Tag Archives: Advice/Tools

RPGs

Patience and Scope

Leave a comment

As a DM, patience and scope of campaign and session preparation are my biggest weaknesses. I have so many ideas for higher level characters, but I want to have players work their way up to get there.

I have always had trouble with scaling encounters, dungeons and sessions to low level parties.

As DM there are so many things you can do and experience in play.

I agree that there can and should be things that low level characters should stay away from, but if players ignore the famous DM question, “Are you [really] sure you want to do that?” It’s not the DM’s fault if the players make bad choices. That is easy.

The hard part is having low level characters have fun and excitement without everything being instant death.

I designed an area with some simple tombs and the weakest of all creatures for them to go up against, centipedes, the weakest spiders, and such. I even had a couple skeletons. The tombs go back 40 to 100 feet or so with alcoves on both sides every ten or twenty feet. Some have a room at the end, bigger ones have a room in the middle and the end. Those were appropriate encounters.

The temptation to avoid is throwing higher level NPCs at a situation, just to get into it. This is what I did playing with my sons. It was fun and they enjoyed the way I handled it. The problem is, I got into that rut and ended up with another scenario. The boys are having fun, etc. The hard part is for me to have the patience for them to work up to that level.

One solution to this is to get some other players. My oldest is on his own and not available most weekends, and my youngest is back living with his mom. So I can only dream of playing. I have been on Pen and Paper Games for a few years now. I live just far enough away from areas with a large concentration of gamers that I haven’t had much traction. I am hoping to get into an online game for at least a few sessions as a player to learn how it can be done as a substitute for in-person play. I definitely don’t have the patience for a play by post game in chat or email. Video or audio chat of some sort is the way to go.

The other solution to my problem is the concept of challenge ratings from Swords & Wizardry. I am not sure, but I think that came along with D&D 4.0. I missed the whole 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 rules, so I only know the good and bad I have read from others online. What I like about the challenge rating as it exists in S&W Complete, is that it gives you an idea of how to configure sessions, encounters, dungeons, adventures, whatever to fit the level of the party. There can still be a larger challenge rating monster or two so there is a challenge and an incentive to use their brains.

Scope is my other problem. I like the idea of a sandbox, and the campaign world I have been fiddling with for years is like a Western Europe sized sandbox. It is not detailed down to the low level, but I have a lot of the grand concepts and ideas to tie it all together. I want to have more of it “complete” and have worked hard to make myself work on the smaller area where I have players starting for a more reasonable scope for the sandbox. I will still jot down notes of ideas for campaign scale items so I don’t forget them. When I get to reading other RPG blogs, I get wrapped up in them and make notes and copy tables and maps.

It is like I am at an all you can eat buffet and am trying to pile some of everything onto my first plate rather than making multiple, more manageable trips.

I have ideas on my own plus a flood of new ideas from what I read online and elsewhere. It all looks so good, so where to start….

The lack of success in finding players has also made it easy to excuse myself from focusing and making area specific wilderness encounter tables and more low level possibilities. I do have quite a few, some just ideas, but for now, I need to focus on organizing what I have so I can find it when I need it and finding an online game I can join as a player to learn the technical ropes. Running an in person game is easy, it is throwing all the technology into the mix. I work with computers, so I can figure it out, but I would like to participate in how others do it, so I can decide how I want to do it. Then I can make an effort to find players.

RPGs

Taking Notes

Leave a comment

Fookes Software’s NoteTab, is my favorite all-around, all-purpose program. It is billed as a programmable text editor. This means you can build scripts to handle various text editing tasks.

A text editor is plain text, like if you used a typewriter. A word processor is like Microsoft Word, or OpenOffice Writer, the user can do bold, underline, pictures, etc.

The benefits of using a text editor to do your writing is that you can focus on the content first, and the presentation later. With a word processor, there is the constant temptation to format text as you go rather than going with the flow.

NoteTab has one useful feature for taking notes called Outlines. A NoteTab outline is just a plain text file with a special formatting code in the first line so that NoteTab will show it as an outline.

Example of NoteTab Outline

ScreenShot520
Example of NoteTab Outline

I have many uses for outlines in my campaign design, session preparation, and record keeping.

NoteTab’s scripting abilities allow it to open other programs such as web pages or PDFs in Adobe Reader.

I have outlines for ideas for this blog, DM notes, Hexcrawl notes from various sources on the internet, lists of NPCs, ideas, etc.

I prefer to use NoteTab Pro for its versatility, but there are two other versions, NoteTab Standard, which is included with NoteTab Pro, and a free version, NoteTab Light. The free version can read outlines but cannot create new outlines without a workaround. All three versions support a PasteBoard feature. One document is designated as a PasteBoard and any text you copy using CTRL+C, for example, goes to the paste board. One inventive NoteTab user built a clip to do a similar thing with outlines, and creates the header composed of the date and time. This clip is good if you have a lot of repetitive information you plan to copy from an electronic source, and need to keep it organized.

If you want outlines in multiple depth and with formatting, such as bold or underline, check out InSight or PowerOutlines by DataOmega. InSight has all the bells and whistles plus the kitchen sink. PowerOutlines is focused on outlines. Both products can import NoteTab outlines. PowerOutlines has the added benefit of being able to save to the NoteTab outline format, so you can view and edit the same file with either PowerOutlines or NoteTab.

A good text editor is critical for organizing and storing notes. Be aware that online there are raging debates about the best text editor. I have a couple that I use, depending on my needs. Like an edition war, pick the one the works best for you and don’t waste time arguing about it.

RPGs

Swords And Wizardry Retro Clone

Leave a comment

I read the Swords and Wizardry Quick Start, White Box, and Complete Rules just to make sure the three magic items that I submitted to the OSR Superstar Contest were according to the rules of the contest.

I found the rules to be well organized and easy to start using them.

I am tempted to make them the go to rules and tweak with stuff from AD&D, like spells, monsters, etc.

I like the simplicity of classes. I don’t like the level limitations of non-Human characters and the class restrictions. This is the same balk I have with AD&D. No problem, HOUSE RULES TIME!

I like that the system strives to keep the ability to customize and encourages it!

I have joined the Swords & Wizardry Discussion Group to keep up with ideas of others.

I see it beneficial to have these rules, which are freely available, should I ever get an online campaign going, others will need the rules.

I like the S&W SRD and it’s ideas, and I like the generators for NPCs, NPCs in taverns, and treasure map generator. Simple tools to fill in gaps fast.

I recommend this system and I would gladly play these rules, since they are so close to my “home” rules.

Well, I have spent so much time blogging and updating this Google+ page and collecting information, etc. that I am behind on direct work on my campaign.

RPGs

MOTE – Kickstarter for OSS update to MapTool

1 Comment

I have not used MapTool. I just tried in the last week, and its Java requirement is not working with the latest version of Java. That’s a security hole, so I did not go further to make it work.

MOTE has a Kickstarter and a Home Page.

I think such tools would be very useful for online play, but I need more time to figure out how it works.

I have read that some just use Google+, and others use similar tools and Google+ for online live play.

Finding a game I can at least try it out, like a one-shot adventure would be good.

RPGs

Helpful Tool – Print Friendly

Leave a comment

I learned of Print Friendly from OSR blogs a few years ago. A lot of OSR bloggers have it on every article on their blog. I need to look into that. You can also add a script to the tool bar of your browser as a bookmark and you can use it. I also use it to record information for work, which is totally unrelated to RPGs, except maybe “Papers and Paychecks”, LOL. 🙂

This tool allows you to make a PDF with links and the URL of the page you found the information. The PDF can be saved to your PC or emailed to yourself.

The links in the PDFs are clickable and it is searchable text, not just an image.

This is much easier than saving HTML files for later.

Just follow the instructions on the Print Friendly page to get it working for you.

RPGs

The Dungeons of Lost Coppers Cartographic Contest

1 Comment

Dyson’s Dodecahedron is hosting a cartography contest where you take one of his maps and finish it with your own twist.

The deadline is fast approaching:  “23:59 Eastern Standard Time of Sunday, February 23rd, 2014.”

I’m not the best at maps, but I may see what I can devise. It has the same deadline for the OSR Superstar Contest. If I focus, I know I can meet both deadlines.

Dyson has several interesting tables, and of course lots of maps. He even has a few short tutorials that explain how he does his style of maps. I tried a little doodling on graph paper to do it. I can see with practice it can be done fairly easily, but it requires scanning and then processing the image in Gimp or other graphics software. I get so sidetracked looking at all the goodies all the different RPG sites have to offer that I take lots of notes and download/use Print Friendly to add to my ideas for my own campaigns.

Cartography Contest
Cartography Contest
RPGs

OSR Superstar Contest

1 Comment

Tenkar’s Tavern is hosting the OSR Superstar Contest.

There are three stages. If you make the cut of the first stage you move on to the second stage.

The first stage involves submitting a magic item. You can submit up to three of them. Don’t post it on the blog, it will be disqualified, it must be emailed to the specified address. The deadline is “Sunday, February 16th, at 1PM Eastern (NYC) Time.”

I have decided to participate. So far, I have two magic items sketched out in pretty good detail. You have to use the Swords and Wizardry rules, so I am having to refer back to those. I can do AD&D without a lot of thought and just for specifics. At least it will be flexible to work with any OSR like rule set.

If you make the cut with the magic items, next is a monster.

If you make it to the third round you must use an assigned dungeon map to craft an adventure using the magic item and monster.

 

OSR Superstar
OSR Superstar
RPGs

Places to play D&D

Leave a comment

What places have you played D&D or any RPG?

Here is my list. The last one, my own house is cool. I need to expand it to be more than my sons and one of their friends.

1.) Parent’s basement in high school and college breaks.

2.) High School Library

3.) Around the campfire in high school.

4.) One tournament at a convention in KC, MO.

5.) Apartment in college.

6.) Student organization in college.

7.) My brother’s apartment, later his house.

8.) My own house in whatever room I please.

RPGs

Marmalade Dog 19 – Part II

1 Comment

Last night I wrote here that I found out that the local gaming convention at WMU in Kalamazoo is this weekend.

It started at 9:00 AM and due to waking up way early, I lost track of time working on something since I was up, then having a hard time figuring out where to park to avoid a ticket from campus police, I got there just before ten.

I figured there would be a line to sign up to place D&D Next, so rather than going to the sign-up sheet first, I looked around then tried to find the table. I could not find it, so I went to the sign up sheets and no one had signed up, so I signed up and went to the table, no one was there. There was no note nothing, just a long table and the chairs around it.

I went and said something to the registration staff and the DM for all the D&D Next sessions, all using the Temple of Elemental Evil, and they said he ws not there. One of them mentioned that this was one of their smaller years. The whole event fit into one ballroom/auditorium.

There were less than a dozen vendors. One vendor advertising himself as a travelling game shop. I take that to mean he does from CON to CON. He had jewelry, used games, dice and trinkets. Most of the vendors appeared to be focused on Magic The Gathering. I never “got” the Magic card game. I still don’t so I skipped over those tables. There was one local used book store there and their had their rule books, and Science Fiction and Fantasy books there. The rules they had were “new rules”, probably for D&D 3.0 or 3.5, I did not look closely. I mentioned that and they said any OD&D and 1e books went straight to their eBay site.

There looked to be two tables of board games for whatever enough people wanted to play. There looked to be two tables where two games of Blood Bowl were going on, and there was room at the tables for at least two more games at each table. I played Blood Bowl when it first came out, my brother, Robert had it. That was over 20 years ago.

There were a couple groups playing miscellaneous games, Call of Cthulhu, a magic/fantasy RPG I never heard of, and maybe a couple others. The bulk of their RPG offerings were hosted by the PathFinder Society and there looked to be 6 or 7 PathFinder games. The PathFinder Society or else it was a vendor had three tables with two workers for selling rules books. I am not interested in laying out a bunch of money to GM another game system.

They had eight double tables set up for Warhammer miniature wargaming and it looked like two or three tables were setting up to play.

They had some big screen with some sort of Star Trek game that one worker said he was excited about, but nothing was happening yet.

They also had 8 immersive stations, basically boxes with doors for MechWarrior, but nothing was happening with that. There was a big screen TV to show the action once it got started.

One of the workers said that some people usually had pickup games, but I did not see anyone else who was not involved in something. I brought my Player’s Handbook and ACKS soft cover (I helped with the Kickstarter so got my name in the acknowledgement.) and my tablet with the AD&D PDFs, and the final D&D Next play test rules. so I could have ran an impromptu or played in one had there been others there.

Since the first session went until 2:00 PM, and I was not feeling into any of the other offerings, I decided to go run some errands and pop back home to drop stuff off and let the dog out. Due to my waking really early, once I got home I felt how tired I was, so I elected to take a nap. Of course, I slept until after 2:00 and the next session started at 2:30. So I planned to go to the next session, but something personal came up and put an end to that. A day that was a good one, even though it was not going the way I had hoped, took a turn due to some real life drama.

It continues tomorrow, but I put off things I planed to do today that I have been putting off too long. My computer room is a mess and it is driving me nuts, so I need to clean up so I can focus on some campaign planning and other real life things.

I had never been to a strictly gaming convention before. Obviously it was focused on playing, which is a good thing. There were no panels or guest speakers, etc. My impressions of the whole thing are pretty neutral since the one thing I wanted to experience wasn’t happening when I was there.

I did get some good out of it. I learned of some other SW Michigan conventions, one in Grand Rapids, only about an hour away, I don’t recall where the other is at the moment. On my errands I stopped by my FLGS and picked up three spare sets of dice, if I ever manage to get some players that need dice for a session. I also looked at their board and got a picture of a group that meets regularly at WMU that might give some local leads. Local colleges should have some RPG players that might let an old Grognard play. I now know where to park for next year’s Marmalade Dog and can watch for it next year. If I sign up early, I can run a game and get a t-shirt and discounted admission.

For now, I will continue the quest to find locac players for face to face play, and explore the options for online play, like Google hangouts or Roll20. Of course, more posts about those endeavors.