Critical Hits Podcast #27: The Out
Mike Shea and Dave Chalker talk about the combat “Out,” a method for shortening combats by defining alternative ways that the battle can end instead of one side of the other being wiped out.
Syn-Duh-Con: A Review, A Takeaway, A Lengthy Blather
I wasn’t supposed to go to SynDCon this year, as I had already attended my annual gaming convention, TempleCon, had a great pile of fun, and didn’t want to push my luck or spend piles of money I didn’t technically have. However, two weeks before it started, a DM I know from Meetup.com sent out a global alert/invite/threat saying he’d be going and would love to see everyone in his address book there. I thought about it for approximately 11 seconds and then fired off a text message to my best friend Dave in Rhode Island and said, “Gaming? Convention? Rockville? Maryland? Yes?” He was supposed to say, “Don’t be an idiot,” and then list hundreds of reasons why it’s a terrible idea. Instead, he agreed to be an idiot with me, and even bring along his son Mason, and suddenly the three of us were signed up for SynDCon.
Dealing the Wildcards
Anything adventure designers can do to help DMs run their games will mean a better experience for players. In this column, I explore the concept of the wildcards, elements adventure designers can add to encounters that provide DMs with choices.
Interview with PAX East Champion Dungeon Master, Matt Brenner
In early March of 2011, at the PAX East gaming conference, Wizards of the Coast sponsored the second annual PAX East Dungeon Master’s Challenge. In the end Matt Brenner took away the prize and title as Champion Dungeon Master.
The 5×5 Method Compendium
Consistently one of our most popular articles here on Critical Hits (for which I couldn’t be prouder), The 5×5 Method is a planning method for GM’s that sits between giving decisions for the party to make so that their choices matter, and at the same time, isn’t so wide open as to make it difficult to plan ahead for those of us who aren’t as great building adventures on the fly. Just in time for GM’s Day, I give you this collection of links about the 5×5 Method.
The Combat “Out”
Combat speed in D&D is an oft-debated topic, and while much of the conversation is useful, I have one method that I trumpet above all others to make your combats take less time and work better as a scene in your game, and that’s the combat “out.”
Digging Deep (Gnomes)
How does one designer take a creature that once ruined a campaign for him and re-imagine it to be something that could be the major piece of a campaign? With a little help and a lot of imagination.
From the Archives: Skills
Today I’m looking at skills. Rob Schwalb’s article about his dissatisfaction with them mirrors many of my concerns that have existed ever since my very first game of 3rd edition up through my current campaign. However, they clearly have value, as you’ll see in many of these posts, but also can pose some issues.
