Roleplaying Tips Weekly E-Zine Issue #301

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Contents: 

• This Week's Tips Summarized
• A Brief Word From Johnn
• Readers' Request: Diceless Gaming
• 120 Benign Wilderness Encounters
• Readers' Tips Of The Week

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This Week's Tips Summarized 

120 Benign Wilderness Encounters

1. 120 Benign Wilderness Encounters

Readers' Tips Summarized 

1. Dragonmarks As Character Rewards
   From: Scott Murray
2. Good Lyrics For Cthulhu Games
   From: Andre
3. More Party Name Ideas
   From: Lynn Fallon
4. TreePad and TreeDBNotes Software
   From: Tuck
5. Flour Trap
   From: Tyler Elkink
6. Roleplay Market PbP Seeks Players
   From: BobTHJ

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A Brief Word From Johnn 

#300 Errata - Serenity Not d20

This correction for Issue #300 came in from an avid reader:

Hey there Johnn. I just started reading through your Q&A for this week's issue, and I saw you call Serenity a d20 game. Geez, man, way to give me a heart attack! Last I checked, Serenity wasn't a d20 game...in fact, I don't think any d20s are used in the game; the highest die is a d12+d4, I think.

Sincerely,
Humza

Player's Handbook In D&D Commercial

Thanks to Bobby Nichols from the GMMastery list for unearthing this gem.

Wilderness Encounters

I hope you find this week's list of benign wilderness encounter seeds useful. If so, you might also find these related tips of interest:

• Roleplaying Tips Weekly E-Zine Issue #47 How
  To Keep Your Butt In One Piece While Adventuring
  In The Wilderness
• Roleplaying Tips Weekly Supplemental #15
  Wilderness Encounter Ideas [txt file]

Thanks!

Game some gaming done this week!

Cheers,

Johnn Four,
johnn@roleplayingtips.com

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READERS' REQUEST: Diceless Gaming Action Resolution Tips 

You have covered a wide variety of roleplaying topics over the years, but good, concrete tips on running diceless/ systemless games, especially action resolution and combat, are still something to tackle.

I'm new to the diceless concept and, as I've been searching the web for pointers, I've found good advice is pretty rare. Tips to ponder could be:

• Why go diceless?
• What decision-making criteria to use?
• How do I create suspense without randomness?
• How do I eliminate predictability?
• How to avoid being arbitrary?
• How do I adjudicate success and failure?

* * *

Dear reader, if you have any experience with diceless, I'd love to hear from you: your experiences, trials and tribulations, successes, and/or any tips you might have. E- mail me at johnn@roleplayingtips.com

 

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120 Benign Wilderness Encounters 

120 BENIGN WILDERNESS ENCOUNTERS 

From: Chris Buono

Chris polled members of the GMMastery Yahoo group for benign wilderness encounter ideas and then added a few of his own to come up with this awesome list you might find useful for your own campaigns. Editor Isaac added a few more as well. Thanks Chris and GMMastery contributors!

Try using this list a few different ways:

1. To help with impromptu descriptions.
2. An injection of scenery when designing wilderness encounters and locations.
3. Encounter hooks. These items are perfect micro-situations on which to layer a larger conflict, clue, or circumstance. For example, pick an item from the list and use it as a distraction while the real encounter triggers. Your players will enjoy the one-two punch.

Inspiration. If you've got writer's block, these items are perfect for getting the ideas flowing.

THE LIST

1. Large patch or hill of flowers
2. Squirrels chasing each other
3. Something stirs below the water's surface
4. Birds of prey circling overhead
5. An earsplitting squawk
6. A shadow passes across the ground
7. Smoke rises in distance
8. Deja vu
9. Many thousands of ants crawl
10. Howling/barking in the distance
11. Patch of vines strangling a tree
12. Skeleton of an animal
13. Skeleton of a humanoid
14. Writing carved into tree
15. Large patch of brightly colored mushrooms
16. Few scattered and broken arrows or bolts
17. Snake slithers away
18. 1' hole penetrates the ground
19. Rainbow in the distance
20. Group of bats rise in the distance
21. Tree falls in the distance
22. Broken, rotted wagon wheel
23. Bear tracks
24. Deer tracks
25. Wolf/dog tracks
26. Unusual patch of very lush growth
27. Sudden sun shower
28. Wind kicks up
29. Dead, rotted, burnt, headless troll body
30. Giant mushroom grove
31. Discarded, tattered cloak
32. Rusty weapon
33. Dark storm cloud approaches
34. Large beetle buzzes around head
35. Large boot tracks in mud
36. Dug, shallow hole
37. Remnants of old campfire
38. Sandstorm
39. Small dust whirlwind
40. Puddle/nearly dry watering hole
41. Few sun bleached papers
42. Large bird (heron) seems to follow you
43. Stack of rocks piled high
44. Giant feather
45. Sweet smell of honeysuckle
46. Small pond
47. Bog
48. Stand of birch trees
49. Stench of feces
50. Ray of sun light hits tree or bush
51. An unusually cool breeze
52. Couple of rats are following you
53. You get a dull, throbbing headache
54. Injured woodland creature lies helpless
55. Skunk smell
56. Eerily quiet
57. Field of dead trees
58. Humanoid statue (flesh to stone)
59. Stung by a bee
60. Arid dust coats your mouth
61. Odd crystalline growth
62. Ogre skull
63. Abandoned shack
64. Very friendly skunk
65. Wild boar
66. Wild horses
67. Find a copper piece
68. Caterpillar or grub-infested tree
69. Coyotes fighting over a kill
70. Mother bear protecting cubs
71. Hatched eggs below abandoned nest
72. Large insect moult
73. Something scurries away (chipmunk)
74. Patch of berried bushes
75. Large splatter of bird droppings
76. Old, rotted horse carcass
77. Large tree with face image in bark
78. An oasis
79. A rusty suit of armor
80. Active bees nest
81. Howling gust of wind
82. Approaching lightning storm
83. Crow squawks repeatedly on approach
84. Disabled wagon with nearby dead campfire
85. Disheveled shrine or grave marker
86. Rats are rummaging through PCs' food
87. Cloud of insects moves across path
88. Rocks falling in the distance
89. Pair of small birds harass PCs
90. Feral cat trails the party
91. Large animal crashes through the brush
92. Cloud shaped like a holy symbol scuds out of sight
93. Shopping list for potion is found
94. Old ring sticks out of the dirt
95. One person's ears begin to ring
96. One person has an intense itch
97. Hawk takes mole/mouse near party
98. Stick-figure voodoo doll(s) found
99. Tornado
100. Earthquake (mild, moderate, or severe)
101. Great toppled tree, roots outstretched
102. Creek bars path
103. Fern-filled clearing
104. Beaver pond/dam
105. Rocky outcropping
106. Ancient snag filled with tiny holes
107. Carpet Of spongy moss over large area
108. Cave or large den
109. Groundhog colony: big holes, mounds of dirt
110. Tree with bark chewed or clawed off the bottom
111. Picked mushrooms laying on stump to dry
112. Sentry animal (probably bird or rodent) raises alarm
113. Burned area (trees standing, no undergrowth, all black)
114. Fool's gold sparkles in the dirt
115. Huge spider's web
116. Huge stick insect or mantis moves into the foliage
117. Pleasant voice seems to chant on the breeze
118. Fish bones
119. Punctured waterskin or flask on path
120. Forgotten dagger jammed into stump or earth

 

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Readers' Tips Of The Week: 

1. Dragonmarks As Character Rewards (D&D: Eberron) 

From: Scott Murray

Dragonmarks are an interesting aspect of an Eberron campaign. If you are considering them for rewards, don't forget the ramifications and mechanics both.

A standard dragonmark appears at a young age, and it associates you with an economic powerhouse. This gives you a form of limited noble status, even if you weren't born directly into a marked house. You may be the child of an outcast, of a person who married outside the House and willingly gave up House status, a house orphan, or the product of a casual relationship with a dragonmarked person. Most children born outside of the House are sought out and brought into the House to keep its power. These children are called Foundlings.

You might want to consider a Siberys mark, which is very powerful but can show up later in life, or an Aberrant mark, which are abominations in the eyes of the 13 Houses and include harmful effects. In the past, Aberrant Marks were most often seen in the children of marked people from two different Houses. This is why romances between the Houses are absolutely forbidden. Now the aberrant mark can show up at any time in life and change it drastically. Check the Eberron campaign setting for more details--dragonmarks make interesting rewards.

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2. Good Lyrics For Cthulhu Games 

From: Andre, Netherlands

re: Roleplaying Tips #288: Inspired by Song

Hi Johnn,

After I read your article on song lyrics, I thought of a Nick Cave song (Red Right Hand) I came across years ago. It helped me flesh out my new horror campaign, as it is full of Cthulhu flavour.

Here's the link to the lyrics.

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3. More Party Name Ideas 

From: Lynn Fallon

For party names, start with a root word and add a descriptor.

Example good root words:

• Avatars
• Repealers
• Regulators
• Own

Examples with names or descriptors added: * The Devils Own

• The South County Repealers
• The Queens Avatars
• Regulators of Kesch

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4. TreePad and TreeDBNotes Software 

From: Tuck

I have used the free version of TreePad for awhile now. It's an easy database, and is great for character info and GMing. I just upgraded to the Pro version for its graphic and html capabilities.

Another program I have checked out but haven't gotten to use yet for a game is TreeDBNotes.

Check them out:

• TreePad
• TreeDBnotes

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5. Flour Trap 

From: Tyler Elkink

A room with 6 inches of fine dust or flour on the floor can be awful for any adventuring party that relies on torches for light. Dust particles have a great deal of surface area for their mass, which makes them easy to burn. Kicking clouds of dust into the air is like filling a room with explosive gas; only a small fire is needed to set the whole thing off. The best part of this trap is that planning isn't required!

The real-world source for this particular idea is grain elevators; they're full of grain dust, which is so explosive in that environment that people must turn off truck engines and not smoke around them.

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6. Roleplay Market PbP Seeks Players 

From: BobTHJ

Johnn,

I just wanted to let you know about Roleplay Market. It's a new, non-profit, free site where people can host and play Play by Post games. It's specifically designed for roleplaying and incorporates helpful features, like the ability to post in character, insert die rolls into your posts, image hosting, and quick links to information. The site just went into open beta testing, and we're looking for feedback on how to improve it and make it a valuable resource for PbP roleplayers. I'm the lead site developer. If it's ok, would you include a link in your reader's tips?

www.roleplaymarket.com

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