New House Rules
With the new cinematic campaign about to get started, I thought I would institute some new house rules, on a trial basis.
Private Character Generation. Players may create their character sheets, in their entirety, prior to play, and without Narrator supervision. This includes the rolling of stats, HP, and the like. I trust my players, and realize that they will be the only ones to enjoy the game any less should they cheat. Players are encouraged to take their time creating their character, and are still welcome to do so in my presence and with my consultation.
Stat Re-rolls. After rolling their stats, and recording the result of each individual die, players may choose to re-roll a single die, with the new value replacing the die’s old value.
The Assured Death Rule. Players may, at any time, ask if the course of action they are pondering or pursuing will result in any sort of assured death, or any situation which is nearly impossible to survive.
The 80% Rule. In the event of PC death, retirement, or write-out, the new character may be created with starting XP equivalent to 80% of the party’s average XP total
Highlander Trench Coats. I believe I’ve seen another name for this, but I cannot recall it. In Highlander, swords as big as claymores are often stored in trench coats, cloaks, or something equivalent. They may be carried around for a near endless period of time, without revealing themselves or proving any real hindrance. Similar restrictions will be waived for PCs when appropriate.
The Respec Rule. Characters may, when appropriate time and training is available between adventures, lose the benefits of old feats in exchange for new ones which may be selected. Skill ranks may be re-assigned similarly.
Changing the Game
I’ve recently begun working on a new campaign which will be starting this weekend, a d20 Modern game of Dark Matter, a game of paranormal investigation, with the Future, Future Tech, Cyberscape, and Modern Magic supplements.
Aside from the equipment in the various supplements, very little in this new game is new as far as mechanics are concerned. The new directions of the game, the subtleties that proper play demands, such as the low-key nature of magic, and the widespread disbelief of it, these things are more than sufficient to make the campaign, and the game itself, seem completely new.
I’m not the only one who feels this way, either. My players have proved to be just as excited as I am at the prospect of playing this new game, all because the theme of the game has been changed from “Supernatural” to “Paranormal.”
There are a number of other ways to take a setting or situation which is ordinarily normal and change it in minor ways so as to completely change the feel/course of the game. A high-tech or sci-fi game could be altered by a very primitive understanding of the technology used - it was found at some point in the past, and while the secrets of its use, and possibly maintainence, have been discovered, the secrets of is workings have not. This minor change opens up numerous new paths for the campaign, and changes the way players will look at things.
A Star Wars game could be changed by altering some mechanics of the Force such that drawing on its power drains life from other creatures - sort of a slower and more cosmic version of the Dark Sun Defiler. This would make little difference to many Dark Side users, especially Sith, but it would place a new level of moral questions for PCs to deal with.
Have you ever implemented any changes like this to change a game around?
Dealing with Identical PCs
First, an apology for the lack of update Friday. I had thought the server was set to automatically post the article Friday morning, but I made an error saving the post, and thus it was never posted. Here is the post from Friday. Normal posting will resume tomorrow.
No matter how much diversity any game offers, whether class and level based or point based, the problem identical PCs will eventually crop up. There are several circumstances under which people are likely to generate identical PCs, and several degress to which they can be “identical.”
The most common place to see identical PCs is at low level or in low power games, where the characters haven’t had as much time to diversify and “bloom.” The best solution in this case can be to simply wait, and give the characters time to develop, in personality and character development as well as on paper.
Some players come to the table with similar concepts for their characters in mind, which leads to similar character building or execution. If this is the case, try to emphasize the little differences in the characters, especially the ones that don’t make a difference as far as rules and game mechanics. If two characters are wielding two different swords that are near identical, place them in a role-playing situation where the differences are seen as important, either due to a fighting tradition which glamorizes one, or the weapon has some symbolic importance based in religion or myths.
Some players will purposefully build characters which are very similar, often creating a reason for this in their characters backgrounds, such as being siblings, or trained by the same teacher or order. If this is the case, you may wish to offer the players an extra bonus for this, because even if the mechanics don’t suggest it, two duelists/slashers/casters acting as a team or in tandem should be more effective than the two of them separately. Of course, this bonus shouldn’t be offered all the time (unless the mechanics normally call for it.)
Another common place to find identical PCs is among spell casters who are able to learn and teach new spells. PCs who wield magic with this kind of mechanic will often share spells freely with each other, in order to benefit the party. Try offering your players a way to specialize in different ways. If necessary, rule that only a certain number of spells or spells per level may be known by any caster - this will encourage them to learn different abilities in the interests of versatility.
Universally, the best way to deal with identical PCs is through role-playing. No matter how identical PCs may be on paper, they will almost certainly have different personalities, inclinations, mannerisms, and beliefs. Shining a light on this makes characters unique and special, and provides players with a reason not to min/max, another common cause of identical PCs because of bottle necking.
How do you deal with identical PCs?
Organizing Old Game Material
Martin over at Treasure Tables brought up the topic of organizing old game material on Saturday, and I thought I’d share a few of my methods.
If a PC dies, I take the character sheet and put it into a folder which is dedicated to collecting PC information after that PC’s death. I started doing this after a number of characters were returned to play sometime after their death due to various circumstances, some resurrected as themselves, and some as bad guys. The original information was always missing, however. Additionally, being able to look at the characters that participated in an adventure can help fill in many blanks which might exist.
All of my old notes get transcribed and saved on my computer, to make sure that they are not lost and are easy to edit. Once a set of notes becomes about a month old, I go back, and copy whatever information still seems relevant into the master notes file, which I used for quick references.
During particularly long campaigns, I will release some of my notes to my players, especially my limited notes about what they believed and experienced first hand during the game. This allows the players to be sure that they are remembering things as they happened, and they have an additional source of notes to refer to. Releasing the notes as a meta-reward has worked well for me in the past.
Personal Rules for Narrating
Today, I thought I’d share a few of my own personal rules for running a game.
The Story Isn’t Mine. It can be tempting to try to control or direct the course of a story, I make up only a small portion of those who participate in it. The story belongs to the players, too.
The Story Isn’t the Player’s. The story belongs to the characters who make it up, and the story should evolve from their actions and behaviors, not those of the party. This can be hard to balance, especially with the previous rule, but adhering to it helps keep the story from getting stale, predictable, or becoming a one-way railroad track.
When in Doubt, Ignore the Rules. I’m not sure where I first heard the term “rules gap” used to describe a hole in the rules, or a situation not covered, or even a situation which causes the rules to fall apart, but every system has them. Some systems, most often those which are setting specific, rarely see these situations come up. When this happens, don’t be afraid to throw the rules out the window for a house rule, or a temporary ruling. Make sure that the group is okay with this, as changing rules can be problematic.
Force Breaks During The Game. For my group, I’ve noticed that after three hours of solid gaming, a break is needed. Often they don’t realize this, or are excited and want to plow ahead. When this happens, I inform them I need a few minutes to check some rules, take some notes, or roll up an NPC. Taking a five minute break keeps everyone’s mind fresh, and allows another three hours of continuous gaming to take place.
It’s Over When The Player’s Say It’s Over. I will never force my character’s to retire their characters, nor simply kill them off so that they are forced to create a new character. Players put a lot of time, effort, and love into their characters, and I won’t take them away.
This isn’t to say I won’t temporarily remove a character from play if the story takes that character in a direction the rest of the party can’t or won’t follow.
Start and End With Crossroads. By ending every session in a position where players have several choices about what to do at the start of the next session, they are allowed to pursue their passions or moods of the moment. For bigger decisions, allowing players a week to think over their choices gives them time to make sure they aren’t deciding out of impulse.
What are your rules for running a game?
Building A Campaign Website
A common trend in modern gaming is the use of websites, dedicated entirely to a single campaign or campaign world, designed for use by a single group. This allows players to access information wherever they are, without necessitating a Narrator’s presence. Last year, I implemented such a website for my own campaign. Here are some of the things I learned:
Go Wiki. I first built the website using a standard Content Management System, and I regret it. Wiki systems allow players to edit the information themselves, while saving old versions in case information turns out to be incorrect. Wiki also allows for a Talk section, built right in and connected to each page, allowing for easy player discussion.
Make the players help. As the ones who will benefit the most from the website, players have a built in incentive to contribute. If they need more, promise your players that you will review their notes and help them by pointing out anything they missed - something players will almost always want.
Appearances are… very little. This site is for you, and your playing group. Very likely, this is a grand total of less than ten people. Unless you are a graphic designer or a web programmer, you’re better off using a pre-built theme, as long as the interface is usable, your players will be happy.
Provide an OOC Section. Your players ARE going to talk about the game Out-of-Character. Very likely, they will draw parallels to mythology from Earth’s own history, compare events to other games, movies, novels, and scenarios.
Link Outside the Site. If you have page dedicated the incarnation of Tiamat in your game, it may be a good idea to put a link on that page to the Wikipedia entry on Tiamat, or any other relevant online source you can find.
Have you picked up any tips, tricks, or advice for building and using a campaign website? Share them in comments.
Technobabble in RPGs
A staple of writers, particularly those in the Science Fiction genre, has been the use of technobabble, the stringing together of words with the intention of conveying believability without getting into specifics.
Done well, this allows the audience to focus on enjoying the story, and not focus too much on the technological or scientific aspects of the story which are either impossible, too complicated to go into, or simply not understood. Done poorly, technobabble can become an incoherent string of jibberish which can destroy any story it is a part of.
The difference between the two is often that good technobabble makes sense, both in context of the story and in its internal references. This kind of technobabble is often very nonspecific, for instance: Many science fiction writers employ Faster Than Light travel, and many will describe the process by which it happens as “warping space” in a “higher dimension” bringing “two points in our space closer together.” This line of thinking is consistent with both itself and many types of String Theory and other physics models.
When dealing with technobabble, it can be helpful to remember that the phrase or words used can describe the end result of the technology, and not the process actually employed. For instance, “inertial compensators” most likely do not affect inertial forces directly, but instead they may introduce a counter forces such that the inertial forces are sufficiently balanced out.
Why does bad technobabble, which is little more than scientific sounding jargon, not work as well? No one can begin to understand the technobabble, or even what it is supposed to represent. In normal stories, this means that the audience is being fed, for at least a time, content which is absolutely meaningless. Additionally, in games, players can become dissociated and discouraged from attempting to solve problems based on an in-game model for how things operate.
Use it carefully because technobabble can make your game run more smoothly and more enjoyably.
‘Winning’ In RPGs Part 3 of 3
In Part 1, I outlined the definition of a “win moment” and what most games use as methods of securing a win moment. In Part 2, I outlined the pitfall of “win moments,” as well as several common behaviors which are looked down upon, often committed by people seeking win moments. Today, I conclude with how to produce win moments which encourage the desired style of play.
Wizards of the Coast released a supplement in July of 2005 called Weapons of Legacy, introducing the concept of Legacy Weapons and Legacy Items, magical items which grew in power as the play did. This provides an opportunity to give a player an immediate win moment in the acquisition of a unique magical item, and a series of win moments following as new powers and abilities were unlocked from the item and new ones were discovered, all while preventing unbalance from creeping into game play.
Everquest introduced a similar concept years before, items which simply had a level requirement to wield, or abilities with a similar requirement. This allowed players to experience two separate win moments, the initial when they acquired an item which was most likely considerably more powerful than what they currently had, and a second when they themselves became powerful enough to use it.
Far-reaching consequences also provide an opportunity to spread a series of win moments out for players. News often travels faster than adventurers do, and they may find rewards or recognition waiting for them for an event months prior, whether it was defeating a terrible enemy, saving a leader from assassination, or delivering a moving speech.  Be careful not to employ this tactic too often, however, or it may encourage PCs to rest on their laurels.
Allowing players to tell stories of their own adventures is another way to provide additional opportunities for win moments. In my Oerth campaign, there is a tavern run by a master Dwarven Brewer who sells his drinks primarily to rich adventurers and dilettants. Being an avid enjoyer of stories, however, he will allow adventurers free drinks in exchange for regaling him with stories of their exploits. This not only encourages players to relive their previous adventures and win moments, but to re-create them in their telling, making themselves even more glorious in the eyes of their listeners.
It is important to provide a variety of ways for players to achieve win moments, so as to match their differing styles of play. One of my favorite ways to introduce logic and puzzles into the mix is by pitting the players against a Logic Golem, a creature which is sufficiently to kill or greatly weaken the party, but will always engage in a logical discussion if not locked in combat, and will accept a line of logic which it is unable to refute. This puts the party’s lives in the hands of the clever players who will engage in problem solving and logic, as well as those of the role players who need to engage NPCs.
Ideally, win moments should be repeatable, and ideally not affect the balance of game play anymore than the system calls for. How do you introduce individual win moments into your game? How do you introduce repeatable ones?
‘Winning’ In RPGs Part 2 of 3
Yesterday, I discussed the desire to experience a win moment in almost every game, including RPGs. I also described traditional ways to win, and began discussing how this can lead to power-gaming. Today, I continue along those same lines, and explore the ugly side of winning in RPGs.
A behavior which is considered almost universally bad in RPGs, that of playing the lone “Chaotic Evil” character, may be attributed to a strong and unfulfilled desire to win. By playing the Chaotic Evil character, a player is able to set themselves at odds with everyone, both PCs and NPCs alike. Competition is instantly written into the story, and the player feels free to “win,” if only by being the last one alive.
Another behavior, similarly maligned, is that of the Munchkin, who must constantly be the best in every conceivable way. This kind of play is often driven by the thought that the winner is the “best.” While this kind of thinking is often inappropriate in RPGs, it can be especially appropriate because of the self-centered attitude with which it is asked, “the winner is the best.”
I’ve seen experienced players, who have gone for years without falling into this trap suddenly become stuck. What brings them to this train of thought? I think that often players who feel “topped” by other players, or consistantly deprived of win moments will begin to at least feel like they are somehow losing. Other players who previously played or recently started playing MMORPGs may also be prone to this behavior, as it is considered more appropriate in many online RPGs.
How do you help deal with these tendencies? By providing win moments which encourage the style of play desired. I’ll discuss this more tomorrow.
‘Winning’ In RPGs Part 1 of 3
Most games outside of RPGs have a moment which can be described as the “win moment,” a time when a player (or players) are granted victory, and the game concludes. While the rest of the game is important and often enjoyable, it is for this “win moment” that the game is played.
Traditional ways to win games include:
- Eliminating all other players and forces in the game
- Immobilizing all other players and forces in the game
- Scoring enough points, or goals
- Defeating the final boss
- Attaining another specific and discrete goal
In RPGs, however, the emphasis is instead placed on the journey taken throughout the game and not necessarily on it’s conclusion, which may not be the climax of the story or the most rewarding part of it. Despite this, many players come to RPGs with a desire to a win moment, though it is not always realized or expressed. Fortunately, many principles of winning in other games may be transferred to RPGs, and often are. Many games, for instance, have the goal being to remove a villain from the game, or retrieving (or destroying) a specific item of power.
The problem with the desire to acquire win moments in RPGs is that the continuous nature of the game often makes the moments feel too short lived, which can drive some players to become power-gamers.
Tomorrow, I will continue this discussion and focus on the bad aspects of win moments in RPGs, how they can become problems, and how to spot them before they do.
