Dungeon Master Experience: The Invisible Railroad
ible leaving nothing behind and no clue about the message it
oad was supposed to deliver.
GHT. Players never cease to surprise me.
Although I think it’s possible to run a campaign
of the paragon tier, the that is 100 percent driven by the players, I’m not the
s and slays various evil mem- kind of Dungeon Master who can relinquish narra-
werful society of wizards, in tive control to the point where I’m simply reacting
Deep within the Shan Qabal to the players’ desires and “winging it” week after
forged emissary of Vhalt, a week. I like coming up with adventure ideas and
he evil god Vecna. The war- stringing them together to form a cohesive arc that
ims to have a message for the unfolds over multiple levels. When I plan out an
re, which has been in disarray adventure, I usually have a good idea where, when,
d along with his flagship—one and how it will end—assuming the heroes don’t get
ampaign. sidetracked or TPK’ed en route. I like to call it my
get the sense that this invisible railroad.
away NPC but rather an The worst kind of adventure, in my humble opin-
aign—someone the DM has ion, is one that railroads the player characters—which
has quirks and complex is to say, one that denies them any opportunity to
t checks confirm that he affect change through their actions or decisions. Play-
arm. Perhaps for this reason, ers can see a railroad from a mile away, and they are
ed to tag along, but they are well within their rights to steer clear of it. Even in its
eventually decline to escort simplest form, D&D is all about making choices and
nt the warforged bids fare- dealing with the consequences: Do we go right or
rty. Out of the blue, Bruce left? Climb down the pit or avoid it? Slay the guard or
acks! The other players are bribe him? Even with my years of experience running
ecision but join the fray. As D&D games, I’ve designed encounters that unfold
points, a magical docent exactly as planned by making player choice irrel-
e warforged to disintegrate, evant—and shame on me for doing it! Such encounters
usually end with disappointment.
That said, a D&D campaign is basically a series
of quests that move the heroes from one destination
to another, and if you want the player characters at
Point A to visit Point B before, say, Point Q, then a
track is a handy tool for getting them where they need
to go. The trick (and yes, it is a trick) is to make sure
that the players never feel as though they’re being car-
ried along by the story.
When DMs ask me how I keep my campaign on
track, I tell them that when I plan out the events of a
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 75
The
game session, I’m basically laying down an invisible whereabouts—and because
track that I hope my players never see. This track is letter, he was reluctant to co
what guides my campaign toward its intended des- truth be told, they took no s
tination. If all goes perfectly, my players will make My hope was that the heroe
decisions and take actions that push the story farther this information, through ro
along this track until, finally, I’ve gotten them from to track down and rescue th
Point A to Point B. Of course, events rarely unfold as as champions of the empire
planned—you can’t lay down an invisible track and on the Monday group’s tend
expect your players to follow it. The track is for my around a problem and was
benefit, not theirs. Its sole function is to remind me battle erupted.
of the intended destination and how far off track the Rather than have the wa
campaign has gotten. and spill the beans just to k
To help steer the campaign back onto the invisible took the “Well, let’s see whe
railroad, I use signposts. You might call them nudges, Several game sessions have
hints, or clues. No matter how far off track the heroes still haven’t gotten back on
stray, they will at some point see an arrow-shaped they’ve stumbled on anothe
signpost that says, in not so many words, “This way.” to a totally different campa
More appropriately the signpost takes the form of ing a threat from the Far Re
a rumor, a helpful or insightful NPC, a corpse that often I place a signpost that
comes with a clue, a sudden and unprovoked attack, the direction of Emperor A
or some other plot device that tells the players where captors. These signposts pro
they should go next. Eventually it will dawn on the
players that Oh, the DM is telling us the adventure
is THIS way, or even better, it’ll present them with a
choice designed to help steer the campaign back on
track.
In my Monday night game, for example, I decided
to introduce a warforged NPC with tons of important
information about the campaign—first and foremost
that the kingdom of Vhalt, which was supposedly
destroyed by the Dragovar Empire eons ago, has risen
from the ashes (with a little help from Vecna). Not
only has Vhalt created an army of warforged—living
constructs empowered with the souls of the dead—as
a prelude to war, Vhaltese agents have kidnapped
Emperor Azunkhan IX in an effort to destabilize the
Dragovar Empire. The warforged emissary killed
by the heroes represented a rogue faction in Vhalt
that sought peace, not war. He was under orders to
inform the Dragovar leadership of their emperor’s
Dungeon Master Experience: The Invisible Railroad
he followed orders to the Vecna’s (ahem) hand in the unfolding campaign. My
onfide in the heroes. (And, most recent signpost takes the form of another NPC
strides to gain his trust.) who has ties to Vhalt and some information about the
es would learn enough of missing emperor. Enough time has passed since the
oleplaying or other means, warforged incident that I can introduce this new NPC
he emperor and be lauded without my players feeling force-fed, and although the
e, but alas. . . . I had banked heroes have yet to question her, I feel confident that
dency to roleplay its way my patience will be rewarded. And if they kill her,
quite surprised when okay—at least they’ll have a corpse upon which to cast
a Speak with Dead ritual!
arforged break character
keep the story on track, I Figure 1: The good news is that the players have
ere this takes us” approach. done exactly what you expected them to do. The bad
e passed, and the heroes news is that they probably feel railroaded and have no
track, but that’s because way to affect the outcome of the campaign.
er invisible railroad tied
ign story arc—one involv- Figure 2: The good news is that the players are
ealm. However, every so making decisions that affect the campaign. The bad
t gently nudges them in news is that you don’t know how to steer them back
zunkhan and his Vhaltese on track.
ovide subtle reminders of
Figure 3: The good news is that you’re allowing
players to chart their own path while cleverly steer-
ing them toward your intended destination. The bad
news is that you’re exhausted from all the fun every-
one is having.
Lessons Learned
Dungeon Masters who take the time to plan adven-
tures in advance share a common nightmare: At some
point during the adventure, the players veer off track.
Sometimes it happens unintentionally—the players
simply do something you hadn’t anticipated. Other
times they do it maliciously, to test or thwart you. I
never lose sleep over this sort of thing; in fact, I think
part of the fun of being the DM is watching the play-
ers derail my campaign and figuring out ways to steer
it back on track.
When your campaign goes off the rails, here’s
what I recommend you do:
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 76
The Du
✦ Don’t worry, be happy! As long as you don’t The C
freak out, your players might not even realize the A
that the campaign has gone awry.
9/29/2011
✦ Be patient. Let the players stray. Let them
explore the consequences of their actions. MONDAY NIG
✦ Place subtle signposts that help guide your The heroes are sailing westwar
players back toward the desired destination. with the Knights of Ardyn, a g
corruption in the Dragovar Em
I’ve found that when players feel as though they have captured a mind flayer sh
can make real choices that affect the outcome of an they need the heroes’ help to op
encounter or an adventure, they are less likely to decided that the empire needs
maliciously ruin my campaign. Patience is the key—if threat to the west: a Far Realm
you remain calm and don’t show panic or fear, your by an eladrin warlock named S
players will think that you’re prepared for any contin- to free evil, godlike entities tra
gency. Also, they’ll realize in no time that you’re not them to Iomandra, and provid
trying to lead them by the nose. As they fumble about tacles as bodies. The mad warl
and chase other distractions, you’ll see opportunities starspawn called Allabar and,
to steer them back on track, or, conversely, you’ll dis- mind f layers. To top it all off, t
cover that the direction they’ve decided to go is more launching raids on imperial se
interesting than the one you had planned. and transforming them into d
Next week, I’ll talk about my three-arc approach the heroes and the Knights of A
to campaign building, which is, fundamentally, the out for them, and their best ho
idea of building a campaign around three big stories. bar, which will unleash a psych
I mention it here only because it dovetails nicely with every mind f layer on the plane
the invisible railroad concept insofar as it gives you enable the knights and the her
more tracks for your players to follow. If they fly off and reach their quarry undete
the rails, it’s often easier to steer them toward another En route to the rendezvous
invisible track than to try to lead them back to the not by mind flayers but by thr
one they just left. Consider that food for thought. the f lag of Sea King Senestrag
thorn in Senestrago’s side for m
Until the next encounter! var Empire is too distracted by
ungeon Master Experience: The Covenant of the Arcs
Covenant of
Arcs
GHT. deal with the fact that Senestrago is openly attacking those
he perceives as his enemies, including other Sea Kings.
rd, hoping to rendezvous As a further complication, the heroes have aboard their
group dedicated to wiping out vessel an emissary of Vecna. This helpful lich, who wears
mpire. It seems the knights the face of a noblewoman and travels with a changeling
hip called a nautilus, and manservant (played by Peter Schaefer), hails from Vhalt, a
perate it. The knights have secret kingdom that lies beyond a towering wall of deadly
their help to overcome a fog to the east called the Black Curtain. The heroes are
m incursion brought about among the few living souls who know of Vhalt’s existence,
Starlord Evendor, who plans and they suspect that Vhalt might be responsible for the
apped in the stars, transport kidnapping of the Dragovar Emperor—an act that has
de them with living recep- caused great instability within the empire, particularly in
lock has help from a powerful light of the mind f layer threat to the west.
, oh, about fifty thousand
the mind flayers have been I hinted at this week’s topic in last week’s article,
ettlements, capturing citizens
degenerate foulspawn. Clearly, which was about managing a campaign that’s “gone
Ardyn have their work cut
ope is to find and slay Alla- off the rails.” The smartest thing I ever did as DM was
hic shock wave that kills
et. The captured nautilus will to build my current campaign on a foundation made
roes to slip behind enemy lines
ected. up of three story arcs that together form an interlock-
, the heroes’ ship is attacked
ree marauding vessels flying ing narrative—a kind of triptych, if you will. I used a
go. The heroes have been a
many levels, and the Drago- similar three-arc structure in my previous 3rd Edi-
y the mind f layer threat to
tion campaign, and it worked out so well that I kept
the idea when plotting out the “big stories” in my 4th
Edition world of Iomandra.
A campaign arc is a big story. Its impact is mea-
sured from the beginning of the campaign to the
end, unlike the hundreds of other stories in the cam-
paign that might end after one game session or after
a few levels. Case in point: The Monday night group’s
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 77
The Du
enmity with the Horned Alliance thieves’ guild was ✦ A secret kingdom to th
a story that fueled many great moments in the para- destroyed, is resurrect
gon tier, but it wasn’t big enough and didn’t last long naps the Emperor in a
enough to be a campaign arc. However, many smaller the Dragovar Empire—
stories are actually branches of a campaign arc, and
good ones often can link two or more campaign arcs ✦ As cracks begin to form
together. The Horned Alliance was made up of tief- Empire, evil political f
ling rogues who hated the Dragovar Empire, for it power, and bickering S
had not only destroyed the tiefling kingdom of Bael lords of Iomandra) bec
Turath but enslaved its people for generations. The tile toward one anothe
thieves’ guild offered sanctuary to a group of “kraken
cultists” who were staging terrorist attacks against Basically, I have a war stor
the empire by deploying Far Realm mines to blow Realm threat to the west), a
up Dragovar ships. Where did they get these mines, secret kingdom to the east),
you ask? From the mind flayers, of course—which ties (boiling feuds and unbridle
directly to one of my three campaign arcs. wake of the emperor’s disap
The three campaign arcs of the Iomandra cam- I chose these three storie
paign are as follows: center my campaign around
nod to ancient Rome, I supp
✦ War erupts in the west when a star pact go about showing an empir
warlock triggers a Far Realm incursion that going badly is good for start
threatens the Dragovar Empire and the entire this is the second campaign
world. war as a pervasive theme, b
war to make a campaign in
the aftermath of war, and it
that provides most of the te
intrigue—situations when th
and “enemy” is indistinct, a
know whom to trust. The “s
arc was the last one to fall i
I had no clue what the secre
its ultimate goals were. (I tr
would come to me later.) Th
a source of rumors, a myste
ers avoided. At the end of th
found a journal containing
on the other side of the Blac
until mid-paragon tier when
first encounter with someon
That’s a roundabout way of
arcs need to be fully fleshed
ungeon Master Experience: The Covenant of the Arcs
he east, long thought must they vie for equal attention. It’s OK if one arc is
ted by Vecna and kid- “hazier” or less dominant than the others.
an attempt to destabilize It’s also OK, by the way, to have adventures and
—for reasons unknown. encounters that have nothing to do with your three
campaign arcs. Tying every game session to an arc is
m in the Dragovar like fighting troglodytes week after week: The whole
forces conspire to seize campaign starts to reek. It’s been my experience that
Sea Kings (the merchant the player characters become more invested (perhaps
come increasingly hos- entwined is a better word) in the campaign arcs as
er. they become more powerful and influential. During
the heroic tier, I was running a lot more stand-alone
ry (the war against the Far episodes than I am in the epic tier. Were I to compare
an intrigue story (the it to, say, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, it would be the
, and a political story difference between seasons 1–3 and seasons 4–7. The
ed power-mongering in the first three seasons of DS9 were mostly stand-alone
ppearance). stories, with occasional forays into the major series
es because I wanted to arcs. By the time we got into the later seasons, there
d an empire in decline (a were fewer one-off episodes and more attention given
pose), and how does one to the major arcs—the war against the Dominion, the
re in decline? Well, a war protection and restoration of Bajor, and the religious
ters. War is dramatic, and awakening of Benjamin Sisko. I think that’s natural.
n in a row where I’ve used Most campaign arcs can only be resolved by high-
but I don’t think you need a level characters.
nteresting. Eberron is set in Unless, of course, your campaign is short. It’s prob-
t’s the fear of another war ably worth noting that if I had I decided to end my
ension. I also love, love, love campaign at level 10 instead of level 30, I probably
he line between “friend” wouldn’t have needed three campaign arcs. There
and players don’t always might be some correlation between the number of
secret kingdom” campaign tiers in the campaign and the number of campaign
into place, and honestly arcs it needs. I’ve never run a campaign that climaxed
et kingdom was or what at the end of the heroic tier, but I think one campaign
rusted that the answers arc would probably suffice. Having two or three
he Black Curtain began as seems unnecessary and would likely leave the cam-
erious barrier that seafar- paign and the players unfulfilled.
he heroic tier, the heroes
the first hint of something
ck Curtain, and it wasn’t
n the characters had their
ne from the “other side.”
saying that not all three
d out from the get-go, nor
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 78
T
Lessons Learned play out over 25 levels, I’m
five levels and how each ar
The benefits of having multiple campaign arcs in mately, I think, everything
a long-running or multitier campaign are many. players making choices: If the
First and foremost, it’s like having slightly overlap- and overcome the Far Real
ping safety nets; no matter what the players do, their accomplished something tr
choices have a pretty good chance of landing them peace and stability to the w
smack-dab in the middle of one of your campaign behind some unfinished bu
arcs eventually. The arcs are so encompassing and maybe it’s OK for some cam
pervasive as to be nigh unavoidable, and if your play- on past the life span of the
ers are clearly turned off by one arc, they have two while railing against some
others to choose from. Having multiple arcs gives I’ve concocted, my players
players opportunities to decide which threat they Iomandra years” and imag
care about the most, and I promise you, each player happened if their characte
will have his or her own opinion on the matter, choice, and that by itself is
based on which arc ties in most closely with that Still, the perfectionist in
player’s character. Having three arcs also makes single plot thread and bring
your campaign feel less like a “one-trick pony.” end. It still bugs the hell ou
Finally, there’s the benefit of allowing you, the cam- Space Nine ended without B
paign’s primary storyteller, to entangle plot threads tion. That was the reason w
and create opportunities or occasions when two or sent to Deep Space Nine in
more arcs intersect. Dominion War arc was pre
I take immense pleasure in watching my play-
ers react as their characters reach those cool points Until the next encounter!
where two or more big stories come together, or
those points when they’re forced to make a tough
choice about which battle to fight. In my campaign,
my players are constantly confronted by the reality
that they can’t always deal with everything. In that
respect, having multiple campaign arcs provides
verisimilitude, insofar as the players must face the
consequences of choosing their battles.
Will the Monday night group resolve all three
arcs by the time they reach level 30? I’m not sure. I
doubt it. However, as the campaign rockets toward
the finish line, I find myself spending a lot of waking
hours pondering this very question. In my life, I’ve
only ended a campaign five, maybe six, times. I’m
not an expert in campaign resolution. After set-
ting three big arcs in motion and watching them
The Dungeon Master Experience: Setups and Payoffs
m worried about these last Setups
rc will resolve itself. Ulti- and
g ties back to the idea of Payoffs
ey decide to travel west
lm threat, they will have 10/6/2011
ruly epic and brought
world. That does leave WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
usiness, however; but
mpaign arcs to continue Epic tier. The heroes are on a collision course with Starlord
game. Years from now, Evendor, an eladrin warlock who plans to free a bunch of
new campaign threat evil star-gods from their celestial prisons. Unfortunately
will ref lect back on “the for the heroes, they possess some information that Evendor
gine what what might have needs, and so the villain dispatches one of his apprentices
ers had made the other and a strike team of mind f layers to retrieve it one way or
pretty cool. another. Despite their clever infiltration of the party’s ship,
n me wants to tie off every Evendor’s evil agents are swiftly dealt with and his appren-
g every arc to a fitting tice captured.
ut of me that Star Trek: Deep After interrogating the prisoner, Deimos (played by
Bajor joining the Federa- Chris Youngs) decides it would be prudent to “off ” her,
why Benjamin Sisko was or, at the very least, toss her overboard. Ravok (Andrew
the first place! Still, that Finch’s new goliath battlemind character) thinks Even-
etty amazing. dor’s apprentice might be more useful as a prisoner than
a corpse, and so he urges Deimos not to be hasty. Deimos
reluctantly—yet wisely, as it turns out—opts to keep her
alive a short while longer.
When Ravok tries to use a Sending ritual to contact
some allies of his (a holy order of Pelor worshipers who are
working against Starlord Evendor and the mind f layers), he
quickly realizes something is amiss. They’ve been arrested
on trumped-up charges of treason by the crew of the Blood-
monger, an imperial warship under the command of a
dragonborn captain named Artana, whose ship (according
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 79
T
to intelligence reports) was lost during an intelligence-gath- instant gratification becaus
ering mission in enemy waters. Not only has the warship’s them for not only keeping t
crew been partially lobotomized by mind f layers, but the but also for realizing they h
captain and her first mate have been replaced by doppel- ing chip. It’s possible that on
gangers in league with Starlord Evendor. saw it coming, but I don’t th
Rather than risk losing prisoners in a bloody conf lict, enjoyment of the moment o
the heroes inform “Captain Artana” that they have one brilliant.
of Starlord Evendor’s apprentices in their custody. Surely It’s like that moment in a
she is worth something to Evendor, and so the heroes begin Q gives 007 a new gadget. Y
negotiating a prisoner exchange. will come into play at some
for the payoff. Sometimes in
My players learned a valuable lesson this week: some- you forget that Bond has the
times it pays to take prisoners. As for me, I take no comes into play, there’s a ni
prisoners—at least not when it comes to throwing new The Aston Martin’s ejection
challenges at my players and fishing for those “Wow!” is a classic example. The wr
moments that really pull players into the heart of the Moonraker (1979) is anothe
campaign. Ask yourself: when was the last time your ing because it comes into pl
players found themselves in the middle of a classic Conversely, if Q gave Bond
prisoner exchange? In the case of my Wednesday used, what would be the po
night group, it’s been a long time, so it took my players they can’t set up something
a few minutes to get back into the “Oh, hang on, we Of course, novelists and
don’t need to kill everything just yet” groove. to worry about RPGers muc
As a DM and a storyteller, I live for those moments their novels and screenplay
when something that happened earlier in the cam- when it comes to planting t
paign helps, hinders, or haunts the PCs later on. It A Dungeon Master, on the o
might be something a character did, something an complete control of the stor
NPC said, or some seemingly random occurrence what the heroes will do nex
that suddenly becomes significant. Sometimes it’s setup has the perfect payoff
accidental, sometimes it’s planned, but when it hap- heroes had thrown Evendor
pens, you know it instantly. You see it on your players’ or killed her outright, the e
faces: the dawning horror, amusement, or relief Artana” would have played
brought on by the moment of revelation. A setup that hinges on th
Novelists and screenwriters can illicit moments of captured villain alive is risk
revelation using a foreshadowing technique I like to kinds of setups that are sub
call the setup and the payoff. The idea is that you to pay off later. For example
establish something early in the story and then pay it Acquisitions Incorporated g
off later on. In this week’s example from my Wednes- involving several crates of r
day night campaign, the surrender of Starlord were delivered to the Darkm
Evendor’s apprentice was the setup, and her value as of who ordered or sent them
a tradable commodity is the payoff. The players felt learned of the enmity betw
The Dungeon Master Experience: Setups and Payoffs
se the story was rewarding Darkmagics and the Wisconsin Wortstaffs—and that
the evil apprentice alive most of the Wortstaff family were necromancers by
had the perfect bargain- trade. The big payoff came in the climactic battle,
ne or more of the players when the hamburger was transformed into four
hink that diminished their undead minotaurs by a Wortstaff necromantic ritual.
or made me feel any less The time that passes between the setup and the
payoff can vary. You don’t want the payoff to happen
a James Bond movie when too soon after the setup, but in a long-running cam-
You expect that the gadget paign you can delay the payoff for months or years.
e point, and so you wait In my Wednesday night game, the heroic-tier heroes
n the heat of the narrative were arrested for attacking a military weapons
e gadget, so when it finally foundry. While in captivity, Rodney Thompson’s
ice moment of surprise. character was tortured by a dragonborn priest of
n set in Goldfinger (1963) Tiamat, who replaced one of Vargas’s eyes with a
rist-mounted dart gun in unique magic item called an eye of vengeance. The
er—and especially surpris- magic eye was supposed to be delivered to the island
lay not once, but twice. prison of Zardkarath, where it would find its way to
gadgets that he never an imprisoned, one-eyed dragonborn pirate named
oint? The writers know Vantajar. On the voyage to Zardkarath, Vargas and his
g like that and not pay it off. companions escaped . . . and it wasn’t until epic tier
screenwriters don’t have (nearly two years later) when Vantajar was released
cking with the story of from prison and came searching for his missing eye.
ys. They have total control
heir setups and payoffs.
other hand, doesn’t have
ry and can’t always predict
xt. Consequently, not every
f. If my Wednesday night
r’s apprentice overboard
encounter with “Captain
d out very differently.
he characters keeping a
ky, but there are other
btle and thus more likely
e, at this summer’s live
game, I set up a mystery
raw hamburger, which
magic estate with no hint
m. Later on, the heroes
ween the New Hampshire
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 80
The Dungeo
Lessons Learned Love
Ed G
Not every setup will pay off in a satisfying manner.
However, this fact doesn’t discourage me from plant- 10/13/2011
ing seeds that will hopefully bear fruit in the future,
because when the payoff happens, it’s immensely MONDAY NIG
gratifying and makes me appear so much smarter
than I actually am. A woman walks into a tavern.
Here are three classic D&D setups and payoffs tuous, wearing the finery of a
which I use from time to time and which you’re free smile. She prances around like
to plunder for your home campaign: with the patrons, plays with h
curls, and finishes off a free ta
Setup #1: The heroes find a strange word time. A bard strums his lute, d
scrawled in blood on the floor, etched into a wall, woman to dance, much to the
or written on the inside cover of a spellbook or ing admirers. When Kithvola
diary. slyly turns his head to admire
time glass of a nearby window
Payoff: The word turns out to be a password to beauty. In her place, he sees a
bypass a magical trap or unlock a sealed vault, the with bones of polished bronze.
command word to deactivate a golem, the true
name of an evil fiend, or a clever anagram. One thing that classic fanta
common, apart from a prep
Setup #2: The heroes find a locket on the corpse tropes, is an exhaustive cas
of a slain NPC. It contains a tiny painted portrait characters populate J.R.R. T
of someone familiar or unfamiliar to them. Rings trilogy, Terry Brooks’s
George R.R. Martin’s A Son
Payoff: The heroes come face-to-face with the When one sets out to create
figure portrayed in the locket—a distraught or goes without saying that po
vengeful lover, one of the heroes’ relatives with a fascinating characters is a p
secret to share, or an NPC willing to reward the in the universe are better at
heroes for returning the locket and completing a wood, whose stories are ric
quest. that totally belong in his wo
surprise.
Setup #3: The heroes find an intelligent magic I’m in the third year of m
item with a secret past. While my players joke abou
Payoff: Someone recognizes the item in a future
encounter and shares a bit of history that sheds
light on the item’s previous owner or the secret
curse that haunts all who wield it.
Until the next encounter!
on Master Experience: Love Letter to Ed Greenwood
Letter to
Greenwood
GHT. the actual number of unique NPCs that they’ve
encountered so far is closer to 750—which, I suppose,
. She’s beautiful and volup- means that the 1,000 mark isn’t beyond the realm
noble and a devil-may-care of reason. Still, my list pales in comparison to Ed’s
e she owns the place, flirts panoply of Forgotten Realms characters and NPCs,
her shoulder-length auburn which he has created over many decades. And yet,
ankard of mead in record every time Ed introduces a new personality to the
driving the free-spirited Forgotten Realms setting, there’s always something
delight of a dozen drool- about it that’s novel (no pun intended).
ar (played by Jeff Alvarez) For example, in an upcoming Eye on the Realms
e her ref lection on the night- article, Ed introduces us to a beholder named Uldeth,
w, gone is the lady’s striking whose physical form was nearly obliterated. All
twirling, dancing skeleton that remains of the creature are ten disembodied
.
asy stories have in
ponderance of fantasy
t of characters. Scores of
Tolkien’s The Lord of the
s Shannara series, and
ng of Fire and Ice series.
e a new world, it probably
opulating the world with
priority. Few creative forces
t this game than Ed Green-
ch with timeless characters
orld and yet never cease to
my Iomandra campaign.
ut the “cast of thousands,”
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 81
The Dungeo
eyestalks that hover in midair. That’s something ✦ Distinctive physical tr
I’ve never seen done before, and you can bet that quirks are great, but a
I’m going to spirit his creation out of Faerûn and thing to be captivating
drop Uldeth into my home campaign at the first
opportunity. I’ve already discussed name
Many DMs I’ve talked to have trouble coming up Ed is a master at conjuring
with interesting new NPCs, and even the best of us is really the thrust of this w
can’t always conjure something out of thin air when- to creating awesome NPCs
ever a player character decides to stop some random Secrets invest your campaig
schmo in the street and ask for his name and back roleplaying. A secret can m
story. But Ed can. I’ve witnessed it firsthand. He pulls want to get to know your NP
names and hooks out of the ether. It’s the gift of a cre- did Uldeth end up without
ative genius and an experienced storywriter to turn Turlash giving the adventur
a faceless entity who didn’t exist two seconds ago into he be heading for a secret r
a fleshed-out character with more going on beneath can we learn from the anno
the skin than the rest of us can imagine. Maybe “Joe gly Muffinstock? What did
Schmo” is actually Orvius Turlash, a necromancer such a curse? And finally, w
in disguise, who’s on his way to broker a deal with a dancing vixen whose true f
corrupt city official to acquire bones and body parts a window reflection?
from the local cemetery. Or maybe it’s Griggly Muf- Players who like to rolep
finstock, a halfling adventurer who was ensorcelled their own characters with s
by an archmage to always speak the truth, no matter into the secrets of others, an
how embarrassing or inappropriate. He might be mystery surrounding an NP
looking for a way to rid himself of the “curse,” or he less, unadulterated fun. At l
might be performing a service to gain the archmage’s me (that, and when to use t
favor. Granted, these are my ideas, not Ed’s, but if
you’re familiar with Ed’s works, you’ll probably catch Until the next encounter!
a whiff of Greenwood in these characterizations.
Lessons Learned
I’ve been following Ed’s career (in a not-creepy way)
since I was ten years old—long before I got to know
the man personally and work with him professionally.
Without even trying, Ed taught me two things about
NPC creation:
✦ The character’s name can tell you a little
something about the character and the
setting.
on Master Experience: Love Letter to Ed Greenwood
raits and personality
an NPC needs only one
g: a SECRET.
es in an earlier article, and
them, but the second point
week’s column. One secret
is to give them secrets.
gn with intrigue and invite
make the player characters
PC creation better. How
a body? Why is Orvius
rers nervous looks? Could
rendezvous? What secrets
oyingly forthright Grig-
the halfling do to deserve
what’s the deal with the
form Kithvolar glimpses in
play not only like to invest
secrets but also like to pry
nd I’ve found that a little
PC can fuel hours of tire-
least, that’s what Ed taught
the word “vixen”).
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 82
3DNPC often: hearken back to some
demonstrate how the piece
10/20/2011 Not every DM invents hi
but all DMs invent their ow
WEDNESDAY NIGHT. around it. Generic, nameles
to plunder, but they are inh
I don’t like it when NPCs steal the heroes’ thunder, but than campaign-flavored on
if there’s one NPC who could give the party a run for its NPCs have a lot more going
money, it’s Nyrrska. He’s a retired dragonborn assassin who hard-coded they are to a pa
used to serve Tiamat, meting out vengeance in the name the harder it becomes to tra
of his Dark Queen. At some point in his nefarious career, could file off Drizzt’s name
he miraculously survived a life-ending slash to the throat. wielding drow ranger in my
A servant of Bahamut saved his life, and in the wake of players would think I’d fina
this near-death experience, Nyrrska had an epiphany and same token, the NPCs in m
repented. He forsook Tiamat and retired to the Temple of fit well into someone else’s
Bahamut, becoming a lowly acolyte. When the PCs showed me, but there’s just somethi
up at the temple seeking refuge from Tiamat’s assassins, fortable about using someon
Nyrrska took it upon himself to help them survive, at the of like using someone else’s
risk of alienating his former associates. When the temple’s else’s socks. As a DM, I’m fa
high priest decided that the heroes were a worthwhile ing and modifying a stat blo
investment, he assigned Nyrrska to accompany them as another DM’s concept for a
Bahamut’s emissary. His assassin skills were rarely put Fortunately, NPC creatio
to use, but when the PCs finally won themselves a ship, chore. When I create an NP
Nyrrska’s intimidating presence and raspy voice made him be honest, most of mine are
a great choice to keep the crew in line. comes the name, then the s
When the PCs made an enemy of Vantajar, the one- then the voice, and finally
eyed dragonborn pirate warlord, Nyrrska understood why
Bahamut had chosen HIM to watch over them. In one of NAM
those “too cool for skool” moments of the campaign, it was |
revealed that Nyrrska had tried to kill Vantajar once. That
encounter left Vantajar short one eye and Nyrrska with a SECR
slashed throat. |
Last week I talked about making nonplayer charac- STA
|
ters (NPCs) more interesting by giving them secrets,
VOI
and at the risk of boring the masses, I’d like to con- |
tinue exploring the topic of NPCs a bit more. It’ll LAY
give me a chance to do something I haven’t done very Here’s where I flash back to
The Dungeon Master Experience: 3DNPC
e earlier columns and Name: The hardest part, IMO. It takes a sharp DM to
es fit together. concoct appropriate and memorable names on the fly,
is or her own monsters, and no, “Wizzy McWizard” and “Thundarr Super-
wn NPCs. There’s no way He Man” don’t qualify. If you’ve been reading this
ss NPCs are easy enough column week after week, you already know my tricks
herently less compelling for coming up with names.
nes. Specific “named”
g for them, but the more Secret: Campaigns are built on secrets. Without
articular campaign world, them, players have little incentive to explore the
ansplant them. Yeah, I world and uncover its mysteries. And as we discussed
e and include a scimitar- last week, NPCs need secrets, too.
y home campaign, but my
ally run out of ideas. By the Stats: I rarely have time to create NPC stat blocks
my campaign aren’t likely to from scratch. Once I know the NPC’s level, I can use
the D&D Compendium or the “Monsters By Level”
campaign. Maybe it’s just appendices in the various Monster Manuals to find an
ing awkward and uncom- appropriate stat block which I can customize using
ne else’s NPCs. It’s kind various cheap tricks.
s dice or wearing someone
ar more comfortable steal- Voice: The NPC’s voice is your voice, with or with-
ock than I am stealing out a twist. You might add an accent or a throaty
an NPC. rasp, change the tempo or pitch, or use any one of a
on doesn’t have to be a number of other simple tricks, or you might decide it’s
PC on the fly (and let’s not worth the effort. Not every NPC needs a unique
e created this way), first voice.
secret, then the stats,
the layers. And the last piece of the puzzle . . .
ME Layers: That’s layers, not lairs! (Sometimes NPCs
| need lairs too, but that’s a topic for another week.) If
RET all you need is a faceless NPC to remind your play-
| ers that the world has other people in it, don’t worry
ATS about adding layers. Layers are what you need to turn
| a “cardboard cutout” into a fleshed-out NPC as real
ICE and three-dimensional as the heroes.
|
YERS At last, we arrive at the crux of this week’s article—
what I like to call “the 3D NPC.” You’ve created an
o earlier articles . . . NPC and given him or her a name, a stat block, a
secret, and a voice. The NPC is all dressed up and
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 83
ready to go! As he or she begins interacting with the In the context of a D&D
player characters, you’ll see opportunities to start something you add that cas
adding layers to the NPC. Layers are great because light. In some cases, the ne
(1) you don’t need to add them right away and (2) you adjust their opinions of the
don’t need to add them all at once. surrenders to the party to a
Most layers have zero impact on the events of the turns out to be a friendly a
campaign. They exist simply to add a touch of real- while in custody. A half-orc
ism or complexity to an NPC. To be effective, a layer but kind to wealthy advent
needs to paint the NPC in a different light, revealing for his employees and bilks
a side or aspect of the character that’s in some way ings. You get the idea.
surprising or unexpected. Here’s a random table of
layers that you can use for NPCs of any level, align- d20 The NPC
ment, disposition, and importance:
1 doesn’t like children
Lessons Learned 2 owns a collection of
3 used to be a sword
I learned the importance of layers by watching seri- 4 has a “thing” for me
alized television dramas such as Star Trek: The Next 5 stutters when he or
Generation, Lost, True Blood, Mad Men, Leverage, and 6 knows everything t
Firef ly. Layers tend to show up in television series 7 is a hopeless roman
more often than in feature films because the writers, 8 is obsessed with im
producers, and actors have more time to explore the 9 fakes an injury to ga
various facets of the characters and revel in the com- 10 talks in his or her sl
plexity of their relationships. 11 is sickened by the s
Let’s use Firef ly for this week’s example. In the first 12 claims to be of roya
episode, we learn that Captain Malcolm Reynolds 13 was raised by orcs,
(Nathan Fillion) is a self-serving bandit with a chip on 14 visits the grave of a
his shoulder because he fought a war and ended up 15 looks after an ailing
on the losing side. He bucks authority and doesn’t like 16 makes dolls or carv
it when people stick their nose in his business. He 17 is afraid of cats, hei
shies away from personal attachments, and the harsh 18 raises a child but isn
frontier of space has turned his heart to ice. And yet, 19 writes poetry.
as the series unfolds, we discover his relationships are 20 is a kleptomaniac.
infinitely more complex and that he’s both smarter
and dumber than we initially surmised, depending
on the situation and the circumstances. We see him
at his best and worst. And then there’s the character
of Jayne (Adam Baldwin), a gun-toting halfwit who
takes orders from Reynolds but has zero loyalty. Who
could’ve guessed he’d turn out to be a pompom hat-
wearing momma’s boy?
The Dungeon Master Experience: 3DNPC
D campaign, a layer is Back to
sts your NPC in a new Iomandra . . .
ew layer invites players to
e NPC. An evil brigand You’ve already met Nyrrska, the dragonborn assas-
avoid being killed and sin who lurks in the shadows of the Wednesday night
and sympathetic jokester party. Now allow me to introduce you to another NPC
c innkeeper who’s nothing from my Wednesday night campaign.
turers shows little regard Tyranny (a.k.a. “Tyra”) was introduced at the start
s them out of their earn- of epic tier as a foil for Deimos, a tiefling sorcerer and
ship captain played by Chris Youngs. After Deimos’s
ship was sunk, he forged a pact with Dispater to have
the vessel returned to him. As part of the agreement,
Deimos was forced to take Tyra, one of Dispater’s con-
sorts, as a concubine and swear to protect her against
PC . . .
n because they’re reminders of an unfortunate childhood.
f ukuleles, fiddles, and violins and plays them all beautifully.
swallower in a traveling circus or freak show.
embers of a particular race (such as elves or gnomes).
r she lies.
there is to know about demonology and the Abyss.
ntic and matchmaker.
mmortality and wants to be a vampire.
ain sympathy or advantage.
leep.
sight of blood.
al descent but hails from a common bloodline.
goliaths, or treants and picked up some odd habits.
a deceased loved one regularly.
g parent or elderly mentor.
ves wooden figurines, and gives them away as gifts.
ights, water, or the dark.
n’t very good at it.
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 84
all harm. Tyra appeared in Deimos’s bed one night as she convinced Deimos to le
a voluptuous tiefling, although her “big secret” is that ritual using drops of mortal
she’s a polymorphed succubus. (For her stat block, I willing crewmembers. I nev
used the level 9 succubus advanced to level 25.) a history with a character o
Tyra’s arrival set the other characters (and play- your players take to an NPC
ers) on edge, for Deimos had not consulted with them you’re doing something righ
prior to cutting his deal with Dispater. There were Despite the fact that she
some personality conflicts, but a deal is a deal—the Tyranny has become genuin
heroes couldn’t risk throwing Tyra overboard or kill- of the PCs—even the ones w
ing her. And so, she became a necessary evil. the course of the epic tier, s
Tyra’s mission is to find some way to resurrect at spotting enemy deception
the dead tiefling empire of Bael Turath, but that’s a a master of deceit). This pen
fairly long-term goal. The first layer I added to her with her unwillingness to d
was an unflinching lawfulness. She learns the game elevates her from a mere co
and always plays by the rules. She needed to prove to equal. Having been stifled
her detractors that she was a valuable addition to the hierarchy of the Nine Hells
crew but couldn’t magically charm or dominate them her newfound equality ligh
without breaking Dispater’s contract. These shackles she’s still a succubus. She co
forced her to rely on her natural charms rather than any Prince of Hell, but she
her fiendish ones. She was blunt when it paid to be reason. He’s her ticket to re
honest, quiet when it paid to be demure. Whenever and fulfilling the terms of h
the PCs reached an impasse and weren’t certain how Dispater. No matter how m
to proceed, Tyra would step forward and offer a care- she must remain true to her
fully considered insight that could only come from an While layers add new de
NPC gifted with a shred of the DM’s prescience. Hon- to a character, underneath
esty isn’t what the players expected from her at all. character must remain reco
That, and the fact that she likes to take her clothes off to its core. Malcolm Reynol
and walk around in the nude (don’t we all). Malcolm Reynolds without
When it comes to adding new layers, the DM shoulder, and Jayne would
doesn’t have to do all the work. Sometimes a player stopped being a dumbass. S
will find a way to add layers to an NPC by way of assassin Nyrrska would lose
association. In Tyra’s case, another layer was added burst into tears every time s
after two party members died. Chris Champagne feelings. The next time you
decided he wanted his next character to be a Prince layer to an NPC, remember
of Hell named Kosh, and so he concocted a back- icing. You can put tar on the
ground that suggested he and Tyranny were old icing, but no one’s gonna bu
acquaintances. To bring Chris’s new character into
the fold, I had Tyranny summon him from the Nine Until the next encounter!
Hells. Afraid that the party was no longer strong
enough to survive the trials and tribulations ahead,
The Dungeon Master Experience: 3DNPC
et her cast the summoning
l blood taken from various
ver expected her to have
other than Deimos. When
C in this way, you know
ht. It’s icing on the cake.
e’s a succubus in disguise,
nely fond and protective
who don’t trust her. Over
she’s proven adept
ns (she is, after all,
nchant coupled
deceive the party
ompanion to an
by the tyrannical
s, she doesn’t take
htly, but in her heart,
ould’ve summoned
chose Kosh for a
estoring Bael Turath
her agreement with
many layers she has,
r essence.
epth or dimension
all those layers the
ognizable and true
lds would not be
t that chip on his
not be Jayne if he
Similarly, the ex-
e his gravity if he
someone hurt his
want to add a new
r: A layer is just
he cake instead of
uy it.
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 85
Boo Hoo commitments. On the one h
on the other hand I have an
10/27/2011 how I’m going to further tor
spirit of Samhain, this week
MONDAY NIGHT. DM hat, so take the followin
grains of salt.
The heroes find a nautilus (a mind f layer ship) beached Here’s my “top 5 list” of w
on the island of Sha’hadam. The ship’s elder brain and ers, with specific examples
crew are dead, killed by a mysterious psychic wave. The campaign:
DM has just handed the PCs the means to an end—a ship
with which they can infiltrate the mind f layer empire and Torture Tip #1:
reach their evil nemesis, Starlord Evendor. Peter Schaefer, players what th
who plays a changeling named Metis, discovers that he can then take it aw
operate the shipboard systems if he assumes the form of a
mind f layer and sticks his tentacles into the pilot’s control It’s the oldest, nastiest DM t
station, but he still needs the elder brain to provide the ves- tively Gygaxian in its fiendi
sel’s motive force. Imagine my surprise when the players Early on in paragon tier,
hit upon the idea of asking Imazhia, their NPC companion Morkoth, a ship moored at th
(and a cleric of Bahamut), to cast an Animate Dead ritual that was “up for grabs.” Its c
on the elder brain! and its crew disbanded, lea
The heroes are about to learn a painful lesson: Nec- taking. After ridding the cit
romantic rituals and undead elder brains aren’t to be ing cultists, the heroes pers
trifled with. to give them the Morkoth for
time they had made an ene
Once they realized they needed the elder brain to ship captain named Lydia T
power the ship, the Monday night players (to their manded a ship of her own b
credit) weighed the ramifications of raising it from iron shark golem. After Tar
the dead versus reanimating it. Ultimately they Io’galaroth, the heroes deci
decided that the undead version would be easier to ship battle but instead used
control, and under normal circumstances, they’d be the fight to Taralan on the d
right. But you can’t throw “undead elder brain” at the Meanwhile, Taralan’s iron s
DM (at least, not THIS one) and expect it to end well. the undefended Morkoth, an
Suffice to say, the elder brain was shocked back to depths.
“life” by Imazhia’s ritual and immediately lashed out Free ships are great, but
at the party. That’s more or less how the last game ses- ful NPCs even more, partic
sion ended. push obstacles out of the pa
Next Monday is Halloween, and the game stuff, or provide wise couns
is off because several of my players have other Bahamut, is one such NPC.
dreams that warn the PCs o
The Dungeon Master Experience: Boo Hoo
hand it makes me sad, but cuts through the bureaucracy of the Dragovar Empire
nother week to think about like a knife through a pumpkin, and she provides
rment my players. In the free healing without complaint. I’m just dying to kill
k I fearlessly don my Scary her off, but I’m waiting for the perfect moment . . . the
ng “advice” with several moment when her loss will be shocking and deeply
felt. Or maybe I’ll just have her arrested by a political
ways to torture play-
from the Monday night
1: Give the
hey want,
way.
trick in the book, and posi-
ish wickedness.
, my players learned of the
he docks in Io’galaroth
captain had been killed
aving the ship ripe for the
ty of evil kraken-worship-
suaded the city’s magistrate
r keeps. However, by this
emy of an unscrupulous
Taralan, who not only com-
but also a 30-foot-long
ralan chased them out of
ided not to wage a ship-to-
d phantom steeds to bring
deck of her own ship.
shark golem laid waste to
nd it sank into the briny
players appreciate help-
cularly likeable ones who
arty’s way, give them free
sel. Imazhia, the cleric of
. She receives portentous
of impending danger, she
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 86
rival on suspicion of treason. Either way, the players Torture Tip #3
won’t be able to lean on her anymore. light at the end
My players also grew to like Lady Thariel von tunnel sudden
Zarkyn, a noblewoman who secretly belonged to a
cult of Vecna. Thariel had conflicting loyalties and In my mind, that “light at th
ultimately decided to use the secrets in her posses- actually a demented will-o’
sion to help the PCs, so when her superiors told her to ers as it leads the character
dispose of them, she took her own life instead. (Insert the DM, you have the powe
creepy DM cackle here.) no matter what they do, the
their ultimate goal or destin
Torture Tip #2: Reward the in, but before the players be
players’ accomplishments aged and despondent, you s
with logical negative into their eyes to dazzle the
consequences. back into darkness.
The Monday group desp
For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reac- mind flayer threat and live
tion. Okay, so the PCs just slaughtered the dragon every time they achieve a v
and took its stuff. What are the odds that the dragon’s their evil nemesis, uses the
mother finds out what happened and puts a contract an elder constellation to aff
out on them? Pretty good, I think. And what about in one instance depriving th
that evil merchant they killed? Surely the criminals to tal warship and in another
whom he owed large sums of money will want their to confound them and slow
pound of flesh. Learn a lesson from Greek mythology:
For every head the heroes cut off, two more grow in Torture Tip #4
its place. characters offs
In my campaign, the heroes recently befriended throw their bo
the Knights of Ardyn, a “friendly” terrorist organiza- the other playe
tion committed to stamping out corruption in the of meat to wild
Dragovar Empire. In doing so, they’ve come to the
attention of the Vost Miraj, the empire’s equivalent of No, I’m not being metaphor
MI:6. The organization, which itself is riddled with did to Melech, Bruce Corde
corruption, already has an assassin in the party’s Bruce missed a session. In m
ranks (played by one of the players, no less), and his PCs become glorified NPCs
buddies are moving in for the kill. This is what hap- and suspense.
pens when you make friends with people who have When players are absen
enemies! acters typically “fade into th
The Dungeon Master Experience: Boo Hoo
3: Have that possible, run errands while the other characters
d of the tackle the problem at hand. By DM fiat, a guild of sla-
ly go out. vers managed to corner Melech while the other PCs
were “adventuring,” and at the end of the session they
he end of the tunnel” is delivered his severed head to the party in a bloody
’-wisp, baiting the play- bag. True, Melech was raised the very next session,
rs toward their doom. As but the shock value was worth it. Head rolls across the
er to make them feel like floor AND . . . cut to black. See you next week!
ey’re no closer to reaching If you really want to take this idea to the next
nation. When dismay sets level, take a dead character and bring him or her
ecome thoroughly discour- back as an undead horror. That’s what happened to
shine rays of hope straight Nick DiPetrillo’s genasi swordmage, Yuriel, who had
em before plunging them his soul devoured by a death knight’s sword. A help-
ful lich named Osterneth offered to put an artificial
perately wants to end the heart in Yuriel’s corpse and pump necrotic sludge
happily ever after, but through his dead veins, and though the other play-
ictory, Starlord Evendor, ers objected, Yuriel’s wife and first mate (a watersoul
reality-altering power of genasi NPC named Pearl) was determined to have
fect horrendous changes, her darling husband back, and so . . . say hello to
he players of their elemen- Yuriel the vampire! Undead Yuriel didn’t “survive”
resurrecting an old enemy for many sessions. After dying heroically in battle,
he had his heart ripped out (more or less) by a blue
w their progress. dragon sea captain, and Jeremy Crawford’s character
destroyed the heart with a magic missile to make sure
4: Kill player it couldn’t be used again.
screen, and
ody parts to Torture Tip #5: Thrust the
ers like scraps PCs into situations they
d dogs. aren’t equipped to handle.
rical here. That’s what I If I want my players to squirm, I’ll put them in a room
ell’s tiefling warlock, when where their swords and spells avail them not. It might
my campaign, player-less be a room full of politicians discussing the future of
s and fuel for storytelling the Dragovar Empire, or the hold of a ship containing
a sentient Far Realm mine that they must disarm or
nt in my game, their char- outsmart before it blows them and their ship to bits.
he background” or, if I’m reminded of a particular “character moment”
involving Jeff Alvarez, who plays a highly optimized
fighting machine named Kithvolar. The elf ranger
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 87
does outrageous amounts of damage in combat and Lessons Le
can practically solo your average encounter, but Jeff
and Kithvolar are out of their element in noncombat I’m sure every DM who rea
situations. So imagine Jeff ’s surprise when Kithvolar thize with my primal need
“awakens” from his nightly reverie with blood on his and I’m fairly certain I’m no
swords and no memory of how it got there, followed D&D multiverse whose cam
by the discovery that he’s murdering people in his istic undercurrent. Nothing
“sleep” because the mind flayers put something in campaign an occasional jol
his brain. He can’t stab the thing in his brain with a adversity that they and thei
sword, at least not without killing himself, so what overcome week after week.
should he do? That, my friends, is torture. the way will pay off at the e
the surviving PCs gaze at th
their enemies and realize th
and withstood the horrors o
tion. As long as everyone kn
there’s no love lost.
And on that note, here’s
like to share, a surefire way
Think twice before you th
the player characters be the
demise. My players don’t ne
to kill off their characters; t
of making ill-informed deci
ral 1 on that final death sav
bad to worse, some players
and contrive some clever es
in need, or fudge some die r
Scary DM says, “Mercy is fo
letting that third consecutiv
them by letting the vicious
coup de grace attack and fin
lying unconscious at his fee
ber the time I cut them slac
horror of that moment whe
their beloved warlord while
lowed in their own blood an
Until the next encounter!
The Dungeon Master Experience: Catapult
earned Catapult
ads this article can empa- 11/3/2011
to torment my players,
ot the only DM in the WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
mpaign has a sadomasoch-
g wrong with giving the In a previous session, the heroes captured the apprentice
lt. My players relish the of their nemesis, Starlord Evendor, and agreed to trade her
ir characters are forced to for several prisoners in the clutches of mind flayers. The
. The scars they earn along prisoner exchange was going swimmingly until the illithids’
end of the campaign, when sudden but inevitable betrayal, and although the heroes
he smoldering ashes of ultimately kicked ass, there were three “uh-oh” moments
hey’ve been through hell when things went from bad to worse.
of death, loss, and mutila- The first “uh-oh” moment happened when reinforce-
nows it’s all in good fun, ments arrived in the form of a beholder named King
Zorrb. The beholder arrived via Far Realm portal, cried
another parting tip I’d out “Kneel before Zorrb!” and began shooting eye rays at
y to torment your players: everyone. The second “uh-oh” moment quickly followed
hrow them a bone. Let when the beholder disintegrated Chris Youngs’ character,
e instruments of their own Deimos. The third and final “uh-oh” moment occurred
eed much help from me near the end of the fight, when Mat Smith’s character,
they’re perfectly capable Garrot, grabbed King Zorrb by the eyestalks and cata-
isions and rolling a natu- pulted himself through the Far Realm portal, dragging the
ve. When things go from beholder with him.
expect the DM to jump in As they say in Hollywood, what an exit!
scape for the character(s)
rolls in the party’s favor. And that’s the story of how Garrot, the dimwitted
or the weak!” Stun them by human fighter, was devoured by the Far Realm.
ve critical hit stand. Terrify Most players would think twice about hurling their
death knight make that characters into the Far Realm, even if it meant saving
nish off the party leader another party member’s life. But Mat doesn’t play a
et. My players don’t remem- smart character, and sometimes he has Garrot do
ck; they remember the things that don’t make a lot of sense except, of course,
en the death knight killed to Garrot. Not surprisingly, Garrot has died and been
e her companions wal- raised from the dead many times over the course of
nd pooped themselves. the campaign, but this time there’s nothing to raise.
His body’s lost.
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 88
Over the past four years, Garrot never really his actions is “Don’t hurl y
evolved much at all. In fact, while I pride myself on Realm.” However, I think i
creating interesting “growth opportunities” for char- ers, “You never know what
acters, I was pretty much at a loss when it came to your character into the Far
thinking up good Garrot-centric episodes and adven- way, “If you’re willing to ta
tures. Mat played him so dumb that no NPC could acter, you might be pleasan
communicate intelligently with him, and Garrot had outcome.”
no attachments—even his companions didn’t pay When it comes to buildi
him much attention outside of combat. Garrot didn’t no qualms about layering o
even have a last name (or if he did, it never came up where the players feel overw
in play). He was like a coat rack with no hooks; there enemy reinforcements arriv
wasn’t much to hang a story on. I also got the impres- starting to look up. I’m also
sion that after nearly four years of playing the same lengths of rope with which
character, Mat was willing to throw Garrot on a limb around their own character
just to see if it broke. Put another way, I don’t think you accuse me of being cru
Mat would be surprised or horribly depressed if are good: The goal, as I’ve s
Garrot never returned. late the party. No, the goal i
I, on the other hand, am unwilling to let Garrot go. taking risks.
Maybe it’s because I feel like I’ve failed the I tend to think of charac
character somehow. More likely it’s because Mat’s which is to say that if I hang
decision to hurl Garrot into the maddening void the ceiling, I expect that at
should be lauded and rewarded. If Garrot is well encounter a character will e
and truly dead, then the lesson to be learned from (b) drop it on someone. The
into taking risks
they wouldn’t ot
rot’s case, King
was the chande
that can be used
forward.
Speaking
thing about Gar
to mention—a se
bit of character
by Mat many ye
heroes were loo
catapult for thei
Garrot was fasc
even went so far
ture catapult th
around with him
The Dungeon Master Experience: Catapult
your character into the Far companions were doing “boring stuff ” like obtaining
it’s more fun to tell play- quests and forging alliances. This utterly marvelous
t’ll happen when you hurl bit of nonsense became a running character gag. At
r Realm.” Or put another some point, I expected the gag to pay off with Garrot
ake a risk with your char- firing himself out of a catapult or something equally
ntly surprised by the ludicrous.
After debating whether or not to bring Garrot
ing encounters, I have back, I finally decided to create a campaign “epi-
on adversity, to the point sode” set in the Far Realm. The adventure begins
whelmed. I love having with Garrot plunging into Tyrak’n Bay and finding
ve just when things are himself on the island of Kheth, where the campaign
o happy to give players began. The island and its inhabitants are constructs
of the Far Realm, familiar to Garrot but distorted by
to hang proverbial nooses the plane’s malign interpretation of his memories
rs’ necks. However, before and his rather dimwitted view of the world. More
uel, note that my intentions importantly, all of Garrot’s adventuring compan-
said before, isn’t to annihi- ions are there, including old characters who’ve been
is to reward the players for dead for many levels. The other players get to bring
back some of their old characters to help Garrot
cters as “chandelier bait,” escape from this nightmarish realm using the vil-
g a chandelier from lain’s giant catapult—because in his childlike mind,
some point during the that’s how Garrot would escape the Far Realm. Not
either (a) swing from it or only that, the players get to fight Starlord Evendor
e chandelier baits players for the first time in the campaign, or rather, an
s and making decisions effigy of him created by the Far Realm, and learn
therwise consider. In Gar- some of his dark secrets.
Zorrb’s Far Realm portal
elier. It’s also a plot device
d to catapult the campaign
g of catapults, there’s some-
rrot that I almost forgot
eemingly inconsequential
development instigated
ears ago, back when the
oking to buy a magical
ir ship. Mat decided that
cinated by catapults. He
r as to procure a minia-
at Garrot would carry
m and play with while his
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 89
T
Lessons Learned Lloyd
Behol
As a DM, if I’m going to create moments of seem-
ingly insurmountable adversity, I also need to create 11/10/2011
moments of opportunity and be prepared for when
my players attempt crazy-ass stunts. Although I’m MONDAY NIG
well known for my elaborate schemes and plot twists,
some of the most memorable and decisive moments The heroes commandeer an i
of the campaign happened because of something the Schaefer’s changeling charac
players did. I think it behooves every DM to remem- the ship by assuming the form
ber that the players have a stake in determining how inserting his tentacles into th
the campaign unfolds, and the best campaigns are convinces the ship’s elder brai
inspired and propelled by the characters’ actions and enemy waters by first passing
decisions. The DM (that’s me!) has Pete
So, to summarize: ful of Dungeoneering checks
Far Realm—and he fails spect
✦ It’s the DM’s job to create situations that off course, it picks up three str
encourage players to take risks. an awful lot like Kang and K
Simpsons.
✦ It’s the DM’s job to let players know that with These particular beholder
great risk comes great reward. potatoes” who’ve never visited
never seen creatures like the P
Until the next encounter! standably confused and don’t
but there are enough PCs who
glean that one of the beholder
experience has taught the cha
ers on sight. As battle erupts,
conversation quickly degenera
how beholders go to the bathr
gers a seemingly endless serie
the pun) runs throughout the
the final moment when the w
poor Lloyd and the beholder l
before exploding..
The Dungeon Master Experience: Lloyd the Beholder
d the This week’s column was hell to write because I always
lder have trouble articulating the importance of humor in
D&D games. There’s a reason we don’t tend to write
GHT. funny D&D products, and that’s because we design-
ers and editors know for a fact that players and DMs
illithid nautilus, and Peter bring their own humor to the game table, and no one
ter figures out how to steer seems to have trouble mining an otherwise straight
m of a mind f layer and adventure for comedy gold. In short, D&D players
he pilot’s control station. He are, by and large, connoisseurs of comedy. Many were
in to take the vessel deep into raised on Monty Python, for Pete’s sake. I’ve never
g through the Far Realm. met a D&D player who was too lofty to appreciate a
er’s character make a hand- good fart or poop joke. (That is to say, a good fart joke,
to successfully navigate the as opposed to a good fart.)
tacularly. As the ship drifts I’m the first to admit it: Although my campaign
ray beholders who sound is occasionally lauded for its entwined plots, strange
Kodos, the aliens from The twists, and rocket pace, there are times when it wal-
lows in poop jokes and is more akin to the games I
rs are Far Realm “couch used to run in junior high, which were lewd—and not
d the natural world and have in a cool Shakespearean way.
PCs before. They’re under- This week’s session wasn’t a very accurate snap-
t speak a word of Common, shot of the Monday night campaign. It’s more like one
o know Deep Speech to of those off beat, funny episodes of The X-Files that pop
rs is named Lloyd. Still, past up once or twice per season. Just as humor can insin-
aracters to attack behold- uate itself into otherwise serious TV shows, comedy
out of nowhere the table is an integral ingredient in my campaign, and I sus-
ates into speculation about pect most other campaigns as well, but it’s more like
room. This, in turn, trig- a spice or seasoning than a main ingredient. I take
es of poop jokes that (excuse my D&D campaign seriously in terms of its entertain-
evening, culminating in ment value to my players, which is to say, I put a lot of
warlock’s eldritch blast kills effort into making sure my players come back week
lets out a resounding “Crap!” after week by creating an immersive experience with
lots of action, roleplaying, and surprises. However, it
makes for a refreshing change of pace to inject a bit of
silliness now and then.
Jeremy Crawford, who plays the party wizard, said
it best in jest: “You’ve ruined beholders! We’ll never
look at them the same way again!” I place the blame
squarely on Peter Schaefer’s shoulders, for reasons I’ll
explain shortly. But first, a cautionary note . . .
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 90
T
Humor can spoil a camp
It begins when a player dec
paladin “Sir Fartsalot” or w
a tavern in Waterdeep and
ting at the bar. Sometimes h
the campaign world, and it
into it. I remember playing
able Ptolus campaign and w
of frustration and disappoin
players, cavalierly assigned
who failed or declined to an
name. In my mind’s eye, I c
his head and replying “Yes,
decided to “name” one of h
villains “Mister Poopiehead
that bad names tend to stick
take to calling your NPC “M
very little you can do but flu
down the proverbial toilet a
again or fling him at the ch
learn to take him seriously.
It’s been my experience
dose of playful banter, hum
judicious doses and in situa
the context of the encounte
name one of the beholders
as was the decision to mode
ity after Kang’s. I was runn
random encounter (in othe
weren’t crucial to the camp
a weird mood, and these im
ill-advised) decisions basica
to assign the other beholde
names. Consequently, the p
Far Realm took an off beat y
turn. The players were a litt
I can’t help but feel that “Ll
lent beholder name.
My style of DMing chan
group of players I’m with. I
The Dungeon Master Experience: Lloyd the Beholder
paign. I’ve seen it happen. game for Acquisitions Incorporated and then par-
cides to name his half-orc ticipated in one of my home game sessions, you’d
when the characters enter see subtle and not-so-subtle changes in my DM “per-
see the cast of Cheers sit- formance.” I tend to vary my DM style slightly even
humor takes you OUT of between my Monday and Wednesday night cam-
’s hard to get players back paigns, as Peter Schaefer recently experienced when
he crossed over from my Monday group to be a spe-
in Monte Cook’s remark- cial guest star in my Wednesday night game. That’s
witnessing rare moments because I’m playing to a different audience, and dif-
ntment whenever we, the ferent groups of players have different expectations.
d silly monikers to villains By comparison, when I run games at conventions, I
nnounce themselves by tend to be a bit more “neutral” as a DM and put a lid
can still see Monte shaking on the poop jokes . . . at least until I get to know my
, fine, whatever” after we players better.
is carefully crafted NPC My Monday group is, generally speaking, far less
d.” It’s been my experience likely to wallow in filth than the Wednesday night
k, and once the players group. The running gag is that that Monday group
Mister Poopiehead,” there’s playfully disparages the Wednesday group for being
ush Mister Poopiehead a bunch of uncouth, self-destructive barbarians,
and never speak of him whereas the Wednesday group accuses the Monday
haracters and hope they heroes of solving all their campaign woes by sipping
. tea and chatting with the baddies. This past Monday
that, outside of the weekly session was unusual for a number of reasons, first
mor is best used in small, and foremost because the Monday players were less
ations that work within focused than usual and had “devolved” after a back-
er or scene. My decision to to-back weeks of not playing. Peter also imported a
Lloyd was spontaneous, little of the Wednesday night group’s uncouth barba-
el his voice and personal- rism to the Monday evening proceedings. He was the
ing what amounted to a one who dropped the first poop joke of the evening,
er words, the beholders as I recall, and he also instigated the fight by attack-
paign in any way), I was in ing the beholders without provocation. That’s not to
mpromptu (and arguably say I’m blameless. When things started to get really
ally gave my players license silly, I could’ve told the players to can it. Instead, I
ers similarly ludicrous added methane to the fire by referring to the lieu-
party’s journey through the tenant of an important NPC as his “number two.”
yet appropriately surreal The truth is, when I’m feeling jovial, I drop things
tle taken aback at first, but into the campaign that are deliberately intended to
loyd” is a perfectly cromu- spark a laugh, such as the occasional mock-worthy
NPC, laughable accent, and movie quote. But when
nges depending on the I tire of the jokes and want to press forward with
f you watched me DM a
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 91
the campaign, I suddenly turn very serious and ask buddies was like that final s
pointed questions to deflate the ballooning silliness, Angel is transformed into a
such as “What do you do?” and “Is your character remember thinking “THIS
taking any actions this round?” That’s the queue to EVER!” while simultaneous
settle down and gets the players back on track in a it neither defines nor spoils
hurry. Good humor has its place and knows it place. works best as a one-off, and
key points:
Lessons Learned
✦ You can punctuate a fa
My sense of humor is very much in line with my play- with humorous mome
ers’ senses of humor, and therefore I can get away out ruining it.
with Lloyd the beholder in my game. Lloyd might not
strike you as funny or the type of thing your players ✦ The DM sets the tone f
will find amusing. A good DM plays to his or her audi- and players who are “o
ence and gives players queues to help them grasp the ally follow the DM’s le
intended mood of the game session. If you’re running
an intense session, you don’t want it to become a farce Until the next encounter!
by having the villain or monster break wind. How-
ever, I’ll just come out and say it: No campaign is too
good or too highbrow for a little potty humor now and
then. And by “potty humor,” I mean the general silli-
ness that transpires when a bunch of adults sit around
a table and act like 11-year-olds, pretending to be
cooler and hipper than they really are (or ever will
be). As a DM, I invest a lot of time thinking about my
campaign and finding ways to keep the game moving
forward. Sometimes I forget that my players don’t
need multilayered plots and deep, immersive role-
playing opportunities to be entertained. Sometimes
they need Lloyd the beholder, and they’ll remember
him fondly too!
I’m reminded of the television series Angel, star-
ring David Boreanaz as “the vampire with a soul.”
The dark and brooding protagonist gave the show
a grim intensity, and yet Angel had all sorts of little
comic flourishes to remind viewers that they were
being entertained, not tortured. I’ve been in cam-
paigns that were pure torture because the DM
scowled at every attempt to inject a little humor
into the characters and the situations they faced.
This week’s encounter with Lloyd and his beholder
The Dungeon Master Experience: Event Horizon
season episode where Event
a vampire muppet. I Horizon
IS THE BEST EPISODE
sly acknowledging that
s the series as a whole. It
d it drives home a couple
airly serious campaign 11/17/2011
ents and interludes with-
MONDAY NIGHT.
for the game session,
on their game” will usu- The party’s campaign against Starlord Evendor has
ead. reached a threshold. The time has come to forge alli-
ances with powerful forces, from the Knights of Ardyn
to the evil god of secrets, to put down the threat of the
Far Realm. The players can sense the inevitability of the
impending conf lict, which will quite literally determine
the fate of the world. The gravity is inescapable. Now
comes the hard part.!
First off, if you’re a player in my Monday night game,
STOP READING NOW! This article contains plot
spoilers for an upcoming episode of the Iomandra
campaign and is for Dungeon Masters only.
The title of this week’s article is particularly apt
because the Monday night group has reached a “point
of no return.” We’re halfway through epic tier, the
end is nigh, and the heroes know what must be done.
There are plenty of big fights headed their way, they
basically know what they’re up against, and the big-
gest mystery outstanding is who will survive to the
campaign’s glorious end.
The title is also a play-on-words. I’m not really
talking about black holes or the gravitational pull of
my campaign’s plot but rather responding to a query
by BalogTheFierce, who was curious about how I go
about designing encounters. I’ll endeavor to address
the topic without regurgitating information you’ve
seen in the Dungeon Master’s Guide and other sources
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 92
that tackle the topic at great length. Instead, I’ll shed The Episod
some light on a Very Important Episode of the cam- Summary
paign that’s about to unfold.
First, let me dispel any illusions: I don’t write A typical “episode” of my ca
complete, publishable adventures for my home cam- arranged in the order I expe
paign because I haven’t the time and I rather like starts with me rememberin
“running with scissors” and the improvisational chal- sessions and fixating on som
lenge of working without a script. The adventures I upcoming session. The focu
tend to write (and I’ve written a lot of them over the ter, an important NPC, a loc
years) are for the benefit of others and often focus combination thereof. In nex
on specific locations, such as a sprawling dungeon focus is the secret island for
complex or an evil lich-king’s fortress, and feature has been alluded to since th
room-by-room explorations of these locations. Loca- and which the PCs are fina
tion-based adventures are great because they’re easy first time. However, before t
for DMs to run (because each room or area contains and learn its secrets, I have
its own encounter) and difficult to create on the from the previous session to
fly (because of the amount of room detail and map So, here’s how an evenin
work required). A DM can take a large, fully detailed together in Chris Perkins’s
adventure location such as the Temple of Elemental
Evil and make that the foundation for an entire cam- Step 1: Word!
paign, with the added benefit of not needing to spend
a lot of time planning game sessions in advance. If I open a Word document an
the party ended the previous session in area 47, you of important events from pr
can probably kick off the next session with the heroes convert into a “Previously in
entering area 48. No big deal. to kick off the session. Doin
But my campaigns tend to be more EVENT driven the right frame of mind to l
than ENCOUNTER driven, so the way I prepare for estry of my campaign, tie u
a game session requires a different approach. It’s a important threads.
bit weird that I think of my own campaign as a series
of events and plot them out the way a TV series pro- Step 2: Drama
ducer plans a show’s seasonal arc, and yet I’m not a
big fan of published event-based adventures written Every game session is an op
by other people. I think it’s because an event-based development. Underneath t
adventure has a certain pace and sequence that my Word document I spell
doesn’t suit every DM’s style, whereas a location- or cast of characters (a “call
based adventure is less about what-happens-when this list of PCs and NPCs ge
and more about what-happens-where, taking a lot of which heroes to shine the s
the DM’s pacing and sequential concerns out of the how many different NPCs w
picture. over the course of the eveni
NPCs is quite short, but mo
higher levels) that’s not the
The Dungeon Master Experience: Event Horizon
de Step 3: A Watched Plot
ampaign is a series of events By the time I’ve finished Steps 1 and 2, I have a pretty
ect them to unfold. It all good handle on where to take the campaign. In this
ng the events of previous case, I’ve decided to play up the Knights of Ardyn, a
mething as the focus of the group of benevolent “terrorists” dedicated to stamping
us might be a player charac- out corruption in the Dragovar Empire. They’ve been
cation, a big event, or some a behind-the-scenes force of good from the outset,
xt Monday’s session, the and two of the characters have direct ties to them, yet
rtress of Ardynrise, which we’ve never met Ardyn (the silver dragon leader of
he start of the campaign the group) or visited her secret island. That’s about to
ally going to visit for the change.
the PCs reach Ardynrise The characters know that the Myrthon Regency, a
some unfinished business vassal state of the Dragovar Empire, has been taken
o tie up. over by mind flayers. They also just learned that the
ng’s worth of D&D comes Knights of Ardyn recently helped the daughter of
home campaign: the Myrthon regent escape . . . and that she’s been
sequestered on Ardyn’s island. It’s not enough to send
nd type a short summary the heroes to Ardynrise; I also need something to
revious sessions, which I HAPPEN there. I’ve decided that the mad Myrthon
n Iomandra” paragraph regent, Tsar Dakor, wants his daughter back and
ng this exercise puts me in has an ally hidden in the party’s midst. I also know
look at the unfolding tap- that I have some other stuff to resolve en route to
up loose ends, and pick up Ardynrise.
This step requires me to wrap my brain around
atis Personae the main “plot points” of the episode, which could
(depending on what happens) take multiple game
pportunity for character sessions to resolve. Basically, it’s how I see the story
the “Previously” section of unfolding in my mind barring the unexpected.
out the dramatis personae,
l sheet,” if you will). Typing Step 4: Event-by-Event
ets me thinking about Breakdown
session spotlight on and
will likely come into play Once I’ve written down my prediction of how the
ing. Sometimes the list of plot will unfold, it occurs to me that there’s about a
ore often (particularly at 75% chance that the episode will take an unexpected
case. detour, forcing me to rearrange events or jettison my
ideas altogether. Nothing I can do about that; the PCs
are epic level, after all, and anything can happen.
Still, it helps me get a handle on the “scope” of the
adventure by breaking the plot down into a sequence
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 93
of events, the order of which is less important than are likely to come into play.
the ideas. After doing the event breakdown for this
episode that I’ve decided to call “Ardynrise,” I realize under the heading “Other R
that it might take more than one session to resolve all
the business I have planned, and that’s okay. Before reminder to myself. For exa
the heroes get to Ardynrise, they’ll have some inter-
esting scenes with Vecna’s followers and perhaps a dragonborn agent of the V
another Far Realm mishap.
Not every event is a combat encounter, but it of MI6 in my world. The Vo
always adds something to the story or gives the story
some forward momentum. Ardyn as a threat to the Dra
Step 5: rather than a potential ally,
Other Roleplaying Notes
friction between Stan!’s cha
Event-based adventures make it easy for me to think
about the game session in terms of roleplaying oppor- Ardyn played by Michele an
tunities for the players. Every event is a roleplaying
opportunity waiting to unfold, even the ones planned sure how that potential con
as combat encounters. During Step 4, I’ll sometimes
think of ideas that don’t really qualify as “events” but can’t really plan around it.
Here, then, is the comple
which conveniently fits nea
sheet of paper and easily in
“A r dy n r ise
PREVIOUSLY IN IOMAND
Osterneth the Bronze Lich (Ve
ance with the party against th
Evendor and the mind flayers
Regency, who are using the Dr
to affect changes in reality. A f
heroes safely to the island of Sh
illithid nautilus had washed a
of Ardyn, the heroes command
ship’s elder brain from the dea
bidding. Osterneth’s changelin
by Peter Schaefer), discovered
tilus by assuming the form of a
his tentacles into the ship’s nav
of Ardyn wanted to use the shi
Myrthon waters, and so the he
brain to cross a vast distance o
through the Far Realm. Metis’
plane led to a random encount
surviving the encounter and re
the heroes appeared in the mid
Dragovar and Myrthon ships a
underwater. Using a sea snake
Andraste (played by Michele C
The Dungeon Master Experience: Event Horizon
. I group these together by Jeff Alvarez) rescued four survivors of a destroyed Dra-
govar warship and learned that they’re deep inside enemy
Roleplaying Notes” as a waters but not where they hoped to be.
ample, Stan! Brown plays HEROES (in alphabetical order)
Vost Miraj, the equivalent Alex von Hyden (one-eyed male human wizard
and Wyrmworn) played by Jeremy Crawford
ost Miraj leadership sees
Andraste (female eladrin warlord and party
agovar Empire’s stability leader) played by Michele Carter
, so I’m expecting some Baharoosh (male dragonborn rogue and Vost
Miraj agent) played by Stan!
aracter and the Knights of
Bartho (dull-witted male human fighter) played
nd Nick. However, I’m not by Matt Sernett
nflict will be resolved and Kettenbar (male wilden shaman from an alter-
nate reality) played by Shawn Blakeney
ete episode summary,
Kithvolar (male elf ranger) played by Jeff Alvarez
atly on one double-sided
Metis (male changeling warlock and Osterneth’s
nto my campaign binder: manservant) played by Peter Schaefer
e” Melech (male tiefling warlock and vessel of
Ulban) played by Bruce R. Cordell
DRA . . .
ecna’s ex-wife) forged an alli- Theralyn (female elf ranger and dragon-riding
heir common enemy: Starlord Knight of Ardyn) played by Nick DiPetrillo
in control of the Myrthon
ragon’s Eye constellation with special guest star
flight of dragons bore the
ha’hadam, where a derelict Xanthum Zail (male gnome bard from an alter-
shore. Aided by the Knights nate reality) played by Curt Gould
deered the vessel, raised the
ad, and convinced it to do their NONPLAYER CHARACTERS
ng manservant, Metis (played
that he could pilot the nau- Ardyn (female silver dragon and leader of the
a mind flayer and sticking Knights of Ardyn)
vigation station. The Knights
ip to spy on illithid forces in Arando Corynnar (male human Knight of Ardyn
eroes persuaded the elder captain and Andraste’s confidante)
of ocean by taking the ship
’s inability to navigate the Thorn Rel (male tiefling Knight of Ardyn captain)
ter with three beholders. After
eturning to the natural world, Lily von Marek (female human Knight of Ardyn,
ddle of a naval battle between reporting to Thorn Rel)
and quickly took the nautilus
e figurine of wondrous power, Kiril Szarke (male half-elf Knight of Ardyn,
Carter) and Kithvolar (played reporting to Thorn Rel)
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 94
Taras (maimed male dragonborn Knight of Ardyn, gained from Tsarana Faijh
reporting to Thorn Rel) rise as the dragon’s protecte
reveals that she’s a Myrtho
Roksana Kral (female dwarf Knight of Ardyn, the Far Realm, bringing fo
reporting to Thorn Rel) to destroy Ardyn and recap
Vastian von Hyden (male human Knight of EVENTS
Ardyn, Arando’s friend, and Alex’s cousin) Event 1: “This Ship Ne
Thorn Rel urges Andras
Tsarana Faijhan (female dragonborn noble and
daughter of the mad Myrthon regent) illithid nautilus Soulmon
changeling in line.
Ramiel (male demon-possessed elf with a dragon
orb) Event 2: “What’s Wro
With Metis at the helm,
Nyrrska (male dragonborn ex-assassin turned
acolyte of Bahamut) reconnoiters Myrthon w
ligence on enemy fleet m
Tauth-Xelramar (elder brain powering the illi- The ship’s elder brain se
thid nautilus Soulmonger) endeavor and well dispo
raised it from the dead.
Alathar Balefrost (male half-elf lich working
with Osterneth) Event 3: “We Really D
If Metis is dead-set on cu
Kronze (skeletal red dragon “overlord”)
with by taking the nautilus th
another failed series of D
Osterneth (“the Bronze Lich,” Vecna’s ex-wife, might lead the vessel int
and the PCs’ temporary ally) ruled by Mak Thuum Ng
ensnare the ship, and a g
and Mak Thuum Ngatha boa
the crew’s surrender or a
Imazhia (female dragonborn priest of Bahamut) the Nine-Tongued Worm
EPISODE SYNOPSIS Event 4: “By Your Com
Thorn Rel recommends that Andraste assume com- Back in Iomandra, Oster
mand of the illithid nautilus Soulmonger, which has Alathar Balefrost and hi
been without a captain. The heroes and the Knights of fected a way to shield the
Ardyn conduct a very successful reconnaissance of Myr- to reality evoked by the D
thon waters before setting sail for Ardynrise. En route, and orders him to guide
Osterneth instructs Metis to guide the ship to prear-
ranged coordinates where Vecna cultists are waiting to
perform a ritual designed to make the heroes aware of
past reality changes and protect them against future
ones, but she also has ulterior motives. On Ardynrise,
the silver dragon Ardyn gives Andraste a new assign-
ment: helping Arando capture Tsar Dakor, the mad
regent of the Myrthon Regency, using information
The Dungeon Master Experience: Event Horizon
han, who is staying at Ardyn- of Kronze, where Vecnite ritualists are waiting to
ed guest. Suddenly, Imazhia board the ship and cast the ritual to protect the
on agent and opens a portal to vessel from the reality-altering constellation.
orth an aberrant attack force
pture the Tsarana. Event 5: “It’s All About Secrets”
eeds a Captain” The ship arrives at the prearranged coordinates—a
ste to take command of the craggy island inhabited by Kronze, a skeletal red
nger and keep Metis the dragon “overlord” under Alathar Balefrost’s con-
trol. The Vecnites have an artificially constructed
ong With This Picture?” demiplane that overlaps the natural world at this
the nautilus successfully point. While Vecnite ritualists emerge to cast their
warding spell on the ship, Alathar Balefrost smug-
waters, gathering intel- gles special operatives onto the ship for the trip to
movements and bases. Ardynrise, but strangely enough, Melech (with his
eems very helpful in this otherworldly connection to the starspawn Ulban
osed toward Imazhia, who and the ship’s elder brain) can sense them. En
route, the Vecnites try to deprive the heroes and
Knights of Ardyn of their memories so that they
alone are privy to the intelligence gathered in Myr-
thon waters (knowledge is power, after all).
Don’t Belong Here” Event 6: “Many Dragons Died Here”
utting down travel time Thorn Rel guides the nautilus toward a mist-
hrough the Far Realm, shrouded, star-shaped island littered with
Dungeoneering checks crumbled statues of dragons. Phantom dragons
to a part of the mad plane descend from the sky to fetch the heroes and bear
gatha. Giant tentacles them safely to Ardyn’s fortress atop the spire that
gibbering orb emissary of rises from the middle of the island. The story
ards the vessel to negotiate of the island is that a powerful dragonslaying
a more suitable offering to wizard once resided here, and that many dragons
m. united to slay him, only to fall prey to a power-
ful petrifying ward. They were turned to stone
mmand, My Lady” and became testaments to the wizard’s power.
Eventually, one dragon hit upon the idea of hiring
rneth informs Metis that adventurers to eliminate the wizard, and her plan
is operatives have per- succeeded. Ardyn was that dragon. The heroes
e nautilus against changes are reunited with Arando Corynnar and meet
Dragon’s Eye constellation Faijhan, the daughter of the Myrthon regent. She
e the ship to the tiny island fled her homeland to escape the madness that has
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 95
engulfed it. Ardyn asks Andraste to join Arando OTHER ROLEPLAYING N
on a “rescue mission” to capture Faijhan’s family, The Vost Miraj: Will A
including the regent, and thus destabilize the Myr-
thon government. Knights of Ardyn allow B
Miraj agent—anywhere n
Event 7: “So Fall the Knights of Ardyn” need to be on his game i
being sidelined in Event
Having allowed the heroes to lead her straight remain aboard the illith
into Ardyn’s lair, the priest Imazhia reveals that brain can keep him com
she’s a Myrthon agent and a “living gate” to the once Imazhia tips her ha
Far Realm. She summons forth a large force of
Myrthon soldiers as well as an old “friend” of the The Von Hyden Dram
heroes—Ramiel, the demon-possessed elf. He uses (Alex’s NPC cousin) is in
the dragon orb (given to him by the PCs) to subju- time. Vastian’s a likeable
gate Ardyn and turn her against the knights and Alex with news about hi
the heroes. Alex’s cousin, the “red shirt” Vastian, is also someone to throw
tries to stop Ramiel and might be killed off. Left shirt”).
to his own devices, Nyrrska assassinates Imazhia
to close the living gate. Whoever kills Imazhia If you’ve followed this colum
becomes deranged (as per permanent confusion), you’ve seen this sort of episo
and although a Remove Affliction ritual rids the episode summaries are ver
affliction, the individual remains ever haunted by ment is short and surprisin
glimpses of the Far Realm. know what? They become e
practice, and they collective
Event X: “They Call Me Xanthum Zail” campaign.
Depending on how events unfold, the starspawn Preparing
“godling” Allabar might use the Dragon’s Eye Combat En
constellation to trigger another reality change,
inadvertently bringing Xanthum Zail from the Once I have an episode sum
Wednesday night campaign into the Monday head, preparing for the actu
night game. Xanthum displaces Andraste as relatively easy. There are th
party leader, but who knows what’ll happen about:
when he actually shows up and tries to takes
charge. Wackiness, one assumes. Having been a ✦ Miniatures for key mo
puppet of Allabar himself, Xanthum senses that ✦ Stat blocks for unique
there’s a piece of the starspawn godling lodged ✦ Tactical maps for key e
deep in Kithvolar’s mind—a result of the change
in reality.
The Dungeon Master Experience: Event Horizon
NOTES I have a large selection of miniatures and, given time,
Andraste, Theralyn, and the can find something appropriate for any monster or
NPC in my campaign. I keep a selection of “stock
Baharoosh—a known Vost NPC” minis of different races in containers that I
near Ardynrise? Stan! will take with me to the gaming table, and I pull mon-
if he wants to keep from ster minis from a giant coffin-sized plastic bin I keep
ts 6 and 7. If he’s forced to under my desk. (It’s the worst organizational system
hid nautilus, the ship’s elder in the history of miniatures collecting. Sorting my
mpany . . . and turn on him minis is one of those rainy day activities I never get
and. around to doing, which is inexcusable since I live in
Seattle, which gets more than its fair share of rainy
ma: Vastian von Hyden days.)
ntroduced here for the first I’ve already discussed my secrets for creating
e NPC who can provide instant stat blocks, so I won’t repeat myself here.
is beleaguered family and When it comes to maps, I try to reuse existing mate-
w in harm’s way (a “red rials where practical; for example, I keep an array
of “stock” tactical maps for shipboard battles. (It’s
mn from the beginning, no accident that a lot of the action in my campaign
ode summary before. My takes place on the decks of ships!) Most of my creative
y modular, and each ele- efforts go into mapping unique and important set
ngly easy to write. And you pieces. For Ardyn’s fortress, I have two options: I can
even easier to produce with design something new or steal a fortress map from
ely form the “bible” for my some previously published source, in the manner I’ve
previously discussed. Fortunately, since Ardyn prefers
g for to assume humanoid form and her home was once
ncounters the lair of a wizard, I don’t have to create something
humungous befitting a dragon of her stature.
mmary on paper and in my Given the choice between reusing an existing map
ual combat encounters is or creating a new one, I prefer the latter endeavor
hree things I need to think because the act of sitting down to draw the map
forces me to imagine what goes on inside the location
onsters and NPCs I’m creating. It gets me in the mood to dream about
e monsters and PCs how Ardyn furnishes her lair and what surprises
encounter locations might be in store for heroes who take time to explore
it. It also inspires me to think of interesting encoun-
ter set-ups and terrain. Some DMs are content with
a roughly drawn map or doodle, but if I can’t spend a
generous amount of time creating something new, I’d
rather just pillage something. When it comes to maps,
I rarely see the event horizon before I’m completely
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 96
The Dungeon
sucked in. I could spend an entire weekend design- Behin
ing Ardyn’s fortress, from the time I settle on the DM, P
architectural layout to the time I finish putting pen
to graph paper. Talk about getting sucked into a black 11/24/2011
hole.
Next week I’ll let some of my esteemed players WEDNESDAY
chime in and mention a few things they’ve learned
about Dungeon Mastering from the weekly abuse Mat Smith’s character, Garrot
inflicted upon them by yours truly. His only means of escape is to
catapult, which sounds dumb u
Until the next encounter! in a part of the Far Realm tha
own memories and beliefs—an
bright. Unfortunately, the cata
wearing a pointy hat and surr
cannot be breached, only circu
with an apparatus of Kwalis
by himself—the Far Realm has
of all his adventuring compan
they help Garrot escape, or wo
players to decide, once they rea
nate, glass-jawed versions of th
ensues, but the adventure has
rot’s fate (and his future in the
their hands. In the hands of le
to think what could happen.
Week after week, I try to de
example that the role of the
isn’t that demanding—not if
feet and have a few good pla
couple weeks ago, I was list
tracks for Season 3 of Levera
one of the show’s executive
of the 4th Edition Manual o
directing isn’t rocket scienc
n Master Experience: Behind Every Good DM, Part 1
nd Every Good
Part 1
Y NIGHT. DMing isn’t either. There’s an art to it, however; and
like artists, no two DMs are alike. What serves me
t, is trapped in the Far Realm. well as a DM doesn’t necessarily serve you well as a
fire himself from a giant DM. We paint our campaign canvases with differ-
until you realize he’s trapped ent colors using different brushes, as it were. Doesn’t
t has molded itself around his mean your campaign is inherently better than mine,
nd Garrot’s not particularly or vice versa. However, I think it’s safe to say that
apult is guarded by a wizard neither of our campaigns would be much fun if our
rounded by a force field that players sucked rocks.
umvented by digging under it If you ask film and TV show directors what they
sh. Fortunately, Garrot is not prize above all else, nine times out of ten they’ll say
s conjured minion versions “a great cast.” If you have great actors, you can turn
nions, past and present. Will humdrum material into something enjoyable and
on’t they? That’s for the other excellent material into something spectacular. Simi-
alize they’re playing alter- larly, if a DM has great players, his or her job becomes
heir characters. Wackiness a LOT easier.
serious undertones, for Gar- I have two regular groups of players — sixteen
e campaign) rests squarely in players total. Some of them are hardcore roleplay-
ss capable players, I shudder ers, a few are hardcore min-maxers, and all of them
heed the unspoken social contract that says, in a
emonstrate by way of nutshell, “Thou shalt not be a jerk.” Because it’s the
week of Thanksgiving and I’m heading out on vaca-
e Dungeon Master really tion, I decided to ask my players to carry the bulk of
this article. Frankly, I think they know more about
f you can think on your my strengths and weaknesses as a Dungeon Master
than I do, for they’ve been watching me DM for sev-
ayers on your side. A eral years now. Not surprisingly, they have insightful
things to say about the art of DMing.
tening to the commentary
age when John Rogers,
producers (and co-author
of the Planes), joked that
ce, and I realized that
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 97
The Dungeon
Recently I asked my players to respond via email is “back threading.” If th
to the following question: resource, some super cri
to interact with, even if t
Based on your experience as a player in my cam- Chris will haunt them w
paign, what’s one helpful bit of advice or lesson The crucial bits come th
you’d like to share with the DMs of the world the campaign evolves an
who are reading this article? other tidbit: Chris never
(and thus each character
Here’s what some of the players from my Wednesday at times, the center of th
night game wrote: attention. He never forge
on them (whether the pl
Chris Champagne Perkins campaign, every
Characters: Kael (deva cleric), Kosh (tiefling
Andrew Finch
warlock) Characters: Abraxas (drag
Often, a DM may have an idea of a chain of events
(revenant ranger), Ravok
they predict a party to go through. Perhaps even
in a certain order. However, players get their own The most important less
ideas. The word I use for what Chris seems to do being a DM was “don’t sa
seeing Chris apply this p
to the rules of improvisa
and improv have a lot in
should simply accept wh
do and then put your ow
you say “Yes” does not m
ers what they want; in fa
say yes but then give the
expect.
I remember the time w
a mind flayer. A crystal s
and started to fly away. M
that it was a memory cry
likely taking the mind fl
the illithid collective mi
smash it, and as they did
acter could use Read Th
of the memories as the c
said, “Sure . . . make a sa
liant. It gave me what I h
same time filled me with
n Master Experience: Behind Every Good DM, Part 1
here is some super crucial to come next. As my character took in all the mem-
itical NPC the party needs ories of the slain mind flayer, he had to spend the
the party kills that NPC, rest of the campaign struggling to keep that mind
with the ghost if necessary. flayer’s personality under control. It gave the party
hrough no matter what, and a bunch of information about what was going on
nd moves forward. And one in the campaign but also gave my character a very
r forgets that each player interesting subplot.
r) wants to feel like a star
he action, the intrigue and Rodney Thompson
ets to shine the spotlight Characters: Vargas (eladrin avenger), Nevin (half-
layer is ready or not). In a
yone gets to be a star. ling rogue)
gonborn warlord), Alagon Be careful when you blow up the ship. What
k (goliath battlemind) I mean by that is that the most controversial
moment in the campaign, at least from the players’
son that I learned about experience so far, was when Xanthum (played by
ay No.” I realized after Curt Gould) blew up the party’s ship. That was the
principle that it is similar moment that I think that we felt the most power-
ation theater. Roleplaying less and blindsided and the moment that brought
n common. As the DM, you us closest to rebelling as a group. It was very much
hat your players want to a rust monster moment—the moment when some-
wn twist on it. Just because thing we’d invested a bunch of money into was
mean that you give the play- taken away.
act, it is fact better if you
em something they don’t Now, in the end things worked out (and for the
better, storywise), but that only happened because
when the party had killed of a couple factors: first because we’ve played
shard grew out of its head together a while and trust that the DM’s not being
My character recognized arbitrary for no reason, and second because most
ystal and that it was most of us are seasoned players that enjoy exploring
layer’s memories back to our characters’ weaknesses as well as strengths.
nd. He told the party to We’re players who don’t mind losing an eye, get-
d that, I asked if my char- ting sucked into the Nine Hells, and so forth,
houghts to get anything out because we know it’s a chance to distinguish our
crystal was shattered. Chris characters. Losing the ship was a big blow, but for
aving throw.” It was bril- Chris Youngs it was an open door to becoming
had asked for and at the evil. For me, seeing the direction that Deimos was
h anticipation of what was headed, it was a chance to explore what happens
when Vargas is torn between loyalty to a childhood
friend and being a good-aligned character travel-
ing with an increasingly evil party. For Curt, it was
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 98
The Dungeon
a chance to explore betrayal (even mind-controlled and I both said simultan
betrayal) and the ramifications of being the guy request was granted inst
nobody trusts anymore. Yeah, that may be ascrib- complete.
ing a lot of complex motivation to us as players, but
I think it’s a fair analysis. It doesn’t take much to
character, and not all ba
Trevor Kidd times they’re just jerks, a
Character: Rhasgar (dragonborn paladin) peg can be just as satisfy
As a DM, Chris does quite a few noteworthy Greg Bilsland
things, but the one that sticks with me the most Characters: Amnon (tiefl
is how much character he gives each NPC. Some-
times it seems like they’re fleshed out like a main ranger), Ashe (deva invok
character in a story, but other times, he manages
to create a memorable character with just a few Don’t fight purple drago
words and actions. while on 100-foot cliff le
copper dragons at level 1
An example that sticks with me from shortly When you’re below 0 hit
after joining the campaign is Captain Prak, a gods, stay down and don
member of the Dragovar empire’s martial caste. examples point a truth a
Apparently he had blackmailed the party before perhaps D&D games in
my character, Rhasgar, had joined a few sessions rable moments are often
earlier. We ran into him again (the first time for harrowing. Don’t pull pu
me) after colliding with members of a thieves’ think you’ll upset player
guild called the Horned Alliance. The party was die, but deadly and near
later tasked with assaulting the Horned Alliance’s quintessential parts of th
stronghold to sweep away the last remnants of those experiences as a p
the gang. Upon our arrival, we found Captain grumpiness I might have
Prak leading the forces that had “contained” the now they’re joked, and th
remaining members of the guild. Prak started if my character had simp
insulting and talking down to the party, not ters easily, got the XP, an
believing such a worthless group of casteless
non-dragonborn could have been sent by the mag-
istrate to deal with the problem. It was just a few
condescending lines of dialog, some sneers, and
some sideways insults, and Rhasgar had as much
animosity for him as any true villain they had
faced already. After successfully completing the
mission, we were all satisfied to see Captain Prak’s
dumbfounded look. When the magistrate asked
us what we wanted as a reward, Chris Youngs
n Master Experience: Behind Every Good DM, Part 1
neously, “Fire Prak!” Our Lessons Learned
tantly, and our victory was
Want to know if you’re doing a good job as a DM?
o flesh out a supporting Ask your players what they’ve learned about DMing
ad guys are villains. Some- by watching you work behind the screen. If they say
and taking them down a “Nothing,” you know you’re in trouble!
ying as saving a town. Behind every good DM are good players. I’ve seen
good DMs run games for bad players, at least until the
ling rogue), Brell (genasi paralysis sets in or until they’re reduced to shambling
oker) wrecks. Bad players are DM kryptonite. That said, I
recommend that every DM endure at least one hor-
ons that can dominate you rendous player experience to remind him or her of
edges? Don’t attack young the value of great players, of which I probably have
1 when you’re alone? more than my fair share.
t points and stable, by the Next week, in Part 2 of this article, you’ll hear
n’t get back up! All of these from some of the players in my Monday group.
about Chris’s game, and
general: The most memo- Until the next encounter!
n the deadliest and most
unches just because you
rs. Sure, characters might
r-death experiences are
he game. Looking back on
player, I don’t feel the same
e felt at the time. In fact,
hat’s worth a lot more than
ply beaten those encoun-
nd moved on.
December 2011 | DU NGEON 197 99
The Dungeon
Behind Every Go
DM, Part 2
12/1/2011
MONDAY NIGHT. perished instantly. The impact
the tower.
Against the wishes of his adventuring companions, Peter
Schaefer’s changeling character, Metis (in mind f layer Welcome to Part 2 of this a
form), took the party’s ship—a recently commandeered illi- Part 1, start there before pr
thid nautilus—into the Far Realm for the second time. This Two weeks ago, I shared
enabled the ship to skirt vast distances of ocean in the natu- this particular “episode” of
ral world. However, his earlier attempt to navigate the Far nothing like what’s describ
Realm nearly ended in disaster, and no one expected this Peter pretty much torpedo
latest foray to go any better. when his character abduct
Knowing how unpredictable Peter can be at times, I had took the party to an altoget
anticipated the possibility that Metis might take the ship I suddenly found myself f li
back into the Far Realm and even planned an encounter campaign binder, where I’d
should the ship become stranded there. However, I wasn’t lord Evendor’s tower observ
prepared for the success with which Metis piloted the ship hadn’t planned for the hero
or his intended destination. Peter had decided, on his own, ter location until they were
that the time had come to take the fight to the campaign’s higher, but when things lik
main villain, Starlord Evendor, and attack Evendor’s obser- gotta roll with it.
vatory deep in the heart of enemy waters. I don’t get scared when p
Navigating the ship through the Far Realm was handled the campaign. There’s a litt
as a skill challenge. However, when I asked Peter where happens because now I’m t
exactly he wanted the ship to appear in the natural world, events, and I can’t simply th
his intentions became horrifically clear. He aimed to crash air and shouting, “I didn’t p
the ship into Starlord Evendor’s observatory—and on this about improvisation, and th
particular occasion, his aim was dead on. The ship mate- do I do in situations like thi
rialized in the air above the observatory and plunged what I have, and I make up
nose-down through the domed rooftop, embedding itself plans for the session were je
within the tower’s metal superstructure. Everyone aboard twenty minutes, I found the
the ship took massive amounts of damage, some more because the players were w
than others, and several friendly NPCs aboard the vessel
The words you are searching are inside this book. To get more targeted content, please make full-text search by clicking here.
The-Dungeon-Master-Experience-Chris-Perkins
Discover the best professional documents and content resources in AnyFlip Document Base.
Search
The-Dungeon-Master-Experience-Chris-Perkins
- 1 - 50
- 51 - 100
- 101 - 150
- 151 - 200
- 201 - 250
- 251 - 300
- 301 - 350
- 351 - 400
- 401 - 450
- 451 - 488
Pages: