“What’s My Motivation?” is a regular column that uses a variety of methods found in the disciplines of acting, writing, and improvisation to help Dungeon Masters create compelling NPC’s and further flesh out their campaigns. Last time we looked at how fears or phobias can be used to give characters a challenge and make them…
Fears and phobias are similar but not the same thing. A fear can be considered a healthy respect where a phobia evokes an illogical and sometimes even a primal response like paralysis or savagery. Typically these stem from particularly harrowing or terrifying experiences in a character’s past.
I find that every character should have some religion to help fill them out a bit. If not religion, then at least some strong beliefs or worldviews. For NPC’s this might help you come up with some quick responses to PC questions and actions on the fly.
This week’s installment will look at how building relationships between characters and NPC’s leads to stronger characterization on both sides of the screen, greater depth to your campaign, and thus enriching the overall roleplaying experience.
“What’s My Motivation?” is intended to be a regular column that uses a variety of methods found in the disciplines of acting, writing, and improvisation to help Dungeon Masters create compelling NPC’s and further flesh out their campaigns. This week’s installment will look at how the standard alignment system, which many times is derided as…
Zachary asks: Do you ever run unscripted sandbox style games? Any hints for pacing in such? I prefer a sandbox style of play, and when I’m running a long-term campaign it’s my usual style. Even when I’m running my traveling game, I prefer a semi-linear style where the players are free to move in many…
Q: I’m a soft-hearted DM and I never know how to handle player death. Any advice? (Cassie from Austin) A: This relates to a number of the questions from previous months—how to make combat interesting, what to do when things take an unexpected turn. As DM you hold the player’s lives in your hands. At…
Welcome back to the column that breaks down gaming into what’s really important, ten things at a time! The dragons of D&D hold a much bigger place in the world than ordinary monsters. They can be movers and shakers, bullies or living gods. They can command legions or demand solitude. These ten plots use the…
If you read DungeonMastering.com, then you most likely play or at least come across video games. Console Cleric is a column that looks at various video titles to see what digital counterparts can add to tabletop sessions. Last time our controllers took a tour of Gears Of War 3. This time we’re jumping into THQ’s Warhammer…
Welcome back to the column that breaks down gaming into what’s really important, ten things at a time! The best civilizations in D&D have a very different feel from anything in the real world. A simple urban adventure could happen anywhere, but the exotic environments in these races’ cities open up much stranger options. 1….
Q: The only problem I’m having is how to make my campaign’s final boss feasible. My idea revolves around an evil monk who confronts the PCs in the final room of a temple. My problem is I wanted him to be a hand to hand fighter, but just found out that most of my PCs…
This Sunday, while running a game for my group, I revealed that a recurring NPC the PCs had believed to be an ally was actually a rather sinister antagonist. I believed, when creating his stats, that he would be a difficult enemy to defeat; indeed, I intended for the PCs to fail to defeat him…
We’re proud to present the 4th in a series of monthly articles by Keith Baker. Best known for creating the Eberron Campaign Setting for Dungeons & Dragons and the card game Gloom he’s also worked on at least five games that you’ve never heard of. Yet. QUESTION: “Okay, here are a few questions. First off,…
Greetings! And welcome back for another installment of One Die Short. The below page depicts the first meeting of the PCs, an important, and sometimes overlooked aspect of building a good campaign. Interaction between PCs is crucial, and can make or break a game. Surprisingly, it’s also something that isn’t often used to its fullest…
Welcome to the kick-off of a new column that breaks down gaming into what’s really important, ten things at a time! If you’re unfamiliar with me, I’m Logan Bonner, a game designer/writer/editor. I previously worked on Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast, and currently work on Dungeons & Dragons and various other games…
We’re proud to present the 3rd in a series of monthly articles by Keith Baker. Best known for creating the Eberron Campaign Setting for Dungeons & Dragons and the card game Gloom he’s also worked on at least five games that you’ve never heard of. Yet. Question: What should be done if a player does…
Contrary to popular belief, a GM does NOT have to have an intricate session planned when his players get together. One day when I found my self GMing without any warning, I realized I would have to wing it.
We’re proud to present the 2nd in a series of monthly articles by Keith Baker. Best known for creating the Eberron Campaign Setting for Dungeons & Dragons and the card game Gloom he’s also worked on at least five games that you’ve never heard of. Yet. Question: I have a problem and I need some…
We’re proud to present the 1st in a series of monthly articles by Keith Baker. Best known for creating the Eberron Campaign Setting for Dungeons & Dragons and the card game Gloom he’s also worked on at least five games that you’ve never heard of. Yet. Question: My DM has decided to implement a house…
After the success of my puzzle-based adventures with my local gaming group, using such puzzles as those found in Scrolls of Destiny I and II, I began looking around for other ways to bring in my and my players’ interests outside of gaming. Since many in our group are avid followers of the forensics shows…
There are many forms of in game romance, and lots of ways to get it to move naturally within the game.