I sincerely hope that experience will put lie to the title of this post. C'mon, my fellow gamers, man/woman/gender-queer up!
So, I was at a happy hour with my friend Kim the other day, and we were talking (bragging) about how many women we have at our session of D&D Encounters. And by "many" I mean at least one per table of six, including the sole female DM. One of her friends starts complaining loudly about girls in D&D - apparently, we bring up the level of conversation too much for his tastes. Kim assured me he was joking when he said, "I mean, when's the last time someone at your table raped a wench?"
What dudes like this don't understand is that I'm not offended by their "blue humor." I'm offended by the fact that they consider it humor. It's easy to throw out a curse word, an innuendo, or a poop joke - I do it all the time. But it still has to be funny. And the idea that female gamers make the game less fun for "everyone else" (e.g. egocentric male gamers like this one) is unfunny, and out-dated, and Just. Plain. Wrong.
The other happy hour attendees were not subjected to this rant, however. I think my exact response was: "You clearly have never played with my all-girl group. They are the filthiest people I know."
Friday, July 20, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Encounters Recap: Session 9
Or: Grumpy Healer is Grumpy.
In last night's session, my party was both clever and lucky - in other words, we hardly took any damage. While this sounds awesome, as the party's healer it made me feel pretty useless. We started with a skill challenge - we had to get past a set of portcullises guarded by two ogres. We were able to bribe one with food and the other with gems, and they toddled off like good little monsters. All that remained was to deal with the drow within the fortress.
There were some opportunities for relatively cool moves - our defender climbed up a battlement, defeated one enemy, then leapt across to another battlement to engage two more. Our controller skulked around the corner and sniped at everyone else. And one of our strikers turned insubstantial, sauntered up to two baddies, and dropped a killer Daily power on the asses.
And then there was me. I charged in and missed, then was bloodied, shifted, and knocked prone by a single attack. I'm a melee combatant, so there wasn't a great way to get back into the fray - I spent the next round healing myself. After that, I was immoblized by an area attack and couldn't do anything to save my comrades from ongoing damage. By the time I was finally free to actually do something, the session was over.
I know I shouldn't complain - the healer (aka leader) is a somewhat reactionary role, and if there's nothing for me to do that means my allies are doing pretty well. However, when I ask the table if anyone needs heals at the end of the session and they all turn me down, it's kind of depressing. My "main" is a leader (a tiefling bard) that I have a lot of fun roleplaying, even when he doesn't do much in a battle. However, Encounters is not the forum for role-playing (sadly).
Coming soon: Exclusive details about my main, Kismet. It will make me feel better.
In last night's session, my party was both clever and lucky - in other words, we hardly took any damage. While this sounds awesome, as the party's healer it made me feel pretty useless. We started with a skill challenge - we had to get past a set of portcullises guarded by two ogres. We were able to bribe one with food and the other with gems, and they toddled off like good little monsters. All that remained was to deal with the drow within the fortress.
YAWN.
There were some opportunities for relatively cool moves - our defender climbed up a battlement, defeated one enemy, then leapt across to another battlement to engage two more. Our controller skulked around the corner and sniped at everyone else. And one of our strikers turned insubstantial, sauntered up to two baddies, and dropped a killer Daily power on the asses.
And then there was me. I charged in and missed, then was bloodied, shifted, and knocked prone by a single attack. I'm a melee combatant, so there wasn't a great way to get back into the fray - I spent the next round healing myself. After that, I was immoblized by an area attack and couldn't do anything to save my comrades from ongoing damage. By the time I was finally free to actually do something, the session was over.
I know I shouldn't complain - the healer (aka leader) is a somewhat reactionary role, and if there's nothing for me to do that means my allies are doing pretty well. However, when I ask the table if anyone needs heals at the end of the session and they all turn me down, it's kind of depressing. My "main" is a leader (a tiefling bard) that I have a lot of fun roleplaying, even when he doesn't do much in a battle. However, Encounters is not the forum for role-playing (sadly).
Coming soon: Exclusive details about my main, Kismet. It will make me feel better.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Touch of Madness Campaign, Con'td
On Sunday I met with a couple of my players for the next installment of Touch of Madness. We had some last-minute cancellations, but because of our dual-character system we were able to forge ahead with just two PCs. Spoilers ahoy!
An interesting facet of this particular module is that several of the "bad guys" - the Stormcrows - are actually victims of the "touch of madness" themselves, and therefore can be saved. So far, we have rescued three out of the four Stormcrows (if the PCs remember to go back and collect them on their way out, that is). As an aside, IMHO the two female NPCs seemed more salvageable than the male NPCs. Is this an indication of the "damsel in distress" mentality on my part? Or on the part of the writers of the story? Anyway, something to think about.
In this session, the PCs advanced into the second level of the Forlorn Tower. They met two more of the Stormcrow mercenaries, and they confirmed that the Tear of Ioun is no longer there. However, since their primary goal is to protect the town of Wellspring from this tower's monsters, it makes sense to continue. I think we've got about one more session left, but I'm getting a bit nervous. With our spotty attendance, I'm not sure that all of my PCs are going to be at a high enough level to deal with the final battle. Will this be my first TPK???
An interesting facet of this particular module is that several of the "bad guys" - the Stormcrows - are actually victims of the "touch of madness" themselves, and therefore can be saved. So far, we have rescued three out of the four Stormcrows (if the PCs remember to go back and collect them on their way out, that is). As an aside, IMHO the two female NPCs seemed more salvageable than the male NPCs. Is this an indication of the "damsel in distress" mentality on my part? Or on the part of the writers of the story? Anyway, something to think about.
Either way, it is now incumbent upon me to write a story with
all female monsters and a dude in distress.
In this session, the PCs advanced into the second level of the Forlorn Tower. They met two more of the Stormcrow mercenaries, and they confirmed that the Tear of Ioun is no longer there. However, since their primary goal is to protect the town of Wellspring from this tower's monsters, it makes sense to continue. I think we've got about one more session left, but I'm getting a bit nervous. With our spotty attendance, I'm not sure that all of my PCs are going to be at a high enough level to deal with the final battle. Will this be my first TPK???
Murder in Grisly Gulch
To the townsfolk of Grisly Gulch, you
are all cordially invited to join me for a night of celebration and
surprises at my home, across from the Bank on Main Street. I have an
important announcement to make that I know will be of interest to you
all. I daresay it will shake the very bedrock of our little community!
Sincerely,
E. Feingold, Esq.
Banker
Last Saturday I put on another murder mystery party, this one with a Wild West theme. These are something of a tradition amongst my friends, which got started two years ago when I asked Maggie and Mac to throw me a murder mystery themed birthday party. Since then, several of our friends have taken turns writing and/or hosting these parties - we've done Sci-Fi fantasy, Greek gods and goddesses, 20's gangsters and Vegas casino themed parties. They're always a blast, and we keep improving the format with each iteration.
Typically, the writer (me!) plays the victim and then comes back as a minor character. This time, I divided the rest of the cast into five categories: Detective, Suspects, Allies, Adversaries, and Observers. The role of the Detective is to to actively solve the mystery (and finish the story). Suspects put the "who" in "whodunit" - they are the main characters. Allies and Adversaries are more like minor characters - they participate in the story by either helping or hindering the Detective. Finally, the Supporting Cast can just sit back and watch the shenanigans. I usually ask people what role they are willing to play, and assign parts accordingly. This is what the final cast list looked like:
DETECTIVE
ADVERSARIES
I hoped the physical evidence I planted would exonerate two of the suspects, but I'm afraid I fell into the trap of, "Well, I don't want to make it too obvious!" I always have these big revelations about how I should've written these things as soon as we're done solving them. Which, I suppose, is how we can keep improving the model... Anyway, the most important thing was that people had fun!
Sincerely,
E. Feingold, Esq.
Banker
Last Saturday I put on another murder mystery party, this one with a Wild West theme. These are something of a tradition amongst my friends, which got started two years ago when I asked Maggie and Mac to throw me a murder mystery themed birthday party. Since then, several of our friends have taken turns writing and/or hosting these parties - we've done Sci-Fi fantasy, Greek gods and goddesses, 20's gangsters and Vegas casino themed parties. They're always a blast, and we keep improving the format with each iteration.
Typically, the writer (me!) plays the victim and then comes back as a minor character. This time, I divided the rest of the cast into five categories: Detective, Suspects, Allies, Adversaries, and Observers. The role of the Detective is to to actively solve the mystery (and finish the story). Suspects put the "who" in "whodunit" - they are the main characters. Allies and Adversaries are more like minor characters - they participate in the story by either helping or hindering the Detective. Finally, the Supporting Cast can just sit back and watch the shenanigans. I usually ask people what role they are willing to play, and assign parts accordingly. This is what the final cast list looked like:
DETECTIVE
- Marshall Frederick (Mike) is a Federal Marshall fresh out of training. He is on a routine visit to one of the small towns in hisjurisdiction, Grisly Gulch. The banker, Ephraim Feingold (Sri), invites you to a party where he plans to make a "big announcement. When Feingold is suddenly murdered, it's up to Marshall Frederick to solve the case!
- Barry Cade (Zach) is the mayor of Grisly Gulch. He is a notorious flirt, but his wife keeps him on a pretty short leash. He is up for re-election this year, and will probably use this party as an opportunity to campaign.
- Miss Sugar (Maggie) is the madam of the town brothel, the Heart of Gold. Everyone knows that the banker, Ephraim Feingold, has been mooning after her for years. But she considers herself married to her work, and is fiercely proud of what she’s built.
- Powell P. Lay (Chris) is a successful rancher. Currently, he is attempting to buy out several other smaller ranchers. He is an influential man in Grisly Gulch.
- Cassie Cade (Lauren) is the wife of the Mayor, Barry Cade, and is an avid missionary. She frequently makes proselytizing trips to the nearby Indian reservation, plans fundraisers for starving orphans, and leads the Women's Bible Study group.
- Charles "Sleepy" Knapp (Mac) is the sheriff of Grisly Gulch. While he excels at breaking up barroom brawls and chasing down train robbers, he's never had to deal with something as complex as drawing-room murder.
- Suzanna Spice (Sri) is a saloon girl at The Heart of Gold, and a voracious reader of the Old Sleuth dime novels.
- Anita Lay (Priya) is the daughter of influential rancher, Powell P. Lay. Her father's connections got her the job of schoolmarm, and he never lets her forget it. Also, he is constantly trying to marry her off.
- Growling Bear (Chuck) is the Chief of the local American Indian tribe. He is openly dismissive of the authority of the White Man.
- She-That-Is-Pleasant (Amy) is the sister of Chief Growling Bear. She is much friendlier than her brother.
- Fast Fanny (Carly) is a female gunslinger with a chip on her shoulder.
- Ian Briate (Alex) is the town preacher who loves his communion wine
- Kitten Kaboodle (Katja) is a traveling entertainer, whose song and dance routine is being hosted at the Heart of Gold brothel.
- Vani Singh (Nalini) is a vaudeville magician.
- Ranch Hands (Mike and Monique) just stopped by for the free booze.
I hoped the physical evidence I planted would exonerate two of the suspects, but I'm afraid I fell into the trap of, "Well, I don't want to make it too obvious!" I always have these big revelations about how I should've written these things as soon as we're done solving them. Which, I suppose, is how we can keep improving the model... Anyway, the most important thing was that people had fun!
Friday, July 13, 2012
Encounters Recap: Session 8
This session of Encounters finds our heroes descending deeper into the Underdark, and once again the game was played on an unusual map. Apparently, the denizens of these caverns (in this case, drow and their goblin slaves) had hollowed out a stalactite and turned it into a extremely defensible stronghold. It was an interesting visual, but it took several explanations by our DM for everyone to get what was going on - a picture of the structure itself might've been helpful.
The map was divided into three parts, representing the three internal levels of the stronghold - the large top floor where we entered (the top of the stalactite), the smaller middle floor where the end of the encounter played out, and a tiny lower floor that lead to the exit. Below the stalactite, a giant web acted as a safety net... just kidding! Anyone who fell off was going to get chomped by an enormous spider. And since it's D&D, the only paths between the levels were on the outside. Drow engineering at it's finest.
My table ended up staying waaaaaaaaaaay past the usual time, for a couple of reasons. First of all, we had two newbie players - like, "played once in my life" newbies. Secondly, the DM wanted us to help them level up their pre-gen characters. It was a nice intention, but in the end I think it just made things more confusing. The biggest reason it took so long, and this is an unfortunate possibility in D&D, is that we were all rolling complete crap.
Speaking as a DM, it's hard to know what to do when your players - or even worse, just one of your players - is consistently getting terrible dice rolls. There are some mechanical "fixes," like Heroic Effort (which lets you add 4 to your attack) and Elven Accuracy (which lets you re-roll a terrible result), but not everyone has them and they're only good for one use per encounter. In my home campaigns, I've instituted the Nightly Re-Roll - anyone can re-roll once per night. On one memorable occasion, they were doing so poorly that I allowed them one re-roll per encounter. If a player is really close to hitting, I might have them roll and Athletics or Acrobatics check as a minor action to "help guide their attack."
Usually, however, I try to do things "behind the screen." You don't want to seem like you're being too easy on your players, so as not to cheapen their victory. Sometimes I'll forget to use a monster's regeneration power, or I'll neglect to recharge their most badass attack. That's why I hate players who try to sneak in a re-roll or add bonuses they shouldn't have - there's no need to cheat! Mama's got this.
I imagined something like this. The description also mentioned
that there were rows of windows glowing with an unholy red light.
Spooky!
The map was divided into three parts, representing the three internal levels of the stronghold - the large top floor where we entered (the top of the stalactite), the smaller middle floor where the end of the encounter played out, and a tiny lower floor that lead to the exit. Below the stalactite, a giant web acted as a safety net... just kidding! Anyone who fell off was going to get chomped by an enormous spider. And since it's D&D, the only paths between the levels were on the outside. Drow engineering at it's finest.
My table ended up staying waaaaaaaaaaay past the usual time, for a couple of reasons. First of all, we had two newbie players - like, "played once in my life" newbies. Secondly, the DM wanted us to help them level up their pre-gen characters. It was a nice intention, but in the end I think it just made things more confusing. The biggest reason it took so long, and this is an unfortunate possibility in D&D, is that we were all rolling complete crap.
Speaking as a DM, it's hard to know what to do when your players - or even worse, just one of your players - is consistently getting terrible dice rolls. There are some mechanical "fixes," like Heroic Effort (which lets you add 4 to your attack) and Elven Accuracy (which lets you re-roll a terrible result), but not everyone has them and they're only good for one use per encounter. In my home campaigns, I've instituted the Nightly Re-Roll - anyone can re-roll once per night. On one memorable occasion, they were doing so poorly that I allowed them one re-roll per encounter. If a player is really close to hitting, I might have them roll and Athletics or Acrobatics check as a minor action to "help guide their attack."
Usually, however, I try to do things "behind the screen." You don't want to seem like you're being too easy on your players, so as not to cheapen their victory. Sometimes I'll forget to use a monster's regeneration power, or I'll neglect to recharge their most badass attack. That's why I hate players who try to sneak in a re-roll or add bonuses they shouldn't have - there's no need to cheat! Mama's got this.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Touch of Madness Campaign
For the second of my D&D groups, I am a lazy lazy DM that primarily runs modules. Currently I am running the Touch of Madness module, the first installment of the so-called Madness Trilogy (along with Depths of Madness and Brink of Madness). As you might suspect, it primarily involves monsters from the Far Realm, who specialize in being batshit insane and inspiring batshit insanity in others. SPOILERS BELOW.
Our group changes all the time (people join, people leave, schedules conflict, etc), so right now I am allowing more than one character per person. This allows us to play with as few as two players and one DM, but is not recommended for inexperienced players. But guests are always welcome, because I believe in recruiting people to my twisted lifestyle.
The last time we met, Kevin brought along his friend Andrew - he had played before, and just needed a refresher on a few things and the nuances of 4E. I created a character for Andrew in character builder - I decided to go the Essentials route, to save myself some time. Approximately five decisions later, I had a fully-functional 10th-level Dwarf Cleric, with only one easily-correctable error (they gave him expertise in a weapon he didn't have). Kevin is playing a Dragonborn Paladin, and Reuven dual-wielded his Dwarf Fighter and his brand-new Shifter Monk.
So far in the plot, our adventurers are seeking to protect the people of Wellspring from an uncertain threat - the story began when grells descended upon the town. They have been lead to the Forlorn Tower - formerly a temple to Ioun (D&D goddess of knowledge) and home of the Tear of Ioun, one of many sacred relics. In this session, the party was supposed to speak to a woman who had been sent after the Tear of Ioun and who knows more about it's whereabouts. However, when they came upon her party they immediately attacked - which, to my mind, was a valid decision. You're a grimlock hanging out in an evil tower, and the group just fought a whole bunch of you two sessions ago. Of course Han is going to shoot first!
This left me in something of a quandary - I needed to let them get their hits in without sacrificing exposition. Also, we were down one PC, and this was a high-level encounter. If I had let them fight it out, the heroes may not have survived. I know that's OK with some DMs, but I think TPKs are boring and pointless. The story advances when the heroes advance - why would I want to stop that?
I compromised by giving hints that the grimlock's leader, who announces herself as Denva of the Stormcrows, was not quite right in the head (which was true). Our Paladin was the only one who was close enough to interact with her, which was probably not ideal - even though every player was involved in the battle in some way or another, only one got to do any Skill stuff. The small exception was that our Fighter got to use his Athletics to smash through a wall - and eventually made it!
When they had subdued most of the grimlocks and successfully navigated Denva's warped mind, they find out quite a bit.
Oh, and tentacles. Mustn't forget the tentacles.
Our group changes all the time (people join, people leave, schedules conflict, etc), so right now I am allowing more than one character per person. This allows us to play with as few as two players and one DM, but is not recommended for inexperienced players. But guests are always welcome, because I believe in recruiting people to my twisted lifestyle.
The last time we met, Kevin brought along his friend Andrew - he had played before, and just needed a refresher on a few things and the nuances of 4E. I created a character for Andrew in character builder - I decided to go the Essentials route, to save myself some time. Approximately five decisions later, I had a fully-functional 10th-level Dwarf Cleric, with only one easily-correctable error (they gave him expertise in a weapon he didn't have). Kevin is playing a Dragonborn Paladin, and Reuven dual-wielded his Dwarf Fighter and his brand-new Shifter Monk.
So far in the plot, our adventurers are seeking to protect the people of Wellspring from an uncertain threat - the story began when grells descended upon the town. They have been lead to the Forlorn Tower - formerly a temple to Ioun (D&D goddess of knowledge) and home of the Tear of Ioun, one of many sacred relics. In this session, the party was supposed to speak to a woman who had been sent after the Tear of Ioun and who knows more about it's whereabouts. However, when they came upon her party they immediately attacked - which, to my mind, was a valid decision. You're a grimlock hanging out in an evil tower, and the group just fought a whole bunch of you two sessions ago. Of course Han is going to shoot first!
On the left, a grell. On the right, a grimlock.
Seriously, what the hell.
This left me in something of a quandary - I needed to let them get their hits in without sacrificing exposition. Also, we were down one PC, and this was a high-level encounter. If I had let them fight it out, the heroes may not have survived. I know that's OK with some DMs, but I think TPKs are boring and pointless. The story advances when the heroes advance - why would I want to stop that?
I compromised by giving hints that the grimlock's leader, who announces herself as Denva of the Stormcrows, was not quite right in the head (which was true). Our Paladin was the only one who was close enough to interact with her, which was probably not ideal - even though every player was involved in the battle in some way or another, only one got to do any Skill stuff. The small exception was that our Fighter got to use his Athletics to smash through a wall - and eventually made it!
When they had subdued most of the grimlocks and successfully navigated Denva's warped mind, they find out quite a bit.
[Denva] reveals that a human named Cylus hired her and her companions to search for the Tear of Ioun. The relic transformed the Stormcrows (a group of merry mercenaries), but then mysterious shadow creatures stole it. Elomir, the Stormcrow leader, sent the grells to Wellspring. He won’t stop searching until the stone is recovered.In other words, "Sorry - your relic is in another castle." Denva tells the adventurers where to find Elomir (at the top of the tower, duh!) and begs them to take her to Wellspring for treatment. They came up with the clever idea to enlist the help of the Half-orc natives of the nearby forest, the Harrowfolk, to help Denva reach the town. After a short rest, they plan to forge ahead - up the stairs!
Encounters Recap: Sessions 6 and 7
I skip one lousy session of Encounters, and I find out later that they did two encounters to make up for missing the holiday. Boo! Luckily, my BGF Mac was in attendance - here's his recap!
--
As previously mentioned, one of the central tenets of the game is
"don't split the party". Wizards apparently said "blow that for a game
of soldier" for this encounter. Everyone in the party is forcibly
separated, and each is faced with an individual challenge. Pro: it's
something not a lot of players have seen before. Con: there's a reason
we haven't seen its like before.
What ended up happening was, each person got five or ten minutes to
solve their own puzzle. Since it required DM interaction and there's
only one, that meant the other five people sitting around the table got
to sit there and watch someone else roleplay with no ability to
interact. To top it all off, several of the challenges were doubled, so
in the interest of "fairness" Ozzy, for example, who was in the same
type of challenge as Liz, had to walk away and not listen as she solved
her challenge so he wouldn't learn the trick. My character, who is
multi-talented but has NO athletic ability, was required to climb up and
down ropes repeatedly.
The next session was pretty straightforward. The group as a whole was a little pressed for time, and it was an exercise in how to quickly get through the action. Most people handled it fairly well. The group of new players sitting next to us TPK'd. AGAIN. I think this brings the total to 3 TPKs out of 7 sessions, only six of which were even combat.
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