the dice when bad things happen, and many players will begin to take steps to combat that in the only way they can: superstitions.
It usually starts with a single event: a specific die roll coming out just as the player needs in a bad situation. It can then become a favored die, or whatever the player did with that die before the roll can become a lucky charm, and before long you are only playing with dice of a certain color, in full sets and charging them before rolling them.
The last thing I want to touch on, regarding this topic is, dice etiquette. As you can imagine, with the prevelence of supersitions among players how you treat the dice of other players can be a source of tension in a game. To combat this, I have always supported the following rules of dice etiquette.
1) Do not touch another player's dice without permission.
2) Do not mock another player's supersitions.
3) Be quiet when another player is rolling, specifically in high tension situations.
These are the three big rules that serve in most situations. There is nothing worse than a player constantly rolling your dice, or running their mouth when you are trying to make that one crucial roll. Keeping both the supersitions of your fellow players, and the general rules of etiquette in mind will help to make sure you are the kind of player that people will want to keep inviting back to game.
Monday, August 1, 2011
New Beginnings
On July 27th at 12:01pm, my life changed forever. My Daughter: Simoné Alexandra Merritt was born. I have been a writer and a game master for many years, and I still don't have the words to explain just how amazing that moment was. I mention her, in this context, because I plan on sharing my love of gaming with her, and it serves as a good segway into today's topic: New Players.
As a DM, I have always considered it my responsibility to share my love of gaming with new players. Introducing new players to the hobby can be a pleasure and a privlege, but it is not always without its problems. To make the process as easy as possible it is best to remember a few important pieces of advice.
1) Remember that RPGs are complicated. Even though it only takes you a few seconds thought to determine the modifiers for attacking a prone enemy from hiding when you have the high ground, you should not expect all new players to pick up on the game's mechanics so easily. I recommend slowly introducing the rules to new players, preferably in easy to understand chunks to give them the time to acclimate themselves to the system. Start with the basic rules, then focus on any specific rules the player needs to run their class. From there, I would slowly add the remaining rules to give the new player time to add them to their knowledge base.
2) Fantasy does not mean the same to eveyone. Do not expect the new players to have the same understanding of conceptual things as you do. When you say 'elf' they may be thinking 'keebler', or worse yet, may think "Twilight" when you say "Vampire." It will help to make the player's onboarding easier if you take some time to explain how these things are in your game. It leads to less confusion in the long run.
3) Let them participate. I have seen a number of DMs run games for new players, and on the new players turn, the GM tells them what to do, what dice to roll and what happens without any real imput from the player. While this was helpful in showing the new player the mechanics of the game, the true magic of Roleplaying is becoming involved in the game and bringing the characters to life. This cannot happen if the players are not allowed to contribute.
4) RPGs are not for everyone. Some people find them boring, or don't understand them. Some people just lack the social graces to work well in the group dynamics that RPGs call for. The important thing here is for the DM to try to present the game to the new player as best he can, but be willing to recognize when it isn't working out and pull the plug if needed. While it is wonderful to bring in a new player, pushing a game on someone that doesn't like it just wastes everyone's time. And you don't want to be the guy who brings in the new player that reeks and acts like a jerk to everyone. It is not appropriate to lose current players, to bring a new one into the hobby.
5) Be a Gaming Ambassador. I believe that a player reflects on their first DM. It is the responsibility of that DM to help the player get off on the right foot, and to give them an understanding not only of that DMs specific game, but of the hobby as a whole. Take time to let the player know that not all DMs run things like you do, and point out specifically whenever you use a house rule. That way, if the new player continues playing with other groups, or even goes to a convention, they will not have the wrong preconceptions and expect everyone to run things like you do. Help them understand general gamer etiquette, so that they can be prepared to go out into the world of RPGs and not make a fool of themselves.
New players can be a breath of fresh air to a campaign, and should be sought out and fostered whenever possible. So I challenge all the gamers out there to invite new players into the hobby. At worst, you spend a potentially confusing evening with a friend, and at best you light the spark of love for a wonderful hobby, in a brand new gamer.
As a DM, I have always considered it my responsibility to share my love of gaming with new players. Introducing new players to the hobby can be a pleasure and a privlege, but it is not always without its problems. To make the process as easy as possible it is best to remember a few important pieces of advice.
1) Remember that RPGs are complicated. Even though it only takes you a few seconds thought to determine the modifiers for attacking a prone enemy from hiding when you have the high ground, you should not expect all new players to pick up on the game's mechanics so easily. I recommend slowly introducing the rules to new players, preferably in easy to understand chunks to give them the time to acclimate themselves to the system. Start with the basic rules, then focus on any specific rules the player needs to run their class. From there, I would slowly add the remaining rules to give the new player time to add them to their knowledge base.
2) Fantasy does not mean the same to eveyone. Do not expect the new players to have the same understanding of conceptual things as you do. When you say 'elf' they may be thinking 'keebler', or worse yet, may think "Twilight" when you say "Vampire." It will help to make the player's onboarding easier if you take some time to explain how these things are in your game. It leads to less confusion in the long run.
3) Let them participate. I have seen a number of DMs run games for new players, and on the new players turn, the GM tells them what to do, what dice to roll and what happens without any real imput from the player. While this was helpful in showing the new player the mechanics of the game, the true magic of Roleplaying is becoming involved in the game and bringing the characters to life. This cannot happen if the players are not allowed to contribute.
4) RPGs are not for everyone. Some people find them boring, or don't understand them. Some people just lack the social graces to work well in the group dynamics that RPGs call for. The important thing here is for the DM to try to present the game to the new player as best he can, but be willing to recognize when it isn't working out and pull the plug if needed. While it is wonderful to bring in a new player, pushing a game on someone that doesn't like it just wastes everyone's time. And you don't want to be the guy who brings in the new player that reeks and acts like a jerk to everyone. It is not appropriate to lose current players, to bring a new one into the hobby.
5) Be a Gaming Ambassador. I believe that a player reflects on their first DM. It is the responsibility of that DM to help the player get off on the right foot, and to give them an understanding not only of that DMs specific game, but of the hobby as a whole. Take time to let the player know that not all DMs run things like you do, and point out specifically whenever you use a house rule. That way, if the new player continues playing with other groups, or even goes to a convention, they will not have the wrong preconceptions and expect everyone to run things like you do. Help them understand general gamer etiquette, so that they can be prepared to go out into the world of RPGs and not make a fool of themselves.
New players can be a breath of fresh air to a campaign, and should be sought out and fostered whenever possible. So I challenge all the gamers out there to invite new players into the hobby. At worst, you spend a potentially confusing evening with a friend, and at best you light the spark of love for a wonderful hobby, in a brand new gamer.
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