Hyza was once an adventurer of renown and skill. His old bones tired, he surrounds himself with memories of times more glorious. Having accumulated one last haul of magic items from his final adventure, he decided to open up a magic shop.
Its glass dome shines in the sun, where inside, a stuffed troll stands as if ready to attack. Dragon skeletons hover, hung from the ceiling with fine wire. Shelves of curious pots and odd artifacts grace the shelves, from which a stuffed giant rat peers down. What secrets might old Hyza still keep? It's up to your adventurers to find out, now isn't it?
Want to mix things up a bit in your next game? Try a new attack type... beam.
This attack type hits targets in a line extending away from the attacker. It's a great way to make your players consider the placement of their characters. At least as importantly, it's a lot of fun for the dungeon master to find new ways to keep your characters on their toes. Click the link below to learn how to challenge your players with this fun new attack type
Ever stuggle to find just the right name for your Roleplaying character or NPC? Well, it won't be a problem anymore. I have compiled thousands of fantasy-sounding names, ready to drop into your campaigns.
No longer will you choke, and settle for something like "Randy the Destroyer," just because you can't come up with something better under pressure. Click the link below to discover thousands of great fantasy names and avoid the shame of a lame name.
When I started playing Dungeons & Dragons back in 1978, I couldn't afford miniatures. I learned to make do with paper and pencil, but even then, I could see how miniatures could enhance my game.
While I love to paint miniatures, I too am on a budget, so I'll show you ways to keep expenses down while still enhancing your roleplaying game. Click the link below to learn how.
Blog Entry: How Many Players is Too Much of a Good Thing?
May 3rd, 2010
Maybe you’ve been there. You plan your adventure for a certain number of players, but twice that many show up. So what then? Do you turn some away or just try to roll with it?
Don’t Panic!
This past weekend, I planned for 6, but 10 players showed up. I would never want to turn anyone away, especially since the week before, only 4 or 5 were there. However, as the evening progressed and the second battle ensued, it became obvious that I didn’t have all the players’ full attention. They were playing games on their cell phones between their turns, but who could blame them? It was 20 minutes between turns at times. This certainly didn’t feel like a blow-by-blow battle.
So, what to do? We discussed this among the players, and decided that one of the players, who also DM’s another group, would just have a random encounter planned. Then, when a lot of players show up, she’ll handle the overflow. Problem solved, but it’s not always that easy.
If you haven’t run into this problem, you probably will at some point. Click on the link below to get some ideas on how best to handle this.
What's the difference between chess and checkers? Lots of things, but one of the big ones is timing.
Do you want your combat encounters to include scratching of chins and deep thought? Or do you want combat to feel like combat?
If you want fast-paced action, I'm with you. Click on the link below if you want to learn how to control the pace of combat and to keep your players on their toes.
What makes the difference between a combat encounter that consists of a bunch of minis, stats, and dice vs. those that you remember and talk about for months, or even years, to come?
There's really only a couple of dozen elements you can change to make one combat different from any others. Which monsters (and how many) you choose play an important role, but that's where many gamemasters stop. Instead, that's where we'll begin.
Here, you'll find updates to the current D&D campaign I'm running. Whether you're playing yourself, or would just like to enjoy following along with the progress of the story, I hope you find it enjoyable.
