Dreadful Deeds: Chapter 3 “Dungeon Edition”
Posted inDreadful Deeds

Dreadful Deeds: Chapter 3 “Dungeon Edition”

So it’s been a busy week for the community so far, we have our newfound character builder, a virtual tabletop announced and lots of talk about the Monster Vault. Another cool prop by SlyFlourish and Living Traps over at the Save vs Death blog were some personal highlights for me.

I managed to eek out two more Left 4 Dead zombies for my Pixels & Polyhedrals series (now all complete with video examples), and I’ve got just one left then it’s on to final revisions and release into the community via .monster files! I also got to take part in the DM Roundtable podcast which was awesome and I hope to do again sometime!d

This week’s #D5C is dedicated to dungeons, because I love them and because I know you do too! I love the responses I’m getting from people and I hope the series is helping us feed off of each others ideas as well as maybe earn a few people some new followers for their genius ideas! Enjoy!

DM’s – what game / story (or meta) elements make your players the most nervous at the game table?

@TheWeem – The unknown. Ex: Showing them something seemingly more powerful than them that uses mechanics outside the “rules” box

@BlindGeekUK – the NPC’s knowing all about them.

@TheShaggyDM – Pulling out a big, mean-looking mini, plonking it on the table, and saying “all you have to do…is get through this.”

@ExaltedDarkness – as far as game elements, I think math is the hardest for my PCs, lol. Combat modifiers get pretty tricky…

@Neldar – Dragons, 3D terrain, zombie dragons, sand, overwhelming helplessness

@DigitalDraco – I find sound effects and frenetic (or otherwise appropriate) battle music are particularly useful!

@TheAngryDM – I have a d20 that I have for 15 years that has become famous at my table for crits. My players fear it like nothing else

4e D&D Plays Like a Video Game, and That’s Awesome.
Posted inDungeons and Dragons (D&D) The Hobby

4e D&D Plays Like a Video Game, and That’s Awesome.

I think it’s safe to say that I’ve spent a decent bit of time here inside the D&D hive mind. After 26 years, 20 of those so far have been well spent playing a myriad of video games. So in turn my views on gaming and more specifically Dungeons and Dragons may be of the minority within this community. I’d like you to lend me your ears whilst I show you my side of the story.

I started playing D&D with 2nd edition during high school and have played every iteration since then, just recently I have widened my RPG horizons a bit by trying both Dragon Age and Gamma World. That being said I am no newcomer to RPG’s and do at least have a solid base understanding for what “old school” and “classic” are considered to be within our realm of hobby entertainment. However at the same time I have multiple definitions for those words and find it a bit unsettling that so much disambiguation often goes into defining these terms. Is only one definition of ‘classic’ allowed to fit into tabletop RPG’s?

Though not all always, there are plenty of blogs and personalities out there on the internet that claim that video game elements inside D&D are a bad, bad thing. Some do it boisterously, and some not so much. Though I won’t go too far into detailing these thoughts, I’m sure most of you are familiar with them. I don’t see the problem with D&D emulating WoW or other games, in fact I embrace it.

A Bit of History

Let’s keep in mind I didn’t’ grow up with red box, He Man, or incense choked rooms filled with graph paper, lead miniatures and dominoes forming makeshift dungeon walls. I grew up with Xbox, Mega Man, Nintendo and the Internet. I grew up with movies that had high production values and awesome special effects, so I suppose my imagination has been ‘spoiled’ by things I’ve already seen in these places.

To my generation our gaming “roots” are 8 bit Nintendo controllers, keyboards, and the horrible screech of dial up modems. Games like Hexen, Zelda, Diablo, Half Life and dare I even say World of Warcraft have all contributed to potential girlfriend loss and late nights of unhealthy binge eating/drinking/smoking while gaming – just like our pencil & paper gaming forefathers.

Dreadful Deeds: Trap Edition
Posted inDreadful Deeds

Dreadful Deeds: Trap Edition

evil-smiley-faceThis weeks chapter of D5C asked people for dastardly ways to trap, maim, and poison characters. A question regarding a monsters worst behavior helped me discover that there is a lot of poo flinging and humping going on apparently, you people disgust me! (just kidding).

It’s also come to my attention that many DM’s fantasize about poisoning their players more often than their characters. Enjoy reading!

 

DM’s – the most deadly trap that includes falling has what awaiting its victim at the bottom of said fall…?

@deadorcs / @Wesdecker – A teleporter that relocates you to the top of the trap for an infinite fall.

@digitaldraco – Orcus?

@obsidiancrane – The Sarlac?

@twwombat – Whipped cream. Too light to swim in, too heavy to breathe. And a humiliating way to die. Thanks to #Grimtooth for that one.

@bluwaterdragoon – Oil. It looks like murky water, but just try lighting that torch.

@etherworld / @TedsBlog – Corrosive Acid.

@Gencon4James / @lotsofsnow – A little trapped black hole (sphere of annihilation) like the trap in the original Tomb of Horrors.

@_Rovalde / @TheBeardyGamer / @Brindy – A gelatinous cube

@Whorrak – Another that trap that includes falling, obviously.

@samldanach – Oubliette. Spherical hole, smooth sides, no way to climb out, prolly broke legs in fall.

@tadbo – I would think a simple shaft with downward ridges, at the bottom of which awaits an open portal to (you pick) or an ooze.

 

What’s the best way to get some poison coursing through a PC’s veins?

Dreadful Deeds: Kaizo Traps in D&D Part 1
Posted inDreadful Deeds

Dreadful Deeds: Kaizo Traps in D&D Part 1

In my continued efforts to provide you with only the finest fodder for utterly crushing your players, I bring you another guest post from one of the best trap aficionados in the D&D community –  Sersa V.

In case you haven’t heard of him he runs a blog that specializes in hardcore encounters for 4e, put best in his own words: “D&D hardcore – exceedingly lethal dungeon challenges for the D&D 4th Edition game” also known as ‘4thcore’. The sheer amount of content and the quality within is a rarity, so if you haven’t checked his out yet I highly suggest you do so.

The trap outlined below is not for the faint of heart and is definitely a good way to start (or end) an encounter with a bang. It may even force some of those more passive players to think twice before hanging around inside dungeon foyers like a bump on a log while their fellow party members advance boldly. Not that there’s anything wrong with hanging back but it’ll definitely keep em’ on their toes after encountering one of these. I’ll definitely be using it when kicking off my new campaign tonight.

In the coming weeks I should be outlining my campaigns progress via Obsidian Portal. I’ll also be doing a follow up post or two here to let you know how my newfound anti “care bear” DM’ing style is going. Will I be able to fight my hand holding tendencies and maybe actually kill someone this time around should the situation arise? Will I stop fudging so many die rolls? I certainly hope so.

Without further adieu, the trap: