Use of the wilds in a D&D campaign
I love the wilderness. I am an avid camper and moderate outdoorsman. I love hot coffee in the morning over a campfire, or whiskey at night around the flames. I love the separation, the lack of cell phones and pagers. I simply love it. This may be why I also love reffing wilderness adventures. They do so much for my game that I cant imagine running a session without considering the wilds. I suppose my love of all things wild makes me wonder why this vital part of the D&D experience is overlooked in many campaigns.
Why does it get overlooked? Players and Refs alike bypass the wilderness surrounding the tower of evil. The marshland is a matter of time, the forest a colored in part of a map, that you cross in order to fight the monsters that lie in the hidden caves. Perhaps wilderness, with its myriad of terrain features, does not lend itself well to minis play. There is also the point that higher level characters can easily bypass the wilds, and we so seldom start groups at level 1. These are not the result of bad GMing, or bad play, but I think an opportunity is being missed. A chance for excellent roleplay is being overlooked.
D&D has a long and proud history of wilderness adventures. When the original brown box was released back in the day, the game was an outgrowth of the then popular wargame hobby. The Great Gygax recommended new players go purchase an Avalon Hill (now defunct and neutered, but a once great company, all bow heads in a moment of silence) game called Wilderness Survival. The title says it all. The game depicted the struggle and tension of survival in the wilds. It was meant to be an addition and aid to play. The 3rd original text of the original D&D game dealt with underworld and wilderness adventures. Like all those original books, it was brief, but it laid the foundation. Remember, D&D is not based totally on the master, J.R.R Tolkien. It draws much of its original tone from sword and sorcery authors like Howard, Lieber, and Burroughs. Wilderness campaigning was central to early D&D, as central as the inevitable dungeon crawl. I think it is rather sad that we have overlooked this aspect of our game, as it adds so much to a campaign.
But what does it add? Why not bypass the wilds to get to the main course? let me try to win you over.
Wilderness can be used to add depth and space to a campaign world. When a player who has struggled across a wilderness eyes a map, she sees a sea of sand and parched death, a roaring sea with savage reefs, a dark forest with maze like qualities, or a impassable mountain range, looming with menace. What she does not see is a five minute detour on the way to a magic item vault. A character who has crossed rivers at flood stage will ponder with great care what to expect on the adventure. They will view the crossing of the wilderness as a great challenge, to be respected. Mundane risks add a great deal to a setting. it makes the fantastic risks seem all the more fantastic and magical, and it brings to bear a whole set of dangers that are not typical to D&D. A sorcerer living in isolation is a generic D&D villain. If the Ref plays the wilderness card right, he will take on a certain mystic quality that adds to the joy of the game. The same can be said about fantastic locations. The Caves of Insanity become a place of rumor, legend, and whispered terror. If every peasant in Aleville knows were they are, how insane can the caves be? make a dungeon a secret place of horror, not a check point every adventurer hits to level up, ala, everquest. This is D&D after all, and so much better than any MMORPG.
A wilderness setting slows down play, allowing players to immerse themselves in the world. The smell the flowers and hear the roar of the falls. Players will feel as if they are part of a world, and in turn identify with their character. Muddy boots and tattered cloaks make a character feel alive, they allow the player to have an image of his ranger as part of a game world, rather than an observer. This also helps the Ref. A GM can explore a small region with more detail, helping flush out and deepen the roleplay experience. After all, once you run a set of character through the Black Forest, you will have a clear mental image of just what that area is like. And Believe me, if you forget, your players wont, and they will remind you in short order. A player who recalls his character nursing a broken arm, wondering if his food will last until his arm means so he can cross the grey hills, wont forget very soon. In fact, when they are 15th level warlords, they will still look back and smile. In this way, wilds also force the best thing on players from a Ref point of view: Choices. A player will be forced to consider taking climb or survival instead of bumping up pure casting or combat skills. Choice is a good thing from a ref standpoint, as it makes the player think about skill advancement.
Wilderness adventure keeps it real. There is nothing munchkinized about wallowing through a swamp with a wounded comrade on a litter. There is nothing uber about trying to ford a river with heavy packs and bulky armor. The best thing about this is it does not force a verbal duel between a Ref, who wants to make players earn items and power, and a munchkin, who wants a 5 vorpal chainsaw at level 5. If the world smells, breathes, and threatens, even the munchkin will take a moment to appreciate the flowers. Likewise, when the players have achieved great power, and can fly over the mountains like legendary heroes, they will appreciate it. Dont underestimate this, as it again allows the player to appreciate the world, and in turn appreciate their place in that world. There is a certain thrill in D&D that comes from knowing you are in over your head, that the cavalry is not going to save you, that you are deep in a dungeon and no one is going to come get you out. A wilderness underlines this from the jumping off point.
Give a moment of thought to adding this aspect to your weekly games. Dont ignore the hidden fortress or the ogres keep, just make the trip there every bit as interesting and thrilling as the climax.
Good luck, I'll keep a cup of joe warm by the campfire for you.
Amalric who WILL kill you as you cross a river
I love the wilderness. I am an avid camper and moderate outdoorsman. I love hot coffee in the morning over a campfire, or whiskey at night around the flames. I love the separation, the lack of cell phones and pagers. I simply love it. This may be why I also love reffing wilderness adventures. They do so much for my game that I cant imagine running a session without considering the wilds. I suppose my love of all things wild makes me wonder why this vital part of the D&D experience is overlooked in many campaigns.
Why does it get overlooked? Players and Refs alike bypass the wilderness surrounding the tower of evil. The marshland is a matter of time, the forest a colored in part of a map, that you cross in order to fight the monsters that lie in the hidden caves. Perhaps wilderness, with its myriad of terrain features, does not lend itself well to minis play. There is also the point that higher level characters can easily bypass the wilds, and we so seldom start groups at level 1. These are not the result of bad GMing, or bad play, but I think an opportunity is being missed. A chance for excellent roleplay is being overlooked.
D&D has a long and proud history of wilderness adventures. When the original brown box was released back in the day, the game was an outgrowth of the then popular wargame hobby. The Great Gygax recommended new players go purchase an Avalon Hill (now defunct and neutered, but a once great company, all bow heads in a moment of silence) game called Wilderness Survival. The title says it all. The game depicted the struggle and tension of survival in the wilds. It was meant to be an addition and aid to play. The 3rd original text of the original D&D game dealt with underworld and wilderness adventures. Like all those original books, it was brief, but it laid the foundation. Remember, D&D is not based totally on the master, J.R.R Tolkien. It draws much of its original tone from sword and sorcery authors like Howard, Lieber, and Burroughs. Wilderness campaigning was central to early D&D, as central as the inevitable dungeon crawl. I think it is rather sad that we have overlooked this aspect of our game, as it adds so much to a campaign.
But what does it add? Why not bypass the wilds to get to the main course? let me try to win you over.
Wilderness can be used to add depth and space to a campaign world. When a player who has struggled across a wilderness eyes a map, she sees a sea of sand and parched death, a roaring sea with savage reefs, a dark forest with maze like qualities, or a impassable mountain range, looming with menace. What she does not see is a five minute detour on the way to a magic item vault. A character who has crossed rivers at flood stage will ponder with great care what to expect on the adventure. They will view the crossing of the wilderness as a great challenge, to be respected. Mundane risks add a great deal to a setting. it makes the fantastic risks seem all the more fantastic and magical, and it brings to bear a whole set of dangers that are not typical to D&D. A sorcerer living in isolation is a generic D&D villain. If the Ref plays the wilderness card right, he will take on a certain mystic quality that adds to the joy of the game. The same can be said about fantastic locations. The Caves of Insanity become a place of rumor, legend, and whispered terror. If every peasant in Aleville knows were they are, how insane can the caves be? make a dungeon a secret place of horror, not a check point every adventurer hits to level up, ala, everquest. This is D&D after all, and so much better than any MMORPG.
A wilderness setting slows down play, allowing players to immerse themselves in the world. The smell the flowers and hear the roar of the falls. Players will feel as if they are part of a world, and in turn identify with their character. Muddy boots and tattered cloaks make a character feel alive, they allow the player to have an image of his ranger as part of a game world, rather than an observer. This also helps the Ref. A GM can explore a small region with more detail, helping flush out and deepen the roleplay experience. After all, once you run a set of character through the Black Forest, you will have a clear mental image of just what that area is like. And Believe me, if you forget, your players wont, and they will remind you in short order. A player who recalls his character nursing a broken arm, wondering if his food will last until his arm means so he can cross the grey hills, wont forget very soon. In fact, when they are 15th level warlords, they will still look back and smile. In this way, wilds also force the best thing on players from a Ref point of view: Choices. A player will be forced to consider taking climb or survival instead of bumping up pure casting or combat skills. Choice is a good thing from a ref standpoint, as it makes the player think about skill advancement.
Wilderness adventure keeps it real. There is nothing munchkinized about wallowing through a swamp with a wounded comrade on a litter. There is nothing uber about trying to ford a river with heavy packs and bulky armor. The best thing about this is it does not force a verbal duel between a Ref, who wants to make players earn items and power, and a munchkin, who wants a 5 vorpal chainsaw at level 5. If the world smells, breathes, and threatens, even the munchkin will take a moment to appreciate the flowers. Likewise, when the players have achieved great power, and can fly over the mountains like legendary heroes, they will appreciate it. Dont underestimate this, as it again allows the player to appreciate the world, and in turn appreciate their place in that world. There is a certain thrill in D&D that comes from knowing you are in over your head, that the cavalry is not going to save you, that you are deep in a dungeon and no one is going to come get you out. A wilderness underlines this from the jumping off point.
Give a moment of thought to adding this aspect to your weekly games. Dont ignore the hidden fortress or the ogres keep, just make the trip there every bit as interesting and thrilling as the climax.
Good luck, I'll keep a cup of joe warm by the campfire for you.
Amalric who WILL kill you as you cross a river
Well, I'm sure some groups approach it that way, and if you do and the group enjoys it more than anything, life to you, and glory.
