External Link: Natural 20 Web Series

Today I'd like to share the excellent web series Natural 20 by Jack Delaney. This is a hilarious show that actually manages to portray a comedic take on tabletop gaming that is accurate and familiar to those who have played games like Dungeons and Dragons. Lots of fun inside jokes and musings on the myriad ways that things can go right and wrong within a eclectic group of players.

The entire first season is currently available to view on Youtube. Enjoy!

Creating the Ultimate Antagonist

A good villain, a long running nemesis, a foil for your dynamic player characters... creating a compelling foe that your players truly love to hate can be a real challenge. That's why today I'd like to share this informative video by the Youtube channel Lessons from the Screenplay. Hopefully it will provide you with some interesting food for thought on how to design the perfect enemy for your next thrilling adventure!

Pixar's Rules of Storytelling Revisited

I have previously shared Pixar's Rules of Storytelling to provide some food for thought when it comes to narrative and character development. Today I'd like to share Kaptainkristian's video essay on Pixar and what makes a story worth telling. It's important to consider how this relates to all kinds of storytelling, even on the tabletop. An adventure with any sort of narrative direction should be relatable to your players (the audience) and have some sort of dramatic purpose. Whether it is the redemption of a band of outcasts, or the fall of an evil overlord, it is important to consider what makes a story truly fascinating and worth telling.

Enjoy the video and happy Ventures!

External Links: Creating Conflict!

Conflict is the centerpiece for any good story, as well as an important element of role playing. Today, I'd like to share a couple of thought provoking pieces on creating conflict with your characters that can be applied to both players and game masters alike.

The first is this link to a screenwriting article about ways to create conflict in a story.

The second is this image that I found making the rounds online (Sorry, I'm not sure of the original source) 

Hopefully these will ignite your creative spark and get you thinking about your own ways to create conflict in your tabletop campaigns!

Happy ventures!

External Links: 10 Humorous Articles and Webcomics

(It's been a busy week for me so far, so in place of a more detailed article, please enjoy these tabletop humorous articles, reviews, and webcomics that I have found amusing.)

Funny articles about Dungeons and Dragons and other RPGs:

The Most Metal Deaths in Middle Earth, Ranked

The 24 Most Embarrassing Dungeons & Dragons Character Classes

​The 20 Most WTF Magical Items in Dungeons & Dragons

20 of the Most Useless Dungeons & Dragons Spells Ever

1001+ Things the Worst Party in Eberron is Forbidden From Doing.

Snarky Reviews:

"WTF, D&D?!" Archives Via Something Awful

World of Synnibar Review

Ten Things I Hate About Shadowrun

Web Comics:

DM of the Rings: A Web Comic

The Order of the Stick

Until next week, happy ventures!

Link: West End Games' Star Wars Style Guide

Today I would like to share something really neat and helpful for running Star Wars RPGs. The following link collects excerpts from West End Games' style guide for writers of their Star Wars gaming material. Included here is a lot of very sound advice for storytelling and adventure building in the SW universe to maintain its iconic themes and tone of the setting. For those interested in the setting, it serves as a very straight-to-the-point guidebook, advising the game builders to avoid cliches based entirely on the movies and explaining how to treat the galaxy as a vast expanse filled with unlimited potential.

Enjoy these little behind the scenes tidbits, thanks to Pablo Hidalgo of the Lucasfilm Story Group, and may they serve you well in your next foray into a galaxy far, far away.

Happy ventures!

Links: Online Resources for Tabletop Gaming

(With my current work schedule this week I fell behind a bit, so in lieu of a full entry I would like to share this collection of links to my favorite online resources.)

Great (Free) Web Sites and Apps for Game Mastering:

Roll20: For live online gaming, it doesn't get any better than this! You can add your own graphics, organize multiple maps and screens, control the players' view, and even allow them to move their own tokens on the screen. Great stuff for those times when you can't get a group together in person!

Ambient Mixer: I love this site for the sheer amount of control you have in customizing and personalizing your own atmospheric sound effects. You have the ability to mix your own tracks and save them to the site, or choose from one of many user-created combinations of background noises to set the mood of a scene.

Mythweavers: The character sheet hosting on this site is first class! They cover a multitude of game systems, and setting up an account lets you fill out and save digital records of your characters. Convenient and easy, it really streamlines character creation and you won't have to worry about losing your sheet as long as you have an internet connection.

Master Plan: Master Plan was made with 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons in mind, but its flowchart creation tools and initiative tracking can be a valuable resource for planning a campaign in any system. Check out this cool application and see if it will help you with your own game mastery needs.

RP Tools: "RPTools is a brand of open-source programs designed to enhance traditional pen-and-paper role playing games." These include a useful initiative tracking app, an online map builder, and more!

Wizards of the Coast Dice Roller: Never be without the ability to roll anything from a d6 to a d20 with this handy browser-based free dice roller from Wizards of the Coast!

Happy ventures!

External Link: "Standard Patterns in Choice-Based Games"

A friend recently directed me to this blog post by game maker Sam Kabo Ashwell, which unpacks some neat details related to game design. Specifically it deals with the creation of flowcharts to map out potential directions for an campaign in which the characters' branching choices determine what locations they travel to, or what events transpire. It shows a few different methods you can use if you are planning out such adventures, depending on your personal preference and the needs of your group. 

I like the "Branch and Bottleneck" structure myself, and I use this layout when drawing overviews of certain campaigns. It allows me to plan certain iconic moments of the campaign in broad strokes, but gives players the option of taking many different paths to lead into those events. In any case, I don't plan ahead very far into a campaign, as there is always a possibility of the game moving in a different direction. Each game master has their own taste for how much detail to put into planning and laying out their overall campaign, but for those who would like a closer look at how it might be done, this is a very neat resource!

Here is the link to this very interesting article.

RPG Lessons Learned From Miyazaki

This video by Channel Criswell deconstructs the works of respected animation artist Hayao Miyazaki, and the means by which he captured the most evocative aspects of humanity and emotion in his productions. What does this have to do with tabletop gaming? Well, for those who are more interested in the storytelling aspect of role playing games could benefit greatly from the lessons found in this director's body of work. These methods of artistic expression are skillful means of storytelling that can easily be applied to any creative medium. The discussion of his approach to characters and settings is especially relevant to the creative world of the tabletop. 

Of particular note for players are the concepts of very simple, relatable motivations for characters and allowing them to have natural emotional responses. Keeping this in mind will help you create and play out some very evocative and personal storylines that will be fun for yourself and your fellow players.

For DMs, these same principles also apply when crafting non player characters and immersive storylines for your players. They represent qualities that should be sought and and cultivated among your players, and the kind of characteristics that add a lot of depth to the performance of any particular role. 

Actual Play Podcast and Video Recommendations!

Greetings, adventurers! 

I was planning on dropping a major new article today, but I am starting on a new full time job and I am a bit overwhelmed at the moment. So instead of my usual fare, please enjoy these links to actual play (recorded tabletop RPG session) podcasts and videos series from all over the 'net! I will be dropping more recommendations like these as time goes on, but for now I hope this provides plenty of listening enjoyment.

Happy Ventures!

Acquisitions Incorporated:Wizards of the Coast employee Chris Perkins hosts these exciting sessions at PAX, probably the highest profile Dungeons and Dragons actual play series of all time! *Strong language warning*

Critical Hit: Some real solid and entertaining characterization in this 4th edition DnD series which has lots of tactical encounters and plenty of role playing.

Critical Role: A massive party of professional voice actors gather for this video series, with lots of clever banter and atmospheric soundscapes. Played in heavily houseruled 5th edition D&D.

D6mafia's "Threshold": A really fun and playful ongoing 5th edition D&D campaign with a very friendly, welcoming tone. Especially good for demonstrating how to give the players creative control over many aspects of a campaign. As another plus, it's video as well.

Harmontown D&D : Community showrunner and long-time gaming nerd Dan Harmon assembles his friends, audience volunteers, and celebrity guest stars to play through some old-school Dungeons and Dragons. Hosted by a truly skillful Dungeon Master named Spencer Crittendon. *Strong adult content warning*

Nerd Poker: Comedian Brian Posehn and friends welcome you into their ongoing D&D campaign as they delve into mystery and adventure! *Some adult content*

One Shot: One of the most highly recommended actual play series, this one doesn't limit itself to a single system. Instead the podcasters showcase a wide range of RPG products and are very entertaining in the process!

Robot Chicken One Shot: Chris Perkins hosts this video event to promote 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons. It's a really good introduction to the enjoyable feeling of gaming with friends, regardless of the specific system.

Rollplay: Youtuber ItmeJP gathers various personalities from the web to play through different gaming systems, including Dungeon World and Shadowrun!

Rated RPG: The folks at Blame Society Films, creators of Chad Vader and Beer and Board Games try their hand at the world of role playing games. Hijinks ensue.

Link: Regarding the Phrase "I'm Just Playing My Character"

A friend recently directed me to the blog Improved Initiative, with these wise words about those players who justify disrupting a game by blaming the character they are playing.

"Ideally the characters will work out a solution through roleplay, and the players will be open-minded enough to seek an equitable answer. The problem is when one player answers any criticism of his or her character's actions with, "I'm just playing my character." Just as any man who must say I am the king is no true king, if you find yourself using this phrase too often to justify your actions you might want to take a step back and re-examine what character you're actually playing."

Read the whole article here and it will provide a better idea of how to address this classic problem at the game table.

Happy ventures!

Pixar's Rules of Storytelling

The classic four-man adventuring party (plus baby)

These storytelling tools from Pixar represent the kind of narrative techniques I encourage when I run games. Follow these principles to give your players something to care strongly about, or give yourself a boost of inspiration if you are a player yourself.

(Although the part about planning your story's ending does require some flexibility when it comes to cooperative storytelling.)

HIGHLIGHTS:

"#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes. 

#2: [DM advice] You gotta keep in mind what's interesting to you as an audience, not what's fun to do as a writer. They can be very different.

#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You'll feel like you're losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?

#9: When you're stuck, make a list of what WOULDN'T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.

#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you'll never share it with anyone. [In the case of gaming, this means share it with the group. don't sit on an idea waiting for the perfect moment. More good ideas will come, but you need to use it or lose it.]

#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.

#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it's poison to the audience. (How does your character feel about something? 'I dunno' isn't a real answer)

#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What's the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That's the heart of it.

#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don't succeed? Stack the odds against them.

#17: No work is ever wasted. If it's not working, let go and move on - it'll come back around to be useful later.

#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.

#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can't just write ‘cool'. What would make YOU act that way?

#22: What's the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there."

Chris Perkins on Ego and the Dungeon Master

Image from Wizards of the Coast

This is a really fantastic article about how ego can work against us by esteemed dungeon master Chris Perkins. The whole article is worth a read, but here is the bottom line:

"Being a Dungeon Master means putting yourself out there, on center stage, with only a thin DM screen (and sometimes not even that) separating you from the players, all of whom are counting on you to deliver a memorable gaming experience. In many respects, you're like an actor standing on a stage."

"...Let me be the first to point out that everyone wrestles with his or her ego, and sometimes ego gets the better of us despite our vigilance. I could be the most self-effacing and humble DM in the world (although I admit that I'm not), but woe to anyone who cuts me off on the freeway or thinks they know more useless Star Trek trivia than I do. You want to see my ego take charge? There are plenty of arenas in which I let my ego go a little wild, but the gaming table isn't one of them. Here's what I do to keep my ego from wreaking havoc with my campaign, which, I imagine, is what a lot of humble actors do when they walk out on stage to face a captive audience:

• I remember that every session is a fresh start . . . and a chance to take a risk.

• I expect to make mistakes (and never fail to disappoint), and I hope to learn from them.

• I tell myself I'm on my players' side. The campaign is not about Me vs. Them.

• At the end of every session, I look for smiles on the players' faces. If I don't see any, I know something's not right.

Along with the creative ability to improvise, DMs need self-awareness and the ability to poke fun at themselves. Every DM who reads this article thinks he or she has the ability to do both. Yeah, well, we all have the ability to breathe out of the nose instead of the mouth; doesn't mean we all do it. If you're truly self-aware and willing to laugh at yourself, you don't need a true seeing spell to know when your ego is getting in the way and doing more harm than good. It will always be there to protect you, but sometimes you gotta let it go."

Chris Perkins is a game designer, editor, and my personal favorite dungeon master. You can see and hear him in action on the Acquisitions Incorporated series or The Robot Chicken Dungeons and Dragons game he ran. You may also check out the rest of his blog The Dungeon Master Experience.