RPG a Day 2021 - Day 23: Memory

 So, with just today and tomorrow left, I'm not going to make it through all of the posts this year. But this is probably the furthest I've made it in years. Trying to get a post done every day has been rough. Plus, the start of the school year has been rough, and really kicked my butt. I think things are going to be settling down now soon, and I hope to be able to get at least one post a week up here, but my goal will be to post at least every other week. I'll be starting with going back to my Stephen King journey and my review of Stephen King's books in publication order. But I'll also be working on some other items as well. We'll see what strikes me as what to put out there. Eventually, I find my niche and rhythm. I'll be spending September working on some of that. Come October though, I'll be diving into the 31 Days of Halloween movie challenge, which I'm very excited for this year. Without further ado, here is my (probably) final post for this year's #RPGaDay2021.

Day 23 -  Memory: A little pro-tip when it comes to game sessions: Do NOT rely on your memory. Take notes. Take lots of notes. As both the Game Master and the Player. Take notes! It will make things way easier on everyone if you don’t have to sit around waiting for people to try to remember a particular detail related to the game. For that matter, write down page numbers and books for things like spells and abilities so that you don’t have to pause gameplay to scour for the mechanics on what exactly that thing you just did does. With today’s technology, there are some really great options that make it very easy to record, organize, and even review notes before or during gameplay.

RPG a Day 2021 - Day 22:

Day 22 - Substitute: A point for consideration: Substitute GM’s. Running a game is a great way to exercise your creativity, and let’s face it, if you don’t have a GM, you don’t have a game. But y’all. Running a game is hard. It’s stressful. It takes its toll, especially in long-running campaigns. Consider building in opportunities to let other players sit in the hot seat for a session or two. When you get to an arch break in a big campaign, it can be really refreshing to let one of the players run a side quest one-shot, or maybe a little mini-campaign. It gives the GM a chance to recharge, and even get to play a little bit to remind themselves what it’s like in the player’s chair. It can also let the players try out what it’s like to run a game if they’ve never tried it, without committing to running a full-length campaign. I’ve mentioned before that I ran a Dragonball Z homebrew game for years, starting in high school. Several times though, someone else would have a cool story idea, and rather than rolling up all-new characters, we just let them hop in the driver seat and take the wheel for a few weeks. That would give me time to work out what would happen next in the major storyline of the campaign. We handled it very much like the Garlic, Jr run back in DBZ that happened between the Freeza saga and the Android Saga. Now, if you’re not a DBZ fan, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about, but basically, there was about a six-episode stretch in the story where most of the main characters had an adventure that really didn’t affect much of the main storyline. It was a great way to keep the campaign fresh and is probably why it ran for as long as it did. So, players get the hot-tag, jump in and give your GM a night off.

RPG a Day 2021 - Day 21: Simplicity

 Day 21 - Simplicity: I love a game with simplicity. The easier to follow in the mechanics, the more room there is to actually play and role play especially. That’s why I love Monster of the Week. Monster of the Week is a game system that uses the “Powered by the Apocalypse” system. A really simple system that can be (and has been) applied to all kinds of gameplay styles. The Monster of the Week version is one that is themed around shows like Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, etc. All you need to do is learn a few different types of moves that you can take, choose a playbook for the style of character you want, and grab a couple of d6. The best part, the Game Master never has to touch a die. They base everything on what the players describe as their actions, and what the dice declare. A fantastic system and a lot of fun.

RPG a Day 2021 - Day 20: Ally

Day 20 - Ally: Here’s an ally for you to include in your games. He’s an NPC that I developed as a tracker for a group that found themselves in need of a guide. He became one of my favorite NPC’s and has shown up in several campaigns that I’ve run. I haven’t created him using 5e rules until now. One Day, I’d like to create him from level one and play out his origins.

Grizzlebeard

Alignment: CG Class: Ranger Level: 10

Str: 18 (+4) Int: 11 Wis:16 (+3) Dex:16 (+3) Con: 16 (+3) Chr: 10

AC: 17 (18 while dual-wielding) Move: 25’ Hit Dice: 10d10 (109 HP)

Attack Bonus: +10; Axe of Retribution +10/1d8+6/Slash; Defender Axe +10/1d8+6/Slash; Handaxe +8/1d6+4/Slash/Thrown

Saves: Str and Dex

Languages: Common, Dwarvish, Orc, Gnoll, Giant

Age: 75 Gender: M Height: Weight: 4’7” Hair: Auburn Eyes: Green

Abilities: Darkvision 60’; Dwarven Resilience; Dwarven Toughness; Favored Enemy: Gnolls, Orcs, Giants; Natural Explorer: Mountain, Forest, Arctic; Fighting Style: 2-Weapon Fighting; Spell Casting; Extra Attack; Dual Wield; Stone Cunning; Horde Breaker; Primeval Awareness; Landstride; Hide in Plain Sight

Skills: Investigation (+4); Nature (+4); Survival (+7); Brewer’s Supplies

Starting Gear: 

Onyx Dog - Wolfhound

Axe of Retribution +2 - Gain +2 to hit and damage with attacks from this weapon. In addition to your normal reaction, gain one additional reaction each round to activate the following ability: when a melee attack that would target you misses, make an immediate attack on the creature that attacked you. 

Defender Axe +2 - At the start of your turn decide whether the weapon's bonus will be used to increase AC or to increase hit and damage. The bonus applies until the start of your next turn. 

Mythril Scale Mail +1

Brewing Kit

Hand Axe x 3

Spells: Spell save 17 (Attack +7)

1st level (4 slots) - Hunter’s Mark, Longstrider, Ensnaring Strike; 2nd level (3 slots) - Pass without Trace, Beast Sense; 3rd Level (2 slots) - Conjur Barrage

Background:

After a massive storm left his people reeling, Grizzlebeard became a local hero by foraging and hunting for food while keeping the encroaching bands of orcs and gnolls away from the recovering community. Once the community was back on its feet and no longer needed his help, Grizzlebeard took to the woods and looked for any way that he could help those in need. 

He loves to tell stories of his adventures. He took to weaving trophies from his adventures into this beard and hair. Every piece has a story, and he will gladly launch into highly embellished versions at the slightest interest shown in one of his trophies. 

He's an excellent track and fighter, and willing to lend a hand to anyone who is fighting for a good cause. His magical Wolfhound, Finn, is almost always by his side unless he is recovering from battle. In which case, as soon as the 7 days are up, Grizzlebeard summons him again.

RPG a Day 2021 - Day 19: Storm

 Day 19 - Storm: One of my favorite things about the 3rd/3.5 edition of D&D was the addition of prestige classes. They released a series of supplements that looked at specific groups of classes and built out all kinds of information for them, including lots of different prestige class options. My favorite of these was the Masters of the Wild book. Not only did you get three classes represented there: Barbarian, Druid, and Ranger, but these were also my three favorite classes. My favorite class of all is the Ranger. This probably goes back to my very first time reading a fantasy series and being introduced to Strider in The Fellowship of the Ring. How does any of this relate to today’s topic of storm? One of the prestige classes was called Tempest. Tempest/storm? Get it? Ok, moving on. I loved this prestige class because it turned your character into a whirlwind of two-weapon fighting, which is my favorite build for a character. You got two hands, why not hold two swords? Or two axes if you have the arms for it? Nothing incredibly flashy as far as abilities, spells, or other strange powers go. Just straight up devastation with increased bonuses to hit and AC, and gaining extra attacks. 

RPG a Day 2021 - Day 18: Write

Day 18 - Write:  RPGs have been a huge source of writing inspiration for me. Thinking about characters I often write out the backstory for them (yes, I’m one of those players, BUT I don’t always share every little with which I come up). I write up scenarios for PCs and NPC’s. I sometimes even write up journal entries from my character's perspective as a form of game notes, or even turning the sessions themselves into narrative form. Most of these items I don’t share. I just do it because I enjoy it. Although, that’s exactly what this blog is about. Actually starting to put some of these out there for others to enjoy. That all being said, I don’t think it’s necessary for everyone to write in great detail to enjoy the hobby of RPGs, but it can certainly get the juices flowing.

RPG a Day 2021 - Day 17: Nemesis

Day 17 - Nemesis:  I once again utilized Vigilante City to create a character for the #RPGaDay2021 posts. This time I built the Nemesis to a character that I’ve been utilizing in lots of different capacities and forms for years now: Power Charge. For this entry, I created his brother, Anvil.

Anvil (Luke)

After running away from the orphanage as young children, Luke and Cole grew up on the streets. Luke was always the bigger and stronger brother, often physically forcing Cole to do his bidding. Things became worse between the two when their powers developed. Luke grew to be incredibly strong and nearly indestructible but lost the ability to vocalize. Eventually, the two were adopted into The Show, a traveling circus and superhero team lead by The Ring Master. Luke became "The Indestructible Anvil", capable of surviving inhuman feats and exhibiting his great strength. One night, after a group of townees picked a fight, Anvil left the entire group pulverized and either dead or in critical condition. This action was unacceptable to the Ringmaster, and Anvil was excommunicated. Now he hires his services out to the highest bidder, and always delivers on his contracts.

Alignment: Chaos Class: Megahuman - Mutant

Attributes:

Str: 24 (+6) Int: 10 Wis:12 Dex:15 (+1) Con: 24 (+6) Chr: 9 Sur:11

AC: +6 (17) Toughness: +6 Move: Hit Dice: 6 (47 HP)

Attack Bonus: +5 (+7 to punches and kicks; +7 charge attacks; +2 to Grab attacks)/+4 (+5 kicks)

Saves - COURAGE: 12 CRITICAL: 14 DEATH: 16 MAGIC: 10 MENTAL: 14 POISON: 12

Origin: Orphan run-away adopted by the circus before being excommunicated. Mutant powers

Money: Well-paid mercenary - $250K

Abilities: Light Armor, Light Weapons, Improvised Weapons; Seize the Moment +1; Crushing Blow: On a successful, weaponless melee attack roll a natural 19-20 and deal an additional d6 damage; +1 action/round

Languages: American Sign-Language; Russian; Spanish; Japanese

Age: 28    Gender: Male Height: 6'7" Weight: 300lbs Hair: Black Eyes: Grey

Skills: Athletics:Basic; Combat Training +1; Fighting: Brawling; Intimidation +2; Street Smart +1; Street Survival+1; Fighting: Wrestling; Knowledge: General; Language

Starting Gear: Leather Armor; Steel Toe Boots

Powers:

Endurance: You never get tired and only need a few hours of sleep each night. Your start with at least 16 CON. You get +1 to CON at each level, +1 to all save stats at each level & you have Advantage on all CON checks. You may PUSH to re-roll a failed Saving Throw or CON check, or to instantly heal d8 HP. Mutation: It looks like you do not breathe.

Super Strength: You have exceptional strength. You start with at least 16 STR. You gain +1 to STR at each level & +1 to Melee damage at each level 2, 4, 6 & 8. You can lift & carry around a ton with ease. You gain Advantage on all STR checks. You may PUSH to double your lifting ability & add +4 damage to all Melee attacks for 3 minutes. Mutation: You tend to enjoy showing off your might.

RPG a Day 2021 - Day 16: Villain

Well, no surprise, I'm behind again. LOL 😅 But don't worry. As promised, I'm still going to get some actual content created for this challenge. Today's topic is "Villain". I created a concept for a villain using Bloat Games, Survive This!! Vigilante City - Villain Guide NPC Villain generation mechanic to create a new villain for your superhero games (if you're looking for a good supers game, might I recommend Survive This!! Vigilante City? Hmm?). All of the bolded categories were the result of random die rolls. Once I had all the pieces, I came up with the character name and background. I'm pretty pleased with the result. I hope you are too. Enjoy!

Gender: Female

Age: Old (over 66)

Height: 6’-6’5”

Class: Cult Leader

Backing: Secretly funded by City Hall

Goal: Bigotry

Quirks: Treats Enemies as honored guests

Real Name - Mary Anne Blessing

Code Name - Mother Harbinger

Mary Anne Blessing has been PTA president, library board chairwoman, city councilwoman and now she sits as the mayor of the city. Since birth she has been groomed to see the filth of the city for what it is: a blight that must be cured. In every aspect of her life she has worked to remove the undesirables. Her family, The Bloodline, see her work. They will flock to her call whenever and wherever she needs them. They call her Mother Harbinger, leader of The Bloodline who speaks truth and shows them the way. Mary Anne is the Harbinger of the new age that will dawn when the world is clean again. She is a mother to the family, rearing her children by example. Some of these creatures demonstrate great power and position. Mary Anne recognizes these achievements, and often she will invite the greatest of them to sit at her table. She will reward and praise them for accomplishing so much in face of such an uphill battle for such lowly creatures. And then, she will offer them up to her dark deity. Soon this city will be cleansed.

RPG a Day 2021 - Day 15: Supplement

And with this I am all caught up! I'll be trying to do some more creative and contributive things from here on out. Hopefully, I can stick with that. Enjoy this supplement discussion for today's #RPGaDay2021 entry.

Day 15 - Supplement:  My favorite supplement of all time is the Draconomicon. The Book of Dragons is a 3.5 supplement that provides everything you would ever want to know about metallic and chromatic dragons. I love dragons. Even before I got into Dungeons and Dragons, dragons were one of my favorite creatures. So this book is an amazing addition to my bookshelf. It gives tons of information about the types of dragons, how to run dragons as the DM, info from the player perspective, draconic prestige classes and magic, dragon-based monsters, and sample dragons that include lair maps. It even helps you translate some draconic language. Hands down my favorite supplement.

RPG a Day 2021 - Day 14: Limits

Limits can be a tricky thing to handle without your players feeling like you've handcuffed them. That's the topic I went with for this #RPGaDay2021 entry.

Day 14 - Limits: Limits are something that needs to be considered very carefully. For some groups, limiting the types of classes, races, or other features can stifle their enjoyment of the game. However, for other groups, limiting options can force them to exercise their creativity in other realms. It can also help to place limits when dealing with overpowered characters, items, spells, etc. The classic example of this tends to be Jedi in Star Wars games. How do you keep the game balanced when you’re dealing with such strong characters? Setting up the game world and conferencing with your players beforehand can help keep the limitations from feeling like you handcuffing them. If you explain that you’re doing an underworld campaign where the characters will be working for the Hutt Cartel, it won’t feel like they're not allowed to play a Jedi so much as it’s not the right kind of game for a Jedi.

RPG a Day 2021 - Day 13: Improvise

#RPGaDay2021 entry number 13. My last three entries before being all caught up, start here!

Day 13 - Improvise: I’m sure improvising is a concept with which most people who play RPGs are familiar. I’ll just use this post to encourage first-time game masters to not be afraid to improvise right from the beginning. The very first game I ever ran began with a friend of mine and me rolling up some characters for a homebrew Dragonball Z game. We liked the characters and he had just run our game session the night before. So he suggested that I give it a shot. I had no idea what I was doing or where I wanted to go with it. I came up with four event options, rolled a d4, landed on an alien ship crash as the event, and then things just spun out from there. Making it all up as we went. We brought in some other friends in later games and I ran the campaign for years. All from starting with a completely improved session.

RPG a Day 2021: Day 12 - Deep

 This entry is the first #RPGaDay2021 is the first that I selected by rolling for it. I really couldn't decide on this one among the four options. Nothing was really standing out. Even after I landed on Deep with my roll, I was still not sure where to go with it. So, I just did a bit of a plug for one of my favorite podcasts, The Adventure Zone. 

Day 12 - Deep: I’ve played many games set in many areas and timelines. I’ve been to space. I’ve been in cities. I’ve been in the countryside. I’ve been in the desert. One place that I’ve never played is the depths of the ocean. I’ve been listening to The Adventure Zone since early on in the Balance season, and this new campaign or Ethersea is shaping up to be excellent so far. I’m really excited to see (puns are always intended here in Heorot at Tir na Nog) what underwater adventures are in store for the boys. It’s got me really wanting to play in an undersea setting, even if it’s just for an arch.

RPG a Day 2021: Day 11 - Wilderness

 This entry for #RPGaDay2021 is about one of my favorite places to be, whether in the real world or a fantasy world. Everything's better in the woods.

Day 11 - Wilderness: The wilderness is my favorite setting for just about anything. Games, hiking, horror movies… All better when set in the woods. Sure dungeons and urban environments have their appeal, but the wilderness is just more… open. Open to possibilities. Open to dangers. Anything can happen in the woods. Just ask Sondheim.

RPG a Day 2021: Day 10 - Advantage

 Only two days away from being caught up! These next few #RPGaDay2021 posts are a bit short, but it's what happens when you're just trying to get through the challenge. I promise more quality content will be coming after this weekend. Not to say that there's nothing worthwhile in these, just that I'm currently focused on getting it done, not on getting a lot done. As I've learned, if I don't get my writing groove going, it won't matter if it's a great idea, it won't happen in the first place. 

Day 10 - Advantage: Advantage is probably my favorite concept when it comes to gameplay mechanics. Everyone can benefit from it, it can be granted by other players, and it can be utilized in nearly every kind of situation or even game system. The same can be applied to disadvantage, and in both cases, they represent a game mechanic that truly represents the moment in the story. And best of all it’s simple to implement! Roll two take the best. That’s it.

RPG a Day 2021 - Day 9: Emotion

 My last #RPGaDay2021 post for today. I'll be posting days 10, 11, and 12 tomorrow and then on Sunday, I'll be all caught up with days 13, 14, and 15 posts!

Day 9 - Emotion: Branching off of the “Stream” topic from Day 8, if you watch or listen to the really popular actual-play streams, you might think that RPGs are going to be filled with these deep, emotional moments. I’m not saying that I’ve never had an emotionally impactful RPG experience, but the emotion that I’ve experienced 99.99% of the time is just pure joy. I laugh so hard that my vision swims and I get lightheaded.

RPG a Day 2021 - Day 8: Stream

Second post of the day for #RPGaDay2021 coming hot with a hot take on Streaming.

Day 8 - Stream: Streaming has become a major influence on RPGs, not just because of shows like Critical Role or The Adventure Zone (my two personal favorites BTW). Yes, streaming shows like this of people playing RPGs and showing how much fun they can, the kind of creativity they bring and showing ways that you can really enhance your games, but there’s another way that streaming has had a major impact on RPGs. With the state of things in the last year or so, streaming has allowed the hobby of RPGs to thrive. When people haven’t been able to meet in person or, like in my case, when you no longer live near your gaming group, streaming has allowed us to keep the games going.

RPG a Day 2021 - Day 7: Small

Back with my next set of posts for #RPGaDay2021 

Day 7 - Small: It’s interesting how many races are small. Halflings, gnomes, dwarves (not actually designated small by the size categories, but noticeably smaller than humans). In many sources, even elves are considered smaller and more slender than humans. The only races that are typically large are half-orcs, goliaths, ferbolgs, and then some monstrous races. I wonder what it says that so many of our fantastical characters that we choose as playable characters are smaller than normal humans. On the opposite side, most monstrous creatures are exceptionally large, going all the way up to gargantuan. My personal speculation is that being small tends to make the world feel more dangerous. So playing a 3-foot tall halfling taking on a 120-foot ancient red dragon will definitely bring out the thrill.

RPG A Day 2021 - Day 6: Flavor

 Last #RPGaDay2021 for today, and we're going to flavor town! Not really, but it is about flavor. 

Day 6 - Flavor: Flavor is what makes a game. Anyone can pick up a sourcebook and run it. The flavor you bring is what makes it a unique and enjoyable experience. Flavor also helps people to really engage in the game. Sound effects, music, props, even something as simple as putting just a little extra “oomph” into your descriptions can build flavor. Flavor can also be related to the type of game you’re playing. Is it sci-fi, dark fantasy, horror, high adventure? Those concepts of flavor also give the game just a little more depth by helping the players get into the type of mood you want to create for them.

RPG A Day 2021 - Day 5: Include AND Community

Ok, for this entry in the #RPGaDay2021 session, I kind of cheated and chose two topics. However, I don't think you can really talk about community without talking about inclusion. 

Day 5 - Include and Community: These two really do need to be discussed together. Playing RPGs used to be a pretty small community, but thanks to various factors it’s grown quite a bit as a more widely embraced pastime. With this growth, there has also been a bit of gatekeeping as some tend to want to protect the games that they love. With a growing community, more opportunities to play, more games, and more unique opportunities for games open up. This can only happen with inclusion. Many people started playing RPGs because they didn’t feel like they had a community to which they belong. Blocking people out of that chance to belong is almost hypocritical. Including more people into the community can only result in a richer RPG experience. And of course, if you don’t get along with people, don’t play with them. You never know what’s going on with other people, and you might be surprised at what kind of connections you make, and with whom you make them.

RPG A Day 2021 - Day 4: Weapon

With the school year getting started, I missed posting yesterday. The good news is, I was able to sit down and crank out a lot of posts this afternoon. So I'll be able to stay on the rest of the postings. In fact, I'm now only two topics away from being caught up. I'm still going to keep to three posts a day until I'm caught up, but now it should be a lot easier to make that happen. Without further ado, he's my take on the #RPGaDay2021 topic 4, best weapon.

Day 4 - Weapon: My favorite weapon would have to be the great axe. You can take out a 1st level character with a healthy strength score and a solid roll. Sure, greatswords roll 2d6 instead of 1d12 which increases minimum damage, but the axe just has a certain appeal to me. There’s something more primal and powerful about an axe than a sword, no matter how large.

RPG A Day 2021 - Day 3: Tactic

Final post for today's #RPGaDay2021. This is one of my favorite D&D experiences, and I plan to work the scene into a novel that I've been working on.

Day 3 - Tactic: My favorite tactic to this day that I’ve actually used, would be Halfling Desk Drawer Bobsledding. Long story short, I had a thief who was terrible at his job. The party got thrown in jail, and the only good thief roll he ever got was to palm a fork after dinner. The party came up with a plan in which my halfling would use the fork to backstab the guard after the others distracted him, steal the keys, and then they’d make a run for it. Well, it turned out that a fork was not enough to finish off a guard in a single backstab, and the rest of the guards in the tower were alerted to our breakout. To buy the rest of the party time, my halfling rogue, and his cleric cousin grab a couple of short swords, yank a drawer out of the desk, place it at the top of the tower stairs, hop in, brace the swords with their feet, and the half-orc gives them a shove down the stairs. The guards who were coming up to investigate were intercepted by the kamikaze halflings as they came flying down the stairs, swords at the ready. The halflings nearly died in the attempt, but the tactic was successful in giving our party the time they needed to escape.

RPG A Day 2021 - Day 2: Voice

Here's my second submission for #RPGaDay2021. I decided on voice for Day 2's entry. In the future, I'll probably try rolling for them. Once I get on a roll (pun 100% intended), it might be easier for me to go with whatever the fates decide I should write about, but for now at least, I'll just handpick my topics. Had I not been so far behind, I might have even tried to talk this one out and demonstrate some of my voices rather than just musing on them.

Day 2 - Voice: Maybe it’s because of my theatre background, but I love giving voices to my characters. Then again, I also do voices when I read to my kids. Whether it’s mimicking what characters sound like from their favorite cartoons, doing accents, or just figuring out a new character and how they would sound, I love doing voices. It adds a different dimension to the experience, and I highly encourage voices at my game table. That being said, I never pressure anyone to do a voice. If people are not comfortable with that kind of exposure or commitment, then it’s not worth diminishing their enjoyment of the game. You can get into character and play the part without doing a voice. Often as people play, they find themselves doing some version of a voice for their character, even if it’s just a slight variation on their own (i.e. faster or slower cadence, change in pitch, etc.).