Recent content by Niccodaemus

I would suggest going to the Labyrinth Lord website and downloading their free pdf of the core rules. It is one of the most simple RPGs you will find, and is based on early versions of Dungeons and Dragons. The Core Rules has everything you need to run a game. Goblinoid Games - Labyrinth Lord...

I prefer low light vision, and don't like infra-vision at all. If "natural monsters" (orcs, goblins, etc...) have low light vision, it gives players a much better chance to be stealthy and strategic, as they will be able to see light sources well in advance of encountering the monsters...

In many editions of D&D, all undead are silent. (I'm not versed in all editions)

Places undead can tread where others can not: The bottom of the sea Rooms filled with poisonous gas If they are "mechanically" undead, does that mean they do not make noise? How about a room with traps triggered by sound? really... it all depends on how far you are taking this undead thing.

I put up a post on "haunted house design" on my blog you might be interested in. It it my perspective on designing for RPGs in context of my work on designing haunted attractions for theme parks and such: Shatterworld: Behind the Scenes: Haunted Houses Part 4: Design Considerations

Ok... how about this.... you make a bunch of notes... and put them in little envelopes. Each round, each of the players opens one. The notes describe the environment in different ways... one note might be "you notice a crazed look in player "B's" eyes." "Player "C" slips a shard of broken glass...

The movie Dark Floors might provide some cool ideas. It is available on Netflix streaming Dark Floors (2008) - IMDb

One thing you can do to freak players out is to work behind the scenes with other players. Choose one player in the group you can trust, and send him/her an email in private. Write down a list of things for that character to say or do. Inform the player that the character is not actually doing...

Silent Hill has some of the best Asylum ideas I've seen. The entire mental state of the character you are playing is in question. Generally, books that once read, make you see things others can't see. "Recordings" of disturbing things. Artifacts that are made of strange materials... clues found...

I'm not only an avid gamer who spend a couple of years working for an RPG company, I also have designed, produced, directed and acted in Halloween haunted houses. I occasionally show up at a gathering of friends in an elaborate costume. (pirate, old man, or something just very "off".). And I'm...

Another option if the GM wants to give players full access to detailed published information is to set the campaign a decade or five after that material. This way, all published material can be considered "history", without having to use ANY of the NPCs provided. Basically, the published...

Well sure. However I'm playing my "clansmen" as being more of the noble savage type. They have an oral tradition, and few can read or write. They have their own culture, and have as much disdain for "city folk" as they receive from them. Point being, they are the same "race", but a different...

I think the broad answer to the question revolves around other questions: Do geographical areas in your gameworld tend to have large concentrations of similar looking people? That is... is part of the game world "black", another part "white", another part "asian", etc...? Is there some place...

I think the trick is to create setting material that the players can read to give them a sense of the game world, without revealing too much what is "behind the curtain". It is also important that the information not be presented in such a way that players can wield it and tell a DM that he is...

I think there is room to do a little of this now and then. My fireballs are a little different. Rather than them shoot out of a caster's hand or something like that, they start out as dozens of little embers that materialize in the air all around the room. Then they all dive towards the target...