Richard Malena-Webber’s supplement The Monologue Mechanic is a fascinating work. It starts from the premise that villainous monologues to player characters form an important part of the structure of D&D and other RPGs, and then awards benefits when the players listen to the monologue instead of attacking the moment they see the villain!

To do this, it also introduces the idea of fame, as promulgated by village (and city) storytellers. How do these storytellers get information on what happened? By plying the adventurers with questions after they get back from their adventures! Of course, if the adventurers don’t know all the details of the villain’s plan – because they didn’t listen to the monologue – the storytellers are less than impressed.

As the adventurers increase their fame, they gain benefits:

• Fans – NPCs who can aid them
• Bonuses when selling or buying items
• Recognition
• Noble and Royal Titles
• Property

All these benefits flow from letting the villain make his or her final speech and then relaying it to the bards of the kingdom, so everyone knows how heroic you were!

The supplement offers several ideas to allow the DM to use the mechanics without requiring too much overhead.

The trouble with all of this? You still must design the monologue! Richard offers a basic structure of the monologue, and it’s excellent. Some DMs will be happy to extemporise the monologue, but I suspect that more preparation may be needed for everyone else. I’d likely use dot points for the information the villain must convey.

This isn’t a supplement that I’d use in my campaigns, as it doesn’t fit their style, but other DMs could benefit from the structures it presents. Exactly how beneficial the fame mechanic is will largely be up to individual groups, with more role-playing orientated groups gaining more of a benefit than those primarily interested in combat. However, even if the benefits don’t take an active role in the campaign, just giving the characters titles and property can make the players feel like they’ve achieved something, and that’s a great bonus.

You don’t have to use something for it to feel like a reward. Those looking for more mechanical benefits will likely be disappointed. The product does feel like it could be developed further – a good first step, but more work required.

It’s an interesting product. It’s not one I’d directly use, although the notes on monologue construction are useful. I suspect that most DMs won’t need it, but it may inspire some with its ideas.