The column, No Assembly Required, features a monster that can be inserted into a Dungeon & Dragons 4th Edition campaign. Each monster in the series includes comprehensive information including Origin, Lore, Combat Tactics, Power Descriptions and Stat Block. Visit This Is My Game to review this month’s monster, Durgauthbalavoar, Ghost Dragon. Durgauthbalavoar is an Epic-Tier monster who should provide the foundation for a dynamic combat encounter for any group of adventurers.

The mechanics for the dragon were inspired by my frustration of having too many combat encounters turn into static slugfests where enemies and players rush to one spot in a room and then trade blows until one group dies. Durgauthbalavoar is surrounded by various Auras – some that effect PCs nearby, and some that effect PCs far away – in addition to a teleportation power that will shift the flow of battle.

As always, the fantastic artwork is provided by Grant Gould. Visit This is My Game for the full description of Durgauthbalavoar, the spirit of an evil dragon slain long ago only to return to terrorize the lands once again! Please post any questions or comments about the monster here or at This Is My Game, and come back next month for another ready-to-use monster.

This month, we had the unique opportunity to play and review the same game, Thunderstone. I was provided with a copy of the game by AEG at no cost to play and review. I want to extend my thanks to the organizers of the Game Night Blog Carnival and the developers of Thunderstone for making this happen.

Thunderstone is a card game with multiple RPG elements as each player builds up their deck of cards to take on various threats in a dungeon filled with monsters. The goal is find the famed Thunderstone, which lies buried deep in the dungeon under many layers of monsters. The winner is declared by the number of victory points accumulated throughout the game, which takes approximately 45 to 60 minutes to resolve. Below, I talk about my initial impressions of the game and my experiences playing it several times in recent weeks.

Getting Started

Thunderstone arrived in an attractive and sturdy box. The box and cards are not simply cardboard, but have a slightly grooved plastic coating, which adds a layer of durability to both the box and cards. This durability came into play the second time playing the game as the box was set on a counter near a sink, which unbeknownst to me, had a small leak. The box was surrounded by a small pool of water while we played, yet it did not suffer any lasting damage. Most other boxes would have been trashed, so I feel this is a bonus well worth mentioning!

The setup of the game is rather daunting, and may be a stumbling block for people to fully appreciate the game. The cards come packaged in various small sets inside the box. I started to take apart the wrapping and look through the cards before reading the rules. I highly recommend that you do not do this! The cards fall into one of the following categories:

1. Hero 
2. Village
3. Monster
4. Starter

While that sounds rather simplistic, opening up the box without knowing what to look for is a challenge because the cards all look very much alike. The cards are sturdy and the art is compelling. However, the only way to tell if a card is a Hero, Village, Monster or Starter card is by a small grey symbol on the middle-left of each card. Before I knew what to look for, the cards blended together. Granted, I did not look at the rules first (obviously a mistake), but I doubt I’m the only person that dives right into a new game without consulting the instructions.

The instructions provide an example of how to set up the game, and I highly recommend that new players follow this plan for at least the first game. To set up the game, the cards are laid out in different rows. The first row is for Starter cards, the next two rows are for Village cards, the fourth row is for Hero cards and the final row represents the Dungeon where the Monsters reside.

With so many cards, the box assists with the organization by having a plastic shell with different slots for the cards. Thunderstone comes with another set of Divider cards to keep the various card type separated. However, the Divider cards look exactly like the other cards in the game and are only slightly bigger so their ability to increase organization is limited; they simply blend into the other cards in the box. I suggest that you come up with an alternative method to the Divider cards to keep Thunderstone organized. I have found making a stack for each type of card (e.g., Hero, Village, Monster, Starter) is helpful. One can quickly shuffle through those stacks to find all of the cards needed during setup. 

The process of setting up the cards to get the game started can be a chore in and of itself, which is why I’m spending some time discussing it. Thunderstone is a fun game but it does have an initial steep learning curve. It is worth pushing forward to get to the game itself!

Playing the Game

As mentioned above, the premise of Thunderstone is to build up your heroes to clear out the dungeon and reclaim the famed Thunderstone. To do this, each player starts the game with 12 cards, and the cards are the same for each person. These are the Starter cards listed above. There are four types of Starter cards in the 12-card beginning deck:

1. Militia (Hero) x6
2. Iron Rations (Food) x2
3. Dagger (Weapon) x2
4. Torch (Item/Light Source) x2

Once the Dungeon, Hero, Village and Starter cards are prepared, the game begins. Each player deals themself six cards from their Starter deck and lays them out in front of everyone. The player has three options each round: Rest, Visit the Village or Enter the Dungeon.

This guy is a badass!

Resting allows the player to destroy a card from their hand, which can be useful later in the game when lower-level or negative cards weigh down the deck. Visiting the Village allows players to buy new items or hire a Hero (example pictured right). Entering the Dungeon allows the player to battle a monster in combat. The math involved in buying from the Village or battling monsters in the Dungeon is extremely painless. The game states it is appropriate for ages 12 and up, but with help in the initial setup phase, younger children could play the game.

Killing monsters grants XP, which can be used to level up Heroes in the Village. Buying items and Heroes in the Village increases your chances of defeating monsters in the Dungeon. Each player continues to build their deck each round in this fashion. This formula should be familiar to any roleplaying-game enthusiast!

Light & Strength

I found the emphasis on Light and Strength to be unique features of Thunderstone. A light source is required to battle the monsters in the Dungeon, and strength is needed to carry weapons, which cause more damage. Instead of feeling like busy work, the factors of Light and Strength add additional layers of strategy to creating a strong deck. For example, some items (i.e., Lantern, Lightstone) can be purchased from town while certain Heroes provide a small bit of light in addition to their attack bonuses.

Light is needed because the Dungeon is a dark and dangerous place. Entering the Dungeon without a light source imposes an attack penalty. The Monster cards are laid out one at a time in three columns. At any given time during the game, only three monsters appear and the columns are considered Ranks. The monster closest to the right is Rank 1, the center is Rank 2 and the left is Rank 3. The Rank represents the light penalty for attacking the Monster in that column. A player can decide to ignore the Monsters in Rank 1 and 2, and attack the monster in Rank 3, but that monster imposes a -3 light penalty to attack. However, the player may have light sources, and if they have 3 light, then there is no penalty. It may sound cumbersome, but I enjoyed the additional strategy it creates.

"I can see clearly now, the flame is on."

As for Strength, each Hero has a Strength rating.  Food items, which can be purchased in the Village, add strength to one or more Heroes in your deck. Each Weapon in the game requires a certain level of strength to wield. A Flaming Sword (which also produces a small amount of Light!) takes 5 Strength to wield, so a strong Hero is needed. But if you have a Food card that boosts the Strength of a Hero, then a lower-level Hero can wield the Flaming Sword for extra damage. Again, I found this type of management to be enjoyable, and it adds to the fantasy feel of the game – even though I loathe encumbrance in games like Skyrim and D&D!

Winning the Game & Player Motivation

Thunderstone is a fun game to play, but the dynamics of victory are slightly uninspiring. The premise of the game is to find the lost Thunderstone, but finding the Thunderstone is rather meaningless in terms of Victory Points, which is truly how the winner is determined. Victory Points appear on cards such as Monsters and high-level Heroes; at the end of the game, the player with the most cards and associated Victory Points wins – regardless of who discovered the Thunderstone. The premise does not truly match the conditions for victory of the game, which was jarring for those that I played with in recent weeks. As one player told me, “I played the game and never did understand what the Thunderstone was, or why we needed it.”

The Thunderstone is worth 3 Victory Points. By way of comparison, the average Monster is worth 3 points and other monsters are worth 6 or more Victory Points. In addition to Monster cards with Victory Points, the highest level of Hero Cards (Level 3) provide 2 Victory Points each. So the goal is truly to kill as many Monsters as possible while leveling up Heroes quickly. The Thunderstone itself is rather irrelevant in the equation even though it is the name and premise of the game. I’m not advocating for the Thunderstone to become as unbalanced as The Golden Snitch, but it feels like the namesake of the game should be more meaningful to the outcome. A second player commented, “Winning doesn’t have much to do with the Thunderstone itself. It’s all about monster kills with a smidgen toward hero leveling. This was a bit disappointing, as you would think with the name like Thunderstone, this object would be a prime game changer. In this game it’s more of a tie breaker should a tie ever occur, which would be extremely rare.”

A related concern expressed by several who played Thunderstone with me is the lack of player interaction. Thunderstone is certainly not a cooperative game, but there is not much in the way of player interaction or competition. A few of the Heroes allow one to force opponents to discard, which weakens their hand, but these cards are few in number. One player voiced his desire for a more competitive experience thusly, “I want to be able to screw the other players and laugh at them.” As a result of these factors, the motivations for playing Thunderstone become obtuse because it’s a multiplayer game without a lot of interaction.

Lessons Learned

One feature I did not delve into yet in this review is the option to randomize available Monster, Hero and Village cards that appear in the game. After playing a couple of the basic games, as described in the instructions, I used the Randomizer cards to create new groups of Monster, Hero and Village options. One comment I received from several players is the lack of strategy involved in the game, but I found expanding to other options outside of the recommended setup introduced more strategy to the game. It seems the developers of Thunderstone introduce players to the game with a basic set of Hero and Village options, but those options are not the most dynamic in the game. I encourage people who try the game to go beyond the basic setup for the game once the rules are understood.

I found the game more rewarding with varied options. For example, I fell in love with the Feayn Archer (pictured above); he provides a small source of Light but had powerful attacks against Monsters further into the Dungeon (i.e., Rank 2, Rank 3). His Level 3 card grants more light, a higher attack bonus and additional XP for certain monster kills. I built a deck around him and a few other cards last night and went on for a big victory (even though I did not land the Thunderstone).

I played Thunderstone with five, four and three people. The game is built for 2-5 players, but I found that three players worked the best out of the games I played. Five players seemed to be too many, but the game felt like it hummed along quite well when it was only three. Additionally, having only three players allowed me to explore the Rest option more often, which allows a player to destroy one of their cards forever. I Rested quite often during the last game to sweep away low-powered cards, and my deck felt very strong by the end of the game.

On the flip side, I believe two players might be too few, but I have not played under that condition yet. The game seemed to flow better as I became more aware of the rules and the quirky fundamentals of the game’s design. The same applied for the players that participated in the game more than once.

Final Thoughts

I like Thunderstone, and certainly plan to play it again. It felt very rewarding to develop a strategy and then draw a hand that fit perfectly into what I was trying to accomplish. In the future, I think the game would benefit from increased player-to-player interaction and an examination of the premise and how it relates to winning the game. A variety of house rules for Thunderstone already exist online, and I encourage new players to create their own once they get a true understanding of the game. As someone who has primarily played D&D for the past two years, the game serves as a nice change of pace once the initial hurdles of the setup are overcome.

I once again thank the developers of Thunderstone for providing me with a copy of the game. I realize some of the feedback is critical, but my thoughts are geared toward making a good game a great game. If the Expansion sets offer more variety, strategy and player-versus-player options, then I think many will enjoy the game. Be sure to check out the various reviews of Thunderstone through the Game Night Blog Carnival!

During the podcast, Mike asked me questions about my approach to playing and running 4th Edition D&D games, which is certainly influenced by my education and professional work as a psychologist. I present ideas for how to monitor and manage communication before, during and after sessions, and we discuss how to respond if you happen to be “a bad DM” in addition to the notion that the DM is primarily an Entertainer. He also reviewed my previous research efforts on tracking combat speed and the progression of status effects in 4th Edition.

The 70-minute conversation is available for your downloading pleasure at Critical Hits, which should be included in your “I go to these sites at least a few times each week” list.

During the past week, I’ve read with great interest the reactions by fans, designers and other members of the D&D community. A poll at EN World, which already has over 1,700 responses, demonstrates that approximately 60% of respondents are feeling positive about the news, while 30% are neutral and 10% are feeling negative about the next edition. Since 90% of the respondents do not hate the idea of another iteration of D&D, I think this is a positive sign for the game to at least get a chance to succeed. However, another way to interpret the data is that 40% of the respondents are not feeling positive about D&D Next, which is currently the default name for the new edition.

The following article is another instance of taking a theory from psychology, the Transtheoretical Model (pictured below), and applying it to gaming. In this case, I’ll be discussing a model that describes the process of change. The model address a variety of stages in terms of preparedness to change, and I believe the model may assist everyone in understanding how ready and willing players of earlier editions are to change over to D&D Next. Change is often conceptualized as an “all or nothing” behavior, but in reality, it is a multi-stage process.

Source: Graphic taken from AdultMeducation.com; Adapted from DiClemente and Prochaska, 1998

Through the article below, I discuss stages-of-change through the lens of my previous work as a smoking-cessation counselor, which brings me to a very important caveat. While smoking is an unhealthy behavior, playing an earlier edition of D&D is not an unhealthy behavior! There is nothing inherently wrong about deciding not to play the new version of D&D whenever it is released. There are no judgements here! However, the commentary and examples below illustrate the concepts and different stages of the Transtheoretical Model, which can be applied to individuals and their decision-making process of whether or not to play D&D Next when it is released.

Precontemplation (Not Ready)

People at the precontemplation stage have no intention of shifting their behavior in the near future. For example, a person who smokes a pack of cigarettes each day may have friends, family and doctors telling them the importance of quitting smoking, but the person has no interest in quitting. It does not matter how often you suggest quitting smoking, the person is not ready for change; he or she does not even see it as an option!

People in this stage may benefit from learning more about the positives of changing behavior, but are not likely to respond to having others tell them, “Oh, just try it. You’ll love it!” People in the precontemplation stage benefit from specific information about the benefits of changing their behavior. To shift back to D&D Next, learning more about specifics of the new gameplay and how that will positively change an individual’s gaming experience will help to move them to the next stage of change. But as a general rule, precontemplators typically underestimate the benefits of changing and overestimate the consequences.

Referencing EN World’s poll results once again, the 10% who feel negatively about the future of D&D are in the precontemplation stage of change. They are not ready to change in any way at the moment, and the thought of D&D “shifting gears” or “advancing” causes them to shut down any thoughts of accepting a new direction for the game. The slang term often used for this group of individuals is grognards.

If Wizards of the Coast wants to reach these individuals, then they need to approach them with specific information about the new game. The precontemplators need to learn enough potential positives about changing their behavior that they’ll move from not even considering change to at least considering it a little bit. Forcing a precontemplator into a D&D Next session is likely to backfire; it would be like locking someone in a room without cigarettes and expecting them not to smoke once you let them out. You cannot force change, but you can educate and present potential positive outcomes for the precontemplators/grognards.

Contemplation (Thinking About It)

People at the contemplation stage intend to change behavior within the next few months, but are not fully committed. While those in this stage are aware of the benefits of changing, the consequences of change balance the decision scale. The equality of benefits and consequences leads to ambivalence, which can result in them putting off behavior change for additional time or changing their mind completely and moving back to precontemplation.

The key point for individuals in this stage is to discuss the possible consequences of the change. For example, if the perceived consequences of change can be reduced, then the decision scale would tip in favor of following through with the change since there would be more benefits associated with the change. In working with people considering quitting smoking, I would often talk with them about their reasons for continuing to smoke and their reasons for thinking about quitting. The goal is not to convince them to quit smoking, but to elicit their reasons for changing or not changing. Eventually, the person focuses more on the benefits of changing their behavior.

Returning to the discussion of D&D Next, players in the contemplation stage would benefit from WotC listening to the most common concerns about the new edition and releasing detailed responses to reduce the perceived consequences of change. Individuals at this stage may still be resistant to playing the game just once. Again, the “Try it, you might like it” approach will be unsuccessful. According to the EN World poll results, it seems the 30% of participants that responded “Neutral” fall in the contemplation stage. They are not completely resistant to change, but they are not in favor of change either.

Combined with those in the precontemplation stage, the contemplators make up 40% of D&D players who have replied to the EN World survey, which is a substantial number for WotC to convince in the coming months. During the conclusion, I humbly offer suggestions for how to connect with individuals in the precontemplation or contemplation stage.

Stage 3: Preparation (Getting Ready)

People at the preparation stage are ready to take action in the very near future. For those quitting smoking, they are willing to set a quit date or engage in other behaviors to limit smoking (e.g., only smoking outdoors, reducing cigarette consumption by 50%, etc.). The individuals in this stage no longer need convincing to make changes, but may need support to make the change a lasting one.

These are the 60% of individuals who responded “Positive” in the EN World poll, but this does not mean they will stay in this stage forever. People in this stage can slide back to further feelings of ambivalence and doubt. It is crucial to strengthen the commitment and motivation for change. People in this stage are often encouraged to seek support from friends they trust and tell people about their plan to change their behavior.

Many of the members of the online D&D community who are active on blogs fall into this category. Already, gamers are discussing possible strategies for the change to D&D Next and providing support to one another. A primary concern for the people in this stage – even though they are ready to take action – is the possibility that they will fail. In the case of D&D Next, this means that they’re ready to give the game a chance, but hold reservations about long-term commitment to the change.

Until the game is opened for a wider playtest, players of D&D will fall into one of the three stages above. Players may shift from one stage to the next (and back again) as time progresses and new information is available about the product. An important concept to grasp is that the stages of change are not all-or-none. Change is not like pulling the trigger of a gun where there is no turning back. Instead, change is something that is a process the occurs before, during and after change takes place.

Stage 4: Action (Ready)

Except for a few fortunate few who have already played the game, the remaining stages have not yet been possible for players of D&D since the game is not available. As the open playtest proceeds and the game is eventually released, individuals can enter this stage by changing their behavior to play the new game. The individuals in the action stage will continue to strengthen their commitment to change and fight urges to slide back to previous behaviors.

Returning to the smoking example, an individual that has successfully quit smoking would benefit from avoiding temptations that would draw them back to earlier behaviors. Staying away from friends and family that constantly smoke or areas (i.e., bars, clubs) where smoking is prominent can be vital to prolonged success. Individuals in this stage can benefit from techniques that enhance their commitment to the behavior change.

In the case of D&D Next, perhaps WotC can provide incentives and useful resources for early adopters of the product. Another important step for individuals to remain in this stage is avoiding people and situations that tempt them to return back to previous habits. Given the nature of online discourse, players who have decided to change to D&D Next would do well to avoid cruising websites that offer negative views of the game they have now decided to play.

Stage 5: Maintenance (Continuing)

People at the maintenance stage have already successfully changed their behavior and kep the commitment for at least several months. As with the action stage above, it is important for individuals in this stage to be stay away from stressful situations that may reduce commitment to their behavior change.

For example, perhaps a DM is thoroughly enjoying a new campaign of D&D Next with a group of players, but has a friend who wants to join the game but has often railed against the new rules. Adding this player to the group is likely to cause stress as this person is likely to be unhappy playing the game and may sully the experience for everyone in the campaign. Even though individuals have reached the maintenance stage, they can still slide back to previous stages by losing their commitment to the change through a relapse.

It is recommended that people in this stage seek support from people whom they trust. Again, the online gaming community can be a wonderful or a dark place depending on where one looks. If you want to continue with the change to D&D Next, then stay away from known areas (blogs, websites, etc.) that tear down the product and those who play it. Gain support for other individuals who are learning the play the game and enjoying it, and feed each other’s interest in maintaining the change moving forward.

How To Facilitate Change

Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change. ~ Confucius

While playing earlier editions of D&D is not an unhealthy behavior, I assume Wizards of the Coast is hopeful that the majority of players of previous editions will change their behavior to support the new product. In some cases, they are seeking to change behaviors that have been taking place for over 30 years. This is no easy feat! I believe they are already doing a wonderful job of engaging the online community by sharing information about the development process and actively soliciting questions and feedback. But moving forward, players will need more concrete information about the game to decrease their ambivalence about changing to D&D Next.

Actual Play Podcasts/Videos. I think this should happen after they have had the opportunity to receive feedback from the playtests, but as the game takes shape, it would be extremely helpful to hear and see the game. The vast majority of players are not going to participate in the open playtest of D&D Next. But clicking a link to listen to a podcast or watch a video of D&D Next being played is an easy way to learn about the new rules, mechanics and “feel” of the game. I started playing 4th Edition after approximately 20 years of being away from tabletop gaming once I listened to the hilariously entertaining Penny Arcade/PvP Dungeons & Dragons podcasts. It hooked me back into the game even though I never opened a rule book or had a current gaming group. It simply sounded like a great time, and I wanted to try it. A series of weekly podcasts of actual play videos from one or more campaigns - perhaps with different styles of play – would do wonders to spread the word on the product and answer questions.

Focus on Positives. A common pitfall of attempting to change behavior is focusing too much on the reasons an individual is avoiding change. For example, the person may be asked, “What’s holding you back from playing the new version?” or “Why don’t you want to give D&D Next a try?” The individuals being asked these questions is being encouraged to talk about negatives associated with change, which only reinforces their decision to avoid change. It is certainly important to understand concerns about potential consequences of change, but WotC should be certain to ask players to describe possible benefits of the switch to D&D Next, “What did you enjoy about the new game?” or “What was a pleasant surprise about the experience of playing D&D Next?” These questions encourage the individual to talk about positives associated with change, which may provide fuel for long-term behavior change and increased motivation and committment.

Decisional Balance Sheet. Once the game has been playtested and WotC has collected a great deal of feedback on the perceived benefits and consequences of changing behavior to play D&D Next, they could create a decisional balance sheet to illustrate the most common consequences and benefits offered by people. This could be combined with a Frequently Asked Questions document that could educate individuals who are either in the precontemplation or contemplation stage of change. For example, the balance sheet may list benefits the individual has not considered in addition to addressing and dispelling perceived consequences about playing D&D Next. A quite interesting option for WotC is to create a sheet like this through their website and let players fill out the form. It would encourage players to consider change by the simple act of completing the form, and it would give WotC meaningful data while developing the product and their future plans to change their players behavior.

Cozumel. Where I almost died 10 years ago.

My wife, an avid swimmer who had taken lifeguarding lessons in earlier days, noticed that I was struggling and tried her best to keep me above the water. However, she was on vacation – not caring for little kids running around a community pool – so her training failed and she panicked. As we now both started to sink, I had a clear thought in my mind, “I am NOT dying like this!”

My wife and I were fairly isolated in the water and I realized calling out for help might not produce quick results. I yelled at one man about 20 yards away and got his attention. As I was losing energy to stay above water, I told him we please needed help. He swam over quickly and went to help my wife, which sparked the hilarious line, “No, it’s not me. It’s HIM.”

The man easily kept me afloat while my wife caught the attention of a young guy on a kayak. They placed my gasping body on the kayak and slowly brought be back to shore like some type of bizarre Viking funeral. Shaken on the beach, I cleared my head and thought, “Diffusion of responsibility saved my life.”

Below, I define diffusion of responsibility and humbly discuss how it could relate to the open playtest Wizards of the Coast is conducting for the next version of Dungeons & Dragons. 

Diffusion of Responsibility

If you’ve ever taken a CPR class, then you’ve been educated about diffusion of responsibility – although it may not have been called such by name. Diffusion of responsibility is the concept of individual responsibility being lost because it is assumed that many people can act to satisfy the responsibility, which creates the same thought process for anyone nearby, “Somebody else will take responsibility.” Diffusion of responsibility states that a person is less likely to take responsibility for an action or inaction when others are present.

The concept was first studied after a woman, Kitty Genovese, was raped and murdered in New York City in 1964. She cried out for help as her attacker carried out the assault, which took place on a well-populated city street on two separate occasions over 30 minutes. Although 30-40 people living in the area may have heard her crying for help, not one left their home to assist the woman. The people who did not respond were not hardened criminals but normal every-day people like you and me. It was the situation that caused the inaction. Everyone was thinking, “Someone else will help the crying woman. I don’t need to be the one because everyone can hear her scream.” This is an example of diffusion of responsibility.

I learned about the Kitty Genovese case in a social psychology class during a semester with other interesting theories. Although the facts about the Kitty Genovese case may have been overlooked or exaggerated for application to psychological research, social psychologists have demonstrated that:

Contrary to common expectations, larger numbers of bystanders decrease the likelihood that someone will step forward and help a victim. The reasons include the fact that onlookers see that others are not helping either, that onlookers believe others will know better how to help, and that onlookers feel uncertain about helping while others are watching.

Strangely, while I was about to drown and die in Mexico on vacation 10 years ago, I thought about this psychological theory and decided, “I can’t just yell for help because no one will respond. They’ll all think someone else will come help me.” So I called out to one individual man and got his attention. Thank goodness he listened and reacted!

Open Playtesting

The news that Wizards of the Coast would hold open playtesting for the new version of Dungeons & Dragons has been met by a variety of opinions. For the most part, players seem to be positive about the idea and hopeful that WotC will listen to the preferences of fans as they develop the product. Others have offered a more bleak outlook, since it will likely be impossible to develop a version of D&D that is all things to all people.
Another downside of the open playtest is that it sets the stage for diffusion of responsibility to affect the development equation in a negative way. Players of D&D may be saying any of the following at the moment:

“I’m sure they have thousands of playtesters already. I’m not going to do it.”

“Other gamers like me will already give them feedback.”

“I’m sure others will focus on the things in the game I care about the most.”

“I only play once per month if I’m lucky. I’ll let the experts handle the playtest. I’m sure they will do the best job.”

Will you ignore the call for help?

By inviting everyone to give them feedback, WotC may in fact get less meaningful feedback as a loud minority offer opinions while the majority of gamers silently believe everyone else will give WotC playtesting feedback.

It seems the enthusiasm to be involved in the playtest is high, but I gauge this through my Twitter feed and the blogs I read, which is populated with D&D fanatics and certainly a small minority of players and DMs. These people were already prepared to act, but what about the casual gamers out there? Will they respond to WotC’s call?

It is a great start for WotC to organize a targeted Friends & Family Playtest. Although I’m not one of the lucky few to be chosen (sad face!), WotC has selected specific members in the online community to playtest the new version of the game. They are asking individuals directly for assistance instead of asking everyone, and I think that is a brilliant approach.

If they can build playtesting into the Encounters program, it will be another way to target individual stores and the players those stores serve. The more often they can ask for direct feedback from a player or group of players – instead of from everyone – they will receive more meaningful and comprehensive feedback. It will be an important dynamic to remember as the playtest moves onto other stages.

Final Thoughts

It is an exciting time to be a player of Dungeons & Dragons. The team at WotC seems sincere about wanting to make a new version of D&D that caters to the wants and desires of every player of each edition of D&D. I believe that will be a tough circle to square, but I hope they can succeed. They are literally asking for your help to make this happen.

Pardon the melodramatic mixed metaphor, but my plea is that you do not stand inside your apartment and let the girl continue screaming for help. Do not wait for someone else to act on your behalf because you figure, “Meh, somebody else will do it.” Act to shape the game in the way you see fit! This may be the best chance to ensure that D&D remains the game you know and love into the future.

So contact WotC through email, message boards or Twitter. Sign up for the open playtest. Get to a convention if you have the means to ask questions and playtest the game. But do something. And WotC, please continue asking individuals for help in addition to large groups.

It saved my life; perhaps it’ll save your life as well!

It is an exciting time to be a fan of D&D, and it was excellent to join in on the Dice Monkey Radio podcast to discuss the next edition and begin speculation. I was able to join Tim from Dice, Food, Lodging, Jenn of Jennisodes, Michael of Online Dungeon Master, Gary of GMSarli Games and host, Mark of Dice Monkey.

It was great to hear reactions from more-experienced players and DMs than I, and I was able to ask some questions about the evolution of game mechanics. I found myself feeling the need to “defend” 4th Edition. Not that anyone was bashing the current edition (not at all), but 4th Edition is what brought me back to gaming after close to a 20-year break. It’s always going to reside in a soft spot in my heart, and I truly believe it has some fantastic features going for it that hopefully make it into the next iteration of D&D.

It’ll be my first exposure to “edition wars” moving forward since I haven’t played D&D at a time when one edition transitioned to the next. It should be very interesting! I enjoy my 4th Edition campaigns and those will continue. In addition, I will keep writing about 4th Edition and general D&D and role-playing game topics moving forward. Next week, I will focus on the concepts of change and responsible as it applies to the new edition of D&D.

But enough about me, go listen to the episode!

It is an interesting topic because it relates to many group dynamics I have discussed previously on this site. My primary piece of advice is to evaluate the attitude of all players in the group regarding optimization, and figure out if there is a disconnect that creates tension. We discuss a variety of potential problems that can arise if one or two players are “optimizers” while the rest of the players are more “casual.” And we attempt to provide solutions for how to get everyone on the same page so all players can enjoy the game at their own pace. The conversation was enlightening to me, and makes me feel fortunate that my groups have not experienced much in terms of optimizer/non-optimizer squabbles!

(It also allowed me to receive feedback on my Rogue’s one-round 2 Encounter, 1 Daily, Action Point, 1 Daily combination that another player [frequent Commentor on the blog, Wayne] helped me plan for at Level 15. Do the hosts find it to be ridiculous? Find out!)

One point of clarification I’d like to add before you listen is that I responded to a question with an answer that – in retrospect – may seem harsh. I was asked, “What is the opposite of a character that is optimized?”

My first response was, “Ineffective.”

I believe I said this because Dungeons & Dragons is a game that requires the players to have some mastery over rules and the abilities/nuances of their characters. While often referred to as a cooperative game, the players are still facing challenges both in and out of combat. A character with woeful statistics can be a drag on party resources. It reminds me of a saying from the sporting world, “The team is only as good as its worse player.”

But one thing that optimization takes is time. It takes more time to understand the rules and options thoroughly enough to build a character that can take advantage of (some might say exploit) the system. And many people do not have the time – or motivation – to explore the many options to build such a finely-tuned character. I would guess that most players fall into this category; their characters are built casually with one eye toward creating an effective character and the other eye on the million other things going on in his or her life. I certainly fall into this category.

If we were to conceptualize Character Optimization as a single variable, the lowest scores would place characters in the “Ineffective” range while the highest scores would place characters in the “Effective” range. The problems likely arise when players in the same group are at different ends of this spectrum or – perhaps more accurately – perceive they are at different ends of the spectrum. Changing the language from “optimized” to “effective” may help to understand the conflict that could arise between a player and DM, and two or more players.

The players play to win the game, and some of them may have different ideas of how to win the game – or even what winning the game means. It is a worthwhile topic to explore with your gaming group, and one way to approach the optimization “Cheese Weasel” issue.

Now go listen to the podcast for more discussion on the topic!

Of special note is the spectacular artwork provided by Grant Gould. He previously designed the mascot for my blog, Iddy the Lich, and is illustrating each monster in the No Assembly Required series. He also developed the sweet logo below for the column. Visit his site to learn about commission pricing and view galleries of artwork.

Previous editions of No Assembly Required were hosted at This is My Game, but I have decided to post the entries here moving forward. Please be sure to come back at the beginning of each month for a new monster that can be used in your campaign. Batteries Included! This month, I present a monster for the late Paragon Tier, Wobet. Design and details are below.

Wobet

Development

This month’s monster is the result of me being consumed by Tim Tebow Fever last month. For the non-sports initiated, Tim Tebow is a second-year quarterback in the National Football League who (until recently) demonstrated an amazing knack for playing terribly in the first three quarters of the game before rallying for amazing last-quarter comeback victories. He helped his team, the Denver Broncos, win seven of the first eight games he started, often in absurdly ridiculous fashion.  I thought about Tebow’s change in performance over the course of the game and how much drama it created. I found myself watching Broncos’ games when they looked awful because it felt like “something special” would happen near the end of the game. I wondered how a similar shift in performance could increase the level of tension and drama during a combat encounter.

I informed Grant that I was brainstorming the idea of creating a monster based on Tebow. He responded with a great direction, “Maybe it could be like some kind of Construct or Golem, and it starts off real slow while taking a beating, but then gets revved up, so to speak, and starts kicking ass.” I loved the idea, and began to think about how to translate the “Tebow Theme” into a monster.

The cleanest method to accomplish this was to create a monster and have its statistics change once bloodied. However, I wanted to change the statistics so much that I decided to create one monster but with two Stat Blocks. The first Stat Block represents the initial stage of the Construct, which is an underpowered monster compared to the party. While still able to hit with powers, the first phase of the monster is not much of a threat; it is more likely to miss and the damage dealt is weak. In addition, I added some traits to make the Construct less effective. However, once the Construct is bloodied, his Stat Block changes to become a higher-level monster with significant upgrades to defenses, attack bonuses and damage.

"Wobet. Wobet! WOBET!"

I believe this monster can be useful as a bodyguard for any number of interesting villains or locations in a campaign. Wobet’s powers and associated flavor text should create a memorable encounter for the party. Even if you do not know Tim Tebow from Max Rebo, Wobet can be inserted easily into any campaign!

Origin

Wobet Tinkertrain was a quirky ELF? who operated a small store in the first floor of his quaint home. Mr. Tinkertrain’s Transmutations housed a unique assortment of interesting alchemical potions, supplies and instruments. Wobet dabbled in many arts and sciences as he absorbed obscure knowledge during his travels. He purchased odd materials from merchants whenever they passed through town. Wobet enjoyed experimenting with metallurgy, and developed a fine skill in crafting metalwork from alloys such as iron, copper, gold and platinum.

Wobet began to gain renown for his metalwork and his creations were viewed as artwork by wealthy citizens. The influx of income resulted in Wobet traveling to seek out education – and often just rumors – of new discoveries in alchemy. After each trip, his store and home became more loaded with trinkets, devices, tomes and scrolls.

Wobet continued to operate his store, but his experiments with alchemy and metallurgy led him to explore magic and conjuration. His production of metalwork slowed significantly and the popularity of this goods declined. As the years progressed, his store became a joke to locals who considered the elf to be hoarding worthless junk. Wobet lost himself in the study of magic and alchemy and barely noticed that the patronage of his store dropped significantly. When a customer did enter Mr. Tinkertrain’s Transmutations, they were typically greeted by the distinct smell of sulfur and Wobet calling out from the back room with grease and oil soiling his clothes and goggles.

Wobet wished for an assistant as he could find no one that shared the same dream of achieving perfection in the arts of magic, alchemy and metallurgy. Whenever he reached out to another scholar, the individual would scoff at his request. Wobet decided to carry out his most ambitious experiment yet – to build his own assistant.

He spent months drawing diagrams of his assistant. He wished for the assistant to be incredibly strong to assist with handling and shaping metals. He realized his assistant would likely have limited intellect, but would hopefully respond to simple commands. Wobet understood he did not own enough metal to create such an assistant,  and he planned to combine the earth and his metalwork to achieve the assistant’s humanoid form. He intended to power the assistant with magic and a variety of tiny gears and other inventions he had collected in his years of study.

Wobet spent years building his assistant; the assistant slowly took form. Stone was fused with metal and other instruments. After vigorous effort, Wobet was able to bring a modicum of life to his assistant. He attempted to educate the assistant in speech and often repeated his name, “I am Wobet. Repeat after me, Wobet.” He continued with this exercise until finally a groaning sound escaped the assistant’s metal dome of a head, “Wobet.” Thrilled with his success, Wobet attempted to bring more life and intellect to the assistant through magic and other spells, which were unfortunately beyond his capabilities.

The night when Wobet’s assistant gained life, Wobet lost his. As the assistant came to life and steam burst from a variety of vents on its body, a thundering noise erupted from the metal dome, “WOBET!” The construct thrashed in a frenzy, destroying anything nearby before collapsing to one knee on the ground.

Wobet attempted to calm the construct and get control over the creation, but the construct droned a single word over and over again, “Wobet. Wobet. WOBET!” The construct once again sprang to its feet and leveled Wobet with a might strike of its metal fist. Wobet was crushed by the construct, which smashed through the store and left a path of destruction and chaos before finally losing power on the outskirts of town.

New of the tragedy spread throughout the land, and the construct was planned to be disassembled before a wizard paid the city a hefty sum to take the construct for study, “We must be sure this never happens again, you see.” The wizard reprogrammed the construct to serve as a protector, but was later defeated by an adversary and the construct changed hands once again.

It is unknown how many owners have employed the construct, but one thing remains unchanged when the construct is in action – the thundering drone of a single word, “Wobet!”

Lore

History DC 17: The name Wobet likely refers to the an ancient alchemist, Wobet Tinkertrain, who was renown for a time for his intricate metalwork. Legend tells that Wobet created a construct to assist with his experiments. Once activated, the construct was unable to be controlled and rampaged through Wobet’s shop and throughout the town. Wobet was crushed by the construct, and numerous other people in town were killed or injured before the construct lost power. 

Arcana DC 23: Constructs have been known to be employed as protectors by magic users and other powerful beings. Constructs are often infused with special powers by their master, and are programmed to protect their master at any cost. An improperly built construct may be completely ineffective, but a well-built construct can be an unstoppable force.

Wobet In Combat

Wobet is used in conjunction with other bodyguards and its master. Wobet operates best in a large open area so he can use his ranged attacks and take advantage of his Stage Two powers. At Stage One, Wobet will use Rock Hurl until enemies come into closer range. Hit Me With Those Laser Beams is then used on the closest enemy. The Creaky Wheels and Imprecision traits decrease its effectiveness in combat. Wobet relies on Iron Punch as enemies enter melee range, and creates a debris field with each successful hit. Wobet attempts to protect its master with Failed Guard whenever it is in range of the master. When Wobet – Stage One is reduced to 0 hit points, it uses Never Tell Me The Odds to enter Stage Two.

The second stage of Wobet is significantly more dangerous. It uses Stable Footing to ignore the difficult terrain, Energizing Bolts to gain power if it takes lightning damage and Uncanny Accuracy to increase the chances of a succesful attack.

Wobet will use Steam Vents to blind enemies followed by Intense Focus to damage as many enemies as possible. Wobet uses then uses Tackle to heavily damage one enemy, and will rely on Stiff Arm to push back against an aggressive attacker. Wobet will use Rock Hurl if unable to charge or out of melee range.

Wobet is more skilled in protecting its master with Excellent Teammate. And when Wobet is finally destroyed, it explodes with Ugly Demise, which damages all creatures in the area.

Power Descriptions: Wobet – Stage One

Creaky Wheels: The construct appears completely unstable on its legs. After a burst of activity, the construct wobbles clumsily to both sides before crashing with a clatter onto the ground. A metallic squeak escapes the dome of the construct, “Wobet.” 

Imprecision: The construct measures its attack for several seconds too long. The speed of the battlefield seems to overwhelm its gears. The attack previously aimed in your direction is now directed at your foe.

Rock Hurl: The construct throws a great rock in your direction. The impact is not as bad as you fear. The construct appears pleased with the result however.

Hit Me With Those Laser Beams: A high-pitched sound escapes the construct, “Wobet.” The construct’s eyes light with a blue-purple energy that erupts in your direction. The lightning courses around your body, but the construct whines and whirls around. Sparks explode from a variety of joints on its body and it appears to lose energy.

Iron Punch: The construct slowly lunches with its metal fist. The strike connects with a heavy thud and the jolt causes the construct’s armor plating to shake free in areas. The debris from the construct now litters the battlefield.

Failed Guard: The construct moves awkwardly to protect its master. As it attempts to shield the master from the incoming blow, it stumbles wildly. The construct fails to shield the master from the damage and instead knocks the master down to the ground. The master scolds the construct, “Wobet, what are you doing? This isn’t how we prepared!”

Never Tell Me The Odds: The construct drops to one knee. Numerous steam vents on the construct’s back exhale as if in the last moments of operation. A tiny sound is heard above the ventilation, “Wobet.” As the light in the construct’s eyes begin to fade, it raises a single fist in the air. A thunderous boom fills the room, ”WOBET!” You see numerous gears and plates shift into place on its body. The construct rises to both feet once more, and somehow looks more imposing and dangerous. 

Power Descriptions: Wobet – Stage Two

Energizing Bolts: The construct appears to welcome the lightning damage. Instead of suffering ill effects, the constructs appears to gain power as if the lightning has fueled it.

Uncanny Accuracy: The construct’s ability to track you during the fight have obviously improved. It quickly measures your movements and somehow hits you.

Stable Footing: The construct is now steady on its feet as it confidently tramples over lose ground and other debris.

Rock Hurl: The construct booms, “Wobet!” It grabs a chunk of rock and launches it in your direction. The rock explodes from the heavy impact and fragments of the rock’s impact damage everyone around you.

Stiff Arm: The construct almost crouches and then builds up speed as it charges into you. Attacks bounce off the construct as it deflects them on its way to you location. The construct slams you with a heavy fist, which forces you to lose ground and stagger back from battle.

Tackle: The construct clanks and bangs through the battlefield as it charges you. The construct is able to move so quickly that attacks against it are futile. The construct dives and smothers you. The crushing weight of the construct causes you great pain and you feel the breath from you lungs expiring as it stays on top of you.

Steam Vents: The construct extends its arm out in front of its body and numerous vents blast out steam. The acrid steam quickly fills the room, and is so thick that you are unable to see properly.

Intense Focus: The construct levels its blue-purple eyes at the party. A fiery blast of lightning shoots from its metal dome of a head as it drones loudly, ”Wobet!” The fire and lightning surrounds you and continues to burn and shock you long after the attack ends.

Excellent Teammate: The construct deftly manuevers to protect its master, successfully absorbed some of the damage from your incoming blow. The master approves, “Excellent work, Wobet.”

Ugly Demise:  The construct drops to one knee once again, but this time the steam vents on its back stop and its eyes go dark. A lone slow drone escapes from the head of the construct, “Wobet?” The construct’s head begins to whirl and spin on its shoulders. Sparks shoot out in all directions and the construct finally combusts in a massive explosion damaging anything nearby.

Finish a session and have every intention of waking up the next morning to write out some notes and plan the next possible steps in the campaign. Get distracted by other activities and put off said planning until “later.” Delay final preparations and increase my anxiety about the next gaming session. Stuff two weeks of planning into a few hours the night before (and day of) the next session. Run the session in an adrenaline-and-anxiety fused state and forget exactly how I pulled it off without the game totally collapsing on itself.

Rinse. Repeat.

I have been working to change this routine, and one way I’m challenging myself is to feel more comfortable improvising during a session. While I still relied on some final-minute planning and organization before the last session, I attempted to scale back on my preparation of specific events and allow for a greater amount of improvisation. I discuss the results of those efforts below, including a breakdown of observations from one of my long-time players about the improv-heavy session.

You Peek Around the Corner . . . Roll a d8

Two sessions ago, the adventuring party attended what they thought would be a friendly meeting with a prominent business leader in town, Leif. The party willingly entered an unknown building in town and allowed themselves to be escorted to a meeting room. The man escorting the party left the room and shortly thereafter, a poisonous gas filled the area. The party had an opportunity to resist the gas through a Skill Challenge, which they mostly failed leaving two party members Weakened and suffering attack penalties. A group of enemies rushed into the room after the gas cleared to kill the party, but the adventures survived the attack. The last session started immediately after the conclusion of the combat encounter.

In preparation for the session, I had several ideas in mind for the players. First, they were obviously in a hostile environment and would likely have to fight (or sneak, if so inclined) their way out of the building. Second, they likely wanted to know why the mysterious businessman, Leif, set them up an in effort to kill them. Without going into too much backstory in the campaign, some players believe the businessman is a former slave trader; they would likely search for proof of illegal activities. And third, several of the party members were eager to find a rich stash of treasure, which meant some of the players were willing to take chances if they got a good lead on loot.

Typically, I would plan specific combat- and skill-challenge encounters and map out the entire complex. I would designate specific areas for 1) exploration - an office, storeroom or library; 2) combat – patrols in the halls and a barracks area; 3) roleplaying – a room with unarmed employees of the businessman; and 4) pre-arranged treasure parcels. However, for the last session, I did not do any of this.

I wanted to add a bit of randomness to the session and determine how the players and I could link the chain of events in a logical manner during the night. To accomplish this, I took the various possibilities and created a very simple random events list based on a d8. As the he party attempts to find their way out of the building, they encounter:

1. Lone employee
2. Group of secretaries
3. Two custodians
4. Two guards
5. Two guards w/ Supervisor
6. Full guard patrol
7. Change of shift for patrol w/ multiple guards
8. Guards with Beast

For example, the group found a secret passage out of the original meeting room (where they were gassed) and found a tidy office space that was recently in use. I drew the room on the table and extended two halls leading in different directions. When the Rogue sneaked up to a corner to scout, I asked him to roll a d8 to fill in what he would see. I did not show the list of options to any of the players.

He rolled a 4 (Two guards), so I placed two guard minis on the map down the hallway. Since he succeeded on his Stealth skill check, I had the two guards moving away from his location and crisscrossing another hall that I drew on the table. Again, I had not created a map for the building ahead of time.

M. C. Escher would be a diabolical DM.

The party decided to sneak up on the guards, but since the entire party decided to rush them and the Wizard set fire to everything in the previous room (resulting in smoke billowing down the hall, the guards were able to gather their wits to avoid a surprise round. The two guards were quick work for the four-player party, but it allowed for a short dose of combat to jump-start the session.

The party then decided to explore another hallway and the Rogue once again peered around a corner. Another d8 was rolled, this time resulting in a 2 (Group of secretaries). I placed a female mini on the table and told the Rogue she represented several females hustling into a room down the hallway. I figured the employees would have heard some sounds of battle and searched for a safe place to hide.

The party quickly descended upon the room and found the women hiding. This led to an impromptu Skill Challenge as they attempted to interrogate the employees to learn about the building and businessman, Leif. The Wizard, still stinging from being trapped and almost killed, executed one of the workers with Magic Missile as part of his Intimidate check. (This brings up another topic of morality, alignment and consequences in the gaming world, but since the outcome of the current adventure is unresolved, I’ll save that commentary for another day.) Needless to say, the Intimidate check was successful and the party was able to eventually learn information about the building and Leif.

But since I didn’t know what the players would ask the employees, I had to create answers on the spot during the session. The employee mentioned the tight security and patrols in the building, including an area that was strictly off-limits to all employees. The employee guessed the area was a vault of some sort with all the security; after the word “vault” was dropped, the players delayed any notion of escape and focused on breaking open the vault to find treasure.

The party exited the room with the workers and moved in the general direction of the high-security area as described by the female employee. Once again, I asked for a roll of a d8. The result this time was a 6 (Full guard patrol); I wasn’t exactly sure what a Full guard patrol meant, but given how the first battle went, I decided to use four minis to represent two guards (same as the first combat encounter) and two different upper-tier guards (1 Controller, 1 Skirmisher).

The resulting combat at the intersection of two hallways provided a good deal of interesting scenarios since the tight quarters effected the blast and burst powers on both sides. With only four players and four monsters, the combat moved quickly. The party was able to dispatch three of the guards and caught up to and killed the fleeing fourth guard. By this point, I was aware that we had time for perhaps one more short combat encounter.

I engaged the Rogue in a few minor skill checks since he was very cautious about traps while approaching the vault door at the end of a hallway. He succeeded his checks and was able to open the vault. The party battled with two drones inside the vault, who would have appeared earlier if they rolled a 3 (Two custodians). The battle with the drones was over although they were able to dominate one of the players and cause a bit of a scare. At the end of the night, I used the Treasure Parcel table from the DMG (page 126) and had a player roll to determine what they found. Ahead of time, I did plan that one of the items found during the night would be a Ring of Protection, which was an item any of the players could use, so this was included in the parcel.

The session lasted approximately five hours and featured a good deal of exploration, three separate combat encounters, an interrogation skill challenge featuring some roleplaying with possible ramifications for future issues in the gaming world and a prosperous treasure hall from a vault deep inside hostile territory. The party has expended resources in the form of powers and surges and now needs to find a way out of the building. It sets up a variety of possible scenarios next session, and it was all accomplished with the simple table above, my players diving into the world to shape it to their own vision and me testing myself to create new NPCs, locations, background and events on the fly. It made for an exhilarating evening, and one that I would consider a success.

But Here’s The “But”

I received some interesting feedback from one of my players (and DM in my other campaign) that the session described above felt too random. And I believe he points out several potential pitfalls with this approach:

Having been in an open sandbox type or World before and currently, (I’m a player in Iddy’s campaign) there is a certain level of satisfaction and frustration in my opinion.

It is cool in that we can sort of choose what we want to do, where to go, and things can change dynamically. But it can be frustrating, because you can tell which encounters were planed and which ones aren’t. (not a knock on Iddy, you can tell with any DM). You also have to account for the whims of 4-5 other people which may or may not align with yours. So with sandbox, instead of 1 DM guiding the players, 5-6 players are guiding a DM. Ever try to take an impromptu road trip with 5 people? Something about too many cooks in the kitchen.

Our last session we ventured into a “Building/dungeon” to achieve our goal. After a battle or two it became apparent that the DM was randomly designing the dungeon. I don’t blame him, I’ve tried the same thing in the past. You think it sounds cool, might save some time, and want to give it a whirl. However as a player you suddenly realize the story is now in the hands of a d8, and my decision to go down this hallway or that hallway no longer matters.

This is a perfect spot for railroading the PC’s right back on track instead of sticking to the guns of the layout setup. Fortunately for us we found and interrogated a prisoner/worker, and via intimidation/diplomacy made her tell us the location where we were supposed to go. So I suspect Iddy (to his credit) formed a path in his mind, estimated an encounter between where we were and our objective, and railroaded us right back on track.

In this instance railroading was not a bad thing. It actually was the right thing to do. Else I would have gotten bored wandering around the random dungeon waiting for the magic number on a d8.

I thank him for the feedback! And want to briefly address the issues he presents.

The first observation is that it is easy for players to determine the encounters and plot points that are prepared and those that are designed in-the-moment of a gaming session. Since I use Masterplan to organize and run my campaign, this is probably even more obvious. I often write specific dialogue for NPCs and flavor text for specific locations. However, my description of other areas is more off-the-cuff and not as detailed; my players can certainly tell the difference. My options are to plan out every possible detail in advance (likely impossible and totally impractical) or change the way I introduce prepared NPCs and locations so they more closely resemble on-the-fly creations (more possible and practical). It is certainly an area I can work on in the future, and I wonder how other DMs handle this situation.

The second observation is that a game with too many players designing the world can get messy as each player has unique ambitions, goals and desires. As the DM, I somewhat enjoy the issues created by the clash of interests of the players and their PCs. The adventuring party in my campaign features a devote Cleric of Pelor, a power-hungry Wizard and a Rogue with an eye on more gold and treasure. Why would those three individuals always stay together and move in the same direction? It seems to me there should be a bit of drama and roleplaying to decide the next move in the campaign. Obviously, too much focus on intra-party politics can become a drag, but always having the DM direct the players is boring too. I think there can be a proper balance of the two methods. I often exchange emails with players to obtain backstory elements and motivations for their PCs. I then weave this into the campaign as options for quests; for example, the party can then decide if they want to focus on a quest that is more Cleric-centric or Wizard-centric.

The third observation is that by the DM asking players to roll a die before describing the next series of events, the DM is sending a clear signal to the players that the result on the die is deciding the outcome. In this sense, the DM is taking choice away from the players. The most obvious alternative would be to create the same random table but to quietly roll the d8 at the appropriate time behind the screen and follow through with the results; the evening is still filled with random elements but the players will not be aware of the session’s unpredictability. I believe both options have benefits and limitation, but I’m curious to hear how other players and DMs experience improvisation at the table.

Fourth, there is a general assumption being made the players are supposed to go somewhere in the world. As I mentioned previously, I did not plan out the session in great detail and never created the vault as the planned end point to the session. In fact, I had not planned to include a vault at all before the session started! But during the evening’s events, it seemed like a logical conclusion to the night. In many ways, I take the observation that I was railroading as a compliment since the vault seemed to be a coherent piece of the gaming world that was the preordained purpose of the players for the evening.

The final observation is that the random table should not hinge on a specific number coming up for the plot and party to advance the story. I wholeheartedly agree with this statement, and did not paint myself into a corner by only having one of the die rolls result in the purpose for the players. The die results were possible obstacles and roleplaying opportunities. I was not even sure of the desired outcome going into the night, so I encourage DMs to avoid tying a specific desired outcome (such as the players locating the exit from the building) to only one die result. Instead, gauge the pulse of the players and session and use the random table to arrive at an end point that is logical for the evening and the campaign.

Final Thoughts

• Extend yourself to include more random elements in your gaming sessions. Create a table of possible events, including combat and non-combat options for players to experience.
• Prepare stat blocks for possible monsters ahead of time. For example, I created one big encounter with all possible monsters the players might run into during the night in Masterplan. When they stumbled upon a few of the monsters, I simply deleted the monsters I didn’t need at the beginning of each encounter.
• Be aware of possible limitations of the random table of events. Do not hinge the most important outcome for the players on a specific die result. Consider rolling the table yourself so the players are not aware of the random nature of the encounter design. Mix and match prepared plot points and encounters with random elements to keep the campaign fresh and exciting.
• If you prefer to prepare everything in advance but wish for the players to think there is more random elements in the gaming world, ask them to roll a die before describing the next event. Even though it’s scripted, the players will think the die roll had something to do with the outcome. I’m not advocating lying to players, but this is a potential method for decreasing the “railroading” vibe at the table if that is an issue with your group.

Year of the Dragon.

The lack of recent posts is a result of my travels during the holidays. Now that I’m back home and getting into the swing of things, I will be back on schedule with writing regularly for the site. Coming this week will be an article on improvisation and another installment in the No Assembly Required series.

The first order of business before moving on to new topics is to provide an update on my last post regarding the notion that the DM is primarily an entertainer. I included a poll at the end of the post, and the results are presented below.

Click for larger view.

Only 9 of the 83 (11%) voters disagreed with the statement that the DM’s primary role is to entertain the players. And only 1 of the 83 (1%) strongly disagreed with the statement; I would love for that person to post a Comment and tell me why he or she feels that way because it is good to hear from the outliers too. The vast majority of voters either strongly agreed or agreed with the statement that the DM’s primary role is to entertain the players.

The original post presents suggestions for how to be a “selfless” DM and keep the focus on the players’ level of enjoyment during the game. The results demonstrate those suggestions could be quite useful since the predominant view is that the DM is there to entertain the players.

Finally, WordPress sent me a fancy “Year In Review” summary of The Id DM, and it illustrates just how thankful I am to those that have come to my site to read articles and make comments. Thank you all, and have a wonderful New Year!