issueRoleplaying Tips Weekly E-Zine Issue #427
Props Contest Entries, Part 3
Contents:
This Week's Tips Summarized
Props Contest Entries, Part 3
- Ancient Documents
- Campaign Documents
- Business Cards
- Clay Props
- Edible Props
Readers' Tips Summarized
- Re: Going Beyond Win/Lose
- Free Maps
- Catalog Your Collection
- Award XP For Encouraging Roleplaying
Johnn Four's GM Guide Books
New Lands of Darkness Adventure Settings
Lands of Darkness #2: The Cesspools of Arnac is now
available in print and PDF! Designed for parties level 3-5,
trudge your way through the dank sewers of Arnac, a once
great city now in a state of decline.
Don't miss out on Lands of Darkness #3:Woods of Woe, now
available in PDF and in print in Decembers. Designed for
parties level 6-8, see what lies in the sinister forest.
Lands of Darkness at Expeditious Retreat Press
Lands of Darkness at Your Games Now
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A Brief Word From Hannah
Warm Up With Wushu
Several of my players and I are spending Thanksgiving
together, and they wanted me to run a side quest for them. I
didn't have a lot of time to prepare, so I asked if they
would mind if we ran through the minor encounters in Wushu,
instead of 4e.
None of them had played the system before, but it took all
of five minutes to explain it and get their D&D characters
converted into Wushu characters. To give one example, our
fumble-rolling elf ranger with high perception had the
traits Sword-Fu, Wild Child, and I Saw That with the
weakness Unlucky.
The Wushu encounters went great. The players got to describe
their characters mowing down minor enemies who, several
levels ago, had been major challenges. But the best part
came when we switched from Wushu back to 4e for the
climactic encounter of the side quest.
Instead of saying, "I cast Magic Missile," our wizard said,
"An orb of glowing light appears in my hand, and I throw it
at the dragon." The players kept on describing their actions
as if we were still playing Wushu! Remembering to encourage
vivid descriptions in combat is a big weakness of mine, and
here the players were doing it on their own.
I highly recommend trying to work at least one Wushu combat
into a session, especially if you need to save time on prep.
I'm sure it won't work for all groups or all campaigns, but
if you think it might work for yours, give it a shot.
Wushu
Martial Power Packs a Punch
One of my players picked up the new Martial Power book for
4e. It's full of new builds, feats, paragon paths, and epic
destinies for the martial classes. There are a lot of
reviews of it floating around already, so I'll keep mine
brief.
Our party's dragonborn fighter agrees with me that the
designers have a crush on dragonborn fighters; that's why he
bought the book. Elves also get a bit of a boost for their
Elven Accuracy power, with related feats that are
statistically better than the one in the PHB. Aside from
that, power creep seems to be minimal.
The book gives some interesting options for playing atypical
race/class combos, which I like. The flavor text for the
paragon paths and epic destinies is great, even if a few of
the powers are weak.
I'd say it's a great choice if you have a couple of martial
characters in your group. It's by no means a must-have, but
it does add a lot of options, many of which look like a lot
of fun.
Amazon.com
Thanks For The Fantasy Job Postings
A couple of issues ago we had a request for fantasy job
postings. We received a ton of great responses. There are so
many we can't even fit them in this issue! Look forward to a
dedicated article full of fantasy job postings in the
future.
Hannah Lipsky ,
hannah@roleplayingtips.com
AIM: DemonIllusionist
Website: chaoticshiny.com
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Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons for D&D 4E
This sourcebook gives details of dragon powers, tactics,
myths, lairs, servitors, and more. New information about
draconic nations (such as Arkhosia) and organizations
provide inspiration, ideas, and rules on and how chromatic
dragons fit into your world. Wide-ranging story and campaign
elements give DMs ready-to-play material that is easily
incorporated into a game, including adventure hooks, quests,
and pre-generated treasure hoards.
Now on sale at Amazon
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Props Contest Entries, Part 3
Here is the next installment in the series of props contest
entries, with lots of great tips for enhancing your game
with documents, plus advice on clay and food.
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1. Ancient Documents
A timeless classic is the mysterious letter, printed out on
cardstock, then soaked in the sink, with the edges torn off.
Don't forget that notes can be blood stained (red ink stain)
and torn, making them difficult to fully decipher. The
"lemon juice writing" trick also has many uses, as does the
"Elvish script" that needs to be translated to common.
Ageing tricks like these don't just work on written
documents; postcards often have pictures from far off lands
or unusual things.
Old books make fantastic props. Leather books are great for
wizards and those who dig in libraries. You can even find
blank "old style" books; there are some crafters who hand-
make them.
Blank journals can also be used. One could contain the last
words of a previous adventurer, much as the book found in
the Mines of Moria by the Fellowship of the Ring. It could
be a valuable spell book that tells the PCs about a trap and
what they need to do. It could also contain a puzzle, or a
valuable password needed for later.
Inks, pens, and parchment are great props if you need to
make up a message on the spot. They are especially
successful with multi-coloured ink containers (preferably
those old ones with cork closings) and some exaggerated ink
pens.
Signet rings and seals are just as useful as props as they
are as instant in-game items. Perhaps your players just made
up a contract with a moneylender, or found new alchemical
formula. Write it down and make it "official" with an
official seal; either use sealing wax or melt a lit candle.
GMs often hand out items such as diaries, letters, missives,
orders, etc. to players. But how many of these papers have
different handwriting? Fonts can be a wonderful tool for
giving different in-game "authors" their own distinct feel.
There are even fonts available in different languages,
including Elvish and Dwarvish.
Another use for fonts is as simple cryptograms. Type up a
riddle or letter normally, then change the font to
Wingdings, and you have a coded message. The first few words
players will most likely decipher will be "the," "a," and
"I."
From there, the rest of the code should be fairly simple
(albeit somewhat time-consuming) to crack. Two things that
are recommended: don't include punctuation (creates massive
confusion), and try to put in one paragraph per player, so
that everyone has something to work on.
From: Kate Manchester, Chris Torrence, Tim V E, Brett
O'Reilly, Giorgio Vezzini, Nayamek
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2. Campaign Documents
Write fake travel guides where you put together a lot of
information about a new area the group is about to visit.
Instead of just describing it to them, make a brochure from
a travel agency.
You can use the travel guides as in-game props the
characters can actually get in the campaign, but I have also
used them with success in settings where they wouldn't
exist, like fantasy settings.
In this case, the guide is intended for the players, not the
characters. It's a funny way for them to learn about the new
region with colourful sentences like "Visit today the cave
of the Red Dragon! Special discounts for groups," or "Give a
try to the local cuisine; just remember to avoid the
poisonous fish of the Black River."
Guides catch attention and are easy to read. Also, they can
be useful if the info is well structured so the players can
really use them as travel guides while touring new regions.
Moreover, you can make different guides for the same region,
with different level of detail, depending on each
character's knowledge about the area, thus forcing them to
share the information to get the whole picture. You can even
give them travel guides with conflicting information. For
example, based on cultural prejudices from different
peoples.
Be imaginative, throw images into it, add "special offers"
detailing prices of bed and food in different towns, and so
on. You can even include a small tourist map.
Campaign newsletters are also a great way to share
information with players. Every few sessions, or after a
major happening, hand out a newsletter. It helps if they are
all in style of the campaign and printed on special paper
(parchment style).
This prepares the players for what is going to happen next
session, and with some plot twists that might appear in a
future session. At the session itself, make sure at least
one example of the newspaper is present at the table.
From: Diego, Nayamek
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3. Business Cards
Business cards are the perfect prop if you're doing pulp
fiction, film noir, Cthulhu investigators, 70's super
heroes, modern spycraft, or even near-future cyberpunk.
When a PC's background said he had a few "contacts" of
various types, I made up cards for each contact and gave
them to the player so he could feel like he had these
contacts and could call their number when needed. It was
more interesting and tangible than having a list of names
somewhere on the corner of the PC sheet.
I had a group of players who were Minion Hunters from a
supernatural investigation firm and I made a set of business
cards for them. They all had the same style and logo, but
each had their own name and specialty. Kinda made them feel
more like a team. And they had fun whipping them out to
introduce themselves to NPCs.
I made a menacingly evil set of cards for a major NPC
villain once. He would leave a "calling card" in the pocket
of each of his victims. When the PCs searched the body, I'd
hand them the card they'd found.
To kick off a spy campaign, I roleplayed an NPC shoe
salesman meeting each PC separately and handing them his
business card. I handed the player a fake business card that
seemed pretty normal. But on the back they found the
handwritten number 13.
This caused discussion and speculation, and eventually they
called the shoe company. The operator asked them what
department they needed and they didn't know what to say at
first. Then suddenly one of the players told them to try
Department 13. Instantly a whole new world opened up to them
and the campaign began.
By making your own business cards, you can be even more
clever by hiding hints, clues, or codes in the text itself
or in the arrangement of the letters/numbers.
You can order them at your office supply store or local
printing company. You can make them yourself with card stock
and a printer. There are many sites where you can download
free templates. If you need a bunch, you can even get your
cards for free if you'll pay for shipping. Just use whiteout
to cover the ad on the back.
Speaking of free, I've collected stacks of cards from former
contacts and trade shows and then kept these cards at the
gaming table in a tiny case. They provided instant NPC ideas
for people the PCs might bump into in a bar scene or on the
street. And sometimes, I'd roleplay the NPC handing the PCs
his card if it was appropriate in the conversation.
Examples:
From: cra2
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4. Clay Props
From: Joel T
Clay is an incredibly useful tool for the prop-using GM,
though unformed it isn't always the best prop itself. It can
easily be shaped for a wide variety of purposes, and it is
reasonably durable. If you have access to a kiln, it will be
very durable indeed.
Clay can be made into model buildings, crude jewelry (or
nice jewelry, if you are skilled), cups, bowls, statuettes,
etc. Additionally, it is easy to hide things in. The
characters might find a ceramic rod on the bandit they just
killed, but will they think to break it open to find the map
you've hidden inside?
Or, the PCs fight their way to the altar of Cult of the Big
Evil Deity to find a crude idol made in the image of the
dark god. Give it to the players and direct them out back to
smash the cursed object. You might even have hidden a
precious stone, key, or clue inside for them to find.
Amazon
From: Gillian Wiseman
I make items out of polymer clay. Here are some things that
I've made that really add to my game:
Here's a group shot of all of them [JPG].
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5. Edible Props
No matter how much effort you put into a game, it seems like
your players never fully appreciate it. Well, here's one
kind of prop they're guaranteed to enjoy - a prop they can
eat!
- * For a gelatinous cube miniature, use a bag of jumbo
marshmallows - every time a player hits it he gets to eat
the "miniature." The party will either finish it off
quickly, or get sick trying.
- * Peeled grapes for eyeballs. Just put them in a bowl and
get someone to reach in and grab one for the
witch/hag/shaman - squishy!
- * Chocolate gold coins.
- * Cliff bars cut up as snacks can be Lembas bread. Any
trail-food on the table is great for outdoor and traveling
scenarios: dried fruit, bread, and dried or salted meats.
- * Make stew and bread, and tankards, goblets or a drinking
horn available when an inn is the key backdrop.
From: Chris Torrence, Tim V E, Gabe
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For Your Game: Holidays
Holiday: The End of the World
From: Marc Gacy
Eons past, when gods walked the earth, a great battle
between the forces of good and evil so damaged the world
that it was in danger of collapsing into oblivion and
everlasting night. Each of the mortal races realized they
needed to step up and do what was needed to save the world,
as the gods were too weary from the cataclysmic battle.
The dwarves stepped up first and used their skills to
reforge the surface of the planet. On the next day, the
elves used their magic to rejuvenate the trees and plants to
help hold the earth together. On the third day, the humans
healed the animals that were needed to feed and assist the
intelligent races.
Finally, all three races were exhausted, and yet the world
was still out of balance, as there was no joy left. So on
the fourth day, the little people (halflings/gnomes/faeries)
sang and danced well into the night, brightening the spirits
of the other three races, thus completing the mending of the
world and ushering in the era of mortals.
These four days always come after the darkest (shortest) day
of the year. They aren't counted as part of any month and
each race holds great celebrations on their specific day. On
the dwarves' day, all dwarves receive a +1 Endurance. On the
elves' day, all elves receive an extra spell (if a
spellcaster). On the human's day, all humans receive a +5 to
a skill of their choice (it may change from year to year).
On the small folks' day, small folk receive a +1 Charisma.
Holiday Encounter Ideas:
- The evil folk hate the idea of The End of the World, as it
indicates the failure of their gods. For many years, they
have either made punitive raids during the festivals or held
their own rituals and sacrifices in cruel mockery of the
good folks' festivals.
Most of the time the raids have been easily ignored and
rebuffed. The past several years have been different,
however. The raids are more fierce, more frequent, and,
disturbingly, more organized. The rituals are more potent,
and the number and size of the guards surrounding the
festivals has increased five-fold.
The reason for this is the prime god of chaos has finally
been awakened after all these years and realizes the gods
don't have as much of a living presence as they had in the
past to stop him. The god is aware of the irony of the name
of the festival and intends to carry out its original
meaning. Spies among the good folk have learned of this, and
the gate that has allowed the god back into the world must
be closed by the beginning of the festival.
- The evil folk have their own version of the festival, and
the characters have learned there will be a gathering of the
orc leaders on the second day of the festival. This is a
chance to strike fast and hard at the center of orc
leadership.
This could be made more dramatic by the characters being of
the "second day" race. They would have to actively leave
their own festival without actually letting on why, as there
are always traitors in the midst.
- The dwarves have a smithing contest on their day, where
dwarves take broken weapons and compete to see how fast they
can reforge them. One of the weapons is actually an ancient,
evil, magic weapon that has been slipped into the mix. The
dwarves are the only ones capable of reforging this weapon,
but would never knowingly do so. The characters have found
out this has happened, but don't know which weapon it is.
- An elf princess has been kidnapped by the goblins the day
before the festival. They plan to sacrifice her on the "elf
day". This has the double effect of ruining the festival for
the elves and providing a more potent sacrifice to the
goblins' foul gods.
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Dungeon: Zenith: Duck Heart graphic novel
For the first time, Sfar and Trondheim's extensive series of
French comics parodying the sword and sorcery genre has been
collected into a North American volume. The series' unlikely
hero is Herbert, a talking duck who works as a dungeon
keeper's flunky.
"The first page opens with a great expository introduction
to the world of Dungeon and I was hooked from there unto the
end. Characterization, gags, artwork, and story are all top
notch. I was sad when I plowed through it in one sitting. I
just couldn't stop, it always kept me wondering what would
happen next to the characters and every turn was more clever
and unexpected than the last. Thankfully there are more
Dungeon books and I am going to order all of them. I suggest
you do the same. It's not everyday you run into a graphic
novel that is this bloody good. "
-- I. M. Umoh, Amazon reviewer
More reviews and info
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What's Your Favourite RPG? Earthdawn
From: Trevor Dreher
Want to play a post apocalyptic fantasy RPG with a twist of
horror? The answer most certainly should be yes.
What does a post apocalyptic fantasy setting with a twist of
horror look like? The world of Earthdawn. Earthdawn is a
world of high magic. The magic goes through cycles of rising
and falling over time. When the magic level becomes elevated
the barriers between planes weaken and horrors come into the
world.
Horrors are beings of great power that feed off the negative
emotions (hate, fear, jealousy) of name-givers (humanity).
They cannot be reasoned or bargained with. Many are too
powerful to confront directly. They devastate the world when
they come, and name-givers cower in magical caverns, waiting
for the magic level to fall and the horrors to retreat.
After 400 hundred years of hiding, the magic level started
to fall, although not as low as was expected. Earthdawn is
set 100 years after this fall of magic and emergence from
the caverns. While many of the powerful horrors retreated,
many remain and now the characters explore the world. The
whole story is at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthdawn
Why do I unequivocally recommend this game? Three reasons.
- The setting. Earthdawn was created by FASA (responsible
for creating Shadowrun and Battletech). The great thing
about a FASA world is that it evolves. Factions change
sides, nothing is written in stone. Name-givers are not
united in their resistance to the horrors. It really allows
for the suspension of disbelief. It is currently being
managed by RedBrick, who are doing a fine job of continuing
to evolve this world.
www.earthdawn.com
- The scalability of the system. We have a group of
characters that we played for over 10 years in the setting.
We became powerful, but the nature of the world still
allowed our GM to hand us our head on a plate any time. The
horrors must be stopped and they are powerful. The rules
allow this scalability and are the strongest I have seen for
a fantasy setting.
- The magic system. In the Earthdawn, names and events have
power. You cannot just pick up an item and use it to full
power, nor does the item automatically become more powerful
as you gain experience. You have to find out about the item
and often quest to unlock its powers.
The setting is coming to D&D 4th edition but I won't wait.
Pick up the best fantasy RPG. You will not be disappointed.
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Readers' Tips Of The Week:
Have some GM advice you'd like to share? E-mail it to johnn@roleplayingtips.com - thanks!
1. Re: Going Beyond Win/Lose
From: Mike Bourke
This is in reference to Going Beyond Win/Lose from Jolle
Lont in
Roleplaying Tips Issue #422
A further option is to ensure that the goal the players are
trying to achieve is not one that will make them feel good
about the outcome or that is otherwise dark in nature.
For example, setting up a situation in which the only way to
defeat the evil other-dimensional being that's turning the
village into a place of nightmares is to kill all the
inhabitants, because you can't tell who has been tainted and
who hasn't, and you can't afford to let even one escape.
Or the Coventry Solution: During WWII, the English learned
through their decoding of Enigma intercepts that the Germans
were planning a massive bombing raid on the city of
Coventry. Churchill faced the difficult choice of rushing
forces to defend the city, revealing by doing so that the
Allies had broken the German codes, and ultimately costing
even more lives and possibly losing the War, or letting the
raid proceed.
He chose the latter, and more than 100,000 were killed in
the attack. He "achieved the goal" as Jolle puts it, but I
don't think he would have been turning cartwheels about it.
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2. Free Maps
From: Michael Tumey
Here is a gallery of maps I've created that DMs might find
useful for their games.
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3. Catalog Your Collection
From: CyberSavant
Forgot which modules, scenarios and resources you have? It's
easy to set up a tracker as a MS Word table or Access
database. To get started, decide what information you wish
to record. For example, terrain type, settlements, major
features, landmarks, notable NPCs, product title, game
system, encounter level, and where they're stored
This works well for published scenarios, side treks, and
plot hooks, whether you have a collection of RPG magazines,
published modules, home brew notes, or downloads. Putting
the information in a database is particularly useful for
sorting by criteria like terrain, creature type, encounter
level, etc.
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4. Award XP For Encouraging Roleplaying
From: Darren
Do you ever have a problem with your players' involvement in
your game? One player is bored and just going through the
motions. Another is squeezing as much time from the
spotlight as he can. Yet another is yelling his actions from
the kitchen while making a sandwich. It can be quite
difficult to get your players equally involved in the events
of the story. There is only one thing that every player has
in common: XP Greed.
That's right. Those wonderful abstract points used to make
your character better at whatever it is that he does.
Sure, there are roleplaying rewards, but those affect only
the individual doing the roleplaying. This can create a
problem. When one player takes over the game, it isn't fair.
After all, some people are good at roleplaying, some aren't.
Everyone can improve, though.
Give roleplaying rewards only if the player encourages you
(the GM) and/or their fellow players to join in. If Ted is
watching a fly on the wall, ask him (in character) how he
and his family dealt with giants in the northern hills of
Halmera. After all, the gnomes of Halmera are famous for
holding back over a century of hill giant invasions.
Involve the character and their background. Wait for other
PCs to prompt you and you might just come up with things you
hadn't thought of before. In an ongoing game, backgrounds
can be just as dynamic as the current adventure. So don't
feel like you've overstepped your bounds if you've just
created a neat bit of information about the world or your
character. Build on it. Work with the other players (and the
GM) to create a deep, interesting world with multi-
dimensional and entertaining characters.
It is up to the GM and system to determine the amount of XP
to be awarded to a player. The amount should always be
reasonable for trying, but should be scaled to account for
the overall effect on the game for the session. If the
overall game was good, give the players who encouraged the
others more than those whom they encouraged. Give the latter
roleplaying XP and explain to them this little house rule.
Chances are, they will take advantage of it. If not for a
better game, then for the XP.
Keep in mind that Ted telling Jim to stop daydreaming and
start roleplaying is not a form of encouragement. You may
actually wish to penalize that behavior as it is harmful to
the game and player morale.
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Johnn Four's GM Guide Books
In addition to writing and publishing this e-zine, I have
written several GM tips and advice books to inspire your
games and to make GMing easier and fun:
How to design, map, and GM fresh encounters for RPG's most
popular locales. Includes campaign and NPC advice as well,
plus several generators and tables
Advice and tips for designing compelling holidays that not
only expand your game world but provide endless natural
encounter, adventure, and campaign hooks.
Critically acclaimed and multiple award-winning guide to
crafting, roleplaying, and GMing three dimensional NPCs for
any game system and genre. This book will make a difference
to your GMing.
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