A Charter Member of the Adventure Building Master Game Plan asked me about monsters. Great topic. One might say there are three kinds of monsters: Constructs Tricksters Mirrors Constructs fulfill our System needs. Stats, abilities, xp/treasure. Tricksters serve our Story needs. Clue bearers, agents, plot twisters. Mirrors serve our Setting needs by reflecting darker aspects […]
Continue readingWhen building cunning locations for your adventures and encounters, build out from their denizens’ point of view. Here’s a way you can do this in 5 steps: Step 1. Original Use Step 2. Who Built It? Step 3. Rooms Step 4. Map & Key Step 5. Recycle Step 1. Original Use Many locations have an […]
Continue readingDo you know how the eyeball works? It’s fascinating. Think about a camera for a moment. You point your camera at what you want to photograph. The shutter opens and closes to control the amount of light. A slow shutter action lets in more light. Great for dim conditions but poor for motion. Fast shutter […]
Continue readingHere’s a tip from Faster Combat: when you chose or design a monster, start with how you want the PCs to defeat it. I say “choose or design” because it doesn’t matter whether you’re picking the foe from the monster manual or homebrewing an original critter. The benefit is the same to your encounter. What […]
Continue readingHad a great game of Out of the Abyss on Friday. Lots of funny gameplay stories came out of it. Here’s two, plus a challenge for you. First story is about housekeeping. As a player, always confirm your XP! I’m playing a 4th level cleric who runs around saying “Praise Helm” in a French accent. […]
Continue readingEver since running B1: In Search of the Unknown I’ve enjoyed wandering monsters. As PCs quested for the legendary treasure of Roghan and Zelligar, I’d roll and run all sorts of monster encounters. It gave me yet another opportunity to be creative during the game. This month’s RPG Blog Carnival hosted over at Moebius Adventures […]
Continue readingHere’s a radical idea, but hear me out. I’ve done this before, and when done right it works well. When a character makes a fantastic monster lore check, hand them the monster manual and let them read the monster entry out to the group. There are pros and cons here. Cons No secrets, no surprises […]
Continue readingIn response to my skyfall challenge a few weeks ago, I received a great email from RPT reader Roger B about a wyvern foe from his campaign: Johnn, I started a campaign a number of years ago where a wyvern in the area was a challenge for the local communities. It normally flew high and […]
Continue readingAn anonymous reader wrote in response to my recent Musings on How to Tell a Secret. They had a few great pointers on secret-telling. I know I’ve been the victim of #3 several times, so these are good tips to keep in mind. 4 Tips For Better Secrets Hi Johnn, One thing about secrets I […]
Continue readingIf you’re like me, you sometimes let monster stats limit your thinking. I was reminded of this when I received Fourscore Phantasmagores in the mail for review. It’s a monster book created by Montreal artist Rupert Bottenberg. It’s what I’d call a high concept book. It presents ideas, not stats. Its weird and disturbing entries […]
Continue readingFrom Daniel J. Mello (danscififan) Morale — the esprit de corps, the willingness of the unit to continue to fight. This is an old wargame trait assigned to various armies. Infantry are well trained and usually have a high Morale, where partisans and rebels are not as well trained and often have a lower Morale. […]
Continue readingA bunch of hooks instantly sprung to mind as I pored over this….A cult wants the skeleton brought to their secret laboratory for revival. Of course, outsiders who learn the lab’s location must also be revived.
Continue readingHow do we challenge powerful player characters?Roleplaying Tips GM Scott has a tip for us on reskinning monsters and their context to give tough PCs a good run for their gold pieces.
Continue readingThe Special Table will be kept secret.Special will contain surprises, clues, and mysteries.
Continue readingA table of encounters by Zack S. inspired me. Goblins using glass vials of green slime as a weapon? Pure gold.So why not have monsters in your campaign use parts of other monsters? Consider it a nefarious recycling program
Continue readingBy Ben Scerri Monster Features: The Premise Monsters in RPGs have had a long history of special abilities that add additional cool tidbits to encounters. For example, a dragon’s fiery breath and a rust monster’s corruption of metallic objects. However, seldom do they have attributes that cause players to think outside the box or that […]
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