OK, so I got side tracked in the last post. (the evils of Google) What I really wanted to write about was Divination in a game. Since we play a house ruled 3.5 I will be referring to the actual spell. However, the concept of having divine or arcane magic which can provide useful information towards solving the in game challenge vs. just how much the DM reveals without spoiling the fun is not limited by edition.
I have read via the interwebs some DMs suggest simply striking the spell from the available lists. I do not subscribe to such an action. Divination has a rich history in literature and my game draws much from literature. My homebrew is not a copy of some literary world but rather draws on elements that are common in literary worlds, and hence gives a familiar feeling to the players. Removing divination type magic would would degrade that familiarity. Additionally, I like to use NPCs with divination abilities in the homebrew. Knowledge is power, even if that knowledge is limited or flawed. I like the interplay of the diviners selling their wares as absolute knowledge while the buyers of such knowledge are skeptical and yet fearful to ignore the potential such knowledge could bring. If they NPCs can use divination magic, then so should the players.
I have stricken spells from the game. I have not done so without careful thought about how it impacts my homebrew, and I do it very sparingly. Players choose a class expecting to have the abilities as stated (my house rules are written and public to the players so there is no surprise), and are disappointed to lose those abilities. There may be a sense of making the character less valuable.
So, what is the problem with Divination? Inevitably a character would like to cast the spell and ask: "Did Varalak the High Priest murder King Coriant?", "Where does this magical portal lead?", "What terrible creature guards the treasure in the temple?", "Which hallway leads to the captive princess?". Thank you for calling 1 800 ASK A GOD. We are sorry, due to convoluted rules we are not at liberty to explain why your query cannot be answered and your spell is still consumed. We look forward to serving you in the future in the service of your god. Be sure to watch your alignment. Have a nice day.
The conversation between Omnipotentia, the all knowing goddess of knowledge and the DM go something like this.
Omnipotentia - "Look, I know the answer to the priest's question. She's been true to her alignment, she risked her life in my service five times last week, and giving her this bit of direct knowledge unequivocally advances my goals as goddess of knowledge. What gives with me having to give some vague answer, that can be taken ambiguously, to this loyal servant?"
DM - "I have spent a pant load of time putting this adventure together so the players pulling the puppet strings on your follower will have a good time. I am not about to have them solve the adventure with a simple spell casting in the first five minutes of the game. It is not satisfying for them, and would really piss me off."
Omnipotentia - "It just doesn't seem right. I mean, you go on about verisimilitude in your game and-"
DM - interrupting "Listen, I hear a loyal follower of Discordia the goddess of death, destruction, and generally uncouth behavior using a divination asking the goddess for the secret to slaying the goddess of knowledge. Maybe you are right, maybe this is the time to start answering those questions with full disclosure. You know a god war might be an interesting twist to this campaign....
Omnipotentia - "I am starting to see you point of view. Let me get my thesaurus."
At the heart of it, Divination should give some useful advice but should not solve the adventure. Seems simple right? First off the players struggle with what to ask knowing 1 800 ASK A GOD will only answer a properly limited and formatted question. Next, those darn players will spring a Divination question when you least expect it. Now you have to come up with a cleverly written response which gives just just enough advice without spoiling the adventure. No wonder some DMs squirm at this point. I rather like it though, it keeps me on my toes.
Next post, I'll talk about my most recent experience with Divination in game.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Astral Projection & Divination
After playing D&D for over 30 years, today I discover there is real magic in these books. I kid you not. I was doing a Google search on divination and I came across a website with instructions on how to force Satan or demons (it didn't specify how you know which, perhaps that was on another page) out of a persons body. Afterward there is a prayer, and in that prayer you must renounce a good many things (and many of those things it seems like a pretty good idea to renounce). I did come to notice that in paragraph 7 of 10 in this rather detailed and specific prayer it says this:
All kinds of ideas sprang into my head. Is there really the secrets of astral projection hidden in one of my D&D books? I wonder which edition? (Oh, no, more fodder for the edition wars!) What exactly is 'black rock'? How do I know what is an occult movie as opposed to a just weird one (I wonder if they have a list? Do they update it regularly if I subscribe to the site?) Also I noticed they capitalized Dungeons and Dragons; they fear not combating Satan and his minions but tremble before copyright lawyers?
The more I think on this it may not be D&D which is the main tool in Satan's weaponry. It makes me wonder about this divination spell called Google.
I renounce heavy metal music, satanic rock and black rock, watching occult movies and all demonic role-play games, such as Dungeons and Dragons.So, they wouldn't make you renounce that unless it could lead to, you know, the dark magic of astral projection and divination right? I suppose since you are renouncing heavy metal music that could lead to the same dark magic, but then it would involve big hair and being hard of hearing too.
All kinds of ideas sprang into my head. Is there really the secrets of astral projection hidden in one of my D&D books? I wonder which edition? (Oh, no, more fodder for the edition wars!) What exactly is 'black rock'? How do I know what is an occult movie as opposed to a just weird one (I wonder if they have a list? Do they update it regularly if I subscribe to the site?) Also I noticed they capitalized Dungeons and Dragons; they fear not combating Satan and his minions but tremble before copyright lawyers?
The more I think on this it may not be D&D which is the main tool in Satan's weaponry. It makes me wonder about this divination spell called Google.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Stone Cat ESB masquerading
Cheers.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
What if your really tough encounter monster gets killed in round two?
What if you had planned a really cool encounter in an old destroyed temple, that included random nasty steam vents and an eight headed pyro-hydra and.... your players ran right over it?
The characters in our main game are 7th level. The have access to all kinds of buffs when time allows. As soon as they saw the inside of this nasty temple, but before they knew about the hydra, they went about buffing themselves up. Enlarge person, bull's strength, mage armor, shield, etc. After a few rounds of buffing they wandered in. A few more rounds later the beasty shows its faces. Smugly they finish the buffing with prayer and haste, come get us beasty! Well the hydra gets just outside melee range and unloads eight heads of fire breath. Large chucks of character hit points and the smug looks evaporate. A little panic starts to set in (DM refrains from gloating) and the two heavy melee fights decide it is do or die so they make their move. Lots of attacks due to level, full attack option and haste. But the dice, rather than turn treacherous on them, does just the opposite. Not only is every attack a hit, three are critical hits, and the damage dice are smiling on them just as broadly as the d20s. The results are impressive and statistically improbable. My nasty eight headed pyro-hydra lies on the floor of the temple in pieces, rather than hovering over the panic stricken party.
Where was the terror? Where was the anguished cries of help to their deities? Oh, the inhumanity!
They did plan. They did work together. They did make good choices. They did roll very, very well.
What if you had planned a really cool encounter and your players ran right over it? After I got over being stunned, I congratulated them. They earned it. It was time to allow them to bask in their glory. Not to worry, there are more encounters waiting and you just never know what the dice will say next time. You see, the dice never lie.
The characters in our main game are 7th level. The have access to all kinds of buffs when time allows. As soon as they saw the inside of this nasty temple, but before they knew about the hydra, they went about buffing themselves up. Enlarge person, bull's strength, mage armor, shield, etc. After a few rounds of buffing they wandered in. A few more rounds later the beasty shows its faces. Smugly they finish the buffing with prayer and haste, come get us beasty! Well the hydra gets just outside melee range and unloads eight heads of fire breath. Large chucks of character hit points and the smug looks evaporate. A little panic starts to set in (DM refrains from gloating) and the two heavy melee fights decide it is do or die so they make their move. Lots of attacks due to level, full attack option and haste. But the dice, rather than turn treacherous on them, does just the opposite. Not only is every attack a hit, three are critical hits, and the damage dice are smiling on them just as broadly as the d20s. The results are impressive and statistically improbable. My nasty eight headed pyro-hydra lies on the floor of the temple in pieces, rather than hovering over the panic stricken party.
Where was the terror? Where was the anguished cries of help to their deities? Oh, the inhumanity!
They did plan. They did work together. They did make good choices. They did roll very, very well.
What if you had planned a really cool encounter and your players ran right over it? After I got over being stunned, I congratulated them. They earned it. It was time to allow them to bask in their glory. Not to worry, there are more encounters waiting and you just never know what the dice will say next time. You see, the dice never lie.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Weapons of legend
Although it works in the game, there is no literary tradition for acquiring magical weapons and trading them in for better magical weapons as time goes by and character levels go up. There is no attachment to these D&D magical weapons, and much like any other tool they are discarded as better tools come along. I find this to be unsatisfying. When as a player I tried to have my character do more with a weapon: name my magical +1 weapon and become attached to it, and known as the wielder of said weapon of great renown.... it all goes out the window when the +2 weapon comes along.
I suppose not everyone can have Excalibur, Chrysaor, Nothung, Glamdring, Stormbringer or a the vorpal sword that slew the Jabberwock snicker-snack. But there must be something between Orcrist and the disposable +x weapon in the treasure pile that fits into our adventure. Sure there are tables in the back of the book (regardless what book/edition you have) which speak of powerful weapons and artifacts that only a fool would relinquish. In practice it may be true but for most of our campaigns characters would only acquire such a device near the end of their career. This does not allow them to build a story and reputation expect maybe as the guy powerful enough to slay the terrible beast that had the legendary weapon in its hoard and thus became the next hero to retire (because the campaign was over) with that legendary weapon. Not satisfying at all in my book.
It always seemed to me the solution was to have the character acquire a weapon which, much like the character herself, needed to grow to their full potential. Sure the weapon may start out as just a pretty looking master work tool, but over time it would gain pluses to hit, unique capabilities, elemental properties (spouting flame, dripping caustic acid, etc), gaining fame as the character did. It may even have a temperament and its own agenda that is in some conflict with the bearer. Sounds like fun!
I know there are a number of systems out their that support such a progression. I did not find one I liked, so I made my own. The challenges have been many. I do not want the weapons to outshine the characters. Characters owning such a weapon often unbalance the game. Creating weapons and a history so that all the characters can participate in this high fantasy romp without it seeming too contrived. (who would want to be left out of the fun!). I decided that the characters had to actively pursue goals and rituals that would unlock the weapons potentials as they grew in power. This also had the beneficial side effect of creating adventure motivation and consuming resources.
It has been an interesting experiment, and I trust my players are enjoying it. One of the interesting things I did was give the characters an opportunity to rename their weapon - they could keep its legendary name, or they could rename it formally. Weapons with such prestigious names as Silver Flame, Ice Wand, Ivory Stary & Argentum Valor have come into the hands of the characters. It has not all been perfect, but I think the challenges have been worth the outcome: an interesting campaign where characters have weapons of legend, and are creating more legend of the weapon and more importantly, the wielder.
I suppose not everyone can have Excalibur, Chrysaor, Nothung, Glamdring, Stormbringer or a the vorpal sword that slew the Jabberwock snicker-snack. But there must be something between Orcrist and the disposable +x weapon in the treasure pile that fits into our adventure. Sure there are tables in the back of the book (regardless what book/edition you have) which speak of powerful weapons and artifacts that only a fool would relinquish. In practice it may be true but for most of our campaigns characters would only acquire such a device near the end of their career. This does not allow them to build a story and reputation expect maybe as the guy powerful enough to slay the terrible beast that had the legendary weapon in its hoard and thus became the next hero to retire (because the campaign was over) with that legendary weapon. Not satisfying at all in my book.
It always seemed to me the solution was to have the character acquire a weapon which, much like the character herself, needed to grow to their full potential. Sure the weapon may start out as just a pretty looking master work tool, but over time it would gain pluses to hit, unique capabilities, elemental properties (spouting flame, dripping caustic acid, etc), gaining fame as the character did. It may even have a temperament and its own agenda that is in some conflict with the bearer. Sounds like fun!
I know there are a number of systems out their that support such a progression. I did not find one I liked, so I made my own. The challenges have been many. I do not want the weapons to outshine the characters. Characters owning such a weapon often unbalance the game. Creating weapons and a history so that all the characters can participate in this high fantasy romp without it seeming too contrived. (who would want to be left out of the fun!). I decided that the characters had to actively pursue goals and rituals that would unlock the weapons potentials as they grew in power. This also had the beneficial side effect of creating adventure motivation and consuming resources.
It has been an interesting experiment, and I trust my players are enjoying it. One of the interesting things I did was give the characters an opportunity to rename their weapon - they could keep its legendary name, or they could rename it formally. Weapons with such prestigious names as Silver Flame, Ice Wand, Ivory Stary & Argentum Valor have come into the hands of the characters. It has not all been perfect, but I think the challenges have been worth the outcome: an interesting campaign where characters have weapons of legend, and are creating more legend of the weapon and more importantly, the wielder.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Thirty years later - a random dungeon creation romp
It has been a very long time since I did any random dungeon creation. Back in the day it was supposedly an easy way out to run an adventure. Not much planning, a few rolls and presto you have an evening of entertainment.
I should have know better. I was doomed from the start.
To start with, I couldn't really use completely random tables. This was to be insert in an already designed area so the start and ends had to come together, and the inhabitants had to fit in a subset of what was likely to be found in these underground caverns. So I had to build my own random tables. I supposed whether you use somebody else's tables or your own, somebody has to build them.
To make a long story short, I could have drawn and populated a set of natural caverns far more quickly that generating random caverns, making them connect and populating them with tables. Perhaps there was a change up from the players view; if I had populated them not so randomly my stamp may have been on that and the characters might have been less surprised. However, I don't think so. Personally I think I stay ahead of the characters and am still able to surprise them no matter what patterns of my behavior they believe they have deciphered.
I found that I was not crisp with the information on this random map creation. I made mistakes, had a little trouble orienting the group in my descriptions and lost my place here and there. Making it in advance, whole cloth from my own imagination, somehow makes it stick better in my mind. Plus I have a little time to review before the adventure so I am much sharper with details.
Now, it really didn't turn out all that bad. I was disappointed in my running of the last outing; it felt a little bit awkward and slow but we got through. I just have to face facts, after thirty years of game mastering I am just more comfortable assembling my own adventures manually, with some die rolls of support, than to just trust it all to chance. I am not afraid to try new ways of running games, or game content and will continue to do so. This does just reinforce that you should play to your strengths.
I have said it before and I'll say it again: the dice never lie. I suppose the real wisdom is knowing when to ask them to speak.
I should have know better. I was doomed from the start.
To start with, I couldn't really use completely random tables. This was to be insert in an already designed area so the start and ends had to come together, and the inhabitants had to fit in a subset of what was likely to be found in these underground caverns. So I had to build my own random tables. I supposed whether you use somebody else's tables or your own, somebody has to build them.
To make a long story short, I could have drawn and populated a set of natural caverns far more quickly that generating random caverns, making them connect and populating them with tables. Perhaps there was a change up from the players view; if I had populated them not so randomly my stamp may have been on that and the characters might have been less surprised. However, I don't think so. Personally I think I stay ahead of the characters and am still able to surprise them no matter what patterns of my behavior they believe they have deciphered.
I found that I was not crisp with the information on this random map creation. I made mistakes, had a little trouble orienting the group in my descriptions and lost my place here and there. Making it in advance, whole cloth from my own imagination, somehow makes it stick better in my mind. Plus I have a little time to review before the adventure so I am much sharper with details.
Now, it really didn't turn out all that bad. I was disappointed in my running of the last outing; it felt a little bit awkward and slow but we got through. I just have to face facts, after thirty years of game mastering I am just more comfortable assembling my own adventures manually, with some die rolls of support, than to just trust it all to chance. I am not afraid to try new ways of running games, or game content and will continue to do so. This does just reinforce that you should play to your strengths.
I have said it before and I'll say it again: the dice never lie. I suppose the real wisdom is knowing when to ask them to speak.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Local Austin musician Brian Pounds
I was out after work looking for some place to eat while onn my recent trip to Austin. I saw the sign for the Iron Cactus restaurant, and I knew I did not need to drive any more. This post is not about the Iron Cactus, though it was a cool place.
In the bar area was a young man singing and playing on an acoustic guitar, accompanied by an older gentleman on a pedal steel guitar. The younger man, Brian Pounds by name, was singing his heart out and the older gentleman on the steel was quite good as well. The Tex-Mex food was good enough, the cerveza was cold, and although the music was not exactly my favorite style it was both entertaining and of fine quality. Not even a cover charge.
Unfortunately I must have missed the first half of their set, because after about 6 songs they were packing up. I was sufficiently impressed to call Brian over and offer to buy one of his CDs. I figured I got $10 worth of entertainment anyway. My younger days as a musician are not completely forgotten; I try to support up and coming artists where I can.
Brian plays a sort of blend of folk/rock/country and has a quality to his voice that reminds me of James Taylor. You can check him out here: http://www.purevolume.com/brianpounds
There, I have done my good deed. From here it is up to him and the quality of his music. Just in case he does make it big, I had him autograph the CD. You never can tell.
In the bar area was a young man singing and playing on an acoustic guitar, accompanied by an older gentleman on a pedal steel guitar. The younger man, Brian Pounds by name, was singing his heart out and the older gentleman on the steel was quite good as well. The Tex-Mex food was good enough, the cerveza was cold, and although the music was not exactly my favorite style it was both entertaining and of fine quality. Not even a cover charge.
Unfortunately I must have missed the first half of their set, because after about 6 songs they were packing up. I was sufficiently impressed to call Brian over and offer to buy one of his CDs. I figured I got $10 worth of entertainment anyway. My younger days as a musician are not completely forgotten; I try to support up and coming artists where I can.
Brian plays a sort of blend of folk/rock/country and has a quality to his voice that reminds me of James Taylor. You can check him out here: http://www.purevolume.com/brianpounds
There, I have done my good deed. From here it is up to him and the quality of his music. Just in case he does make it big, I had him autograph the CD. You never can tell.
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