Starting Hit Points

One of the big problems I’ve found playing D&D in all its forms is surviving the lower levels. Partly this is to do with low hit points and partly to do with playing styles and how they’ve evolved over the years. The low hit points at 1st level thing is easy, like many house rules and the Pathfinder system (and for that matter DDO) simply add the characters constitution score to their starting total.
But why do we need these extra hit points. Well first of all back in the beginning (1979 for my group), you developed a character and became attached to it - you cared if your character was killed part of the way through 1st level, yeah it was easy to roll up another character but “You killed Kenny goddammit” could be the response to character death. This wasn’t just the response of a child as we started at 15 or 16 and still felt this way about character deathuntil our late teens, not mature perhaps but not children either.
So you protected your character, you ran away, characters supported each other, the mule holder (sorry cleric) cured you (a 1st edition cleric could do little else useful), so if you died it was usually after a struggle to stay alive.
Was this fun (the 4th edition mantra). Well yes actually. You got a sense of achievment after a long struggle.
Then came computer games with its save points and ease of play. Failed the encounter - nevermind - just load the last saved game and try again. So you fight to the bitter end - knowing that it doesn’t really matter.
And back to pen and paper - we’ve forgotten how to retreat, plan, co-operate even - us gamers with 30 years experience. And its hard to go back - so give em more hit points at lower levels and help them survive. Otherwise it definitely isn’t fun any more.
So all characters add their constitution score to their starting hit points - simples!

whizz

Not every great book turns into a great movie, and just as evidently, not every great movie turns into a good video game. Each medium, from silent movies to flash movies, has its own unique characters. Therefore, it should not be surprising to reflect that in the case of RPGs, some stories are more gameable than others, and indeed, system matters.

Any kind of story involving a solo character has to be altered for an RPG. Even if you only have one GM and one player, the narrative process is different in first person than as an author, standing outside the game, and the interactive process means the GM can not simply lead the player through an odyssey. Similarly, stories involving characters separated by time and distance are problematic, since the characters are unable to interact and hence the structure of an RPG works uncomfortably with them. Things improve immensely if players can interact using the game rules in some fashion even when their characters are apart, but it is still a difficult issue to address because of the moving spotlight.

Action-oriented, character-driven, scenic, comedic, horror, and romantic stories work relatively well in RPGs. Erotic stories and moral tales are hard to pull off, because creating those emotions interpersonally is very intense, hence the lack of soft-core porn RPGs, serial killer RPGs, and RPGs centered on identifying and preventing child abuse. Existential stories, surrealism, and the like are hard to pull off because they are often predicated on alienation, whereas RPGs are predicated on identification and immersion. Hence, you would have to engage in pretending to be someone who is disengaged, which is certainly doable but makes the game more work and may make it harder to share the experience. I can read existential terror or a nihilistic crisis right off a movie screen our in a book, but it's hard to peel that off a person in front of you and then know what to DO about it.

GMs and players don't often have months to develop an entire milieu, the way a novelist or playwright might, and there is no backtracking to pull the world together if certain dramatic needs are identified later. Thus, genre-based games, games based on licensed properties like Star Wars, or games that are sequels or new editions are easier to game than truly original work. From a new player standpoint, games that use familiar tropes and a familiar world are more accessible than very strange situations and a strange world. At the same, a game set in something too familiar is boring, because the imaginary reality is not as stimulating to create. Thus, an ideal RPG setting tends to have a modernist theme or a post-modern "playing with text" kind of feel, as opposed to being a fairy tale, a piece of surrealistic fantasy, a docudrama, or a realistic psychological portrait set in the real world. If we want to think about a cop with PTSD, we are often as, if not more, satisfied reading about it than imagining ourselves as that cop. To make it interesting, we have to put the cop back on the streets and into danger, turn him into a vampire, or devise a less likely but still realistical scenario like a moral redemption or emotional decay to explore.

Similarly, characters should be easily grasped, since the players will have less time to acuaint themselves with each other's characters than the fictional characters in a book. A novelist might write that two characters are best friends and put their relationship in display at the beginning of the story, but in an RPG, the players would have to develop the backstory in conjunction with the GM to get a similar result. Thus, stereotypes are the norm in gaming. That should not be read as an endorsement of lazy, offensive, or trite stereotypes, but as an acceptance that recognizable character types are a good starting point. Complex, unusual characters need to have ways of interacting with the world, hooks and styles and habits, that are memorable, so we can become familiar with them over time. RPG characters should have really good names.

The supremacy of fantasy and superhero genres is probably not just an accident of history and geekdom. The genres are self-sustaining because they make for good games. Both involve team play, in which vast geographic differences can be used if the characters are sufficiently mobile, while powers such as telepathy can make it possible for characters to be apart but interactive. Since dialog is snappy and pithy, and themes fairly tight, the moving spotlight is not much of a problem. Both are action-oriented and romantic. Both are morally fierce. Both exist in a world that resembles Earth, but fantastically transformed. And you never need to justify having a really, really good name.

pawsplay

Television and other fiction can be a great source of ideas for stories. I've used Star Trek episodes for adventure ideas, and I've used the Babylon 5 TV series for a campaign setting. In both cases, I adapted a science fiction series to a fantasy campaign world. The same idea can be done with movies or books.

A very important thing to remember is that you should not expect to reproduce the show in the game. Your game can get the PCs in the same situation, but you should not expect the same outcome. Otherwise you risk a railroad. The whole point of this is to set a situation up, and see what the players and their PCs do. Otherwise, you might as well pop in the DVD and watch that instead.

For one campaign, I decided to adapt the show Babylon5 to D&D. What I did is a good demonstration of how to transform the elements of a show to something different.

Here's an important point, don't tell your players what you're doing, and make sure you change enough things so it isn't obvious. Your campaign will be better for it, and it'll help prevent railroading tendencies if you relate too closely to the show. It will also stop them from googling up spoilers.

******* spoiler alert *****
There may be some spoilers here as I talk about the show.
******* spoiler alert *****

Babylon5 is a space opera. I decided to make my D&D setting a sailing "opera". Space and the age of sailing are kind of similar. So I used a program to generate a watery world with lots of islands. The islands being "planets".

I mapped out all the major alien races to the D&D races. I also renamed them, so in the game, there were no "Minbari" or "Narn". I had the elves designated as the Minbari equivalent, and the dwarves as the Narn, and the gnomes as the Centarui. This led to some surprise for the players as the dwarves had recently overthrown an occupation and enslavement by the gnomes. This radically altered their perception of the world. It wasn't the same old game.

The series made a big deal about telepaths, and how human telepaths had to be registered. In my game, I decided that telepath mapped to arcane magic users. Dwarves had no telepaths, so they had no arcane magic users (which was also a nod to previous D&D editions). Humans just recently discovered Magic, so I let them be wizards, but no sorcerors. Instead of PsiCorp, the organization that all humans telepaths were required to register with, I made the "Circle of Magic" a wizards guild.

The show took place on the space station Babylon 5. I decided to rewind the clock and start my game before the Earth-Minbari war that later inspired the station to be built. Partly because if my PCs were to run B5, they'd need to be leveled, and party because doing so would encourage more deviations from the show.

I also decided to follow the human side of things, so my starting party was required to be all human and all serving on a military ship. This set the tone for character creation. The players accepted this as I had got their buy in to play a naval campaign, where the PCs served on a ship. We'd all recently seen Master and Commander, so they were inspired. They'd also never see the series, so was pretty safe from spoiling it.

With this in place, the first few adventures were missions where the ship sailed somewhere, and the PCs were sent in as an away team (similar to star trek). The PCs were junior officers or enlisted. I gave them some meta-game guidelines on behavior (as in don't be over-bossy just because you're an officer to another player). They handled it well.

I also brought in back-story elements where the humans have first contact with the elves and it starts a war. This in turn led to the Battle of the Line, an major event in the campaign and it surprisingly followed the series outcome.

Now one reason I was able to follow the series more closely, and it was risky, is because the character creation phase required the players to effectively make PCs that would follow orders and likely end up in the same scenarios. If I had let them "pick anything", I would have run a different campaign in the same universe. In the same vein, the PCs could have grown dissatisfied with the military and turned pirate, which would have led to a different outcome.

This is something you have to accept as a GM, you can't mirror the show exactly. Your goal should be to capture the flavor and style of the show, not the exact recipe.

The trick to transforming a show is to adapt the ideas and material to fit your game and setting. There's a wealth of shows to steal from, and the act of transforming it will actually reinvigorate the idea. Otherwise, you might as well just buy the "Knight Rider" RPG and be done with it.

Feel free to put some comments with show treatments turned into D&D fantasy campaign. Knight Rider may actually be a good example of a challenge:

There's this good agency, that's got this wagon, except it's really a wizard who's been polymorphed. And it talks, and sometimes the wagon, I mean wizard can cast spells, like Magic Missle and Turbo Boost to help out the PCs.

Not all shows make good campaigns. But sometimes an episode might work...

Janx

Fellow role-players, please note that the D&D4e "Vanished Lands: the Faith-Based Initiative" fantasy game of this past Monday, 16 November 2009, was actually Session 61, not 60.

As your Player Characters approach 10th Level and D&D4e's paragon tier, keep in mind my requirements for attaining what used to be known as "name level" in earlier editions of "Dungeons & Dragons":

-Establish a network of allies, companions, contacts, followers, and a patron. Borrowing terminology from GURPS, an ally is someone who is an approximate peer (such as former and current P.C.s) who can aid you in specific tasks. A companion can be a significant other, an animal, or a family members who is financially or emotionally dependent on your character(s).

Contacts are N.P.C.s who are specific to certain locations and who can provide information and help with buying and selling goods. Followers are N.P.C.s who follow your character's commands. A patron is someone of higher social station who serves as a mentor to your P.C., giving training, favors and material support, and orders. "Kurick" has done an excellent job of building a network.

-Lead a subteam and demonstrate improvement in teamwork. This is often the most challenging criterion. The "Pathfinder: Holy Steel" teleconferencing team has done this a few times, but that hasn't been an option during most of the "F.B.I.'s" travels.

-Join an organization. This is to prove that your P.C. is developing and becoming more integrated into my "Vanished Lands" fantasy campaign setting. Although Lawful characters such as Paladins will have an easier time finding something to join or start, even Chaotic ones such as Rogues and Bards can find a loosely affiliated thieves' guild or a Bardic college. A recent example is "Dante" joining the "King's Cavaliers."

-Gain renown in your chosen field. As your P.C.s reach mid- to high levels, they should become known to others in their occupational classes as well as to the general public. Fame (or infamy) is a mixed blessing, but one that most experienced adventurers acquire. "Kimo" has worked up to guest lecturer status at Hesolin's Magisterium, and Kurick has encouraged Bards.

-Use signature items or abilities. The figures of fiction, legend, and myth are remembered for certain weapons, wondrous items, and tools, not everything they were carrying. Certain skills, feats, and spells may also qualify. "Val's" Eldritch Blasts and shoe fetish qualify.

-Provide up-to-date notes. At minimum, I should have copies of your P.C. record sheets, but journals and contributions to the Yahoo/eGroups message board and "Files" section, painted miniatures, and group discussions about treasure, tactics, and gaming in general are also welcome. Everybody has fallen behind in this.

Although I don't expect every P.C. to follow all of these house rules, paragon tier should reflect character development, improved intraparty interactions (both in and out of character), and tying each P.C. and the party into the world.

Yes, I'm responsible for providing the setting, major plot threads, and opponents, but I also expect role-players to take some initiative as their P.C.s become heroes, doing more than merely slaying monsters and taking their stuff. I don't award individual experience points anymore, but the following criteria should still apply:

-attendance/participation
-cooperation/teamwork
-creativity
-notes/e-mail
-role-playing/combat

In my 27 years of Dungeon Mastering, most parties haven't reached this point, partly because of player or D.M. creative fatigue, intraparty squabbling, and natural conclusions of storylines. There's nothing wrong with a party winding down after turnover or to play something different, but I'd like everybody to be satisfied when it happens. Happy gaming, -Gene

>>D&D4e "Vanished Lands: the Faith-Based Initiative" Boston-area party, as of November 2009:

-Paul J.-"Rache Calistonson"-male Renshai Barbarian (Scandinavian-style Dervish) and former member of the "Broken Chains"; LGn, Lvl. 9

-Alex J.-"Kof" (short for "Marikof Lichbeard"), male Hill Dwarf Paladin of Otih, god of the sun and justice, with boar steed; LGc, Age 71 (35 human), Lvl. 9

-Beruk A.-"Kimo Adele Okono," male Zarendo Islander human shaman (proto-East African Wizard), with monkey familiar Zibu and Kitsune Tsukai (fox-woman Sorcerer) Kirara Swift-tail; NGl, Age 19, Level 9

-Greg D.C.-"August Rilde," male Hifalendorin/Barbari human scout (Rogue); TN, Age 21, Lvl. 9

-Brian W.-"Wirth Kesselring," male Tinker Gnome Artificer; CGn, Age ??, Lvl. 9

-Sara F.-"Tonks Cinderclaw," female Gokuri Dragonborn Fighter; CGn, Age 21, Lvl. 9

-Dave C.-"Kurick Stormborn," male Skaevingol (Viking-style) human Warlord; CGn, Age 21, Lvl. 9; with hirelings Roga Far-runner and Ortol the Grim, and panda steed "Sir Fluffles von Cutenfur" (back in the Gusorin Confederation)

>>Associates and Guests:

-Paul J.-"Dante Nentor," male Hifalendorin (proto-Western European) human Ranger; NGc, Age 19, Lvl. 9

-Brian W.-"Val Shriboe," male Gokuri Tiefling (devil-touched) Warlock, with Imp assistant Szaboch; LNg, Age ~50, Lvl. 9

-John C.M.-"Harald Grimson," male Skaevingol (Viking-style) human Warlord; NGl, Age 21, Lvl. 5

-Josh C.-"Guthfrith," male Grugach (Wild Elf) Cleric of Wotan (Odin, the allfather); CNg, Age 31 (16 human), Lvl. 1

-Anna G.-"Jan," male Skaevingol human Cleric of Ismiltar, matron of magic; LGn, Age 20, Lvl. 2

-Dexter V.H. (teleconferencing team)-"Bellanora," female Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Vulkan (Moradin); LGn, Age 45 (21 human), Lvl. 1

-Byron V.O. (teleconferencing team)-"Isen Dukan," male Shan Sao Wu Jen (eastern Halfling Wizard), member of "Gan Fen Dao"; CGn, Age 30 (18 human), Lvl. 1

-Rich D.-"Xit Tuphain"-male Shengtese human Xuitein (eastern wandering Monk); LNg, Age 26, Lvl. 8

>>See other files for the latest party rosters and updates for the following games:

>>Fantasy campaigns
-Gene D.'s D&D4e "Vanished Lands: the Faith-Based Initiative"
DnD3VanishedLands : Heroic campaigns in Boston

-Gene D.'s Pathfinder: "Holy Steel" teleconferencing team

-Gene D.'s D20 "Gaslight Grimoire" (steampunk/fantasy)
-Paul J.'s Pathfinder ("D&D3.75"): "Crossroads of Eternity"
-Brian W.'s Savage Worlds: "Fierce Frontier" and other games
-Dave S.C.'s Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition "Attos"
-Lord of the Rings Online multiplayer online game

>>Comic book superheroes
-Gene D.'s D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2e: "Drake's Port" scenarios
-Paul J. and Josh C.'s D20"M&M"2e games
-City of Heroes: "Dimensional Corps Online" supergroup

>>Space opera RPG
-Dexter V.H.'s D20 Star Wars: Saga Edition "Revenge of the Sith"

edemaitre

hint

• never attack the characters with a monster that will owen them to hell
• never indores to many magic items 1 or 2 is enough
• dont give the players so easy challenges that the quest goes for five minutes
• try to obtain maps or make one
• dont give them tonnes of treaure or money!!! (ruins the fun of gain levels)
• make sure quest is not to short or too long

rules

1. please dont let the player run the game even if that mean telling them to shut up
2. please dont make it so compleces that they ask you some many quest (hurts your head bad)
3. never give up because you can start a new campaign or quest
4. make it interesting and fun
5. (dont take bribes of any sort from any players even if thier hot girls

remember keep on gaming and having fun


Ando

ando2009