In the early days of Dungeons & Dragons, the rulebooks gave various methods of determining what monster was randomly encountered. The earliest tables used a flat roll – roll a d6. On a 1 it is an orc. On a 2 it is a goblin. And so on and so forth. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons gave a more nuanced approach: Percentile tables, with different probabilities … Continue reading Random Encounters: 1d8 + 1d12
I recently participated on a panel on boxed text in PAX Online. Before that, I asked some of my twitter followers questions that they had about the use of box text. We did not get to most of those questions, so I am using this article to answer them! A reminder: I am in favour of boxed text, when used well! “Would your approach to … Continue reading Boxed Text Q&A
I have recently been thinking about why I prefer using Experience Points to Milestones. There are a few reasons, and this article covers my thoughts on the benefits and problems encountered by both approaches. I do believe, very strongly, that there is no one right way, but – in the main – Experience Points are superior for my campaigns. And the reason for that derives … Continue reading Milestones and Experience Points
Something present in older forms of Dungeons & Dragons that has not survived into the current edition is the destruction of magic items by various effects the party might suffer in combat. In AD&D and original D&D, when you were hit by a fireball spell, every item you had was required to make a saving throw (with success values determined by a special Item Saving … Continue reading Destroying the Players’ Magic Items
In the early days of Dungeons & Dragons, a lot of details of traps were left undefined. Certainly, perusing the AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide and the Basic Rules, I had little idea about how and when to use traps. And, more importantly, what role they played in the game. One of the oddest things was how bad thieves were at dealing with them. A first-level … Continue reading A Few Thoughts on Traps
Here is a short encounter from the Dungeons & Dragons game I ran tonight. (For 3rd-5th level characters) A short greenish statue, about four-feet tall, of a humanoid figure with a fish-like head, squats on the far side of the room opposite the door. Two green gems glitter in its eye sockets. The statue is made of green-glazed clay and is hollow. It represents a … Continue reading Idol of the Fish People
I recently contended something about Dungeons & Dragons adventure design on Twitter. What did I argue? A mundane Dungeons & Dragons adventure that covers the basics well will likely prove more enjoyable than an inventive one that does not unless you have a great Dungeon Master. M.T. Black asked me what I considered the basics. Here they are: Set out the goals for the characters. … Continue reading Fundamentals of Adventure Design
I love dungeon delving. I also enjoy other types of campaigns, but dungeons were my first love in Dungeons & Dragons, and it is fascinating to see how players approach them. And designing dungeons is one of the parts of D&D I enjoy most. At present, I am often using a Dyson Logos map found in one of his packs on DriveThruRPG as the basis … Continue reading Dangers in the Dungeons
The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master’s Guide introduced me to the concept of henchmen. They were a follower loyal to your main character and provided another character that you could control. (Good when there were fewer players!) Henchmen advanced at half rate and took a share of the treasure. But these seemed quite reasonable compared to the benefits. However, I never played in an … Continue reading Using Henchmen in Dungeons & Dragons
I often begin my campaigns with megadungeons. I sketch out a couple of maps of the first two levels, stock them with monsters, traps, tricks, and treasures – usually using a combination of choice and random selection – and let the players go explore. I have never, however, spent the entire length of a campaign exploring one. Stories suggest themselves to me as we play. … Continue reading Enter the Megadungeon
