Ten Cool D&D Things #121-130
These items were emailed between May 25th and August 23rd, 2024.
The boffins at the DM Academy discuss how to make a monster that players avoid rather than fight. There is some good advice in the comments.
Eli says we can make gold more meaningful in our games by introducing a "wealth hurdle." I hadn't heard that terminology before, but the idea is good.
Spitting Image has defined an NPC taxonomy using a popular personality model. It is a strong idea. I want a little generator that takes the three highest numbers and assigns them qualitative values (careless, warm, etc.), giving you a three-word personality for each NPC.
Sue Savage explains how to run a team-building event with RPGs. This article is a detailed nuts-and-bolts examination of the topic.
Scroll for Initiative gives 10 reasons to stop worrying about "pass without trace." We often make our concerns about spells bigger than needed.
Dwiz has identified the best RPG cover of all time, and she dives DEEP in explaining why it works. Do you agree with her choice? Please send me your alternative suggestions.
Mike Shea breaks down how to award magic items in D&D 5E. It may be 101-level advice, but it is invaluable. I especially like his idea of having a couple of permanent magic items on standby to give out as circumstances permit.
Jason Campbell shares a simple table for building a haunted house. I liked this a lot; it is just well-executed.
Johnstone Metzger thinks you can categorize games by the types of materials a GM needs to run them. It is a fascinating and (I think) unique perspective.
Gold Digger decided to run a very quick West Marches campaign using the White Hack (a 0-edition D&D clone). Here is his campaign report.
Elizabeth Van Couvering publishes many adventure guides. Here, she offers her best tips for preparing a published adventure for play.
Joel Hines presents his "metro system" megadungeon design method. It is recommended for those who want a Moria-like experience but don't want to prep 8,000 rooms beforehand!
One of the boffins at the DM Academy offers some sound advice to DMs concerning the Suggestion spell.
Nick Draw says that the 5e petrification mechanic rocks. I think he's right!
Teos explains how to create the campaign our players want. Essential advice.
Ty introduces a structured approach to collaborative worldbuilding called glimpses. This sort of shared narrative control is controversial in some D&D circles, but it's worth exploring.
Deathtrap Games explains how we lost faction play and why it is a problem. It's a long and idiosyncratic post, but I think his historical analysis is correct.
Complementing this, Mike Shea explains how to tie characters to factions. I've been pleased to see Mike put more emphasis on factions recently.
Merric is musing about campaign settings and shared mythology. I agree with his main point, and it's one of the reasons my Star Wars game the other night was so easy for players to get into.
Finally, Justin Alexander warns against ignoring character backstories. It's a useful admonition.
The DM Lair debunks 15 common dungeon master myths. A couple of these are disputable, but I'm generally in agreement.
Nordic Larp explains how to deliver a one-hour online role-play experience. Many of us find ourselves in a time-poor situation, so it's great to have other models of play.
Rob Donoghue, founder of Evil Hat, has been playing Shadow of the Demon Lord and has enjoyed the mandatory level advancement rule. It's straightforward to bring that rule into your D&D game.
Flutes Loot has a long article about player agency in D&D. It is a deep dive with lots of insight.
Prismatic Wasteland has created an RPG cooking minigame. It's delicious! (Seriously, it's a very clever little mechanic).
The Lost Atlas is a massive collection of battle maps you can filter by environment, etc. Many of them are free, though some require a subscription.
Scroll for Initiative describes how to be a "good sport" at the D&D table. It contains some good etiquette tips for both players and DMs.
The Alexandrian notes that, when it comes to heists, sometimes the plan just works. I had a similar experience in my last campaign when a pair of PC thieves broke into a mansion to steal an enormous cache of gold. They were high-level and dealt competently with every obstacle I threw at them. I worried the encounter sequence wasn't challenging enough, but they loved every moment.
Anders Honoré praises the 3-mile hex and describes it as the natural size for wilderness play. He makes some excellent points that I hadn't considered before.
Finally, Mike Shea is looking at high-value prep. As a bonus, Mike streams his session prep on YouTube, so you can see exactly how he does it.
The Unwritten Man lists the seven causes of writer's block and how to beat them. The post is poorly formatted, but the advice is gold.
Ty has a terrific method for starting a new campaign called the person-shaped hole. It's a great idea that would really propel your game.
Knight at the Opera looks at EVERY initiative method ever devised. Did she miss any?
Duncan offers a collection of tips for running city adventures. As always, he goes into great detail and includes much practical advice.
The Kobold Press pack is back, this time explaining how to encourage your players to be more proactive. It's time to get your players off the couch and into action!
The DM Lair shares 12 lessons movies teach us about Dungeon Mastering. Some of these are obvious, but they are generally well explained.
The 7-year-old DM is back and has 15 tips for using magic items in your games. I always enjoy his posts.
Campaign Mastery delves into locked-room mysteries and shows how to use them in RPGs. It is a post that will repay careful reading.
The Dodecahedron proposes four new mechanical modules based on what he calls "toolbox design." I like these ideas a lot.
Finally, Brian Rideout discusses the history of timekeeping in D&D and suggests how to make the best use of downtime. His examples make me want to play a one-to-one time campaign.
Deathtrap Games lists 10 tips for making memorable one-shots. It is excellent advice.
Speaking of one-shots, Crab Dungeon reflects on a recent game she organized. She says it was "the wildest, most invested game I've ever run. The experience was so emotionally, physically, and creatively draining that it took several days to really recover."
This idea is amusing! Tabletop Joab provides adventure hooks based on ABBA songs. Please send me an adventure hook based on a song from your favorite band!
Sly Flourish describes running hex crawls for D&D, 5e, or Shadowdark. Who of you are currently running a hex crawl?
Sprocket Saga explains "the improvisation tax." It is a rule-of-thumb for assessing the power of improvised actions, and I may try it at my table.
Alone in the Labyrinth tells us about spirit houses: small shrines to new gods. It is a terrific example of worldbuilding, and I might swipe the idea for Iskandar.
Foreign Planets has created a name generator that combines a morpheme, word, and epithet. You end up with slightly Vancian-sounding names. But what interested me was using morphemes to create names that sound almost familiar but still unique.
Kobold Press describes a new downtime activity called scouting. It would be especially useful in a sandbox game.
The DM Lair identifies 9 things all good D&D villains have in common. Buff those baddies!
Finally, Knight at the Opera dives deep into the Fifth Edition adventuring day in Gritty Realism: Weeks, not Days.
The DM Lair presents 43 Must-Have RPG tools for DMs. It's an outstanding list and worth reviewing.
In Player Holdings in Aurikesh, Brandes Stoddard shares a neat set of player stronghold rules and shows how he uses them in practice.
Daily Adventure Prompts shares some advice for introducing NPCs with a dramatic backstory. It's a tight tip.
Dump Stat Adventures explains a D&D variation called E6. This variant might be the solution if you have struggled to make long-term campaigns work.
Ramming the Dungeon demonstrates collaborative session zeros. It includes links to some quality world-building articles.
Caulbearer Press presents a Dungeon Taxonomy. She also speaks in praise of small dungeons, a preference of which I approve.
Lord Matteus asks whether gritty realism is possible with D&D 5e and shares a modest rules variant to assist.
Seed of Worlds walks through an adventure generator called Fictive Fantasies Adventures, available as a free link from his article. Best of all, he actually playtests the results.
The Alexandrian shows how to include character backstories in your campaign.
Castle Grief started a new campaign using the classic adventure, Keep on the Borderlands, and narrates the chaotic early sessions. It's a terrific example of how to evolve a campaign from a central location.
Roleplay Rescue is rereading an old book on game mastering. In this post, she discusses the One Law of RPG campaigns. It is controversial--what do you think?
Merric is musing on the diversity of adventure structures. It is an excellent read and full of insight.
Gnome Stew outlines the elements of an engaging story hook. The post includes some great examples.
Dump Stat Adventures offers strategies to handle flying characters. I've never been too concerned about giving characters a fly speed, but some DMs find it problematic.
Luke Gearing suggests replacing reaction rolls with a dynamic reputation table. It is an ingenious idea, and I'm already considering a variant for my Iskandar campaign.
In Ideas That Kill You, the Mad Gods present a primer on "infohazards." What an intriguing new threat idea!
Silver Arm Press advocates that you set a deadline in your RPG campaigns. I fully agree. In my current Iskandar campaign, we agreed it would end at level 8.
False Machine describes a fantastical new setting called The World of 100 Wonders. It's a great premise, and I'm impressed with the list of wonders.
In One-Shot Monster Powers, John Fourr shows how to grant unique abilities to your boss monsters.
The DM Lair has shared The King's Path, a free adventure for 5E or Pathfinder.
Social media is abuzz with concern about the direction of Dungeons & Dragons. Mike Shea explains how to survive D&D's digital future. There's also information on his new Kickstarter, City of Arches, which you should check out!
In The Inversion Technique, Roleplaying Tips shares a new method to "forge cool plot twists, fill our worlds with surprising discoveries, and startle players with non-cliché NPCs." I like it.
I also like a good prop. In a practical article, the Wyrd demonstrates how to create a medieval manuscript layout. If you use this, please send me an image of the results.
Dungeon Fruit suggests 20 unusual ways to achieve immortality. These could be terrific villain origin stories. Have any of your characters ever become immortal? Please write and tell me about it.
"This has been the best Dungeons and Dragons of my life. Nay. I think I have not played Dungeons and Dragons until now." Ok, there's a hook! Mythic Mountains contrasts two sandbox campaigns he recently ran. One was mediocre, the other was extraordinary. His (long) post explains the difference.
Sword-Shaped Leaves shares her very best DM tip. You've probably seen this before, but it's a good reminder.
Improved Initiative explores the impact of imperialism, trade, and cultural exchange on world-building. It's a solid read.
Dice & Dragons suggests using a burn-down list to keep ideas flowing in your campaign. I use something similar in my Iskandar campaign.
What does your party need? Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque says they need a "cool friend" NPC!
Background Revelations by The Alexandrian explains a vital technique for mystery scenarios.
Elemental Reductions examines the power of names. It is a terrific world-building article with a few tips I hadn't seen before.
Elfmaids and Octopi share a big table of exciting things to happen while dying. Keeping players engaged can be difficult once they are down, so these ideas are handy.
Violent Encounters by Failure Tolerated shows how RPG combat can become stagnant and offers practical suggestions for improvement.
Sanlin has a confession: sometimes, she doesn't use stat blocks. It sounds like she's levelling up.
15 Tips for Creating Amazing NPCs by The DM Lair helps you build memorable characters. You've probably seen much of this advice before, but it's a handy reminder.
Scroll for Initiative shares a simple checklist for writing awesome adventures. It is well worth reviewing.
More from the DM Lair! This time, he shares a complete guide to running D&D for kids. I haven't done this very often, but the advice seems sound.
Roleplay Rescue recently did some cave exploration and had a revelation about dungeon movement.
Fail Forward discusses being a member of an RPG chorus. I'd never thought about this before, but it's a genuine phenomenon at conventions.
Arsludi discusses the impact of even small language choices on your RPG experience.
Esteemed game designer Steve Winter answers a perennial question: What Are Hit Points Anyway? It's not just about survival.
Speaking of illustrious designers, the DM Lair unveils Ed Greenwood's game-mastering secrets. These are conventional but well worth reviewing.
Hipsters & Dragons explains Failing Forward vs. Failing Sideways. It's a solid introduction to a popular topic.
Rise Up Comus explores the problem with RPG lore. There is no one good answer, but Josh offers some insight.
25 Feet by Sly Flourish is a quick rule-of-thumb you will use in every D&D session.
Age of Ravens shares a master table for random city events. It's comprehensive and also released into the Creative Commons.
The DM Lair provides advice on how to overcome Dungeon Master burnout. It's a common problem and, I think, exacerbated by lots of online play.
Illusory Sensorium presents simplified expedition logistics in Tyranny of Wagons. Roll on!
For advanced world-builders, Mindstorm Press shows how to add congruency to anti-canon worldbuilding. I'm still wrapping my head around the whole "anti-canon" approach.
Finally, Johnn Four suggests this technique for delicious drama & irony. It's controversial in some circles.