Out with a Bang: D&D Finale Checklist
Back from Balticon, full of caffeine, and ready to work on the finale for my campaign!
I’ve actually managed to keep my prepwork pretty light for this campaign. I knew between full time job, full time grad school, part time game design, and (of course!) blogging that I wouldn’t have an overabundance of time to plan this game. I’ll go into more details about the methods I used next week once the campaign is in the can (and am able to spoil whatever I like), but I already know the finale is going to be a different beast than any other adventure so far.
Normally I rely on my outlines and ability to improvise to run my week to week games, but the finale is going to need a lot more structure and development. For previous campaigns where I actually get to run a finale, I’ve written pages and pages of stuff I want to happen. I probably don’t want to do that for this game, but I still want to put as much effort as I can to make it as epic and memorable as possible, and at the same time run as smoothly as possible. To that end, I’ve put together a checklist of things to do this week before the finale. If any other experienced GMs out there want to add to the list, I’d love to hear it. (And I’ll be sure to re-read some of the excellent advice out there.)
A note to my players who read the blog: there shouldn’t be any spoilers here, but you may read something that leads to guessing what happens. Up to you if you want to risk it or not. [Read the rest of this article]
Robin Laws' Revisited: Part 5, Creating your Adventure
This post is part of a series where I discuss Robin D Laws’ seminal work on GMing: Robin Laws’ of Good Game Mastering, written at the end of the 90′s . I compare it to my personal experience and opinions and I check how well the guide has ‘aged’.
The other posts of this series can be found here. If you liked them, I encourage you to purchase Robin’s book.
With a new edition of D&D around the corner, some GMs have new campaigns on their mind. Others, less inclined to play D&D are setting up their summer games or are playing various RPG products whose available pre-published adventures might be limited.
I bet that many from both groups have adventure design on the mind.
In fact, July is Worldwide Adventure Writing Month, so I think the timing for tackling the Adventure Creation chapter of Robin’s GMing guide is perfect!
Let’s dive in shall we? [Read the rest of this article]
Inq of the Week: Wii Wheel Rock You?
Oh, the pun hurts. Last week Dave asked everyone what their primary influences are in the Fantasy genre, and I’d say it’s no surprise at all that Tolkien Middle Earth and Lewis’ Narnia were the most common influence(77%). Next most influential were 70’s-90’s film, including Princess Bride, Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, and Willow with 44%, then Classic Myth, like Beowulf and the Odyssey with 40%. Not far behind those were modern fantasy movies like the LotR trilogy, followed by Howard’s Conan, Leiber’s Lankmar, Zelazny’s Amber, Moorcock’s Elric, etc, and then Weis & Hickman’s Dragonlance, and other D&D-inspired fiction. It’s very interesting to look at and sculpt a collective idea of what we all think Fantasy is by looking at our biggest influences and how they mesh together. Especially when it comes to any individual D&D game, which can incorporate elements from any number of the influences listed in that poll.
This week’s poll comes courtesy of my lovely wife, who has been playing Mario Kart Wii for the last two days almost non-stop. If you don’t own a Wii, or haven’t played Mario Kart on it, then surely you’ve at least seen the Wheel that comes with it and so please vote based on whether you like the idea of using it to play or not.
Do you use the Wii Wheel for Mario Kart?
- Yes, only losers don't use the wheel! (64%, 28 Votes)
- No, I use a different controller. (36%, 16 Votes)
Total Voters: 44
Loading ...Some people have scoffed at the $10 price tag to purchase more wii wheels, others just like the use a gamecube controller because it feels familiar and comfortable from Mario Kart Double Dash. My first encounter with using the wheel was confusing and painful, but a few times after that I started to adjust and think it’s quite fun to use. What are your thoughts?
Chatty's Review: Wii will get you Fit
I just guest posted a new review about Wii Fit over at Critical-Hits.
Why don’t you go and have a look… you might learn just how evil that thing truly is!
I love it and my son loves it… he can’t wait to recover from his surgery to start playing it again.
Enjoy!
I may tackle Boom Blox too later this week.
Chatty's Reviews: Wii Fit, the True Coach. Guilt and Insults included!
Yo, it’s me again, that blogger from That Other Site, offering you yet another review of a Wii title.
About a week before Mother’s day, I heard about Wii Fit being released on the North American market.
Not having read anything other than a short blurb about it coming with some sort of smart Step apparatus, I put myself down for a pre-order at one of my (many) local EB GAmes. (I kid you not, I must have 4 within 5 km from where I live).
So when I got it last Thursday, I really had no idea what it was or what it did.
Now that my family has been playing with it for a few days here are my thoughts on it. [Read the rest of this article]
Story Building tips, a Contest?
I read this over Robin D. Laws’ Livejournal this morning.
He starts with:
Given that we’re learning a new crunch-based system I was concerned that the characterization could get lost. So I asked each of the players to submit a two-pronged character arc. This consisted of two opposed possible outcomes for their characters as they develop through the course of the campaign
That is a very true concern that I see being bounced around and his proposed solution is a very simple and interesting way of addressing this.
Here’s the example he used for his players:
Frodo Baggins: find the endurance to serve as the ringbearer, or give in to temptation and despair
He then creates a table where he placed each of his players arcs.
I assumes he gave the table to all his players because he then went further and added more two columns . This is where he put how each players choose a way his/her character could act as a positive influence toward the arc of another player and as a negative influence for another.
Wow, I love this.
You see I’m not so much concerned about the crunchiness of 4e being detrimental to characterization because, well, there’s not much to threathen.
While most, if not all of my players would like to have bitching characterization, we all more or less suck at
developing coherent stories that fosters party cohesion.
So that’s where I turn, once again, the mic toward you.
I’m asking you to submit to me (and to the readership in general) a series of short easy-to-implement tricks to help poor, story-handicapped gaming groups like ours develop better stories and characterization. Robin’s arc matrix is once such trick.
I’m looking for individual tips and broader, group story tricks.
Now to make this a contest here’s what I propose:
Contest will last 1 week (up to noon of May 31st).
I’m currently sitting on a Near-Mint, complete, used-once, copy of AD&D’s 2e Planescape Setting that I want to get rid of.
I’ll ship it out to a randomly chosen submitter.
Aside: That thing is worth 55$ used? Maybe I should hold on to it… Nope, I have no use for it and would rather give it out to someone who wants it more. I hope to get more than 60$ worth of tips, so tell everyone about the contest.
Multiple entries are encouraged, but you only get one chance of winning regardless of entry (he he, I learn).
Once again, I’ll make a freely available PDF of the combined, edited entries. That means that by entering the contest you are giving me the non-exclusive rights to do this and you also allow me to derive (and keep) ad revenue from the traffic generated by them.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me in the comments or at chattydm@chattydm.net.
Thanks in advance!
Edit: The contest’s deadline has been extended to June 7th. Plus, if you have been refraining from participating because you didn’t want to gouge me with shipping fees, here’s a deal:
As an alternate prize, I will offer a 15$ gift certificate for DrivethruRPG where all kinds of cool Planescape products are.
Or, if you live in Europe, Asia or Australia and you are willing to pay for shipping, we can talk.
Slow return to Normal
My son was the ultimate trooper.
He spent more than 3 hours in surgery because the Eye-Nose-Throat surgeon had to repair the more extensive than expected damage that the thing growing in his inner ear had done.
The Good news, the growth is gone.
The Bad News, the whole middle ear has been mostly destroyed. While his eardrum was reconstructed and so as his auditive canal, the little bones responsible to conduct sounds (called osselet in French) were lost. The surgeon is confident that when he’ll re-operate in 8 months to check for re-growth, he’ll be able to successfully install a prosthesis to restore hearing.
Here’s to hoping.
That being said, he hears really well from the other ear. He also was able to stand 3 hours after the surgery and was complaining of hunger all the time. He ate 3 soups and crackers at 6h00 PM and he was released to go home at 6h30.
We’ve spent the whole evening playing Boom Blox on the Wii and this is quite possibly the best boy game ever where you get to break stuff by throwing baseballs, rubber or bowling balls at stuff!
So Cool.
I still will focus mostly on my son for the next 3 days or so, but if I have the energy while he sleeps, I’ll start posting again.
Thanks for everyone’s positive thoughts, prayers and wishes of good luck. Nico made his Fort Save and in 8 months, the surgeon gets to cast Cure Partial Deafness.
Precariously Balancing on the Edge of Game Design
Inspired by the discussion in one of my recent posts, I was surprised to hear that there are advocates AGAINST balance. The discussion was about RPGs, which have their own caveats as far as game design goes (which are crucial to the argument about why some feel it’s not important), but let’s start by talking about board games and move out from there.
WHITE, HOUSE LANNISTER, RUSSIA
In board games, you could break it down into two broad categories. There are symmetrical and asymmetrical games, and they’re not necessarily an absolute one or the other: most games will fall inside a spectrum between the two.
An easy example of a symmetrical game is Chess. Both sides start with the same pieces and the same options. Because Chess is a pure strategy turn-based game, the first player has an advantage. (It’s statistically minor based on the emergent complexity, but it is there.) Thus, the only point of imbalance is in who goes first. (I’m sure there’s some simultaneous play variant that eliminates it but changes the game significantly.) [Read the rest of this article]
Maybe they can get Michael Bay to direct
Joystiq notes that the Castlevania movie is now back on track (and is Uwe Boll free.) But that’s not the only video game adaptation coming from the same studio. No, they also have the PAC MAN license! Yes, the hottest video game license from the early 80′s could be coming to a screen near you. (No word on if it’ll incorporate the continuity from the TV show.)
Joystiq offered this (fake) pitch:
It’s the year 2185. Human life has been all but eradicated, and sole survivors scramble to collect resources in a labyrinthine cave of unknown secrets. Using their spherical harvesting pods, each team takes a turn gathering. But something goes horribly wrong as one expedition team gets trapped and is forced to finish its mission while running away from haunting memories of the past…
What would be your pitch for a Pac Man movie? Remember, Hollywood is thirsty for the next brilliant remake script!
Wizards Lets Loose The Cool
Wired has posted an exclusive preview of the 4th Edition Character Sheet, which I have to say I’m happy to see. Since playing Keep on the Shadowfell, all of us were very concerned because the pre-generated character’s stats were hidden way down at the bottom of the back of the page. We assumed this was because they had already been added in to everything, but we felt there was a huge disconnect with a character simply by not having their key stats front and center (well, left-aligned), and we were all very scared that the standard character sheet would hide them on the back as well. Thank god that is not the case!
Wizards has also released a web-exclusive sixth pre-gen character for use with Keep on the Shadowfell, and it happens to be exactly what I wanted! A Tiefling Warlord! Edit: He also happens to be cross-classed Warlord and Wizard, so that at second level he gains the 1st level Wizard power Scorching Burst.
While ENworld is showing an image from Scott Rouse’s Cubical of Elemental Evil which shows an adventure module for 3rd level characters titled Treasure of Talon Pass, I’m much more interested by another one of the images. [Read the rest of this article]
