So, Your PC Just Isn't Making Friends...

Daniel over at Aleph Gaming posted a great article on what to do when a player doesn't like their character. If you no longer enjoy playing your character, something should definitely change. Before making any drastic decisions, however, I recommend a little patience. Because I've been there, and I've survived with my character intact.

Gotta Wear Shades...

There have been times when I have conceptualized the best character ever! She's unique compared to other characters I've played, she has a great backstory, she's got a career path full of possibilities. I can't wait to send her out on an adventure.

Then, the reality of the game sets in, and I realize that my character just isn't going to work out.

It Can Be Lonely

Ari turned out to be one of those characters. I had figured out everything about her, then I discovered that nearly everyone else in the party was going to be worshipping Horus-Re, a sun god, whereas Ari would be worshipping Corellon. Hmmmm.....

Religion was only one of the differences between Ari and everyone else. The other noticeable difference is her personality; she isn't near as outgoing as everyone else. This has made for some rough times; even after 20 levels, there are still times when she just doesn't fit in. It's difficult to be the odd-man (or woman) out. But, Ari is awesome, and I just can't sacrifice her awesomeness for the sake of inclusion.

Surviving the Differences

By not giving up on Ari, I gave her a chance to grow beyond the differences. Ari has persevered and continues to try to save the world with her friends. Everyone in the party has learned to deal with our differences in religion and personality. I stuck it out long enough for everyone to find a place in the group, including Ari. She is one of the fighters, and considering the enemies we've collected, that's a very respectable position.

So, the Moral of My Story Is....

It can be tough when your character doesn't fit into the group. I know, trust me. But with a little determination and a little patience, you can try to stick it out long enough to find your place in the group.

Of course, if your character is detracting from your enjoyment of the game, consider some of the options Daniel outlined; these are some great ways to address a sticky situation.

LOLdante T-Shirt

If this gaze is upon you, STFU and listen or suffer 20d6 of PHB damage to your cranium. And you better believe that ain't subdual, mister.

Here's a preview of the actual design. Click here or on Dante's cranium up there if you'd like to buy a shirt!

Behind the Screen: Matters of finance...

As a function of getting older, I have recently taken an interest in personal finance. I was pouring over some finance websites tonight and it got me to thinking about in-campaign money matters. It strikes me that dealing with game economics, treasure, and money are often glossed over.

Do Epic Level Adventurers have a 401k?

Historically, our characters have tended to keep what they need to live on them. They inevitably come across a Bag of Holding or some other mechanism to haul their booty around with them, in some other cases where they have acquired a homestead they tend to keep a certain amount of their adventuring loot there.

It strikes me that in standard D&D terms, there isn't much in the way of financial establishments. I think this is due to the fact that these things are only really interesting to me and maybe one or two other people in the world, so there's no Citizens National Bank of Greyhawk that manages platinum and gold as commodities.

In one campaign, we instituted a bank system because our characters came across a fairly sizable horde and wanted a way to keep it safe since they could not come up with giant wagons to carry their booty. Inevitably, though, the bank was viewed as a plot point. I don't recall that there was ever a heist, but there was always that expectation and the whole thing didn't ever go over like the service that it was intended to be.

Speaking of the Mighty Treasurepile...

This may be one area that I tend to fail as a DM: it seems that if my characters are adventuring across the world, invariably they will want to shop in the cities that they come across. They will ask whether or not Magic Item A is available in this town and usually it spawns a random roll to tell. If it doesn't show up, they'll just wait it out until they get to a major metropolis where there chances are better and eventually I relent and let them find their item of desire (at a much higher price than book value).

I always struggle with the centralization of magic items and how the Greater World generates cash to support a magic item trade, because it stands to logic that as you get nearer to the major population centers the chance to randomly find magical items in random encounters should increase. This does not gel with the treasure tables that exist in the DMG, rolling randomly on that chart can produce a magic item pretty much anywhere and given enough encounters the players will amass a disproportionate amount of money compared to the environment that they are adventuring in.

Barring any amount of just plain ignoring the charts, I never have gotten the balance of treasure distribution correct in my campaigns. I err on the side of more good stuff for my players because it is fun, but I often wonder if this isn't just superpowering the entire campaign setting.

Thoughts, please!

I would love to hear creative ideas, thoughts, and responses on how to handle matters of money and treasure in your campaign setting. The obvious "well Dante, you control the entire world you can do what you want" mindset hasn't worked out so well for me, so how do you balance these factors in your campaigns?

Never Underestimate the Power of Ernie Keebler - Part 2

Last week, you tuned in to hear Vanir tell The Adventures of Batloaf and Lovin' on the Back of the Tarrasque. While none of us were terribly surprised, handling this kind of departure from the norm can be a challenge as another PC at the table.

Take It In Stride

The toughest part of being the "Other PC" at the table is watching the action unfold without you. The good part about this is that nothing really important happens to the plot development. Now, the character in the spotlight will argue this last point because s/he thinks that whatever is happening is critical to the story. Just smile. It'll be over soon.

Have Faith in Your DM

Remember, you're all in this together, and your DM knows that. Have faith that while s/he may allow some crazy spotlight stealing, s/he will also bring things back to the group so that everyone has a good time. Of course, if you feel like it's happening too often, talk to your DM; this game should be fun for everyone.

Plot Your Revenge...

Uh, I mean, plot your own spotlighting. Just because Batloaf took over the story for this week doesn't mean that Ari can't take over that spotlight for her own story. Just keep in mind a few recommendations for making your story experience enjoyable for everyone:

1. Plan ahead - decide what you want to accomplish with your character and what kind of story you want to tell


2. Talk it Over - discuss your thoughts with the DM about what you want to achieve story-wise with your character. If you spring that kind of surprise on the DM, s/he might not make the experience as exciting for you.


3. Don't Go Overboard - remember that other people have stories to tell too. Don't take up all the time with your own story.

Behind the Screen: Storyboarding...

This week, our group encountered some difficulties in finding the time to plan for our session. This resulted in an impromptu gathering for the purposes of playing other (usually video) games known colloquially as "alternagaming."

Storyboarding

Our normal means of planning for a night's session is laying out the major plot points that we have cooked up, this step usually occurs in our co-DM dynamic via online chat. Usually, at this point there isn't that much detail but we have an idea of what we want to have happen, much in the same way that animators or motion picture bigwigs use keyframes to describe events within a film.

Vanir, The Great Equalizer

Where this mechanism for planning fails is the fact that the audience can interact with your movie. That's right, Vanir's character shows up in the middle of your slasher film and replaces the ceremonial knife that the killer uses with a rubber phallus, and then the Benny Hill Theme plays.

To account for this, you must constantly put yourself through the crash scenario with any of your plot points. How can the players circumvent this scene? What could they possibly dream up to derail this? Should I engineer something in to guide them to the proper goal? All of these questions should be considered before finalizing your plot elements.

Another important point to consider: what actually goes on without your players should they decide to just not follow a plot point? If a major battle is taking place that you wanted the players to be a part to aid the Forces of Good, what happens if they decide not to help or go some other direction? How should that affect the broader plot?

I like storyboarding, and then crashing the storyboard as a means of planning a night's session. Unfortunately for us, this takes a bit of time to have all of the logic settled and talked out if you are operating in a co-DM fashion as we are.

Thankfully, Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band exist as a great contingency plan!