D&D General The DM Shortage

[Reynard]

Page 94-95: Villians

It tells me Villain themes and Methods.
It doesn't tell me whether

1. whether the villainis solo, has a single sidekick, an army of henchmen, and/or a few lieutenants.
   1. whether the henchmen are loyal, paid, convinced through fear or just have allied goals
   2. whether the henchmen are equal between each other or have escalating power
   3. which quirks and traits lieutenants might have
2. possible villainous organization structures
3. possible villainous abilities
   1. by race
   2. by class
   3. by type
4. how to build encounter based on the villain's henchmen
5. what type of dungeons they might hold up in or use as bases
6. how a villain's style might alter a dungeon

See, this is good stuff. This is real valuable basis for discussion and improvement in the game. A game that relies upon stories -- which 5E does, as evidenced by its adventure output -- should talk explicitly about Villains and how "villain stuff" interacts with the rules.

 

[Desdichado]

I don't necessarily love or agree with all of what this guy says, but this particular video really nails it on the head, and I think is very directly relevant to the idea that playstyle expectations and how WotC has addressed (or not) that angle leads to the "DM Crisis."


That's some grade-A great suggestions on how the game could be written better to facilitate DMing and make it more appealing and less intimidating to folks who maybe only know 5e.

 

[Minigiant]

I'm curious what you see the three styles to be and the characteristics of each. I'd mostly say that currently there are two main styles, but taxonomically I'm probably too much of a lumper, and I could see various ways of defining and splitting playstyles.

Basically

1. Old School Location Based- The location is the star. You play someone there.
2. New School Event Based- The event or adventure is the star. You control how the event unfolds
3. Modern Character Based- The characters are the the stars. Your relationships and actions choose the events and the locations.

 

[Reynard]

Modern Character Based- The characters are the the stars. Your relationships and actions choose the events and the locations.

Im.not sure where you get that. The modules are presented as full campaigns, already pre written. There's nothing farther from the idea that your characters and their choices are central than a pre-written plot.

A real character centered campaign is a completely open ended sandbox with no predetermined plots.

 

[Desdichado]

Yeah, I kind of agree. I mean, I like the three categories, so maybe I'm just nitpicking with the labels and which systems push that style as the "default." The "modern" style with a side dish of the "new" style; that's probably the closest label for how I've been playing since 1980 or so.

 

[Minigiant]

Im.not sure where you get that. The modules are presented as full campaigns, already pre written. There's nothing farther from the idea that your characters and their choices are central than a pre-written plot.

A real character centered campaign is a completely open ended sandbox with no predetermined plots.

That's the point.
The modules do not teach you to run active character due to them being almost all prewritten plots. There's almost no advice on melding character to the 3 pillars of mechanical play.

A character centered campaign advice tells you that since Valpak and Zumi are vying for favored apprentice of Barnac the Vile. They will have countermeasures for each other's betrayals. Valpak will wear anti-magic and henchman loyal to him will be more martial. Zumi will have spells to repel arrows ready and her followers will have warrior nerfing spells prepared. And the PCs can use or fall victim to their paranoia. Or raise it further to doom themselves. And this is before you get into your patrons and deities' opinion of the 3 and if they sent agents to help you.

 

[Reynard]

That's the point.
The modules do not teach you to run active character due to them being almost all prewritten plots. There's almost no advice on melding character to the 3 pillars of mechanical play.

A character centered campaign advice tells you that since Valpak and Zumi are vying for favored apprentice of Barnac the Vile. They will have countermeasures for each other's betrayals. Valpak will wear anti-magic and henchman loyal to him will be more martial. Zumi will have spells to repel arrows ready and her followers will have warrior nerfing spells prepared. And the PCs can use or fall victim to their paranoia. Or raise it further to doom themselves. And this is before you get into your patrons and deities' opinion of the 3 and if they sent agents to help you.

I guess I misunderstood you point, and still do.

 

[tetrasodium]

I think the trouble with "The Modern Style" is the almost circular reference to avoid admitting that it's pretty much just

Spoiler: The Hickman manifesto

1. A player objective more worthwhile than simply pillaging and killing.
2. An intriguing story that is intricately woven into play itself.
3. Dungeons with an architectural sense.
4. An attainable and honorable end within one to two sessions playing time.

If you somehow sever it from the gameplay & mechanical tropes it was written for.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Damn WotC for inventing adventure modules!

 

[Reynard]

I think the trouble with "The Modern Style" is the almost circular reference to avoid admitting that it's pretty much just

Spoiler: The Hickman manifesto

1. A player objective more worthwhile than simply pillaging and killing.
2. An intriguing story that is intricately woven into play itself.
3. Dungeons with an architectural sense.
4. An attainable and honorable end within one to two sessions playing time.

If you somehow sever it from the gameplay & mechanical tropes it was written for.

I think, broadly speaking, that the two great Hickman mistakes that that persist to this day are A) trying to draw the PCs through a story instead of allowing them to create a story through play, and B) wanting the world to adhere to some level.of "realism" or "verisimilitude".

At its core, D&D is a game and it relies heavily upon player agency and random die roll outcomes. Being "precious" about some story you want to emerge from that context makes no sense.