If you’ve played Dungeons & Dragons for more than a few months, chances are you’ve met someone who’s gone through DM burnout. DMing can be one of the most rewarding experiences on the planet, but it can also be trying at times. Most DMs get to the place where they feel like they need to take a break from D&D, or at least come out from behind the screen and just play for a while.

Unfortunately, playing isn’t always an option. While there are those that prefer to DM, the fact is that most of us have the role thrust upon us by the D&D group. If we don’t DM, chances are pretty good no one is going to be playing Dungeons & Dragons.

So, what do you do? Well, you can take some time of altogether. That’s one option. Sometimes, though, you simply need to look at your game from some different angles. Decide that you’re going to freshen up your game, and then do it.

Here are some techniques I’ve used that work wonders for keeping my D&D game fresh:

1. Ditch your tried and true story ideas. One of the first things DMs tend to do when their inspiration wanes is to fall back on things that have worked before. Whether it’s betrayal by the party’s benefactor or whether it’s that same old evil wizard with a different name, avoid the temptation to raise the dead. Let ‘em stay right where they are, as good memories.
2. Get inspired. There are tons of sources of inspiration for D&D. Read a good novel, or watch a movie. It doesn’t even have to be fantasy. In fact, a good Western can give give you great ideas for your D&D game. A fantasy novel or movie can actually serve to make things worse, as you find yourself simply identifying familiar tropes.
3. Play a different game. There are tons of games you can play that aren’t D&D, but that can help your D&D game stay fresh. Try a session or two of Vampire, run a supers game, or play a little Call of Cthulu. If you have a hard time convincing your regular group to do so, try something new at a convention.
4. Figure out what excites your players. Excitement at the D&D table is contagious. Figure out what would really get your players involved in the game. This isn’t as hard as it sounds. In most cases, it simply comes down to asking for their help.
5. Dig into a published campaign setting for ideas. Even if you’re not running a Shadowfell-based game, there’s plenty you can draw from the campaign setting. Same holds true for Dark Sun or Neverwinter. One of my best campaigns was based entirely around a mid-level necromancer in the Cult of the Dragon who had about a 200-word writeup in the 2nd Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting.

So, what about you? What do you all do to keep your campaigns fresh?

photo credit: danoxster

photo credit: PopCultureGeek.com

One of the tropes I find myself using over and over again in my Dungeons & Dragons campaigns is time travel. I’m sure part of it comes from watching Back to the Future about 5,000 times before I reached the age of 21, but there’s also something inherently interesting about the concept inside and outside of D&D.

Think, for a minute, about some of the time travel stories in literature and pop culture. There’s Dr. Who and the TARDIS, of course; there are movies like 12 Monkeys and the Butterfly Effect that explore time moving backwards and forwards. Even Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure hones in on the idea. It’s no wonder it winds up in our Dungeons & Dragons games.

The trick with using time travel in your D&D game is to do it in such a way that the players can see and appreciate your unique take.

Here are some of the ways you can play around with time in your D&D campaign:

• Run a Groundhog Day-like session where the party has to keep reliving a day, an encounter, or an entire adventure over and over until they get it right.
• Create an entire campaign or campaign arc focussed on fixing multiple temporal problems, ala Dr. Who.
• Send the characters backward in time where they can fiddle with their own pasts, or where they can chaange/witness the world-shaking events of your campaign’s history.
• Send them forward in time to get a glimpse of where their current path might lead.
• Design an episodic campaign, in which you don’t play through the 30 levels, but rather spend a few sessions at interval levels : 1st, 5th, 9th, 11th, etc. This is an especially good choice if yours is only an occasional game, but you want to experience gameplay throughout the tiers.

My current campaign uses that last idea a little bit. We wanted to play a paragon-tier game, but didn’t want to have to start out at 11th level cold, with no history or play experience. So, I ran several “flashback” sessions at key levels throughout heroic tier, and filled in the details in-between. We’re now at 11th level and we’ll continue with normal progression.

So, what about you? What are some ways you have used time travel in your game? Are there ideas you’ve been wanting to try, but haven’t yet?

Just over three years ago, I speculated in a post on this blog about how, regardless of how good or bad Dungeons & Dragons 4E would turn out to be, I wasn’t likely to start playing Pathfinder. That post, for good or bad, has become one of the most-read (and most-commented) posts on this blog.

In some ways, that phenomenon is less about what I actually wrote and more about how angry and frustrated some gamers were in the wake of the 4E announcement. The gist of that post was, more or less, “I’m not going to run Pathfinder because I’m ready for something new. 3E is played out for me, and no amount of tweaking will fix it.” There was more to it, which you’re welcome to read for yourself.

At any rate, it’s now late 2011 and my position hasn’t changed. I’m not running Pathfinder. Some of my old reasons have dropped away (exactly as I predicted they would). For example, I said back then that Pathfinder wasn’t a proven system. It wasn’t. Today it is. I also said back then that Pathfinder would probably prove to be a fine game. It most certainly seems to be. But it’s not for me, and here’s why:

1. Pathfinder doesn’t fix my fundamental problem with 3E – system mastery. This topic has been explored elsewhere, but the bottom line is this: in 3E, there is a wide variance in character power based on the player’s degree of system mastery. This makes it frustratingly difficult to create balanced encounters, and it frankly turns off some of my players. While Pathfinder certainly seems to have “fixed” some problems, the core design element that I most dislike in 3E is still present. See below for more on this.
2. Pathfinder doesn’t have the deep product line that D&D has. There are plenty of good Pathfinder products out there, and plenty of good third-party Pathfinder products, too. However, Pathfinder has yet to match D&D in terms of the wide variety of products available – from DDI to the board game line to the new box sets and more. This isn’t a bad thing for some folks. In my case, I really like lining my shelves with cool books and having tons of resources.
3. The Organized Play component of Pathfinder is less supported (at least in my area) than D&D’s Organized Play. Every Wednesday, I walk into my Friendly Local Gaming Store and play Encounters. About once a month, I’ll be running the new Lair Assault program, there, too. If I want to play D&D in an organized manner, I have tons of options at every major convention, and can enjoy a smaller, more close-knit experience at DDXP. Add in the increasing quality of the OP products for D&D, and I’m totally thrilled.

More food for thought

I could throw out more reasons.

There is a small-but-vocal element of the Pathfinder community that are simply bitter jackasses who do little more than whine all day about how WotC “killed D&D.” (They should take a lesson from the OSR folks, and realize that 3E is just as far a cry from “real” Dungeons & Dragons as 4E). Oh, and in case you didn’t read that second sentence: this is a “small-but-vocal” group. If you aren’t in the habit of whining about 4E in a public and rude way, it doesn’t apply to you.

I could also talk about how my current gaming group prefers 4E, or about the hubris of some (again, a small minority) of Pathfinder designers who have declared Pathfinder to be the one-and-only true “spiritual heir” of D&D.

These things are really only minor hurdles. Even the issues of Organized Play and the depth of the product line are issues that Paizo could overcome in time.

An unresolvable problem

What Pathfinder will never overcome, however, is the basic premise that good roleplaying requires an intricate understanding of complex mechanics and how they relate to one another. 3E is built on the premise of system mastery. In this regard, Pathfinder is certainly a spiritual heir to that edition of the game. Pathfinder fans and designers don’t see this as a flaw, nor should they necessarily. For me, however, it’s a deal breaker. Three years ago when I said that Pathfinder didn’t solve any of my problems, this is what I was talking about.

Pathfinder is a great game. Just like 3E was a great game. I should know; I played 3E for the better part of a decade. Even today, I would prefer 3E or Pathfinder to many other games.

But unless Pathfinder does what 4E did and redraws some of the basic assumptions of the game and puts out a new version, I’m not likely to run a Pathfinder game. I’ll play a pickup game with friends, I’ll page through the books admiring Wayne Reynolds’ artwork and the interesting world of Golarion, but given my druthers I’d rather play 4E.

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photo credit: bander.bramblegrub

So, for about a year now, I’ve been following the Old School Renaissance movement in gaming. While the movement itself sometimes has a hard time pinning down what they’re all about, as an interested outsider I think I can offer some perspective. In short, Old School Renaissance gaming:

• Is motivated and inspired by the TSR versions of Dungeons & Dragons (essentially everything published before 3E).
• Isn’t just a bunch of neckbeards in their basements clinging to their moldy outdated rulesets. These folks not only enjoy older editions of D&D, they also learn things from other games (including the newer editions of Dungeons & Dragons).
• Is comprised, at least in part, of people who want to improve on older D&D. So, you have not only retroclone rule sets (i.e., rule sets that directly mimic a particular version of D&D such as the Basic/Expert set or First Edition AD&D) but you have games that incrementally advance the rule systems and take them in new directions.
• Isn’t just about roleplaying over “roll-playing.” While there are some in the OSR movement who would have you believe that their ilk are the best of the best when it comes to story elements, the fact is that there are just as many hack-and-slashers in the OSR movement as in newer editions.
• Is a somewhat insular community. On average, OSR folks aren’t out there on message boards bashing Dungeons & Dragons 4E. In fact, many are only peripherally aware there is a D&D 4E. They’re more concerned with playing the game they love. They haven’t followed D&D, for the most part, since before 3E.
• Isn’t just old guys. There are some younger gamers in the OSR movement, although I suspect the demographic skews toward those in their late 30s and 40s (just as the demographic for 4E skews to those in their 20s and early 30s). It’s not all nostalgia. There are those who came to OSR gaming after starting out on 3E or 4E.
• Offers a much-needed perspective to modern D&D players. I’m not suggesting that we all drop 4E or 3E and run out and play Labyrinth Lord. But I do think a dialogue about Dungeons & Dragons with the OSR folks is helpful. I know that my current 4E campaign has been highly affected (and, I hope, improved) by digging into the OSR. There are a number of areas – including things like length of combat, using skills to short-circuit puzzle solving or roleplaying, and more – that new school and old school gamers can dialogue about, and both can walk away with something positive.

Now, I realize I might be idealizing OSR gaming a little bit here. In the same way that there are WoW players who love D&D 4E, and in the same way that there are power gamers who love 3E, there are some grumpy old farts in the OSR movement. Like those other examples, however, I believe that they’re not indicative of the type.

I could give you a ton of OSR links, but rather than overwhelm you, let me give you just three sites to take a peek at:

• Retroclones and Older D&D Editions at EnWorld. Morrus offers a nice overview that, while he’s off on a handful of details, gives you the skinny on what’s what in OSR game products.
• Grognardia.  James Maliszewski is probably the OSR’s most prolific blogger. I particularly involve his retrospectives, in which he examines old TSR products in the context of the modern OSR movement.
• Lamentations of the Flame Princess (NSFW) . James Raggi has built a “Weird Fantasy” RPG based on Basic D&D rules. He makes some interesting changes – like using a d6 skill system, for example – but overall LotFP feels like Basic D&D. The art is edgy (hence the NSFW tag) and sometimes disturbing, but it really evokes a unique feel that fits with old-school Dungeons & Dragons. I’ve actually been playing this one and having a blast with it.

So, what about you? Any readers identify with the OSR? Anyone skeptical?

photo credit: mikecogh

Some of you folks (especially those on the D&D Facebook page)  just need to relax on the whole edition wars thing. Whine all you want, we’re not going backwards. (And, by “we,” I mean the D&D community.)

You know, I appreciate the resistance to 4E. Really, I do. I stuck with AD&D for two years after 3E was released (mainly because we were having such a good time our group only sort of barely realized there even was a new edition).

We got over it, and quickly came to love 3E.

I resisted 3.5, largely because I didn’t want to have to buy a new set of core books after only starting 3E about 2 years prior.

I got over that, too, and appreciate the changes 3.5 brought to the game.

By the time 4E came out, I was already ready for change. The group of folks I was playing with at the time had so used and abused the rules that I had a hard time keeping up.

Today, I love 4E as much as any edition. The group I’m with now has just as much roleplay as any group I’ve ever been with, and the rules don’t really impact it much one way or another.

I don’t hate those old versions. I loved them. Still do. Give a choice, I’ll play 4E.

The claims that 4E prevents roleplaying or that it’s “WoW on Paper” are nebulous. I have yet to see anyone make those statements with any degree of logical support other than, “well, that’s how it feels to me.”

Sorry. I really don’t *care* how it feels to you. If you don’t like the way it feels, play something else. Just stop the whining.

Look. The RPG community is a niche one as it is. Why are you so committed to splintering it even further? Over an edition? Seriously? Are you really that petty?

The war’s over, man. It’s time to move on. Let’s just all enjoy the hobby in its various forms.

One of the difficulties I’ve had with some past D&D campaigns is a lack of focus. It feels like I’m running the group through a series of disconnected events, especially if I’m using adventures. Dungeons & Dragons campaigns can certainly be run in a monster-of-the-week format, but there’s something special about a campaign with a truly epic feel. It’s the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek (or perhaps between Star Trek movies and Star Trek TV series).

How do you get that epic D&D campaign feel? You have to set the tone. You have to develop a framework for both yourself and your players. That framework makes sure everyone knows their part (we’ll call this “campaign dynamics”). It also makes sure that everyone – including you as the DM – don’t forget what those overarching themes and storylines should be (we’ll call those “thematic assumptions.”)

Here’s the framework I recently sent out to my Dungeons & Dragons group for the start of our new campaign:

D&D campaign dynamics:

• This is a paragon-tier campaign. We’ll do some dabbling with heroic tier as a prelude, and we can continue on to epic down the road if we have the desire; however, the primary focus will be paragon tier play. My personal goal is to play through the paragon tier (plus the prelude).
• Plots are character-driven. Storylines are developed around characters and their actions. That doesn’t mean the characters are always playing a major role in world events, but rather that their pursuits and options are derived from their own choices and characteristics.
• The players have a common goal. While there will likely be points of contention between characters from time to time, the game works better when it’s cooperative, rather than competitive. Conflicting goals and minor contentions are valuable tools; completely working at cross purposes are not.
• We’ll play every other Friday. As of today, the calendar is clear from today until August 5th – when I’ll be at Gen Con. I’ll give as much advanced warning as possible if I need to change something. I’d like to play as long as we have 4 players for any given session.
• Creativity is encouraged and rewarded. Creative use of powers, as well as good roleplaying and story ideas, will result in various in-game rewards (and will also help everyone to have a good time).

D&D campaign thematic assumptions:

• That “points of light” thing – yeah, we really mean that. The dark forces that brought down Nerath and the other ancient empires are still out there. So are the nefarious opportunists that quickly emptied the power vacuum after those empires fell. That means travel is always inherently dangerous, cities are the closest thing to a “safe haven” that people have. Any twisted fate can – and usually does – befall those who stray too far outside civilization’s pockets.
• The Shadowfell presses hard against the Nentir Vale. While Kalarel’s efforts at the now-famous Keep on the Shadowfell were stopped by a brave band of adventurers, there are many pockets across the Nentir Vale where the line between our plane and the plane of Shadow is becoming increasingly blurred.
• The party is made up of heroes, but not radiant heroes. Overall, our band of adventurers stands opposed to evil and what it entails. That means standing together against threats to civilization and the world in general. That said, everyone has their vices, and no one is spotless. Individual characters will need to battle – often constantly – with their own proclivities to darkness. Sometimes, they’ll even be asked to sacrifice their own morality for a greater good.
• Everything is connected. Reality is a messy web of personalities and events, most of which interrelated, pushing history toward a single outcome. This outcome is unknown, and it is determined, to a large degree, by the actions of the PCs.

So, what do you think? Will this help foster that “epic” feel? If not, what do you do in your own D&D campaign to bring about that sense of awe and keep things moving?

 
photo credit: fdecomite

I just played through my first game of the Dungeons & Dragons: Castle Ravenloft board game, and I can confirm your suspicions:

It’s full of awesome.

Now, I was never a huge Ravenloft fan. I like the concept, to be sure: a D&D campaign with a horror twist is intriguing. However, an entire D&D campaign designed around the principle of mere survival always sounded a bit less than fun. It was fine for the occasional one-shot, but not so much for an ongoing game. I always imagined it would wear on you after a bit.

That’s probably part of the reason I like this game. It’s self-contained, can be played occasionally and in just about an hour. Ravenloft is a wonderful setting for an afternoon, if not an entire campaign.

Here are some of the things that I really like about this game:

• You can play Dungeons & Dragons: Castle Ravenloft board game solo. You can play with up to 5 players, but there are a number of scenarios that allow you to play as a single character. For those boring Saturday afternoons when the kids are outside playing and Angie’s canning spaghetti sauce, it’s a wonderful distraction.
• This game very much emulates the spirit and feel of Dungeons & Dragons. Playing this game is very much like a fast-paced version of D&D. No, it’s not the full game, but it doesn’t require a 4-6 hour commitment either. It’s a great substitute when you’ve got an hour or two.
• Like the new D&D Starter Set, it is a wonderful intro to the Dungeons & Dragons game. Many of the basic ideas in D&D – things like movement, hit points and powers – are all capsulized in this box.
• The interlocking dungeon tiles keep the board stable. Unlike the D&D Dungeon Tiles, these tiles aren’t getting continually knocked out of place. Wizards should consider this model with their traditional tiles.
• This game makes for a unique experience every time. Even if you’re playing the same scenario, you can’t ever count on facing the same creatures or wandering the same floor plan.
• The rules are clear and concise. One thing that worried me was that this would be another Descent or Axis & Allies situation where you spend a couple of days learning the rules ahead of time. Not so. Even without familiarity with D&D, you could probably pick up the rules in an hour or two by playing the introductory solo scenario.

My list of complaints about this game is much shorter:

• Painted minis would have been nice. I get that it would likely put the cost of the game well over $100, making it a breaking point for many folks. I am considering the possibility of collecting regular D&D minis to populate the game to add an extra feel of coolness.
• I’m not sold on the cooperative nature of the game. D&D is, in many ways, a cooperative game, but there’s room for competition. It might be nice to see some of those elements replicated in the game.

Here’s a look at what you get in the box:

And, if you have the time and interest, here’s Mike Mearls going through the box and its contents:

Bottom line? The Dungeons & Dragons: Castle Ravenloft board game makes a wicked-cool Christmas gift for yourself or your favorite D&D geek.

So, for the past four weeks I’ve been running D&D Encounters at my FLGS (Friendly Local Gaming Store). For those of you who aren’t familiar, feel free to visit the D&D Encounters Website over at WotC.

In a nutshell, D&D Encounters is to D&D what Friday Night Magic is to Magic: The Gathering. It’s an organized play event. Unlike the RPGA, however, which has historically been the organized play vehicle for D&D, this program is designed to be run over a couple of hours each session.

Each session consists of a single encounter. Five weeks’ worth of encounters comes to a chapter. Three chapters make up the season (which in this case runs through the summer.

The current D&D Encounters season takes place in the world of Dark Sun, Athas. I’ll say more about that another time, but let me just note that I’m really digging the new incarnation.

Anyways, I’ve had a blast running these four sessions (we started a week late and doubled up two of the encounters). The fluid group is an interesting concept, but one that works in this format. For me as the DM, it truly doesn’t matter who’s in attendance (as long as there are three or so players, I’m good.)

Here are some of my general observations on the format:

• I like being able to play D&D during the week. The 1-2 hour format makes that possible.
• Because of those time constraints, it’s hard to get in any role-playing, which is a downside for me.
• The format is an amazing vehicle for explaining D&D 4E rules to new players.
• That process – explaining D&D 4E rules to new players – has shown me just how streamlined 4E is, even two years in.
• The format encourages a more mixed crowd. I’ve had dudes as old as 40 and chicks as young as 23.
• The D&D Encounters materials are wonderful. I’m impressed with the quality (and sufficiency) of the maps, as well as the adventure design.

So, for those of you playing D&D Encounters: What do you think?

One of the most important skills you can have as a DM is building anticipation in your players. When your players are excited about the game, they’re going to be more likely to really get into their roles. Not only will the “in character” aspect of your game improve, combat and technical sequences will go quicker, as well, because players will know their stats and abilities inside and out.

How do you do it, though? How do you keep them coming back for more?

The ability to build anticipation in your roleplaying game is what separates a good DM from a great DM. Here are some simple tactics you can use to help build anticipation for your games:

• Be excited. Look, if you’re not excited about playing, your players won’t be either. Chances are pretty good there wouldn’t be a regular game if you weren’t DMing (unless you’re fortunate enough to have a larger pool of players who are also willing to DM).
• Be consistent. One of the best ways to screw a campaign is to interrupt the schedule. No, you probably aren’t going to play on Christmas eve. But if at all possible, you need to have a regular day you can always come back to. On those occasions when the regular gaming day doesn’t work out, have an alternate date already planned.
• Use cliffhangers. End each session at the peak of action. Your players will want to get back to the table as quickly as they can in order to find out what happens next. The same principle applies for “gotcha” session endings, where you end the session by turning the entire plot on its head.
• Use downtime. Some games are more conducive to so-called “downtime” activities in between game sessions than others. Still, downtime can be an excellent way to keep players brimming with anticipation. Even if the party is in the middle of a dungeon, there’s no reason you can’t run a one-on-one session with a player to work out the details of an earlier life experience. At the very least, you can garner a handful of future plot hooks by getting the player to invest some deeper thought into their background.
• Keep communication going. Whether you use Obsidian Portal, set up your own forums, or just have an email thread, make sure you are keeping in touch with players, and that they have a way to interact with you and with one another, as well.

In 2007, we skipped Gen Con.

You see, my Dungeons and Dragons gaming group is an interesting mix of folks. We’ve got small business owners, health care professionals, a college professor, IT professionals, fast food workers, an electrician, housewives, and even someone in the printing business.

Oh, and then there’s me, but you all know what I do. I’m a writer.

We have single guys, engaged guys, married folks with kids, and married folks without kids.

At any rate, the stars were aligned in 2007 such that most of us either couldn’t afford Gen Con or couldn’t attend because of work or family commitments.

We realized, by July of 2007, that we were really going to miss Gen Con. So, we came up with a stopgap measure: Cabin Con.

What is Cabin Con? Well, we decided that one of the best parts about Gen Con was the gaming. Specifically, gaming with our friends. So, we rented two small cabins at nearby county park for two nights in late August last year. We spent the better part of three days gaming. We played Dungeons and Dragons, Three Dragon Ante, and even some board games.

We cooked our food over a campfire, and made jokes at night about who was sharing a sleeping bag with whom.

We did all of this on the cheap; with food and everything, I think we all got away for about $75 a person.

Cabin Con was such a damned good idea that we’re doing it again this October. This time, we’re renting a vacation home for 4 days to the tune of $600. Split between a dozen or so of us, we’ll still be under $100 apiece including food. Gen Con or not, I think Cabin Con is going to become a tradition.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because it would never have occurred to us to do something like this if we hadn’t missed Gen Con in 2007. Maybe it’s something your group could do, too.

So, if you want to organize your own convention, here’s what you need to do:

• Figure out how many people you have going. Get as firm a commitment as possible.
• Find a good location. Depending on your budget, you could have your Cabin Con in tents in the woods, or you could have it at the Hilton. For me, I think the vacation home or hunting lodge type rental is the best way to go.
• Divide your weekend up into time slots for games. These can be 4-hour slots, or they can be shorter or longer depending on your group’s preferences.
• Get your friends to commit to running games. If you’re like me and usually are the DM, GM, or StoryTeller, a Cabin Con can be a nice opportunity to play on the other side of the screen.
• Send out the list of games, and have everyone sign up for the games they want to play.
• Plan a menu and buy the food. You can live on sandwiches and cereal all weekend, or you can cook full-blown meals. Here again, it just depends on your group’s preferences.
• Set up a KP duty chart. Give everyone a chance to help out with the cooking, cleaning, and whatnot.

I’d love to hear from others. If you’ve done your own gaming weekend, what advice can you offer?