How do you say "Thanks" in Elvish?

We're rapidly closing in on our one-month anniversary here at Stupid Ranger, and I'd like to take a moment just to say thanks. We just crested 3,000 pageviews today, which is pretty amazing to me. We've got readers from everywhere from Iceland to Iraq. Some dude in Baghdad has seen Lumbar. I am speechless and grateful.

Thanks to everybody who comes to read us every day. Thanks to all of you who linked to us and helped us start to grow. Extra special thanks to every website owner that got an email from us and still read it even though they thought it was spam. You know who you are. :)

I wholeheartedly encourage everybody to click on those links on the right side of our front page. None of us would be here without a good community, and I think there's a lot of good D&D sites run by some really great people. Please go visit them, and keep a good thing going.

There's been a few outstanding individuals (with outstanding websites) without whom we would almost certainly not have gotten this far this fast:

• Martin from Treasure Tables


• Yax from DungeonMastering


• Jonathan Drain from Jonathan Drain's d20 Source


• Phil from Musings of the Chatty DM

Thanks, guys. We really appreciate the help and support you've given us over the last month.

Once again, to everyone, thanks for coming. We're enjoying the hell out of this website, and I hope all of you are as well. :)

New Shirt Friday: Gnomes...

Yes. There's a story to this one, but if we told you we'd have to kill you. Gygax laughed, that's all you need to know.

My Surprising Revelation

I was working on Better Characters: Weapons post when I came to realize a startling fact: I have never played a true stand-alone spellcaster. Now, I have played spellcasters: clerics, bards, even a sorceress, but I have never allowed them to rely solely on their magical abilities.

I suppose the reason I was so surprised is that I've always felt that spellcasters are so powerful: how many times has a fireball turned the tides in a difficult battle? How impressive is the power behind a lightning bolt? I hold spellcasters with great respect, as a player and a character. And yet, I have never played the character wielding these spells.

After coming to this revelation, I talked it over with Dante, who, of course, pointed out the very obvious: I don't trust magic because it eventually runs out. After you've used up your spells for the day, you're done until tomorrow, and the best you can hope to achieve is some minor damage from whatever simple weapon you have at your disposal.

So, my resolution, which I state before you all, is to play a true spellcaster in the next new campaign. I'll let you know how it goes! ;)

Behind the Screen: The Perils of Improper Prep..

As mentioned earlier this week, we have been experimenting with the noble art of co-DMing. I would like to share a cautionary tale of symbiotic preparation gone terribly wrong in the hopes that nobody repeats the errors that troubled us for a brief while.

Let it not be said that I won't own up to my mistakes!

The Problem - Preparation Gone Wrong

A few sessions into our first experiment into co-DMing, Murphy came to visit and my co-DM was not able to come up with any compelling story advancing elements for the session (which started in an hour and a half). He suggested that we try a module that he had handy. It was a realtively intricate haunted mansion story, however it soon became apparent that there was Too Much Stuff in there for a one-session diversion like we had originally intended.

Using the principles of creating episodic content, we had placed the hook of this module in the adequate hands of the leader of the local thieves guild, who recruited our players at swordpoint to go and rescue his children that had gone missing in the vicinity of the haunted mansion.

Unfortunately, this worked too well... we had crafted a scenario that drove our players into our "prepared" content, however we had not left them with an out that didn't involve their organs ending up on the black market.

Oh no, whatever did you do?

After two sessions, our group was growing weary of the setting. It was a little advanced for their party level, so they were forced to go through the cycle of fight then go back to town to get healing at least twice. They scarcely made it 1/3 of the way through the floor plan of the haunted mansion after these two sessions so I did what any good self-respecting DM would do: started hacking stuff out of there.

All of a sudden the seven rooms that the players didn't go into on the main floor became a long wide hallway, which turned a bend to the basement stairs. The basement, which had originally been a giant cavern structure, got boiled out to its component teleportation puzzle that took them to the battle with the Big Bad.

Since they hadn't made it to these areas yet, it was a pretty easy decision and it led to a pretty spectacular moment for our fighter. The module eventually resolved, and the players appeared satisfied at the result. Due to some unexpectedly acerbic comments by our fighter and cleric, the party still ended up on the bad side of the thieves guild, but that is a story for another time.

The Great Post-Mortem

I would like to be very clear in saying that this was not my co-DM's fault. I should have opted to take the time to read through the module thoroughly and cut away the parts that were too time consuming ahead of schedule, but I opted to wing it.

As a result it became rather apparent to the players that they were inside of a module, which is something that is usually a pretty major gaffe. While my players generally embraced the hook that I placed before them, it would have been more appropriate if I had given them an out that didn't place them immediately in mortal peril.

In the world of co-DMing, preparation should be a two-way street. Always (and I mean always) have something prepared if the co-DM gets sick at the last minute, has writers block, or is otherwise incapacitated... it will be better for your players, your game, and your stress level.

Proper Villainy pt.4: Learn from the Master

I'm going to make a distinction here. There are bad guys, and there are villains. What's the difference? Well, let's go a little less fantasy and a little more sci-fi for a moment. Let's take everybody's favorite Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. I don't think too many people are going to disagree with me when I call him a true villain. He's one of the classics, despite (IMHO) a somewhat poorly-executed backstory in the prequels. What makes him a true villain?

• Infamy
  
  Bad guys are bad. They can be heartless, cruel, sadistic, murderous, you name it. But one thing they're not is infamous. And that's one thing a real villain has going for him. The seasoned villain has spread fear throughout the land with an iron fist, people quail at the mention of his name. People might not want his name spoken aloud for fear he might hear them!
  
  You can get infamous fast or slow. You can get it fast by, say, murdering an entire village. Then sit back and watch as your name spreads fear across the land for awhile. But good, long-lasting infamy -- that needs slow-cooked in a giant black crock pot with a skull on it. Vader had a very nice crock pot, and he used it religiously. You have to cultivate this kind of infamy, and Vader waged a campaign of terror across the galaxy -- and to do that, sometimes you need theatrics. He makes examples of people at staff meetings by choking them with the Force. He blows up entire planets to make his point. But most of all, his official title has "DARK LORD" in it. Everybody everywhere knows you don't want Vader showing up on your front porch for any reason, and that's completely on purpose.
  


• Advanced FUD
  
  Not to say all your villains have to wear a black cape and look malevolent and shadowy, but keeping the FUD flowing by staying mysterious certainly isn't going to hurt. What I mean by this is, people are way scarier when you don't know how, when, or even if they're going to come at you. This could mean several things. People could just be ignorant or wildly misinformed about a villain's battle capabilities (like when Han Solo fires a blaster at Vader in ESB and Vader just stops it cold.... thats gotta demoralize a scoundrel). Or the villain could simply be known for being unpredictable - and frequently catastrophically violent. Think about it, if Darth Vader goes to the grocery store to buy a carton of milk, the dude working the counter is PRAYING LIKE CRAZY that there's nothing wrong with the credit card reader.
  
  Vader had FUD down to a science. It seemed like he was everywhere, in a TIE fighter, lightsaber duelling, pointing Death Stars at planets. You couldn't escape him, and you had no freaking idea what evil rabbit he was going to pull out of his hat next. His breathing made you wonder what the hell was really under that suit. And his Force powers made all of us go "he can do WHAT?" more than once. Come on, being able to sense Luke had a sister and gloating that he was going to turn her to the Dark Side? Guessing Luke wasn't expecting that. That's some evil genius right there. And the fact that he could pull stuff like that out of his ass just made him that much scarier.
  
  What's that you're saying? My villain isn't a Sith Lord, and doesn't have all those cool powers? No problem. The human mind has a tendency to blow things out of proportion, and that's what villains need. Your villain may simply be an ordinary S.O.B., but you want people to think of him as an unstoppable dark force who can destroy everything they hold dear with but a passing thought. Incite unrest in the people with tales of your dark army by raiding some villages -- but try not to let anyone see the whole thing. This way they think it's huge -- and panic -- regardless of whether it actually is. Save an evil twist for the end of an encounter. Do horrible things to people by proxy. Don't let them steal your villain's power away by letting them see the real him. When they know what they're facing, they can plan and move against it.
  


• Arrogance
  
  There's gotta be a little. It's just no fun to finally beat the giant emotionless killer robot at the end of the game. It's much more satisfying to finally put that smug son of a bitch in his place. Vader was right on here too. Not only is he sure he can crush the rebels, he's gonna turn his kids (and mortal enemies) to the Dark Side. Because he can. And it's so great seeing the villain's reaction to their world crumbling around their dark, evil ears when the heroes bring them down. Can any of you tell me you didn't feel just a little awesome at the end of Star Wars when Han Solo shot Vader just as he was about to blow Luke away? Vader's reaction was simple, but great - "WHAT???!"
  
  If you want a villain people love to hate, arrogance is a good place to start.
  

Now, for contrast, let's take Darth Maul from Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Evil? Sure! Hell, he even killed off a Jedi. But nobody has any idea who he is. About the only thing Darth Maul had going for him was some seriously amazing Jedi whoopass skills. But once he got chopped in half, nobody cared anymore. Even at 8 years old, I didn't want Vader to die. Maul was just a bad guy. Vader was the real deal. Vader even out-evilled the goddamned Emperor. What's that, you say he turned good at the end? Pardon me, but I think turning your back on goodness and justice and terrorizing an entire galaxy for 30 years and STILL getting into the shiny guys' club when you die is the best con job ever performed.

Darth Vader had Proper Villainy down to a science. Learn from the master.

P.S. Yeah, I know I was going to talk about the pitfalls of evil characters this time. In the heat of my sci-fi nerd-lust, I forgot. We will explore those depths next time. Until then.......

<evil laughter>

For the Good of the Party, or What Would Ari Do

There comes a moment when every character is faced with a decision whose outcome will either be for the good of the character or the good of the party. And when that times comes, it is one of the most difficult situations you will ever face.

The Scenario

At the end of a recent campaign, Ari, my elven fighter, found herself in the midst of a situation where she had to question her actions: was she acting in the best interest of the party? The group had acquired several pieces of the star-shaped artifact that would close the many portals opening all over the countryside; they had climbed the tower to the ceremonial site; they had found several of the pieces already in place. All they had to do was join the few pieces they had collected, and the star would be complete. As they were about to complete their mission, their luck ran out; multiple portals opened around them, and demons started entering the room.

The Dilemma

As the guardian of the artifact's pieces, Ari felt obligated to finish putting together the star; as one of the fighters, she felt obligated to draw her blades and fight off the minions of evil. She was sure, however, that if she could finish reconstructing the star, the gates would be closed and they would all be safe again. But, she still felt as if she were taking the easy route in all of this, standing at the back of the room and furthest away from all the danger. Should she keep up her efforts reconstruct the star, even though she was not suffering in the attacks, or should she abandon her task and fight to save her companions?

The Decision

Ari held true to her convictions and continued to reconstruct the star while all around her demons poured into the world, bent on destruction. Every time it was her turn, and the DM looked over at me to see what Ari would do, I struggled against the metagaming voice that told me someone across the room was about to be officially dead and allowed Ari to hold onto her belief that the only way to end this was to finish piecing together the star.

In the end, it all turned out okay. Ari was right all along, and by reconstructing the star, she caused the portals to close. By allowing my character to follow her convictions (and by staying in character), the evils were defeated and the entire party went on the live happily ever after... until the next chapter starts up in a few weeks.

Evensbrook #8

New Evensbrook comic every Monday!

Proper Villainy, pt. 3 -- Fear and Loathing in Lothlorien

Greetings, evildoers! In the last two installments of Proper Villainy, we discussed what makes a villain tick. Now it's time to talk about some good practical evil you can even do in your own backyard.

Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD)

More than any battleaxe marinated in the blood of the innocent could ever be, FUD is the true weapon of the villain. Villains need to keep people afraid to have power over them. This goes for villagers, kingdoms, kings, soldiers -- and even heroes.

• Fear
  
  A gang of criminals could terrorize a village demanding protection money. Together, maybe the villagers could defeat them. But they burn down one guy's house to make an example of him. The others, fearing they are next, capitulate and give them the money every time they come by. This is how terrorism works. The goal is not to destroy a building or assassinate someone -- that could be handled discreetly, perhaps with a surgical strike. The goal is to freak people the hell out. Make them worry they're next, make them paranoid, make them wall themselves in. And when you've scared them that badly, then you can do two things. You can make them dance to try to avoid whatever they're scared of, and since all their attention is focused on that, you can do something else now that they're not looking anymore.
  
  Now, granted, it might not be so Machiavellian as that. That gang terrorizing the village probably doesn't know any of this. They just know how to scare people to get their money. Different villains use this in different ways - some might be much more subtle than others.
  


• Uncertainty and Doubt
  
  Fear's best buddies, and they dovetail very nicely with each other. Part of the reason the gang could terrorize the village is because they've managed to convince them somehow that they can't fight back. They can't prepare, they don't know when the next attack is coming, and for that matter what the next attack will be. They don't have weapons, they're just farmers, stuff like that. When you've destroyed someone's confidence in themselves and their allies and friends, then you can control them.
  
  It's absolutely critical that villains facing heroes do this job very well. They must either shake the heroes' confidence in their ability to win. This can be as simple as deliberately killing off the healer first and letting them know he did that on purpose. Alternatively, they can get the heroes by the balls somehow to prevent them from acting. For instance, casually mentioning that the place wired is to explode if they kill the villain. It doesn't matter if it's real or not, they'll wonder if it's such a good idea to be here instead of swinging swords. Either way, the heroes are (hopefully) left shaken and unable to do their jobs -- giving the villain power over them and possibly the advantage that spells doom for the pesky do-gooders.
  

Make Them Love To Hate You

As a DM, you should use FUD in two primary ways:

• To advance the plot.
  Kick things off with a little evildoing. Let the bandits raid the village. Kidnap the princess and use the ensuing FUD clutch the entire nation in your taloned grasp. Scare the hell out of everyone, and give the PC's no choice but to come try and stop you.
  


• To engage the players.
  

You need to instill fear in the players (notice I didn't say player characters) to make them do something to stop this madness. Get them involved by doing something nasty to someone they know - or one of them. You can do this while advancing the plot, or seperately -- just do it. And while you're at it, make them afraid enough of you that they're worried about facing you because then the real horror will begin. Nothing brings excitement to a battle like a sense of danger and desperation. If you can make the players a little scared, for them there will be no quarry more satisfying than your villain.

Next Time

We'll continue our journey into the depths of evil by discussing some of the problems you may face (both players and DM's alike) when playing evil characters. Until next time!

<evil laughter>

Behind the Screen: Are Two DM's better than one?

Lately we have been experimenting with two dungeon masters in our group. The benefits and difficulties that arise when running "dual-headed" are many, and I hope by outlining some of the experiences that we have had in our group that we can better prepare for others hoping to take the plunge.

Definition of Tasks is important

One of the most important steps that helps co-DMing work is the clear definition of tasks. In our group, we have had two experiences with co-DMing now and they have both taken the form of "one guy writes the sessions, the other guy runs the sessions." This may not be the breakdown that you choose, however I highly recommend being extremely clear with who does what, and how to handle situations where liberties must be taken with details.

Preparation and communication is key

In both instances, we elected to arrive an hour and a half early for each of our sessions to prepare what we'd like to have happen for that night. During the week (we play on Fri or Sat most times), my co-DM and I would instant message each other with ideas and concerns, and we would generally have most of the plot details out in the open PRIOR to this 1.5 hour cram session.

Heavy communication and clear understanding of character motivations, plot progression, and the player experiences are key to making this partnership work. Often, we would have conversations outlining our thoughts on how everyone was responding to our campaign progress so far.

"They seemed disengaged, lets ramp up the battle this week. They're eager to hear what happened to our NPC wizard, lets get them to plot point A by the end of tonight."

Discussions like this led us to some very successful sessions.

There were some scenarios where the extra communication (or lack thereof) provided some difficulties. We use instant messaging to do "live" chatting about developments and plot points, and as previously mentioned this sometimes irritated our players because they felt that my focus was not on them when they were asking about events in the heat of battle. Also, there were a few instances where I just plain screwed up in my interpretation of the communicated plot, and we had a little conflict between the two of us as to how to proceed. This got resolved and everything continued smoothly, but trust me when I say that over communicating is better than under communicating in this space.

Leverage your ability to be in two places at once

One of the best things about having two DMs is the fact that you can literally be in two places at once. In fact, some of most exciting sessions were engineered in a fashion to allow us to divide the group and have our other DM take the split off group to some other location and run them through their scene while we would do the same. The suspense of not knowing what is going on in the other group, but knowing as a player that something IS going on in the other group is true roleplaying gold.

This setup also gives a very unique opportunity to have a fully fleshed out NPC in the other DM. Our last short campaign had Vanir as my co-DM and he also played an NPC character at the same time. He was able to use the extra focus that he could bring by knowing the plot to flesh out this NPC in a way that was enthralling, plus he had the time to commit to the character fully. This is sometimes difficult to do when acting as a single DM and is a major benefit to having an extra "man in the know."

Two heads are better than one

In my experience, having a two DM setup is generally better than having to haul the whole world around by myself. I found gains in character development, plot development, and player enjoyment comes from the addition of a second DM. We are about ready to start the second act of our first experiment in co-DMing, I will provide further insight into our successes and difficulties as they progress.