Behind the Screen: DMing in the Digital Age...

As the years have gone by, new tools have emerged that can be used to augment your standard pen and paper roleplaying experiences. In the last few years, we've explored several different new options in our own campaigns and met with varying degrees of success.

Blogging, for fun and character development

Several years ago, I suggested to my players that we would track our campaign progress via a blog. I would post a summary after each session, and I encouraged the players to post in-character and when they did they would receive a small experience reward for doing so. I enjoyed having ready access to the perceptions and thoughts of my characters, and they enjoyed getting into their own backstory and being able to pull up last session's summary on a whim.

The universal language of online chat

We have recently made the decision to allow laptops at our gaming table. Having the ability to instant message individual players with private game information has come in handy. We have also used this capability to attempt team-DMing, where one person runs the sessions and the other player writes the campaign and acts as a situational NPC.

The general consensus is positive, however some players have felt that the in-session conversations between the two DMs can be disruptive. Even DMs can become disengaged (or at least appear that way), and this is something that you will have to be aware of if you choose to incorporate this into your sessions.

Miscellaneous Web Tools

I have a personal collection of several links that I use: Wizard's dice roller, town generator, and NPC Generator.

These tools can really aid in winging sessions, or just adding some depth to your world. If you're using the dice roller, I still highly recommend actually rolling dice when you want to ensure that your players know that you're adding some random chance to a situation. I use all of these tools every week, so I can vouch for their function and excellence.

Be united in your choice to use technology

All of these technologies have their own benefits and drawbacks. First, we had some difficulty with people drifting off-topic with their laptops and doing work, surfing YouTube, or generally just disengaging from the rest of the group. This is a situation that you will have to address with your own group, and I suggest making it a part of your social contract to determine the appropriate use of these technologies during the gaming sessions.

Better Characters through Accessorizing: Armor

Continuing in the spirit of creating better characters, I think it's important to remember that what you character wears can be very important, and not just from a fashion perspective. Selecting the proper protective gear is be one of the most important steps to ensuring your character's survival.

Armor & Shields

Armor: the protector of the combatants, the bane of spellcasters. You should endeavor to find and wear the best armor and other protective equipment available to you. Investigate your options before making your decision; your options may be restricted by your class, so make sure that what you want to wear is permitted. You should also keep in mind that the heaviest available armor may not be your best option; if you have a high Dex, lighter armor may allow for a higher Dex bonus, so make sure you do the math to see which avenue presents the best level of protection.

Shields can also give you that much needed feeling of security when facing that mob of ogres. Again, depending on your class, you may be able to use a shield in your off-hand to boost your armor class. However, you will not be able to wield your two-handed weapons or fight with two weapons. There are also some feats whose benefits are negated if you use a shield. Make sure you've done your research so you can make an informed decision.

Other Protective Items

If you can't wear armor due to class restrictions (or you just need that extra feeling of security), you can protect yourself with other protective items. Amulets of Natural Armor, Rings of Protection, and Bracers of Armor are all fairly common (if somewhat expensive) options that will help you feel more secure. Gloves of Dexterity can also help make you are harder target to hit.

Non-Armor Options

While this conversation on armor and protective accessories is all well and good, you might need a few options that can help keep you alive long enough to find some gold for your shopping spree. If you're a spellcaster without the funds to purchase magical items, you may have some spells in your repertoire that can improve your AC. There are also a handful of feats that will boost your AC. Combat Expertise will allow you to swap attack bonus for armor bonus. Dodge grants you a +1 to a named opponent. If you're using a double weapon or two-weapon fighting, you can take the Two-Weapon Defense feat to add an armor bonus. You might also want to check out the Combat chapter of your PHB for other combat-based actions that can help you, such as Fighting Defensively/Casting Defensively, as well as rules for cover and concealment.

Shirt of the Week: Iron Golem

Yeah, we know you've seen this one on the Internet a hundred times. But the fact of the matter is Vanir likes to draw robots. So here you go, comrade!

(P.S. - This is the same robot that regularly says: "Buy a crib shirt or I will destroy your house." Think about it. Do you have robot insurance?)

Also, we've dropped the prices across the board on our shirts and gear at the StupidMerchant so check it out and buy a shirt!

Behind the Screen: Writing episodic content...

Last year, I began co-DMing with my good buddy Eric. He introduced me to the world of writing episodic content, which is content that can be dropped in anywhere along the line in the campaign and may or may not be relevant to the storyline.

The method is very simple:

1. Create a hook - this can be as simple as making a spot check or as complex and multiple NPC interaction. Simply put, this hook should be somewhat generic and simple to incorporate into normal campaign scenarios such as travelling on the road, drinking at the tavern, crawling a dungeon, etc.
   
   
2. Create the Good Stuff - From this hook, you can then shunt off into whatever side quest or event that you want to have happen. In our last campaign, we took these opportunities to throw puzzles at our players, give them money or treasure, or further the grand storyline.
   
   
3. Gracefully return them to normalcy - When planning episodic content, try to have each one resolve in a way that it can be gracefully re-incorporated into whatever was going on before the episode. Unless you intend to do so, try not to strand your players in a location that they don't want to be in.

There are many benefits to this method. I've found that the flexibility and richness that episodic content can bring is very refreshing to both my players and to me as DM. So long as I can craft a feasible generic hook to get them headed in a new direction, I can take my players somewhere that I want them to go for awhile.

There is an art to creating hooks that aren't obvious, but I've found that a little practice, confidence, and conviction won't make these episodes appear "tacked on." I've had much success with this approach and have Eric to thank, I hope everyone will give this a try and see how it works!

Proper Villainy pt. 2: Time To Kill The Donuts

Your villain probably won't see burning, raping, and pillaging as acts of blackest evil. They'll see it as "Things To Do Wednesday Afternoon". Nobody wants to think of themselves as a bad person. The human mind has a lot of powerful emotional defenses against this. My favorite of these is called cognitive dissonance, in which a person's mind basically believes what it wants to believe and perceives reality in a way that supports these beliefs. Any ideas presented that challenge these beliefs are almost always discarded (and in many cases, violently attacked). Through this, our villain can justify what he's doing in a variety of ways that relieve him of the responsibility of his actions:

• It's YOUR fault!
  The reason I'm burning down your house? You didn't pay the protection money that you clearly owe.


• I was just following orders.
  What better way to relieve yourself of guilt than to have it not be your decision? Blame the Dark Lord!


• Cold, Emotionless Logic.
  It's a whole lot easier to do bad things if you just view it as a bunch of stats and abstract concepts. For instance, deaths turn into "acceptable losses".


• It's always been this way.
  My family has been enslaving the dwarves for 87 generations, there's nothing wrong with it, and I don't see any reason why it should change now.


• A sense of entitlement.
  You can do whatever you want because you DESERVE IT. Whoever invented prima noctis was totally into this. The right to deflower all virgins in the land because you're the lord of the place goddammit -- that's some USDA A-1 prime grain-fed angus entitlement right there.


• You fools have no idea of the power you are dealing with.
  A massively inflated ego is a wonderful tool for dismissing naysayers. And when you cultivate it long enough to get dreams of world domination, you say cool things like the previus statement! You can't believe you're doing anything wrong when you won't listen to anybody. Yours is the only opinion worth listening to, and who cares that it stopped being grounded in reality decades ago?

Once again, evil people are still people. They still have to live with themselves somehow -- even if that means descending into a big pit filled with neuroses. The really scary part is that it probably isn't even a conscious decision. The easiest way to live the lie is to believe it yourself.

Now take these twisted ways of viewing the world, and try to see the world through your baddie's eyes. You can use this to help create the foundation for a believable villain's behavior. Later this week, we'll get into some specifics on how to play as one. Until next time!

<evil laughter>

Gamer's Crack

There's something about having a hoard of polyhedrals spread out in front of you that just makes you oh so very happy, and there's really no explaining the phenomenon. Those colored dice have a special power that can strip even sophisticated conversationalists of their ability to say anything more intelligent than "ooh, dice!" And for those so addicted, there really is no substitute.

I am highly addicted to dice, and every year at Gencon, I have to make several Will saves to avoid buying everything I can grab when I pass the Chessex tables. Fortunately for me, my very wonderful husband keeps me anchored to reality, and I settle on a new set or a scoop or something. I did pretty good this year and only bought one set (blue Nebula), and are they nice!

If you're anything like me, you have those special dice that are reserved for special purposes. I have a set of d6's that I only use to roll up my characters. I have a set of d8's that I use almost exclusively for my healings or longbow/sword damage. And of course, I have my ever-favorite (until it rolls too many single-digits, anyway) d20. It's translucent green with white numbers, and I can't start a session until I have it on the table, along with whatever other dice I'll need.

For those of you who feel hopelessly addicted, feel no shame. It's a perfectly natural response for one who rolls dice as we do. Just remember, you're not alone; there are others who love those polyhedrals as much as you do.

Behind the Screen: Getting through the doldrums...

We've all been here before. The Real World has seeped too far into our prep time, and we're not feeling particularly motivated. How do I deal with it?

1. Distract With Shiny Objects - allow the players to find some loot or some random magical items to pour over for awhile. Let them shop, and interact with the next town down the line.
   
   
2. Roleplay with one another - stir the pot a little between two characters and let some good old fashioned roleplaying take place.
   
   
3. Speak directly from your prepared statements - I prefer episodic content, so you can simply inject previously prepared encounters or side quests directly into the bloodstream of your campaign when times get tough. Think of it as a content transfusion.
   
   
4. Throw a tantrum (in-game, of course) - Let the rogue wizard blow up an entire section of town, including your character's favorite inn. Have someone from the thieves guild get caught pickpocketing an expensive magical item. Doing something unexpected could get you out of your rut and give your players something exciting to react to.
   
   
5. If all else fails, take a week off - In cases of extreme lack of motivation, it might be good to have the group get together to play a different game, watch a movie, or do some other activities. Burnout happens, and sometimes allowing yourself to relax will help the ideas flow more freely. I wouldn't suggest doing this every other week, but occasionally it can make all the difference.

Now that I've shared some of my secrets, how does everyone else fight those dry spells?

Evensbrook #7

New Evensbrook comic every Monday!

Behind the Screen: Immersion for Dummies...

There are many ways to draw your players into your campaign. Some of my favorite mechanisms involve a little planning, however they can go a long way toward crafting a good player experience.

Giving the character something to do

This one is probably the largest no-brainer in the group. If you want someone to be immersed in your world, give them a role to fulfill or a task that they can achieve. Some of these can grow up organically (such as creating a special random encounter for your fighter, something that I did in our session last night) or require some planning for the less "crunchy" players.

I find that most of my preparation time is ensuring that there are some tailored activities for each player available during the session. It is unwise to attempt to graft too many of these encounters in one night, as it can look forced and stretch your DMing resources rather thin, but used sparingly you can engage even the most despondent player.

Giving the character something to have

The age old lure of something fun... encoded into our DNA when we received our first blanket or stuffed animal as a child. The lure of some fun weapon or item is extremely strong, and for that reason I have continued with a lesson learned from my first DM, Chuck.

Chuck's method was to create a "Chuck Item" which was a very powerful (yet balanced) item that was put into the world for the sole purpose of giving the character's player a major dopamine hit. Not everyone would happen across their big item, but when they did... wow. I can still remember the look on Stupid Ranger's face when her first character Lillian found her Chuck Item, and stories of that victory are still being told. I will leave it to her option to re-tell what that experience was like for her, but suffice it to say it was fantastic. Some of these items were placed in the path of the players, and others were out there in a quest style format that could be pursued at the option of the group. Unfortunately, my character Clegg never found his... it was truly the one that got away.

If you're not feeling overly creative or are concerned about creating balanced magic items, I suggest you look at the Weapons of Legacy or the Magic Item Compendium for a wellspring of fantastic items. Picking and choosing items from those books to suit your party usually ends up with engaged players eager to use their newfound toys, which provides you with some hooks for future exploration.

Giving the player something to do

This last tip for further immersing your players came as a shock to me. I found, that by really listening and letting your characters explore their world in ways that suit them they will immerse themselves. As previously mentioned, I reward my players with a small experience reward for doing things above and beyond what is established as normal in our group. I found that this small carrot will really have players get involved in ways that continue to shock and amaze me.

A great example of this is during the Evensbrook campaign. The group found some interesting vials in a shop that eFreak's character took some special interest in. I didn't think much of it, but the following week eFreak showed up with some actual vials that she created and she was really excited to share with the group.

Immersion is good for everyone

Capturing and focusing on the elements of your campaign that strike chords with individual players in the group is good for the group at large and for you as the DM. By doing your part to provide an immersive campaign, you will cultivate an environment of excitement that will reward you with many opportunities to build upon.

Proper Villainy, pt. 1 -- Evil 101

As recently discussed on dungeonmastering.com, villains add a great element to a campaign: an opposing force that the players can invest themselves in fighting against.

But what makes a really good villain? Let's start with some basic concepts:

• What The Hell is "Evil", Anyway?
  
  I've never been real crazy about declaring alignment for characters. If you have a Lawful Good character and he's homeless and penniless and he steals some bread to survive, does that make him not Lawful Good anymore? What about a man who kills someone in a jealous rage but is otherwise good? Is he now "evil" or is he still a good guy who made a horrible mistake?
  
  People are more complicated than that. "Evil" people are still people -- it's just that the way they view the world is a bit more twisted than most everybody else.


• Nobody Is Born Evil
  
  Bad guys act the way they do because they're EVIL, right? Well, sometimes. In a cartoon or a crappy movie, yeah. The bad guys are just bad and that's the way it is. But a good villain probably didn't start that way. Very few individuals would kill an entire litter of puppies and then go, "Man, that was great -- I sure do love being evil!". They had to start somewhere. And there's a lot of ways to get evil, including:
  
  
  
  • Temptation
    
    It's said that every man has his price. Somebody found this character's price. They might have been offered money, or power, or anything -- but whatever it was, the character wants it enough that he'll do morally questionable things to get it.
    
  
  
  • Fear and Anger
    
    You get enough fear and anger together, and you don't know what the hell you're doing anymore. And in your head, committing horrible acts upon whatever you're afraid of/angry with seems perfectly justified!
  
  
  • Sense of Duty
    
    This one may contain elements of the previous two. A character works for someone who asks him to do something reprehensible. He knows damn good and well it's not right. So he's "just following orders". Not to say that a mistake flips the switch and makes a character evil all of a sudden, but if this character continues to do this sort of thing and starts thinking of this as "normal" behavior.... who's to say?
  
  
  
  Note that in all three cases, the common theme of a desire and the willingness to do whatever is necessary to get it exists. It's in the continued willingness to do evil that lies the heart of a true villain.

Next time, I'll show you why it's easier than you might think for a villain to do bad things. Until next time......

<evil laughter>