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Message: <blockquote data-quote="TheAuldGrump" data-source="post: 1155449" data-attributes="member: 6957">Sorry, can't explain all of them, but:"Whimsy cards" are cards with plot twists, dealt randomly, one or two to a player, they are numbered, and players can only play a card that is higher than the cards played before their card. So a player may play a card with a title like 'unexpected alliance' when a wandering encounter is rolled. The D.M. can then decide to let it be played, discard it, or 'edit' it. In this case deciding that yes, the ogres just encountered are willin to ally with the players... if the players in turn are willing to help them with a problem they are having. These were sold in themed packs - mystery, horror, and romance. Sadly they are long out of print (I got mine in 1988), but they were very enjoyable, and I keep thinking about doing some of my own, the set I had having disappeared one card at a time over the years."Cut Scenes" -  Basically allowing the players to hear scenes they are not present for to give a more cinematic feel. So while the adventurers are climbing the sheer walls of the villains lair we cut to the highest tower, where Princess Rose is being dragged to the altar, there to wed Prince Malagent at the point of a sword."Drama Dice" The easiest to impliment, a Drama Die is awarded to a player when he does something frikken cool! This die can be added to any die roll the player makes, so when in the middle of the combat the paladin Michael fer de Lance grabs Princess Rose and swings off of the battlements mere seconds before Malagent finishes his nuptal ceremony, crying 'Thou shalt not have her foul fiend!', the D.M. gives the player a die to use later. The size of the die varies from system to system, with d4s or d6s being about right for D&D. One important thing is the player gets to decide whether or not to add the die after the original die roll is made, so if it was close he can choose to add it, if it wasn't he can save the die for later. If the player has more than one such die he can add them one at a time, for those 'must have' rolls. Also, if the player uses the drama die to accomplish something that in its own turn is 'frikken cool! then he gets another drama die... Just in case you could't guess I love this mechanic, and it's twin 'Karma Dice'. Karma Dice is simply a small bowl of dice, typically one or two per player, these dice may be spent only to help another player, and only if you say how, so as Malagent deftly cuts the rope, Tony, another player in the game, can explain how the rope moves just out of the path of his sword as Michael finishes his swing... This is an example of 'Good Karma'. 'Bad Karma' on the other hand is a black die added to that same pot, when the G.M. feels that one of the players has done something seriously 'uncool', say quoting Monty Python as Michael tries to do his speech before swinging off. ('And besides, she has enormous... tracts of land!') ruining a good scene. Alternately if the player pulls something boneheaded that results in injury to another player. ('I tie the message to an arrow, and then I fire the arrow at Michael, just to make sure he gets it... *TWANG!* *Thunk!* AAaargh! as Michael loses his grip on the rope, falling 30 feet to the ground, Princess Rose still in his arms...) At some point when the players succeed at a difficult task the D.M. can pull out the black die and simply say 'You fail!' This does not need to be the player who flubbed the scene! If the player involved keeps it up he may be surprised how seldom other players use the good karma dice on his behalf...The Auld Grump</blockquote>

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