Howdy folks! This episode I am going to discuss tweaking the rules to make a setting and a game world work for you! I will mention some good references for game mastering too!
Tweaking the rules is a simple fascinating way to liven up a game world, inspire players, and create realism!
It can create life and wonder and majesty!!! It can also destroy things in a horrible catastrophic way where it could even UNMAKE YOUR WORLD HAHAHAHAHAHHA!!! Just like in flippin Dogma! Just as I wrote this, "The man comes around" by Johnny Cash plays! beware!
Anyway, look dont let the forboding sense of doom I have instilled within you cause you drama. Save the drama for your make believe story world!
Tweaking the rules is an easy thing to do. In 3.5 D&D for example, just add +2 or a -2 to a roll if the circumstance calls for it. Is it raining? -2 on attacks with arrows and other ranged attacks! are you trying to convince a duchess that already thinks the character is hot to have a drink? +2 to yer roll! Simple yea?
Alright heres where the warning kicks in. When you make a complicated tweak to the rules, like say you dont like the way armor works in D&D 3.5. You, as a game master, think that armor should reduce some of the damage characters take to subdual damage (if this sounds like gibberish to you because you dont play RPGs, sorry there will be other more interesting blogs later me thinks ;D ).
So you hereby decree: "When a character takes damage, some is converted to subdual damage according to the armor rating TO WHIT!" What does this mean? Say a character has plate mail armor. This kind of armor has a +8 bonus to Armor class. So the Character takes 10 points of damage and 8 points are now non-lethal (it just makes the PC really tired!). This is a good, viable, and more survivable game setting! Very good idea for the most part.
Now watch the twisted hell of this unfold! Say this guy with the plate mail fights something tough like a stone golem. It has damage reduction 10/adamantine (it can only take full damage from adamantine weapons if you non Role-players are still reading). A stone golem has a lot going for it in this senario heres why - it has a +18 to its Armor Class AND, as a construct, it is immune to subdual damage! So lets say you are using an average +1 magic bastard sword weilding it 2 handed and made of steel... your average damage (for your average suped up specialized fighter) would be 1d10+1(magic bonus)+6 (damage bonus from strength) +2(weapon specialization) for a total of 1d10+9. And what the hell, lets add another +5 to that damage cause your fighter is super sweet killer awesome and that's just how he rolls! The total is now 1d10+14. You can do 24 damage in 1 HIT!!! Go you!
Your fighter hits the golem and rolls max damage. With the DR of 10/adamantine and the +18 converted to "subdual" you do no damage (you would need to do at least 29 damage to hurt this thing 1 point). Now would be the time to pray to whatever silly gods your gamemaster made up to save your character's life.
Tweaking the rules is an important part of gaming. So what happens if it does go too far? Correct it- preferrably in a way that's agreeable to the PCs and you. Say in the above example. You discover the horrible possibilities of the Armor bonus to subdual rule. Say the party got wiped out and the only silly GM god that listened was Vic Makkai the horrible law god who made you his bitch when he blackmailed you and arressted you for drugs you never sold! Then you are no longer playing D&D, you are playing "Oz: The Role-playing game" and you now have a +5 in "tossed salad (Dex based)" skill! No one wants to have the tossed salad skill!! (especially at +5!!)
What would be a good way to make this subdual armor deal better? You could have the golem only take half as subdual, rest as real, or say it takes real damage and skip it for constructs. You might even think of something better!
Tweaking the rules can be rewarding, and teach you a lot about gaming, and how to handle difficult situations. remember to work with your group, but if you are the GM, you have final say. Just remember it sucks to be tarred and feathered over a dead elf...
Next time I will discuss some sweet books on game mastering and world building.
Ta for now (and I humbly promise to never use "Ta" again),
Chris Curran - artist and swanky individual
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
SETTING!!
Today's blog I was going to discuss the next bits of my world building: SETTING!
When thinking about setting, there's a large daunting tedious amount of info to go over. Economies, societal structure, resources, and ground fertility, geographical thermodynamics, the butterfly effects on the integral structures of the weather patterns given for regions.... WAAAAAH! *exploding head noise*
No this is not how to make a setting! I was testing you!!
When creating a good setting some things to think about and run with: Brainstorming, Character, and Presentation.
Lets go into the first element - Brainstorming!
Brainstorming is a tricky endeavor. This is for some a difficult process... actually EFF that! Its not a process at all!! It's a function of your imagination so simple and basic that its a hard thing to notice!!! For example. I am going to take a "random meadow" as my example for this discussion! I won't go over every detail of my addled brain and every thought I ever had on every subject (which is easy when brainstorming happens) to spare your own delicate thoughts... but I will give you pointers!
Alright say I need to make an interesting "random meadow" for a showdown with the PCs and a major villian! But what do I want to see? I see green grasses surrounded by trees... daytime, its sort of warm.. moths butterflies whatnot. Pine trees... mixed with deciduous. Its a really wide open meadow though. One you could properly run in. I think of the trees... dark and tall.. brooding yet not evil.. almost like guardians. Somehow I know this meadow has a secret.. maybe buried underneath... I think it has been silent there for many years. This place is not all it seems to be. It's breezes do not betray this secret. I know things and people have died here, and they lend weight to this place but they do not haunt it. The secret feels more... natural.. spiritual. It never snows on this spot. it is always warm. Why? temporal displacement? A strange device underneath keeping the place warm? Its always temperate in summer... but its a place long forgotten except by a few local people would could be called witches or shamans.
Alright so I made a place up in a few minutes. Just now. I know it sounds like heavy handed poetry or some such and that I knew already what this place was. Actually in a way I did. all brainstorming can be like that! So what does this mean about a big fight with the PCs and an Arch Villain?
Depends on a lot of things! Who's the villain? who're the heroes? why are they fighting? It depends only on what you want for your story! In a campaign setting you dont need to know all the details, but you need to know there ARE details, and train yourself to LOOK for them!
Which leads me to: Character!
So what does this meadow say to you? If it were a person, what would it say? How would it feel about these people disturbing it's peace? Say the fight is on, but a PC is a druid or something and can feel it's history or knows something is hidden here... how does this place react? Do the trees animate and protect it? Is there a big pit that opens up to the machinery below? Is there fire sprites that live in the grasses? Or is it just a meadow with a big maybe behind it?
The Character of a place is why it stands out from other places. Why is New York different from Chicago? What is India like compared to Africa? What's the downtown of Detroit like compared to a rich suburb? Nailing a place down isn't to hard, and you dont have to fill out everything... keep it simple. Feel free to change this as a story progresses. The PCs may never notice how special this place is. Fine. What if the villain did? There is also no shame in just making it some random meadow either.
My third point of attention: Presentation!
This one is important! Possibly the most important... How you present your setting is up to you, in terms of your knowledge, presence, and confidence with the material. I am not going to go into every way to present a setting. You could talk about it, draw a picture, make a model, basically go with what your good at. Capturing their minds and hearts without them knowing you are spouting "flavor text" is what the aim is in a good scenario.
This is a skill that starts with basic knowledge and can only be perfected with GMing experience.
I will attempt to present the meadow.. bear in mind my writing goes much better than my speech! I usually have everyone talking smack, quoting movies or goofing off in a serious way... until I catch their minds - because I am good with talking too... once I get going. It is very easy to get distracted, but if your mind and words go into the details of what you see, the players will see it too! This is a very important note: If you don't believe in your presentation, no one else will either!
So anyway, the PCs are ready to throw down with Remulak the evil druid. They see each other from across the meadow. I say: "Its a hot summer's day. As you step into the high grasses of the meadow it gets instantly cooler. Not cold, but cooler. There's a stillness to it as a faint breeze blows past you... you can feel the weight of the surrounding pines as they stand above you vigilant judging your every step. You feel there is something more to this place as you look across the clearing at Remulak, murderer of your kin!"
Alright this sounds pretty right? This is what it's like to capture hearts and minds. Though my prose may not be perfect, did you feel what I was saying with it? did you get a first impression of this meadow I've been going on about?
Alright some things to consider about this description. If I were with my average gaming group, this would be difficult at first to say. First off the name "Remulak" has to do with the coneheads on Staurday Night Live in the 70's. My players would be making jokes. Which would lead to "remember that one time in Buffy when my character fire to that vampire? Sanchez Sanchez is soo funny!" Then I would be like, "But it's a meadow! Remulak is there!" and i might get distracted and blow the presentation. If this happens to you, you have to work on your presence! Also if Ol' Remulak is a recurring villain who's a pretty good one, he wont be so funny (also if your players don't know about the Cone Heads either) and the jokes might have been made already... unless you are running the situation for laughs... which changes it. Be wary of your players keep focus! ;D
LAST NOTE:The watch word for presentation is IMPROVISE! The cool vision of the meadow you had not working out? Save the good stuff for another day, or change the setting to the mood of the group that night! I know it's hard, but as writers who are good at writing say: "Murder your darlings! Never be afraid to Murder your darlings!" Don't get stuck on one idea even if its the best you've ever come up with. If you have knowledge, presence, and confidence; your Players will never know!
See you on the flip side,
Chris Curran artist and game bastard.
When thinking about setting, there's a large daunting tedious amount of info to go over. Economies, societal structure, resources, and ground fertility, geographical thermodynamics, the butterfly effects on the integral structures of the weather patterns given for regions.... WAAAAAH! *exploding head noise*
No this is not how to make a setting! I was testing you!!
When creating a good setting some things to think about and run with: Brainstorming, Character, and Presentation.
Lets go into the first element - Brainstorming!
Brainstorming is a tricky endeavor. This is for some a difficult process... actually EFF that! Its not a process at all!! It's a function of your imagination so simple and basic that its a hard thing to notice!!! For example. I am going to take a "random meadow" as my example for this discussion! I won't go over every detail of my addled brain and every thought I ever had on every subject (which is easy when brainstorming happens) to spare your own delicate thoughts... but I will give you pointers!
Alright say I need to make an interesting "random meadow" for a showdown with the PCs and a major villian! But what do I want to see? I see green grasses surrounded by trees... daytime, its sort of warm.. moths butterflies whatnot. Pine trees... mixed with deciduous. Its a really wide open meadow though. One you could properly run in. I think of the trees... dark and tall.. brooding yet not evil.. almost like guardians. Somehow I know this meadow has a secret.. maybe buried underneath... I think it has been silent there for many years. This place is not all it seems to be. It's breezes do not betray this secret. I know things and people have died here, and they lend weight to this place but they do not haunt it. The secret feels more... natural.. spiritual. It never snows on this spot. it is always warm. Why? temporal displacement? A strange device underneath keeping the place warm? Its always temperate in summer... but its a place long forgotten except by a few local people would could be called witches or shamans.
Alright so I made a place up in a few minutes. Just now. I know it sounds like heavy handed poetry or some such and that I knew already what this place was. Actually in a way I did. all brainstorming can be like that! So what does this mean about a big fight with the PCs and an Arch Villain?
Depends on a lot of things! Who's the villain? who're the heroes? why are they fighting? It depends only on what you want for your story! In a campaign setting you dont need to know all the details, but you need to know there ARE details, and train yourself to LOOK for them!
Which leads me to: Character!
So what does this meadow say to you? If it were a person, what would it say? How would it feel about these people disturbing it's peace? Say the fight is on, but a PC is a druid or something and can feel it's history or knows something is hidden here... how does this place react? Do the trees animate and protect it? Is there a big pit that opens up to the machinery below? Is there fire sprites that live in the grasses? Or is it just a meadow with a big maybe behind it?
The Character of a place is why it stands out from other places. Why is New York different from Chicago? What is India like compared to Africa? What's the downtown of Detroit like compared to a rich suburb? Nailing a place down isn't to hard, and you dont have to fill out everything... keep it simple. Feel free to change this as a story progresses. The PCs may never notice how special this place is. Fine. What if the villain did? There is also no shame in just making it some random meadow either.
My third point of attention: Presentation!
This one is important! Possibly the most important... How you present your setting is up to you, in terms of your knowledge, presence, and confidence with the material. I am not going to go into every way to present a setting. You could talk about it, draw a picture, make a model, basically go with what your good at. Capturing their minds and hearts without them knowing you are spouting "flavor text" is what the aim is in a good scenario.
This is a skill that starts with basic knowledge and can only be perfected with GMing experience.
I will attempt to present the meadow.. bear in mind my writing goes much better than my speech! I usually have everyone talking smack, quoting movies or goofing off in a serious way... until I catch their minds - because I am good with talking too... once I get going. It is very easy to get distracted, but if your mind and words go into the details of what you see, the players will see it too! This is a very important note: If you don't believe in your presentation, no one else will either!
So anyway, the PCs are ready to throw down with Remulak the evil druid. They see each other from across the meadow. I say: "Its a hot summer's day. As you step into the high grasses of the meadow it gets instantly cooler. Not cold, but cooler. There's a stillness to it as a faint breeze blows past you... you can feel the weight of the surrounding pines as they stand above you vigilant judging your every step. You feel there is something more to this place as you look across the clearing at Remulak, murderer of your kin!"
Alright this sounds pretty right? This is what it's like to capture hearts and minds. Though my prose may not be perfect, did you feel what I was saying with it? did you get a first impression of this meadow I've been going on about?
Alright some things to consider about this description. If I were with my average gaming group, this would be difficult at first to say. First off the name "Remulak" has to do with the coneheads on Staurday Night Live in the 70's. My players would be making jokes. Which would lead to "remember that one time in Buffy when my character fire to that vampire? Sanchez Sanchez is soo funny!" Then I would be like, "But it's a meadow! Remulak is there!" and i might get distracted and blow the presentation. If this happens to you, you have to work on your presence! Also if Ol' Remulak is a recurring villain who's a pretty good one, he wont be so funny (also if your players don't know about the Cone Heads either) and the jokes might have been made already... unless you are running the situation for laughs... which changes it. Be wary of your players keep focus! ;D
LAST NOTE:The watch word for presentation is IMPROVISE! The cool vision of the meadow you had not working out? Save the good stuff for another day, or change the setting to the mood of the group that night! I know it's hard, but as writers who are good at writing say: "Murder your darlings! Never be afraid to Murder your darlings!" Don't get stuck on one idea even if its the best you've ever come up with. If you have knowledge, presence, and confidence; your Players will never know!
See you on the flip side,
Chris Curran artist and game bastard.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
World Building!
My first topic I wish to discuss involves the creation of a new game world that has never been seen before. I feel this subject is huge and hard to prioritize, but I will give it a shot. Hopefully this will help you create an original and different game world of your own... cause I know I look for stuff like this all the time.. and find it hard to come by!
First off in creating my game world I think to myself: What would I like to see?
This question is easy for me to answer, because when I see a new idea I can confidently run with it. And my idea for my game world is.... STEAMPUNK! I want to see the artificer D&D 3.5 class brought to its natural conclusion and I want AUTOMATONS!!! ROBOTS MAD SCIENCE AND CONSTRUCTS!!! HAHHAHAHHAHAHA! I want shape shifting wizards who know MARTIAL ARTS!! I WANT BIG THUNDERING SUITS OF ARMOR!!! NOT TO MENTION ROBOT MONKEYS!! YES MONKEYS!!! HAHHAHAHA - yes mmmm yessss mmmm - oh sorry got carried away!
Alright I went off a bit there, but this is raw thought process anyway. That's the most important thing when creating something new. GO RUN WITH IT! I wouldn't recommend saying stuff like that aloud as most people will think you're a crazy person (There are ways to avoid being seen as a crazy person, but that sounds like a blog for another day). ANYWAY, one thing to note: see how excited I was about the above? What would YOU be that excited about if you were to make a new world?
Next part What System?
I was originally thinking D&D 3.5, but the mechanics and class system doesn't jibe with the whole robots and mad science thing I'm thinking of. I'd prefer something d20 still as my players know the system pretty well, but if I could just get rid of the level system... mostly because of logic issues I have with it. Basically its stuff like:
Player: "So my character lifts weights for 3 hours a day for 3 months! How much does my strength improve?!"
To Which the GM (me) replies: "No strength for you! Quit your crazy talk before I smite you with lightning for undermining my authority! HAHAHHAHA!" (For this bit you're boned unless you are juuust about to level to 4th, 8th etc.)
Another favorite involves the scenario where you read an entire library of books, cover to cover, and don't gain any lick of knowledge more than maybe a temporary "+2 modifier" or more (if your GM is feeling generous) until you level.
So anyway trying to come up with a simple skill based system (like Shadowrun or White Wolf stuff or something) that still functions with d20 mechanics is iffy at best, so I decide to give d20 modern a look over... this system seems best for what I am trying to do even if it has levels to it, and it has accessories for Victorian era stuff too as I am totally feeling the steam punk angle. That seems like the best option.
That's it for the blog today, next time I will cover the Setting and the "tweeks" to the rules to make it pop. Also I will give a list of the best books I have for Game Mastering and world building (some of which are out of print, but may be available on PDF).
Chris Curran - World builder!
First off in creating my game world I think to myself: What would I like to see?
This question is easy for me to answer, because when I see a new idea I can confidently run with it. And my idea for my game world is.... STEAMPUNK! I want to see the artificer D&D 3.5 class brought to its natural conclusion and I want AUTOMATONS!!! ROBOTS MAD SCIENCE AND CONSTRUCTS!!! HAHHAHAHHAHAHA! I want shape shifting wizards who know MARTIAL ARTS!! I WANT BIG THUNDERING SUITS OF ARMOR!!! NOT TO MENTION ROBOT MONKEYS!! YES MONKEYS!!! HAHHAHAHA - yes mmmm yessss mmmm - oh sorry got carried away!
Alright I went off a bit there, but this is raw thought process anyway. That's the most important thing when creating something new. GO RUN WITH IT! I wouldn't recommend saying stuff like that aloud as most people will think you're a crazy person (There are ways to avoid being seen as a crazy person, but that sounds like a blog for another day). ANYWAY, one thing to note: see how excited I was about the above? What would YOU be that excited about if you were to make a new world?
Next part What System?
I was originally thinking D&D 3.5, but the mechanics and class system doesn't jibe with the whole robots and mad science thing I'm thinking of. I'd prefer something d20 still as my players know the system pretty well, but if I could just get rid of the level system... mostly because of logic issues I have with it. Basically its stuff like:
Player: "So my character lifts weights for 3 hours a day for 3 months! How much does my strength improve?!"
To Which the GM (me) replies: "No strength for you! Quit your crazy talk before I smite you with lightning for undermining my authority! HAHAHHAHA!" (For this bit you're boned unless you are juuust about to level to 4th, 8th etc.)
Another favorite involves the scenario where you read an entire library of books, cover to cover, and don't gain any lick of knowledge more than maybe a temporary "+2 modifier" or more (if your GM is feeling generous) until you level.
So anyway trying to come up with a simple skill based system (like Shadowrun or White Wolf stuff or something) that still functions with d20 mechanics is iffy at best, so I decide to give d20 modern a look over... this system seems best for what I am trying to do even if it has levels to it, and it has accessories for Victorian era stuff too as I am totally feeling the steam punk angle. That seems like the best option.
That's it for the blog today, next time I will cover the Setting and the "tweeks" to the rules to make it pop. Also I will give a list of the best books I have for Game Mastering and world building (some of which are out of print, but may be available on PDF).
Chris Curran - World builder!
Greetings!
Heya folks! My name is Chris Curran. I want to introduce myself in this new blog here, but wish to do it without pretension, but also in such a way that you know that while I may be self-deprecating, I am more than able to rawk your socks off with my deep knowledge and understanding of art, the universe, gaming, and everything else in between - cause its all connected right?! I also know that was a run on sentence and my writing grammar blows, but this is how I talk.
The stuff I want to say in this blog is intended to be conversational, informal, and entertaining; BUT! also enlightening, educational, and fascinating. It will mostly be about whatever I am feeling that day, and will do my best to be honest with you the viewer. I will probably discuss table-top gaming at great length and somehow involve deep philosophical views and sardonic commentary on how life, while very cool and promising, is quite retarded. I might offend, I might speculate, and I may enrapture. Maybe I will show you something maybe I wont. It depends on wether you "Get the Joke" or not I guess.
So this is the first post, thanks for reading,
Chris Curran - Artist and stand-up philosopher.
The stuff I want to say in this blog is intended to be conversational, informal, and entertaining; BUT! also enlightening, educational, and fascinating. It will mostly be about whatever I am feeling that day, and will do my best to be honest with you the viewer. I will probably discuss table-top gaming at great length and somehow involve deep philosophical views and sardonic commentary on how life, while very cool and promising, is quite retarded. I might offend, I might speculate, and I may enrapture. Maybe I will show you something maybe I wont. It depends on wether you "Get the Joke" or not I guess.
So this is the first post, thanks for reading,
Chris Curran - Artist and stand-up philosopher.
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