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For our 3.5 game that recently ended, I used DM Genie: a purpose built engine for not only recording this sort of stuff but also for running the game. I would recommend it, as it is essential for high level play. You can also create maps and complete encounters: it has all the monster stats...

I used to sort the treasure problem by having everyone pay all treasure to the organisation over a certain threshold. So a player could keep a certain number of magic tiems, depending upon their rank within the organisation, and any other had to be given to the guild. You could also do the same...

Thanks for your reply RavenCrowKing. I have used the idea of incremental gains across a number of scenes to get to a final goal in a module I just finished for Ordo Draconis. In the module, the PCs are in a Manor House, owned by the BBEG, in secret passages that the BBEG does not know about...

I completely agree: scene scripting is the root of the railroad. However, the problem is, because of limited prep time, if we create a plot we have a tendancy to make scene 1 follow scene 2 follow scene 3. This can actually be a form of plot scripting because outcomes that break this chain of...

One of the major problems with any adventure is when someone dies, and it derails the campaign. It can also happen that people leave the group because of moving out of the area. At the extreme, you have the problem of a TPK, where everyone dies. ONe approach that some DMs use is to fudge alot...

I think the reason our groups always named themselves was twofold: 1) The NPCs needed some collective term for us so the King could say "Marshal Grevas, bring me the Company of the Raven's Feather". 2) We needed a group identity because our characters would frequently die (we like games with...

I think I agree with both Mustrum and RavenCrowKing in that for me, a good game has choices, that have risks associated with them (i.e. an element of chance as well as factors I can control) and meaningful outcomes that change the scene/adventure or story. But to be a meaningful choice, I , as...

It's odd how many people say that their groups never choose or get a name: I have had the opposite experience, where almost every adventuring company has acquired a name. Indeed, if we did not choose one ourselves, then we were frequently given one due to our deeds (or misdeeds). Strange

I agree with CharlesRyan: that plot is not necessarily equal to railroad but think that we need to think deeper about outcomes. If the resolution of every scene/fight/situation/roleplay in an adventure is defined as an outcome, the design problem becomes how to allow as many outcomes as...

Just finshed playing and DMing in a 3.5 game that went from lvl 1-18. Early on, we were in Undermountain and the patrons of the Yawning Portal needed a name to bet on us: We ended up as "The company of the dead and buried" and the name stuck through the whole campaign.

Hi Mustrum! Ordo Draconis can be got, for free, from either DrivethruRPG or the Mongoose website. Issue 1 is out and issue 2 is in production: the mag is quarterly and is produced by NaturalTwenty Games. It sounds like you are playing "Sleeping Gods" and if so, then your GM might be interested...

This is an interesting discussion! I have recently discovered for myself why so many published modules are so rail-roady in design: I just finished writing a comparatively simple adventure for Ordo Draconis (a Dragon Warriors fanzine), that ended up being about 29,000 words. Now by rail-roady...

How about if, as part of their arcane religion, stone giants must seek ritual purity each year by entering a sacred flame (The Earthflower) to clense them of all taint. This sacred flame has never been extinguished for over ten thousand years. The problem is, that twenty years ago, one of their...

How about Dungeon Crafter 1, 2 or 3? It is pretty basic but it will do what you need I think, and importantly, it is free! see here for v 3 Free Software Downloads

Oh and I would also say DON'T tell the Players anything they can't work out for themselves. WIS and INT checks seem a bit lame to me (though YMMV): if something happens the Players don't expect then there is every chance that next time they might actually think three steps ahead instead of...

As a general rule, if you have invested some time in a sandbox, it is wise to think of ways to recycle old characters so that, over time, the story goes deeper and deeper. I am not saying fudge things, I am saying think of ways of using the motivations of your NPCs in ways that don't lead to a...

What is interesting about this discussion is how some people have completely shifted the way they interpret the rules of D&D. In the old days, rules were there to model reality. You can argue that they didn't do it very well, but the guiding principle was always to relate the RAW to real world...

I would set this up as follows: the deceased noble had a liasion with a servant or someone of low class who now stands to inherit his fortune via a bastard son, if no-one else can be found to claim the inheritance. This would scandalise the upper echelons and so a particular conservative judge...

Oh but benign transposition is SO much more fun to use to escape a grapple or engulf when you are high level because the party mage is doing the casting, not the person grappled: mages, use your pesky summon undead I spell to bring in a zombie or something useless and the moment someone gets...

Oh and I think the AC 5 thing for squares with fireballs was just if you were aiming at a specific square to target the spread effect to avoid killing comrades. You then had to hit AC5, and you still can't crit because the roll is to target the bead of force that becomes the fireball, and this...