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Author Archives: MssngrDeath
Railroading with Charisma: Easing the Quantum Ogre
Players can’t have perfect agency. The rules of the game don’t allow it—technically, anything that requires a roll prevents the players from having full knowledge of the results of their actions. But players generally believe that when they make a … Continue reading
Posted in DMing
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Railroading with Charisma: Macro vs. Micro
As we discussed last time, all campaigns have some sort of railroading and all DMs use it. There’s always some sort of “this is the game we’re playing” restriction. It’s so commonplace, it’s hard to see it as railroading until … Continue reading
Railroading with Charisma
One of the greatest sins a DM can commit is railroading. It’s the hallmark of an inexperienced, controlling, or incompetent DM. It hurts players, hurts characters, and hurts campaigns. It’s a dirty word in gaming and an incendiary accusation, and … Continue reading
Posted in DMing
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House Rule: Alternate Fear Mechanics
It’s time to fulfill a promise I made more than a year ago: Concept: Alternate fear mechanics Tested in: The Worldwound campaign What it is: Fear is, appropriately, the scariest affliction in 3E and Pathfinder. Being shaken isn’t so bad, … Continue reading
A Note About Stories
I’ve been telling a lot of gaming stories here lately. Especially dedicated readers may recall some of these stories from my guest appearances on a local podcast, and especially pedantic readers may note that my retellings here do not exactly … Continue reading
The Theft of the Magical Wall
It’s hard to keep secrets from players. They have a tendency to wheedle key information out of the most unreasonable places, bullying NPCs or casting high-level divinations to get plot details far before they should. In my experience, most of … Continue reading
Posted in Campaigns, DMing
Tagged D&D 3.5E, Let Me Tell You About
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Group Checks
Most rolls in D&D are made by a single character. Only the cleric makes a saving throw when she looks at a medusa. Only the rogue tries to disarm a trap. Only the fighter swings his sword at the goblin. … Continue reading
Posted in Campaigns, DMing, Game Design, Gaming Systems
Tagged D&D 5E, Under the Stars
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Lan, the Perfect Fight
I would never go so far as to say that most of my sessions turn out the way I plan, but often they’re reasonably close. My players rarely look into a murder, check the crime scene, interview witnesses, research the … Continue reading
Posted in Campaigns, DMing
Tagged Great Tower of Oldechi, Let Me Tell You About
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House Rule: Guns
Concept: Alternate gun mechanics Tested in: Various Eight Arms campaigns What it is: D&D assumes a standard medieval fantasy setting, and Pathfinder assumes a medieval fantasy setting that likes to pretend it isn’t standard. The Eight Arms world time-advanced that … Continue reading
Posted in DMing, Game Design, House Rules
Tagged Eight Arms, Pathfinder
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Losing Faith
This is a DMing advice blog, not a personal journal. As such, I don’t talk a lot about my daily life. I don’t think it’s very interesting to see me talk about how I feel about the news or how … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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