A Bad Day In the Life of a Rogue

Today was just one of those days when you realize you should have listened to your mother when she tried to convince you to become a cleric. Things started out great; the mayor finally left town on a short vacation to visit her family, and I finally got the chance to sneak into her home and take a look around. But that's where the good luck ran out!

First, the tip of my best lock pick bent as I was about to open the back door. Just as I was trying to figure out what to do next, the constable wandered down the alley. Now, me and the constable have had our run-ins, but this... this was bad. Usually he only suspects I've been lurking where I shouldn't have been; this time he actually saw me.

Not realizing yet how much worse this day could get, I figured I could talk my way out of a lengthy stay as the constable's guest. After all, what good's a silver tongue if it doesn't keep you out of trouble every once in awhile. So I started reminiscing about last year's harvest festival and the constable's remarkable performance at the archery contest. We started to wander back down the alley, and as we walked, I discretely dropped my lock pick in a shadowy spot next to a small pile of debris, knowing I could always come back to get it later when the constable was occupied somewhere else.

Just as it looked like I would get off with only a warning, I felt a slight tug on my pant leg. I looked down to see a street urchin gazing up at me with her big, bright eyes. "You dropped this," she said in an innocent voice, and, to my horror, she held out my lock pick. The constable's eagle eyes had no problem discerning what she was returning to me, and putting two and two together, he was no longer so keen to share his archery secrets. Instead, he marched me along to the jail.

It was too much to hope that my bad day would end there. Once back at the jail, the constable took all my picks, as well as the other various tools of my trade. And, of course, my belt pouch. Now, I don't normally carry much with me... coins can make too much sound during inconvenient moments. But I had been out late the night before, plying my craft at the tavern where a "good game of cards" is always fun (for me); I hadn't had the chance to add my current bounty to my savings. The constable, of course, decided that my earnings just about covered my crime and confiscated all of my gold. He told me that after another day in jail, I would be able to wander free... under his watchful gaze. I couldn't decide which was more upsetting: the loss of my coins or the addition of the constable to my every day life.

I'm beginning to think that the life of a cleric might not be a bad idea, even it if sounds rather dull. Maybe a mage would be a better option... surely there's a great spell to open locks without having to rely on picks.

Behind the Screen: Regarding Chemistry...

Yesterday, Stupid Ranger posted a great piece discussing chemistry and group dynamics. As the Dungeon Master, it is important to cultivate skills in reading the group chemistry and tweaking the way you run your game.

Group Composition

Stupid Ranger mentions yesterday that often the reality of your group chemistry falls into group composition: that is, the people that make up your player group. If you do happen to find yourself in a situation where your group is unbalanced in some way (say, too many leaders or arch-enemies within a group) you can often leverage your storyline to help balance the mix within your group.

If you have a group with too many leaders, for example, and the group is very invested in the storyline you might be able to actually capitalize on this dynamic by creating a plotline that splits your group in some way. This will allow your multiple leaders to flourish and the rest of your group to get some respite from the conflict that comes from this particular type of chemistry.

Plot can be used to solve a lot of these problems, however it is not a silver bullet. Engineering too many of these "artificial" balms to group dynamics will quickly become obvious and hackneyed, so use them somewhat sparingly.

Balance is a difficult thing

I am running into the same difficulty that SR is... describing what good chemistry (and good management of group dynamics) is a difficult thing to explain in words. I am reminded, however, of a certain Futurama episode where Bender is set adrift in the universe and encounters a deep-space godlike entity.

Bender is perplexed at how to direct the small pocket society that had collided with him, and the godlike entity tells him he has to have a light touch, and eventually is quoted as saying: "When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all."

Extending that notion to managing group chemistry is the mark of a truly fantastic Dungeon Master, I can only hope to aspire to this kind of effortless plot execution and group management!

Chemistry for D&D

A few weeks back, I posted about the characteristics of a good group, and as our friend from RolePlayGateway remarked, chemistry is a big part of a group dynamics. Today, I want to focus on chemistry for storytellers.

Chemistry & Group Composition

In a story-heavy situation, chemistry is really essential, and good chemistry can often be traced back to group composition. You have to have a position relationship with the other players in order to work together on developing the story; arch-enemies don't play well together, and the story will suffer. The leadership has to be just right: not too many leaders pull the story every-which-way, but not too few to keep it moving. The group has to be emotionally connected to the story as a group; if the whole group isn't invested in the story, part will be pulling toward resolution and part will be dragging behind.

Good Chemistry Is Hard to Find

As I'm sitting here thinking about all this, I am finding it very difficult to describe good storytelling chemistry. It just happens, like magic for a sorcerer. Players contribute to the story and move the plot forward with little prodding from the DM. Everyone enjoys a piece of the action even when action is not involved; you may not have drawn your weapon, but you still saved the world. Those who have experienced good storytelling chemistry know it, but it can be an experience that eludes description.

It's Chemistry, Not Botany...

Chemistry won't grow on trees. In my experience, if your group doesn't have the chemistry for a story-heavy campaign, chances are likely that it won't develop. It doesn't matter how long you've known each other or how great of friends you are, some groups just don't manage to tell stories together.

I've seen better success in smaller groups, and I think it's because with smaller numbers, players get more of a chance to interact with the story. But that doesn't mean all small groups can be storytellers or that all large groups have no hope. Every group is different, every group's dynamic is different, and it can be very difficult to foresee storytelling potential.

Your Chemistry & Your DM

The DM is the story-weaver, and it will be up the DM to coordinate the story and your group's abilities. Don't be afraid to talk to your DM if your level of storytelling is not where you want it to be; s/he may need to reconsider story-driven elements or negotiate between the storytellers and non-storytellers in the group to keep everyone at a happy balance so that everyone has a good time.

Pointless Nostalgia...

As many of you recall, a few weeks ago we returned to our video gaming roots over here at StupidRanger Central by purchasing an Xbox 360. As I traversed the different options made available through the Live Marketplace, I was presented with many games from years past.

This made me particularly nostalgic and got me thinking about some of the things that led me into D&D. One such game was the Milton Bradley classic game HeroQuest.

Ah, the good ol' days

This game came out in 1991, and unfortunately it was during the Dark Times when I didn't have many friends that appreciated the nerdish tendencies that I possessed. My sister wasn't really old enough to play the game, however I was able to get a few of my neighborhood chums to play a few times.

I hadn't quite grasped the notion that you could have creativity alongside a board-game, so I stuck to the stock adventures that came along with the system. The game was played with miniatures and cardboard tiles, and the game master led the players through a dungeon and the goal was to escape alive.

The interesting thing about this game was that it had elements that spoke to pretty much all aspects of roleplaying gamers: character creation (you had to pick a class and learn their skills), dungeon creation (or just a storyline if you are a player), miniatures including set pieces (my first exposure to mini's), and my favorite part... the treasure cards.

Basically, they were fancied up "Chance" cards a la Monopoly. I remember that the cool things seemed to outweigh the bad, but there was always a chance of unearthing a monster or trap when you searched an area for treasure. They really tickled the part of me that would later embrace Magic: The Gathering for many, many years (thankfully, I broke that habit midway through college).

Reflecting

It is interesting to consider how this game was a good teaching tool for the budding Dungeon Master. All the elements are there... building interesting traps/encounters, doling out treasure, killing bad guys... and the best thing about it was it was designed to be a classic dungeon crawl.

I don't know what became of my set... I have a feeling it met with either a leaky closet ceiling or the wrath of my mother's Spring Cleaning... I found a link over at BoardGameGeek that indicates that I could replace it for a scant $111.

Unfortunately, I don't see that outlay of cash happening anytime soon... I'd rather have the memories intact anyway.

Musing about the past, looking toward the future...

I was reading through some of my backlogged blogs and came across this great post over at Jeff's Gameblog about his musings regarding original D&D (OD&D) house rules. The post continues to discuss the fundamentals that make a system important, and it is a solid read for anyone interested in a very intelligent look at the metamorphosis of D&D over time.

Looking Forward

I have looked at very little regarding the upcoming 4th edition, however I have heard many concerns starting roughly ten seconds after the announcement at GenCon last year. I decided to break the veil tonight, did some poking around, and came up with the pre-PHB that has been put together from pre-release materials by the fine folks over at the Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition blog.

I have to say that I'm feeling a lot better about this system seeing some of the known details laid out. Many of the stat block simplifications address some things that have dramatically slowed down our gaming sessions. I've not read into the detail surrounding the combat changes yet, but the character creation stuff looks decent too.

Dealing with Change

Let's hear your thoughts in the comments! I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks about the new edition and how your group plans to handle the transition. As previously mentioned, our group is somewhat change resistant... here's to hoping the good outweighs the bad moving forward!