Chatty on 4e: I heart Grapple!
(Click on the images to be able to read the word bubbles)
Last week I dropped by my Favorite Local Game Store (FLGS) to buy myself a few boxes of the 1st official 4e product available: the Dungeons of Dread D&D miniature game.
I purchased the Starter and 2 booster boxes.
Before I dig in my 4e post, here’s a…
Mini-review: The D&D Miniature Starter Game
You get 5 cool battlemaps that weren’t printed in previous products:
- A 1/2 size map of a Country Crossroad featuring 2 boulders and a ruined building.
- Another 1/2 sized map of a Monster Lair complete with a 3 room cave complex with campfires on one half and wilderness with trees, a boulder and a thin river on the other.
- Flooded Ruins, an underground complex featuring a large river, pits, Stepping stones (over river) and teleporters
- A dwarven Outpost, an underground cave map with a defensible building, a bridge over a lake and some difficult terrain (rubble, supplies and stalagmites)
- A jungle Temple, an outdoor Yuan-ti themed temple with Obelisks and Jungle Squares.
The game comes with 5 non-random, exclusive miniatures:
- A large Young Green Dragon
- A Yuan-ti Swiftscale
- A Human Sellsword
- An Eleven Warlock
- A Dwarven Battlemaster
A word of warning, the starter set contains combat stats for the skirmish game only and not for the 4e Roleplaying game. I was unable to find them on the Wizards website either (but here’s a full list of the 4e stats for the whole group of random minis). Instead, the back of each stat cards includes hints on playing each minis of the starter set against each other. That’s a disappointment for me.
As for the game itself, it’s much like the old one. Except creatures have better defined powers and new 4e mechanics like ‘Bloodied’ make an appearance. I don’t currently play the miniature game so I can’t really discuss it. I’ll return to it if my son and I start playing it more.
On with the 4e stuff
When going through the 4e stats of the miniatures, I got a few very interesting insights in the 4e combat mechanics.
Please note that I haven’t been digging around for 4e news all that much, relying mostly on discussions with Graham and some of the blogs I read regularly like Dave and Bartoeneus’ Critical Hits. This means there’s a chance that my observations are already old hat to some of you.
My first thought was that combat will be very different (and better fitted to my taste as a crunchy gamer) from previous editions. Here’s a rundown of my 1st impressions:
Bye-Bye iteratives!
Multiple attacks per round have been a staple of Advanced D&D and it’s descendants. Back when the game still bore Gary’s name, Fighters had 1 attack per level against 1 Hit Dice (and weaker) Monsters.
Weapon specializations, a very popular variant rule that appeared in Dragon magazine (iirc) and then in Unearthed Arcana, also allowed fighter-type classes to gain additional attacks against stronger foes.
I’ll skip 2e, I haven’t played it enough to remember, but chances are Weapon Specs were still in there.
D&D 3.0 and it’s (evil?) twin 3.5 made multiple (iterative) attack a mechanic opened to all classes. This one design decision created the strongest tactical justification for static, battle-line types of fights were players would go around the table and chuck multiple dice, nudging minis every so often to optimize the number of attacks one could dish out in a turn.
Late design sourcebooks and d20 variants like Iron Heroes, Star Wars Saga and the Tome of Battle have shown welcome alternatives to this rather boring (but oh so efficient) combat model.
Well that’s finished now. Monsters all have 1 main attack, possibly a secondary attack (like Dragons) and a slew of special attack/abilities that are conditional to spending resources or meeting certain criteria.
For example, the Bralani, a Level 19 Controller ‘monster’ has 2 attacks:
- A longsword +4 (+26 vs AC, 1d8+12)
- A Whirlwind Blast (which I assume is an arrow storm-type attack since the figurine has a bow), a 10 square line attack at +21 vs Ref for 1d6+12 damage.
and that’s it! Of course it flies and has got a few powerful special abilities… see below.
Monsters and PCs are different.
That’s one of the changes that pleases me the most about 4e; monsters that were made to be fought are now based on simpler to play mechanics that are different from PCs.
Now, there’s a possibility that the D&D stats of theses monsters are oversimplified like they were in the 3.x.
Regardless the Gnoll Marauder (a Level 6 Brute) does not feel like a level 5 Barbarian with a gnoll racial HD. It’s a fast spear warrior that gains a second attack against bloodied foes (i.e. when the target is at half-HP or less), deals more damage when attacking in packs and/or is itself bloodied.
I still don’t know if there will be mechanics to create classed Humanoids. I believe there will be in either the Core Books or in a future Savage Species-like book. Regardless, I see this change as good because it will make my job as a DM easier.
I have the Power
One thing is for sure, D&D 4e combat will be about ressource management and cool combat abilities.
While mechanically things will be simpler, the sheer number of things you’ll be able to do in combat will allow for enough complex tactical choices to make brilliant planners happy.
I’ve read a ton of complaints that D&D 4e is ripping off MMORPGs. Actually it’s more like they’ve taken notes from Collectible Miniature Games; not just D&D minis, but the clicky games like Mage Knight, Hero Clicks and so on.
The main feature of these games is that they allow faster turns than classic mini combat games (Warhammer, Battletech…) while retaining a rich number of tactical options and game effects.
For example, the Adult Red Dragon (a level 7 Solo soldier, AC 27, 136 hp) has 1 action point that can be spent to use any of it’s standard abilities (Attack or breath weapon) as a free action. Furthermore, its breath weapon is a 5 square ‘long’ cone that deals 3d12+6 Fire damage and ‘recharges’ by rolling a 4 on a d6 at the start of each of it’s turn.
Finally, when it gets bloodied (i.e. at 1/2 hp) it gets to breath fire once, as an immediate action, in retaliation.
This basically makes me think that I’ll be able to create ‘cards’ (or use tokens) for each monster that I can ‘tap’ or remove when a limited use power is used and ‘untap’ return when the power can be used again.
Simple, cool, effective, easy to manage. I like a lot!
Oh and you want to see what replaces a Save or Die attack? Here’s the Bralani’s special attack:
Curse of Autumn: Range 5; +21 vs Will; Round 1: –2 atk/Def and Slowed 1 rd. Round 2: –5 atk/Def and Slowed 1 rd. Round 3: –5atk/Def and Slowed 1 rd and dies in 24 hours. Permanent, remove as curse. Recharge 5.
Talk about a deadly debuff!
Battlefield interaction:
Finally I have this little mini here that gives a lot of insight in the various board control possibilities of 4e combat.
The HookHorror (a level 13 soldier) has a nasty attack chain:
Claw Reach 2; +21 vs AC; 1d10+8 AND Followup (that means it gets the other attack listed after it)
Followup +19 vs Fort, L or smaller; pull 1(That means it drags someone one square closer to itself on a successful attack vs Fort ) AND Restrained; only 1 at a time
Yup there you have it… that’s how Grapple is going to work it seems. Hit with an attack, roll vs Fort to pull in and prevent movement.
But that’s not all… 
Secondary melee attack: Feast +21 vs AC, Restrained only; 3d10+8 (that means that if you are grappled, the Horror snacks on your PC in future attacks)
or
Secondary attack: Fling +21 vs Fort, Restrained only; 2d10+8 AND push 4 AND knock prone
That means that if it beats your Fort Save in a future attack, it throws you anywhere within 4 squares of itself on the battle map (remember that diagionals now count for 1) and drops you down.
The game will be rife with Pull (bring closer), Push (push away) and Slide (move either way, no attacks of opportunity) maneuvers. This screams ‘use the terrain to it’s full extent’ and I love it. Combat on icy ridges and hellish lava-filled landscapes will now be truly scary ordeals!
Expect to throw PCs in pits and pools of acid a lot. Expect to have the same (and worse) done to your creatures too!
Is it still D&D?
As I read over these new combat mechanics, one thing that is becoming clear to me is that the game has changed in more ways that I initially though.
Probably too many ways for some and that may hurt 4e in the long run.
There was this example In my old Cognitive Psych class, way back in college, on how much you could remove from a bird and chage it with mammal part before a child stopped calling it a bird… Well, my main remaining doubt about 4e relates to just that.
Will D&D 4e feel enough like D&D to allow me to identify to it or will it be a completely different game that that just happens to meet my current needs as a RPG player? (Much like I turned away from A D&D 1e/2e to embrace Gurps in the late 80′s)… will I feel something missing?
I’ll know in a a few weeks now won’t I?
Have a great weekend.
Dungeons & Dragons: The Pen and Paper Video Game
In lieu of Mr. Gary Gygax’s passing, Gamasutra has an pretty interesting introspective on how D&D has influenced, perhaps even birthed, the modern video game, especially in consideration to the RPG and Simulation genres. It’s quite insightful and well worth reading.
Registration MAY be required, but probably not.
When You Have GMs as Players
In the last few weeks, I’ve been discussing with Johnn Four of Roleplayingtips.com (you should subscribe!) about setting up some sort of monthly guest feature on his very popular GMing newsletter for me to share GMing tips (Notice the use of the more generic GM).
Earlier today, my first column was posted here.
I’m reprinting it here to allow comments, questions and feedback on it. I’m rather proud of it and I hope you’ll enjoy it!
A seldom talked about challenge of GMing is when you find yourself surrounded with other, possibly more experienced GMs as players.
This might not be an issue for gaming groups with alternating GMs, however, I’ve often seen players who would love to take a stab at GMing in an established group but back out at the somewhat scary prospect of having one (or many) more experienced GM(s) with a character sheet sit across from them.
Here are a few tips to make your first stints as a GM of GMs less daunting.
1) Establish The Ground Rules Of The Game
Chances are, all players around your table will know you have limited experience. You need to openly acknowledge that and not be insecure about the others stealing your game.
Expect a transition period where any former GMs adjust to the new role of player (i.e. relinquish control and let someone else do it).
If you feel the transition doesn’t go well and the game tends to get stormy more often than not, take the time to discuss it one on one with your fellow player/GMs to try to work it out.
In such cases, don’t wear your heart on your sleeve; be ready for some critical (and hopefully constructive) feedback on your game, and don’t let that force you out of GMing.
However, don’t hesitate to establish your space as GM. The others need to acknowledge that they don’t get to both play and run the show. Concessions must be made to your personal style and allow you to grow into your new role.
One thing that I’ve seen work to ease up these transitions is to ask another GM (preferably the one who GMed the last campaign) to act as a reference for rules and maybe help out at running the administrative aspects of the game.
In such a partnership, make it clear what you expect of that person and explain what parts of your game you want to be solely responsible for. Work out in advance how to handle GMing calls when the old GM doesn’t agree with a call you make.
In fact, you should do this even if you don’t plan to ask one of the former GM to help. The reflex of making (and challenging) GMing calls can become deeply ingrained in GMs. You therefore need a clear politic on rules discussions that you are comfortable with. It’s one thing to have a rule book say you have the final call and another realizing that respect for a GM’s authority is earned, not inherited.
2) GMs Are Players Too
This tip might feel obvious, but GMs have the same preferences and motivations seen in other role players when they grab a character sheet. Some are Butt Kicker, looking for heroic mayhem. Some are Power Gamers who love to accumulate new powers. Others are Story-tellers, seeking to be swept in an epic tale which, for once, they don’t have to plan for.
Much like I would tell any GM, take the time to learn what motivates each of your players by asking them what would be the perfect game session (and then the perfect multi session adventure for them). Take a few notes per player, and try to insert at least one elements of each player’s list in each gaming sessions.
3) Disorient Your GMs
Use a different rules set for your game, or at the least, a completely different setting for your game. This will disorient your GMs a bit, giving you some slack while you settle in your new role.
If you decide to play with a rules set the GMs-turned-players are more familiar with than you are, make sure you shake things up: play in a unique game world you designed, or set it up in a place never visited by the group.
It might be worth exploring a sourcebook/adventure the others are unfamiliar with, and base your game on its material.
4) Start Simple
Your goal as a GM of GMs is not to blow away your players with a legendary campaign (such campaigns often grow from simpler, more modest beginnings). If you are new to the role of GMing, chances are your enthusiasm and breadth of vision for your game will greatly exceed your actual abilities to pull off all the things you think would make for a cool game.
Start simple; create an adventuring environment whose scope is limited and where the players (especially the former GMs) can adjust to you as the GM, and you can settle in the rules, setting, existing social dynamics, and your new responsibilities.
5) Build Up To Bigger Things With The Help Of The Other GMs
Unless they GMed by default (because no one else wanted to do it before you stepped up to the plate), your fellow players became GMs for a reason. Regardless of how well they adapt to their new roles as players, chances are they will miss some aspects of their old job.
This opens the door to possibly the coolest thing about GMing for GMs. You can harness this to help them build up your campaign up to something far greater than you could pull off alone!
Some GMs love to build worlds. While in your game, have them design aspects of your campaign for which you don’t have time but feel it would add to the fun of all to have there.
For example, in your fantasy game, an ex-GM is now a rogue who’s a member of your city’s Thieves’ Guild? Have him/her propose names for guild leaders, draw maps for the guild’s headquarters, and propose a few adventure hooks that could involve the freshly fleshed out guild.
Other GMs prefer to tinker with the rules. Discuss with them, outside of the game, how you’d like some sub-system to better address your needs for a specific scenario you are cooking up. Chances are you’ll find a receptive ear and many helpful suggestions.
In the end, you’ll have stronger buy-in into your game as it becomes a group effort while allowing you to create the stories you want and grow into the joys of GMing.
Behind the Wave
I received quite a shock last night when I opened an e-mail newsletter that I somehow started getting from EB Games. You see, I haven’t been up to date with current gaming since the Gamecube was around and kicking. I noticed that it happened when I went through a lot of effort to reserve and purchase The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker the day it was released and then never played more than an hour of the game until over 2 years later. It was then that I realized I didn’t have to buy games right when they come out to enjoy them.
We still don’t own a Wii, for several months leading up until Christmas Day we would go into every store we went by and ask if they had any, but never found one. Then it happened, on December 26th we were walking through Best Buy when lo-and-behold there were over 30 Wiis in boxes behind the customer service counter. We laughed, thought about getting one, but decided to wait in the end. We did buy an X-Box 360 back in November but we are still for the most part playing games that came out over a year ago (with the exception of Assassin’s Creed). For the love of god, we’ve only played Super Smash Bros. Brawl a handful of times and I haven’t even SEEN Mario Galaxy being played in person.
There must be some kind of ingrained marketing scheme to get people to buy games for the most possible money, making gamers think that if they don’t play the game right away the experience will be sullied somehow. Sure, if you haven’t played Final Fantasy 7 by now you’ve probably had a plot twist or two spoiled for you, but in general games are just as good a year or two later as they are the day they come out.
What got me thinking about all of this? Well, back to that newsletter I was reading, I discovered very much to my horror that a crap load of games I’d like to play and that I’ve been looking forward to for a while are coming out VERY soon. I’ll present them in more of a list just to make it easier to skim through. [Read the rest of this article]
Adventure Prep: To Analyze and to Fluff
As I write this I realize that it’s a very clinical assessment and analysis of my current campaign. I’ll post it to show you how I go at it, but it might be a bit heavier than my usual fare.
As mentioned in my last few Adventure Prep or Campaign log posts, I’ve stopped systematically hacking the adventure I use (Expedition to the Demonweb Pits) to better fit my personnal and player’s tastes. I did this mostly because my interest in the game is somewhat waning and the prep time I allow myself is diminishing (I blame the blog, damn you attention addiction!)
That being said, we’ve (well mostly I) made the decision of seeing this campaign through. I spent some time thinking how I could pull the game from “meh. ‘s’all right” to “cool” without spending too much effort in it.
So I started by reviewing the current state of the game:
The Campaign’s main plot elements:
- Planescape-themed campaign centered on stopping the Spider Queen, Lolth, from signing an alliance with her fellow Demon Lords therefore upsetting the balance of the Great Wheel (of which the players don’t care about all that much)
- The Main Campaign city has been wretched from the material plane, brought to the Abyss and rapidly snatched from there and dumped in the Plane of Shadows.
- The main campaign world is on the verge of being absorbed in Lolth’s Realm
- A 1/2 demon ‘patron’ uses the PCs to discredit Lolth at the behest of his Demon Lord father.
- Demon lord doesn’t expect PCs to succeed
- 1/2 demon son who as a stake in maintaining the planar balance ain’t so sure… and ponders the advantages of letting the PCs win.
- Regardless of what happens, Campaign world has possibly been “mortally wounded” by 2 campaigns’ worth of alignment-based global wars
- PCs are currently in a Demonic City trying to find a ‘friendly’ ambassador to gain access to Lolth’s ‘party’ to crash it.
My assumption on the PCs perspective:
- Aravard the Elven Duskblade: Save his world and Ptolus. Trash as many Drows as possible and stick it to Lolth bad.
- Cixi the Iron Hero Archer: Free her imprisoned people from Carceri and free her original homeworld from Lolth’s clutches (Most fleshed out plot PC-focused element of the campaign so far, but only affects one player)
- Nogard the 1/2 dragon Barbarian: Save the world and re-establish the ancient, almost forgotten, Church of the Platinum Dragon (Well developping plot element).
- Kynes the human cleric: Save the world at the behest of his Dragon patrons
- Inigo Firenze the Human Swordsage/Scout: Burn Stuff Save the World at the behest of his Dragon patrons .
- Cruguer the Crusader (Missing this week): Save the World at the Behest of the Divinity that gave him another chance.
Real life constraints:
- 3-4 sessions before summer months breaks group cohesion because of diminishing player availability.
- Players are tired, less focused, that includes me.
- We start at 7h00 and we usually need to conclude by 10h30, giving us a 3h30 session.
Conclusion:
Focus on save the world scenario and make the PCs seen as real heroes by all non-hostile NPCs. Discuss with the group about Cixi’s separate but compatible agenda. Have them kick a lot of Demon lord butt!
Add to this that historically the best games we had as a group were games where we played scenes that had significant impact in terms of of the story and where the player’s actions had a significant impact in shaping them.
Planning the game itself:
The last few games have been mostly about the players completing Fed-Ex Quests while the whole world turned to crap around them. It looked good on paper and would make a nice story, but role playing wise it wasn’t so good as no choices were given to the players and everything was more or less orchestrated to serve the story.
So by looking back at the plot, I see that I fell, once again, in the common pitfall of the DM trying to be a writer instead of a stage manager.
What I need to do now is use the existing adventure (to save time) and let the players use it as more of a sandbox. Since time is running out, I’ll need to keep an eye on pacing (unless players are having a lot of fun) so that they spend no more than 1 session in the Demon city and 2 sessions in the Demonweb pits.
Also, I won’t set up large fights or complex encounters anymore… nor will I add bottleneck conflicts that take 2 hours to play out.
Any planned encounter area that I feel not conducive to the story will be ignored.
For instance, the Demon City encounter plan is set up to reach the plot objective relatively easily (if the players are smart). However, it then degenerates in a series of fights and pursuits which are a complete waste given the time left we have.
However, if the players as a group, come to a decision that creates combat, well then, I won’t deprive them of thier fun now will I.
Lastly, being more tired myself on Friday Nights, I tend to reduce the amount of description I do. I believe that this is one of the key things that has made the games less engaging. Description makes or break a game in terms of atmosphere, especially during combat.
I won’t start a full essay here on the benefit of concise colorful descriptions. my new friend Ripper X did it quite well here, but suffice it to say that it’s one of the key things that sets a game’s mood.
My players are, for the first time of thier lives, in a Demonic city (Zelatar, a city that spans 3 layers of the Abyss, under the control of Grat’zz, prince of demons). I need to describe it and paint an evocative picture of it all the time… It has to be more than just a dirtier, smellier Ptolus.
I sure could use some help by my fluff focused readers here! Feel free to share snippets of Demon city fluff that I could use to spice things up!
Thanks!
When Funny Becomes Story
As I look at my schedule (I have visit coming over, a game to prepare and the job has started being a bit heavier again), I’m not sure how much I can post this week.
So I thought I’d share with you a short but funny memory brought up by a Gtalk chat I had with Critical Hits‘ Bartoneous this morning.
He was telling me that he wanted to re-visit his college RPG campaigns and write about them.
This made me remember about one such campaign I played at college (i.e. 13-14 years ago) during summer. It was a Gurps Fantasy campaign that could basically be summarized as:
Hafling accountant stole deeds to a gold mine and the One Ring from Lich Emperor boss, runs away with misfits accomplices (including a Were-Serpent Mage and a Split Personality Thief/Acrobat )and befriends a Microwave Ogre.
Bart then asked me what was a Microwave Ogre.
Here’s the gist of it:
There was this Ogre that had recently joined the party. Being an Ogre, it had to hide in the Hayloft of any inn’s stable whenever the PCs were sleeping in a town.
One night, Some NPCs come in the Inn occupied by the PCs bearing torches and Pitchforks, asking if anyone had seen an Ogre marauding around.
All players literally jumped in to spin this incredibly funny and ridiculous yarn about how Ogres were scary, fanged creatures with a magical gaze that caused Metal Armour to spark up. It also made people melt or boil or even explode whenever they stared at it for too long!
The NPCs ran away screaming, the players were choking because they were laughing so much and the Microwave Ogre was born and remains to this day a legend in my home-grown game world.
This is a perfect example of players taking initiative in shaping a story (no matter how initially ridiculous) in such a cool direction that it becomes instantly embraced by all. Such events are the stuff of legendary games and this session remains in my top 5 RPG stories.
Have you ever had such player input (funny, ridiculous or just plain cool) that became part of your campaign’s lore? Is it still referred to in later games and campaigns? I’d love to hear about them!
While I’m at it, can any of you Crunch Heads come up with a D&D mechanic and or stats (any edition, just specify) that could help us make a real Microwave Ogre? I’d love to drop that on my players as a tribute to that old game.
For 3.5/4e I’d probably would start with the Bodak, but instead of instant death I’d probably have the gaze attack cause 1/2 Electrical/ 1/2 Heat Damage based on the Fireball spell (Fort Save for half, penalty for Metal armour).
Your thoughts?
YouTube of the Week: Betraying Warthog Edition
One of the many Halo 3 videos out there… but can you predict the twist? Suggested by The Foodist.
My Tax return and Hockey ate my post!
I wanted to write a post, I really did. However, with a decisive Hockey game tonight and me having to run to my accountant’s place to drop my tax papers (we’re late!!!), there’s no way I can make it.
I may write one tomorrow morning.
Wish my home team luck… Go Jets Habs Go!
Edit: Final Score Mtl: 5 Bos: 0
Next up, the Rangers or the Fliers! Will I get a blogger to take up my wager?
Inquisition of the Week: Musical Tastes
You have spoken that the Warlord is the class you are most looking forward to in fourth edition! If only there was a way for you to get a significant preview of what the Warlord will be like.
The Warlock came in second (either because it’s the other new class, or because it also contains “Warl”) with the Ranger pulling in a tight third thanks to badass archery skillz.
This past week, I bought an iMac, the first Mac that I’ve owned. I will be multiclassing for a long time, since my work computer and laptop are both new PCs, but the iMac will be my primary computer at home. What do I use my home computer primarily for? Music, mostly. As I remarked to Bartoneus on my first day of using the Mac, “My favorite new feature is the remote control.” I have around 30 GBs of music that I’ve been collecting since the heyday of Napster, and I do a lot of flipping. (The unfortunate part of migrating has been the loss of all my painstaking ratings of every track I owned, and the loss of all my playlists.)
So I’ve had music on the brain lately. I’ve also been listening to the Vampire Weekend album on repeat, and grabbing lots of new music that I first heard on my new Sirius satellite radio.
All my musical influences lead me to ask the following question:
What genres of music do you enjoy?
- Alternative/Indie/College Rock (14%, 59 Votes)
- Hard Rock/Metal (12%, 51 Votes)
- Classic Rock (13%, 54 Votes)
- Pop (4%, 15 Votes)
- Rap/Hip-Hop/R&B (5%, 20 Votes)
- Dance/Electronic (8%, 34 Votes)
- Classical/Orchestral (9%, 38 Votes)
- Jazz/Blues (9%, 37 Votes)
- Country (3%, 13 Votes)
- Folk (6%, 24 Votes)
- Other (8%, 34 Votes)
- Punk (8%, 33 Votes)
Total Voters: 412
Loading ...This is by no means a complete list (so no need to tell me that I “forgot” something) and I have grouped some genres together that have some big differences, but I still hope that is enough to gauge what kind of music listeners you are! Feel free to suggest new music too!
Chatty’s Mailbox: The Magnificent Villain
While I was writing my 300th milestone post, I got a very interesting email from a reader. Here’s what he wrote:
Good afternoon! I’ve been a long time reader of and commenter on your blog, and I was looking for some brainstorming help. Specifically,
what kind of holds could a magnificent bastard have over a party in
D&D of 10-14th level?The problem is offense is far easier in D&D than defense, and players
(as I’m sure you know) are often willing to risk a lot to satisfying
revenges or simply kill someone who annoys them. So, with that in
mind, what are some good holds a partially-revealed magnificent
bastard could use to keep the PCs busy and away from himself?There’s always the kidnapped friend or relative, but parties are
extremely good at breaking into tightly guarded locations, and
resurrection magic means they often do not fear the death of a valued
NPC. There’s information, but once that is imparted the Magnificent
Bastard loses his hold.What do you think? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks so much!
-PW
My post on the Magnificent Bastard is quite possibly my favorite Trope article so far. That makes me more than happy to try to tackle this.
In the 10-14th level bracket, D&D PCs are now big shots that can afford to bully/ignore pretty much anyone that isn’t an encounter planned by the DM. At that level, players expect to be the only local badasses that stand between
This makes playing a Magnificent Bastard as the campaign’s main villain hard, especially with remorselessness players who use the game’s mechanics to rationalize doing horrible stuff like letting loved ones be killed to raise them later.
If you must play the Bastard as a villain, I’d say that he/she needs to hold the PCs by the proverbial cojones. At level 10-14, that may be difficult but not impossible to pull off. The MB can hit old SchoolPCs/Teflon players in the following areas:
- Prevent the PCs from being raised if the NPC ever wishes so. (i.e.: You kill me, you hurt me, you stay dead!)… maybe the MB has sold the PCs souls to devils or has influence with the divine agents able to raise the PCs.
- Prevent the PCs from selling loot or acquiring new Magic Item (“Did I forget to mention that I am the son of the head of Wizards’ guild?”)
- The MB marries the sister of a PC… who truly loves him and dies of depression if the MB is killed. (She then refuses to get raised, always an option, unless her love returns whole! That’s evil!)
- Pull a Raven…
Pulling a Raven is a reference to Neal Stepheson’s Snow Crash, where one of the ‘bad guys’ called Raven goes around with a Nuke strapped to his motorcycle and has it plugged on his vital signs. You kill Raven, you create a glass Crater.
In that sense, you can make the Magnificent Bastard imbued with an enchantment (or artifact, or diabolic pact) that basically spells doom for a whole kingdom should he be slain. Now PCs need to find a roundabout way of dealing with the MB. Maybe by deactivating the doomsday device or trapping him on another plane…
…But being a Magnificent Bastard, you can be sure someone/something is going to fall under his charms and release him soon enough.
Lastly, if the PCs do end up killing the MB… why not bring him/her back to life all the time? The Bastard probably has allies in high places that can spring for a true resurrect much more easily than the PCs. That should annoy the PCs to no end.
I used exactly that trick with a Chaotic Evil Noblewoman in an old Ptolus adventure (The Banewarrens). Even though she was Evil, she had quite a few political alliance with teh Lawful Good church that guaranteed her a True Resurrection if she died…. and she needed them!
One key point of the Magnificent Bastard is that from the moment the players hate him/her unconditionally he stops being a MB and becomes an Overlord or other type of villain… The Magnificent Bastard depends on having a love/hate relationship with the other characters. If you can salvage a break in trust just once, the NPC has done it’s job… Don’t force it too much passed this point, you’ll be accused of having a Marty Stu.
Anybody else has ideas to share on how a villainous Magnificent Bastard could have a hold against old school/Teflon players?
Keep the letters coming! I might not get to them real fast but I’ll do one per week if I have enough material for it.
