D&D Nerd.com

Perhaps one of the biggest things that Dungeon Masters should never do, or at least use very sparingly, are spells, creatures, traps, or anything else that’s impossible for characters to beat.

But why would a DM use such as tactic in the first place?  Well, it definitely helps with trying to get players to follow a particular path.  However, there are players who aren’t particularly fond of railroading.  So while your story may progress the way you want it to, some players are going to feel like they’re just there for the ride, rather than taking a more active role in your adventure.

When using impossible to beat creatures, spells, or other challenges, you’re completely undermining a player’s sense of accomplishment.  A player may have made his or her character in such a way as to be able to resist certain affects.  However, if a player rolls a natural 20 and adds a very high modifier to it and still fails to resist the effect, it really puts a damper on the player’s mood and sense of fun.

I have actually experienced this myself recently, playing in a small campaign with my first ever dwarf character (D&D 3.5).  With a high constitution, high base fortitude modifier, and the dwarf’s natural resistance to magic, he’d be able to shrug off even difficult spells that would effect a character’s fortitude.  However, the Dungeon Master didn’t want anyone to be able to resist a particular spell that she made up, and as such it kinda ticked me off a bit.  Thankfully, the dwarf was able to start resisting it like he should on a high roll, and in my opinion the adventure got a bit more interesting.

However, there’s still that matter of that poison…

I Need a Job
I apologize for my silence since my last post.  I’ve been struggling to find a job, with very little success.  Along with that, I’ve been busy with things related to TeamBöNK as well, which includes a very challenging match tonight at 8:00pm against The Experiment.

Needless to say, I’ve been very stressed and frustrated.  And I’m sorry for not having written anything in a while.

Just wanted to let you all know that the latest issue of PC Gamer (Issue #178, September 2008) has a review of sorts of 4th Edition.  Towards the back of the issue in the opinion columns, Desslock takes a look at D&D 4th Edition in his Alternative Lives column.

Overall, his opinions on it aren’t all that great, and they reflect the opinions of a lot of D&D veterans.  And admittedly, from what I’ve read thus far with my copy of the core books, I have to agree with Desslock.

I’m not going to go into too much detail on Desslock’s opinion on D&D 4th Edition, since I don’t want to run into any potential copyright issues.  So go over to your favorite bookstore or newsstand and pick up the latest PC Gamer (it has Fallout 3 pasted on the front cover )!

Alright, I’ll admit that I’ve been slow with reading through the 4th Edition core rulebooks.  I’m still trudging my way through the player classes in the Player’s Handbook.  However, I guess this can be a good indicator of how dry the reading can get, at least as far as reading all the powers go. 

However, given what I have read so far, I do have a few thoughts concerning 4th Edition.

1. There’s not much to customizing your character’s class.  Once you choose your class, you’re pretty much stuck with a set amount of things you can do.  The biggest problem I’ve noticed is with the fighter.  About every single fighter power depends on a melee weapon.  What ever happened to creating a ranged fighter?
2. Is it feasible anymore to make a dexterity-based ranger that uses two weapons with weapon finesse?  I’ll admit that I haven’t read the feats chapter yet, but given that the powers for rangers who specialize in 2 weapon fighting are dependent on strength, it seems that dexterity melee fighters aren’t all that feasible.
3. Whatever happened to being able to change up your spell list for the in game day?  Not only were wizards able to do this in previous editions, but also clerics, druids, rangers, and paladins.  The only ones who really couldn’t (of the core classes at least) were the sorcerers.  In 4th edition, every spell casting class is limited by the number of powers known, instead of classes like sorcerer.  Furthermore, all spell casting classes are limited to using more powerful spells once per encounter, or even once per day.  Whatever happened to memorizing fireball for multiple uses?!  (However, I have yet to reach rituals, so I don’t know how those go exactly yet.)

Those are so far my thoughts I’ve collected from my own reading of the new ruleset.  I’ve gotten some thoughts and opinions from you guys in comments on previous posts on 4th Edition.  Has anything new come up for you all since then?

[By the way, yes, I'm a day late for this post.  I've been particularly busy lately, from looking for jobs to managing some clan related things for TeamBöNK.  Sorry. ]

While D&D is usually focused on just a single party going out and adventuring together, it may be a bit unrealistic that all those characters are always hanging around with each other.  And the situations in which they meet may also be a bit unrealistic.

Also, for the Dungeon Master, while keeping all the characters in a single group may be a bit easier to manage, it can eventually get a little stale, especially if they’ve been trudging through one dungeon for a very long time.

One tactic I’ve been seeing used very well has been to allow players start their characters off in different places in your campaign world.  By doing this, you allow those characters to have a bit more realistic of a start.  Not only that, but now you essentially have to juggle between different adventures, since characters are now running around without being together.

While this may initially be a bit difficult to manage, it may actually make things easier for you, as the Dungeon Master, to handle.  The one Dungeon Master I’ve been playing with recently has actually told me that it’s easier on him because it brings up a fresh plate for him every time he switches to the next adventuring group.  It’s probably this freshness that helps him come up with new ideas on the fly, since I seem to have this habit of walking or running away from his adventure hooks.

However, multi-party adventuring isn’t just for the DM.  Even though players may be adventuring in different parts of the campaign world, they can still listen to the stories of the other other characters when the turn passes to the other players.

To give you all an example, my character in the most recent campaign I’m playing in started off in the city of Sharn in the Eberron setting.  Meanwhile, another character started in Flamekeep in Thrane, and yet another in Karrlakton in Karnath.

While my character was going around in Sharn stealing stuff, and then fleeing the city to get away from the guard, the character in Thrane was getting conscripted into the army and being sent to invade Karnath.  While all that was happening, the third character was in the middle of the city that was being demolished by an airship battle overhead.

I’ll leave you all to use your imaginations to see how well this can go.  But I hope you can see how awesome doing this can be!

Are you a Dungeon Master trying to figure out a nice environment for your players to run around in, but can’t quite get a good enough of a feel for it?  Even if you refer to books and photos, you still can’t seem to get your imagination to wrap around it?

Maybe it’s time for you to get outside then!

Even better, get on a plane and go somewhere new!

Checking Out the Cities
If you’re playing in a classic medieval-style setting, you’re going to want to know how the cities are likely to be built.  They’re definitely not going to be like newer cities, such as Los Angeles or Las Vegas.  Likely, you’re going to find something more appropriate in a city like Boston.  But that’s just in the United States.

If you want to get a more authentic feel of a medieval city, you’ll probably want to try travelling to Europe.  I’m sure London would give you a very good idea of how cities of old were laid out.  Same thing with Rome.  And if there’s a certain medieval style you’re looking for, check out other cities in Europe.  I’m sure Berlin, Barcelona, Paris, and various other cities (even ones that are not capitols) will give you the best ideas you can work with for your D&D campaign.

Of course, D&D is more than just the big cities.  Your players’ characters are bound to end up on smaller towns, and even villages.  So while you’re out travelling, it’ll probably be worth your time to check out those smaller, out of the way areas.

Checking Out Nature
Just as D&D isn’t all about the big cities, it isn’t all about civilization too.  Player characters are bound to be traveling through forests, deserts, and mountains all over the place.  So you can go camping, hiking, or driving around in those same places.  Check out northern California and/or Oregon.  Or you can go to New England, which is loaded with vibrant green forests.

On the other hand, you can drive through areas like Death Valley to get a good feel for what a desert is like.  And if you’re daring, fly over to Africa and check out the Sahara.  Or hang out in one of the middle eastern nations, though I wouldn’t recommend it with the mess over there right now.

As for the mountains, I’d say pick your favorite moutain range and go hiking.  Though, depending on the kind of mountain region you want to do, it could be a different experience.  The White Mountains in New Hampshire are bound to be a different experience compared to mountains that are found in Arizona.

Broaden Your Horizons
While most of my examples are limited to the United States, I am fully aware that there are many other places throughout the world that would be great places to travel to for inspiration for your D&D campaign.  If you’re able to, or if you live outside the U.S., I highly recommend traveling to the various cities, towns, forests, deserts, and mountains on this Earth.  Or even go sailing across the oceans, if you’re planning on having considerable sea-bound adventures for your players.

Though, just the Dungeon Master going on such trips is one thing.  The Dungeon Master bringing all the players along as well can go to great lengths to enhancing immersion for everyone!

Of course, this may depend on your budget, as well as the budget of your players.  But if you do have a chance to travel around, then it’s very well worth it!