#the DM is also having a good time actually starting to implement the plot they came up with a while ago into the story | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aspenispoplar · 2 months

Text

Ok so here's my thoughts on dungeon meshi as a D&D party finally.

Okay so Laios and Falin's players (P!Laios & P!Falin) are actually brother and sister in real life. P!Laios got his sister to join him in the D&D game he was in. She was pretty shy and so wanted to make a healer character.

So their party plays the campaign for a while. Maybe a couple years or so. Mostly it doesn't have all that intense of a plot, but everyone's enjoying it.

Then in the dragon fight, Falin's player asks the DM if she can save Laios from the dragon's critical hit bite. The DM says sure but she only rolls like a 13, so the DM lets her save him by sacrificing her character, and she agrees.

Everyone's quite shaken up about it all, and to up the stakes the DM has the couple DMPCs/hirelings they had leave the party.

And now we get to the main focus of this headcanon. After P!Falin died, she wanted to make a new character, with a really different vibe from her old one, especially since she had gotten a lot more comfortable playing D&D now. In real life, she and P!Laios enjoy cooking together a lot, so she talked to the DM and P!Laios about it, and out came Senshi- P!Falin's new character!

P!Laios decides to try to help support P!Senshi's desire to focus more on cooking by taking out a book on monster cooking which he put in his inventory as a bit during character creation.

Basically it went like this

DM, (thinking to DMself: they're pretty overleveled now for the earlier layers of the dungeon, I should try and make it harder on them): so, you're running low on money. Even without the hirelings to pay, you need to sacrifice some of your expenses or sell some of your equipment to afford everything you lost.

P!Laios: Hey DM, how much do our rations cost? Because remember that meme book that I gave myself during character creation on cooking monsters?

DM: *very large sigh*

P!Senshi: *barely-restrained giddiness*

That's the main headcanon, but I also have other minor little headcanons about the other two player's characters.

Chilchuck's player has had some antagonistic DMs who loved torturing their players with traps in the past, so when they were told by the DM that the campaign was going to be "a pretty realistic dungeon crawl", P!Chilchuck decided to make the most roguey rogue of all rogues to ever rogue. They maxed out the trap-finding score to the point where the DM had to actually start including more traps for Chilchuck to feel a bit more useful, since the DM never actually planned on using very many traps in the campaign.

Marcille's player is a huge anime fan, and has made on-and-off jokes this whole time about the dungeon being some sort of bad isekai plot.

DM: Marcille, you feel a wet splash on the top of your head, only seconds before a slime drops on top of you.

P!Marcille: Oh? It's on my head? Is it suffocating me? Choking me perhaps...? Restraining me?

DM: Fuck you. Also you take 2 acid damage.

*everyone laughs at the DM's pain*

DM: There is a large plant monster in front of all of you

P!Marcille: Oh? Does it have vines? Like, tentacle-ish vines?

DM: You know what? It does now. It's rolls a 17 on grappling you. Have a good time with that.

P!Marcille: *waggles eyebrows* okay then

DM: I am going to hit you with my car covered in hammers rigged to explode multiple times and hammers go flying everywhere

While all of this is going on the DM is actually secretly very pleased to make a bunch of worldbuilding around the dungeon ecosystem and monsters and everything.

#yes im giving the DM (the DM/the DM's/DMself) pronouns no i will not apologize #the new characters that come in could just be new people #or maybe the “hirelings” (aka their earlier party members) weren't actually DMPCs at all and just took a short break from playing #before coming back with new characters #the DM is also having a good time actually starting to implement the plot they came up with a while ago into the story #(at least thats what i assume is going on with what we're hearing about that jester character who probably assasinated the king or whatever #dunmeshi #dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #falin dungeon meshi #falin touden #falin #laios dungeon meshi #laios touden #laios #senshi dungeon meshi #senshi #chilchuck dungeon meshi #chilchuk tims #chilchuck #marcille dungeon meshi #marcille donato #marcille #my headcanons #d&d #dunmeshi as a dnd party

160 notes · View notes

maijily · 3 years

Text

INTRAAAASSSSSS RELEASE NOTES

Heya Tumblr. How have you been? ;)

It’s time for the Intracodes to be announced~~ But this post is super long so don’t continue unless you want 289347329 years of text

You’ve been warned

GUESS WHAT THE HIATUS IS OVER!!! ...Kinda. There’s still a few things left to do before DC, Omission, and Tumblr can come back to life, but trust that things are moving and it’s only a matter of time before they all start posting again.

BUT FOR NOW, we have intras. I hope you haven’t forgotten about them-- Intra submissions started a few months ago, where anyone could submit an OC who would end up being canon in the world of DC, either in the current lore or a future comic! ARA’s an example of a submission who ended up in DC’s hiatus chapters as a healer outcode, and if you submitted, they’ll show up in one way or another too, some having to do more with the plot than others.

So there were a TON of submissions and only FOUR of them could become intracodes (since intras are ridiculously rare and powerful and all). The REST are either basecodes, outcodes, or outliers, and they’ll all show up in one way or another as interactable characters later on.

--------------------------------

Due to lore secrets, I can’t tell you what your characters will be and what they’ll do. Instead, you’ll know the code type, code role, status, alignment, and power level of each. (Keeping the creators secret for privacy reasons~)

--------------------------------

IF YOU SUBMITTED A CHARACTER, PLEASE please PLEASE keep the following in mind:

((Your submission probably contains secrets to the character, either in backstory, traits, secret intentions, etc. The character belongs to both you and DC, and there may be some traits about your character that the audience doesn’t know. (say your character pretends to be a good guy but is secretly evil). When they show up, it’d be great for no spoilers on your end as well as mine. We’re both sharing a piece of canon here!))

--------------------------------

OK, so now some info before the submissions are released:

Your character is either a basecode, outcode, outlier, or intracode. (this is also in order from least to most powerful).

✦Basecode: Like SK or Cloud. Stuck in a void, their story has been discarded, and they are alone.

✦Outcode: They’ve escaped their void/been rescued, and are living in the wild land of the Interface. They are either living in an outcode community, leading an outcode community, or wandering the interface independently.

✦Outlier: Rare, powerful, and usually feared. Contain powers that outcodes can’t replicate and are often not accepted by the rest of the Interface.

✦Intracode: Gods of the Interface. Live in pain and extreme power. Nearly impossible to kill, and highly destructive and deadly if their power is not kept under control. There are 6 in existence including Digi.

Alright. Reveal time, are you ready?

--------------------------------

THE INTRACODES:

(Gods of the interface. Highly destructive and deadly.)

Name: Cancor Spiderwick Code type: Intracode Status: Hidden Alignment: True Neutral

Power level: 11/10

Name: Rollo Code type: Intracode Code Role: Outsider/Wanderer Status: Free Alignment: ???

Power level: 11/10

Name: Delta Code type: Intracode Code Role: N/A Status: Void-bound Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Power level: 11/10

Name: Millie Code type: Intracode Code Role: Outsider Status: Free Alignment: Chaotic good

Power level: 11/10

Clap it up for the intracodes 👏 👏 👏 We have two chaotic evils (including Digi) so it’ll be a fun ride ;w;

And for the other submissions~~

--------------------------------

BASECODES

(Trapped in their void. They are alone.)

Name: Angel Code type: Basecode Code Role: Isolated Status: Void-Bound Alignment: True Neutral

Power level: 5/10

Name: Ceryk Ardor Code type: Basecode Code Role: Isolated Status: Void-Bound Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Power level: 5/10

Name: Rox Code type: Basecode Code Role: Isolated Status: Void-Bound Alignment: True Neutral

Power level: 5/10

Name: Sophie Code type: Basecode Code Role: Isolated Status: Void-Bound Alignment: Neutral Good

Power level: 5/10

--------------------------------

OUTCODES

(Escaped their void, is living in the wild lands of the Interface.)

Name: Ara Code type: Outcode Code Role: Damage Control Status: Free/Famous Alignment: Chaotic good

Power level: 7/10

Name: Badru Code type: Outcode Code Role: Sector 1, Second in Command Status: Free/Famous Alignment: Chaotic good

Power level: 8/10

Name: Edgeblade Rainbow Code type: Outcode Code Role: Outsider Status: Hidden Alignment: (Is Chaotic Chaotic an alignment)

Power level: 6/10

Name: Emilia Code type: Outcode Code Role: Undercover Status: Hidden Alignment: Chaotic good

Power level: 6/10

Name: Ivan Code type: Outcode Code Role: Leader of Sector 3 Status: Free/Famous Alignment: Lawful Good

Power level: 7/10

Name: Jack Servini Code type: Outcode Code Role: Outsider Status: Hidden Alignment: True neutral

Power level: 6/10

Name: Kirai Code type: Outcode Code Role: Outsider/Wanderer Status: Hidden Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Power level: ???

Name: Liva Code type: Outcode Code Role: Sector 2, Second in Command Status: Free/Famous Alignment: Neutral Good

Power level: 8/10

Name: Luna Code type: Outcode Code Role: Exiled/Outsider Status: Hidden Alignment: Neutral Evil

Power level: ???

Name: Tank Code type: Outcode Code Role: Undercover Status: Free Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Power level: 6/10

Name: The Storyteller Code type: Outcode Code Role: N/A Status: Hidden Alignment: True Neutral

Power level: 10/10

--------------------------------

OUTLIERS

(Rare, powerful, feared. Usually not accepted by others.)

Name: Neri, Leandro Code type: Outliers Code Role: Assassins (Sector 2) Status: Free Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Power level: 9/10

Name: Storm Lycan Code type: Outlier Code Role: Leader of Sector 1 Status: Free Alignment: (Evil Evil should be an alignment)

Power level: 9/10

Name: Liam Code type: Outlier Code Role: Undercover Status: ??? Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Power level: (Varies from 5/10-10/10)

Name: Tacir Code type: Outlier Code Role: Outsider/Famous Status: Hidden Alignment: Neutral Good

Power level: 10/10

--------------------------------

OTHER

(Too lore heavy to reveal)

Name: Lyssa Code type: ??? Code Role: ??? Status: Free/??? Alignment: ???

Power level: ???

Name: Tao Lycaon Code type: ??? Code Role: Exiled/??? Status: Free/??? Alignment: Neutral evil

Power level: ???

Name: “The Sailor” Code type: ??? Code Role: Famous/??? Status: ??? Alignment: (Varies from Chaotic Good to Chaotic Evil)

Power level: ???

--------------------------------

WAIT DID YOU THINK WE’RE DONE!??!?! Nope time for questions for those who submitted.

Q/A:

✦What does the status mean for the character?:

Free = They can roam the interface as they please.

Hidden = They are running/hiding from someone/something.

Void-Bound = Accounts mostly for basecodes. They’re trapped in a void.

✦What does the code role mean for the character?:

Undercover = Likely spies/assassins. They are pretending to be something that they aren’t.

Exiled = They were banished from a community they were previously in.

Outsider = They are outside of the main communities of the Interface and live independently.

Wanderer = They don’t have a set home and travel/explore the Interface.

Isolated = Accounts mostly for basecodes. They are secluded from all and can’t escape.

Leader/Second command of [insert Sector] = Has a leadership position in Sector 1-3, all outcode communities.

Famous = They are of high power/influence, known by all.

N/A = None of the above/probably a secret honestly

✦How much is planned about my character?: It’s a little different for each, as some are more developed for the plot than others. But for the most part, all of them currently have a set DC backstory, morals, and role to play in the overall storyline. They’re all included and have relationships with the new main character and each other.

✦This is great and all, but when can I see my character?: I... I really don’t know yet!! There will be many comics following DC, all interactive and character-based. Your submission will be included in one way or another, either as a main character, antagonist, or side character. Those stories just aren’t planned out yet, but I promise your character is there.

✦Yeah, but how long will it take for me to see them in-comic?: That... Depends entirely on how long it takes to make the new comics and actually implement your character. It won’t be a matter of years, but there might have to be some patience involved with how long it takes to make these things.

✦Can my character die or kill other characters?: Yep! None of them are dead yet, but none of you have plot immunity. None. And some of you are all chaotic evil assassins, so just... Keep that in mind.

✦Can I still change my character/request changes?: Yes. If you’re truly unhappy with how your character looks right now or later on, please tell me and I’ll try to change things. They belong to both of us and you will always have a say in what happens to them.

✦Am I being credited?: Absolutely. Either in the credits at the end, description, and/or conversation with the next audience, you’ll be credited for your character all the way.

✦This looks cool, can I submit a character now?: Depends. Tell me your plans and I’ll see if I can fit them in. If not, you’ll have to accept no for an answer. I want to accept characters all the time because of how flexible DC is but there’s a lot of complications involved.

✦This is really long can I stop reading now?: YES. YOU READ THROUGH IT ALL. CONGRATS.

✦I made a submission but it isn’t on here...: WAIT WHAT???? If you made and sent a submission in which I gave you a response and it’s NOT on here, PLEASE tell me immediately through Tumblr/Discord DMs and I will drop everything to get them and apologize for 55 spam messages

I can’t stress to you enough how amazing this was or how brilliant you all are at character creation. Some of you have absolutely incredible ideas and made some golden characters, all of which seriously helped out DC and the cast for future comics. You’re all endlessly talented and it was an honor getting to work with you and add your ideas to this project!! Thank you for making this successful and giving it a chance. I’ll see you soon.

#make an intra #thank you.

37 notes · View notes

elftwink · 5 years

Note

Hi!! I’m trying to get into DMing and I was wondering if you could help me with were to start or if you have any tips that you’ve picked up yourself over your time asa dm? Thank you so much for your time and I hope you’re doing well!! 💙🤟

oh absolutely i love talking about dming and pretending i’m on talk shows where my methods of doing things are interesting. Also this is very long but generally speaking the main points are about communicating with players (eg making sure everyone has fun and wants to come back as priority #1), designing a session (by lying to your players and giving them to illusion of a wide sprawling world while not creating that much work for you), and the rule of cool. i’ve bolded it so it’s easier to navigate but also like. sorry i just like to talk a lot lol. anyway i hope this is helpful.

I think when you’re just starting out the first thing on your mind should be communicating with players. Running a session 0 to lay down house rules (even if you don’t have any, you should use it to ask players what they do and don’t wanna see, to introduce their character, to make sure you know what kind of content your players will and won’t like, etc. plus, house rules are implemented to solve problems which means you will almost certainly have a house rule or two after the first few sessions), checking in with players to see that they’re still having fun (even just like, noticing if someone is bored), figuring out which players are comfortable with roleplay, etc. This is mostly learned via experience and will vary between groups so there’s not a lot of specifics other than just to stay on your toes but the two things I will say in specific is:

1) learn to recognize your own mistakes and bad calls and apologize for them asap. you’ll def make them cos everyone does and that’s just being a person making judgement calls, but it’s usually easy to resolve if you apologize and make a note for next time.

& 2) if a player is being disruptive or annoying (breaking rules, constantly arguing your judgements, ruining roleplay, metagaming 24/7 etc), don’t be afraid to out of character be like “hey. cut that out right now”. the third time a player says they kill an npc for no reason, you don’t have to let them roll for it. you can just say “no dude if you kill all the npcs the story can’t progress and besides, i and the other players are here to play dnd.” although like, unless it’s really severe, probably just text them after the fact. it’s easier and also you don’t run the risk of embarrassing or shaming them in front of their friends, because that’s not the goal— you just want the disruptive behaviour to stop

if your whole party is being ‘disruptive’ in the same way though (eg all of them constantly start bar fights), that might just be how they want to play, in which case you may just have to adapt. if it’s really screwing up your adventure or annoying you, talk to the party, but you will generally have a much easier time designing to your players goals than you will trying to make them play to yours

the other main thing is learning to move sets. by which i mean it’s important that players aren’t railroaded and that they feel like they have a bunch of options even when they definitely don’t because listen. no one has time for that. most dms are not professionals and we don’t actually have time to account for every possible story arc that could ever happen, especially because someone will definitely come up with something you never would have thought of in a million years

instead you want to rely on false choices and moving sets. false choices are stuff like asking your players if they want to go left or right knowing that no matter which way they pick they’re going to encounter some goblins. doesn’t really matter. even if you had prepared a second encounter, they never would have seen it— they only experience a linear version of a dungeon crawl. so you only have to write a linear version. as long as they feel like they could have had a second option that they chose not to take, you’re in the clear. that being said, generally only do this with minor choices; huge choices should absolutely impact the storyline drastically. it’s just that with small things, the illusion of choice is going to work about the same and will cause you way less stress

moving sets is stuff like: you planned for the players to talk to the innkeeper and learn about the mystery. but then they don’t go to the inn. they’re not interested in the inn no matter how many hints you drop. your choices here are either drop ooc and say “look, the plot hook is in the inn” (which tbh, i’ve done, and it works if you don’t do it often and your players are willing to give you a break, but if you don’t have to do it, don’t) OR you can decide to make the vital npc a blacksmith instead, or a town guard, or whoever else the party is going to encounter in the next two minutes. playing dnd is constantly moving things around so the party encounters vital information when they decide to do whatever they want. it’s also good to keep in mind that it’s probably not on purpose, and even if your hints seem obvious to you, it’s because you read or wrote the whole adventure already. to your players, the town hall and the inn are both equally important. they have no idea you didn’t prepare anything for the town hall, and it’s your job to just pretend you knew what was going on the whole time. i have npcgenerator.com open during sessions just in case the players start talking to random people

finally i live and die by the rule of cool as much as humanly possible, and most people have said it better than me but generally speaking, coolness always supersedes rules and rolls and everything else. player wants to do some dope shit that doesn’t quite work with the spell description? just let them. you’re designing a dungeon and think of something interesting that breaks a mechanic? do it anyway. your boss was accidentally unbalanced and the fight is going to be over in 20 seconds (either by tpk or by the party wiping the board) but you know it would be much more fun to have the dramatic battle you saw in your head? lie about the rolls, the enemy’s health, its attack bonus, its abilities. player figures out the big twist like 5 sessions earlier than you planned? reward them and be ready to think on your toes. as long as you’re prioritizing the players’ fun and them thinking the session is cool, you’re probably fine

generally like, players want things to feel fair, they want it to be cool, and they want that without sacrificing the stakes and the feeling that their character could die, that they could loose horribly, because it’s the risk that makes it feel cool and like a victory. sometimes you have to manufacture that risk or mitigate it so that you preserve that feeling of fairness, and you mostly have to do it where the players can’t see.

tl;dr i know this is a lot but generally it all comes back to having fun and remembering to work with your players, not against them. you are in charge of a lot but you’re still just another player at the table. you throw obstacles at them not to beat them, but because it’s fun to see the obstacles be overcome. players are okay with losing as long as it doesn’t feel like they’re losing just so you can win. they should feel (and it should be) that that was just the risk they took, and that they understood that risk, and that they feel like how you decided the result was fair. ik i said this already but it’s that risk that makes it fun in the first place, and sometimes to maintain that sense of risk, the players have to lose.

anyway. i hope this was helpful, and good luck in DMing! if all else fails, you can just randomly roll some dice and try to look like you know what is going on, because that works probably way more than it should. people are already assuming you know what’s going on, so all you have to do is not correct them

#long post /#half of this advice is like. 'lie to your players but for their own enjoyment of the game'#but tbh thats what dming is. you just lie for several hours every week #also sorry this is so long again i love. To Talk #also i didnt get to mention it here but i hope you have fun!!!#idk if youre dming out of interest or obligation cos no one else will #but once you find your footing its honestly so much fun #i used to like. be annoyed about having to dm all the time but i find now that i would seek it out more #and only don't because i don't have time to run several campaigns at once #i love!!! dming!!!! ahh!!!#anonymous #answered

144 notes · View notes

bluejaytaco · 4 years

Text

Yet again DND with Jay

(Another long one, folks. In our campaign, we have something we call a “Daiquiri Night.” It’s used for when too many people can’t be there or in situations where people are too preoccupied to do anything deep and plot-heavy. It’s pretty much a filler episode where we’re free to fuck around with very little consequences and, towards the end, the DM throws in small plot hints so it’s not a complete bust. It’s good for character development and getting the party a little closer.

Last session, we all drank and were expecting such an session. What we got was heavy plot stuff and horrible consequences. Also, so far most of the Daiquiri Nights are run by Ticket Master; being the only god who follows us so closely.)

Ticket Master: (Stopping Hennessy B from killing us and dropping Alabaster back into our party) Alright, so! Who wants to die right now?

Everyone: .....

Ticket Master: No one? Great! Now, who wants to go on a fun-filled adventure?

Everyone:...

Art: (slowly raises his hand)

Koejin: (Pushes Art’s hand back down) No....

Ticket Master, ignoring Koejin: Everyone? Great! Let’s go.

(We get pulled into a world that is just one giant Carnival. After giving our tickets over to Ticket Master, We all enter and start to go our own separate ways. This is where things become very character plot heavy.)

Koejin: (climbs the Ferris Wheel to see if she can see anyway out)

People on the car she’s standing on: (her parents, who keep screaming about being abandoned and how she let them die.)

DM: You see the parking lot you walked through to get here and then, far beyond that, you see mist. Above you is the portal you came through; it’s still open.

Koejin, nodding: Alright, I’m gonna head back down

Koejin’s parents: (riding on the car she’s standing on top of) You left us! You took another woman as your mother! You can never be forgiven!

Koejin: (jumps down once she’s at ground level) I didn’t abandon you. You died and I was five.

Ticket Master: (pointing at the now faded parents) Yeah! She was five! See? I backed you up.

Koejin gave him a little pat on the shoulder and nearly lost an arm for it. She then heads over to the bar to drink her face off.

Theodora, on the bumper cars: (Getting blamed for the deaths of her soldiers. She bumps cars with a young, fifteen year old Koejin.)

Young Koejin: Ugh, what are you doing here?

Theodora:...I....

Young Koejin: You should just leave! No one wants you here; you’re ruining everyone’s fun!

Koejin: (In the bar, drinking real alcohol and being served by a bartender that’s not Ticket Master. In other words, having a good time. A Ticket Master portal opens by her head to show her what’s going on by Theodora.).... (Pulls out her bow and arrow and aims for Young Koejin’s head.)

DM: I want you to think about what you’re doing here. You’re about to shoot young you in front of Theodora. (Sidenote: DM also implemented a “sanity meter” for us. Anytime we see something fucked up or extremely jarring, we become a little more insane.)

Koejin’s player: I know. I’m still doing it.

Koejin shoots Young Koejin right in the head and Theodora has to roll a Wisdom saving throw. Luckily, she rolled a 19.

DM: So, Theodora. You don’t see it as young Koejin dying in front of you. You see it for what it is; Koejin apologizing.

Koejin, from inside the bar: I was an asshole. Come drink with me.

(Theodora goes through the portal to join Koejin in the bar.)

Hennessy, at the balloon shoot: (All the faces look like his team mates, He sits in front of Theodora’s.)

Vincent (Hennessy’s fiance), sits down at the Hennessy head: I bet you I can get mine to pop before you.

Hennessy, immediately suspicious: Alright, what do you wager? (Rolls perception to find out for sure he isn’t Vincent. His suspicions are confirmed.)

Vincent: Well, if you win, you and Vincent live happily ever after and he never has to work again. If I win, you fall out of love with him.

Hennessy: No deal.

Vincent:... Well, how about just the ring then? He can always make you another one.

Hennessy, noticeably more hesitant:...Still no.

(A Ticket Master portal opens to show Vincent slaving away at his work for Mrs. Red. His pain has him in tears but he continues on.)

Fake Vincent: You would really not save him from this pain?

Hennessy: (just starts playing the game and shoots water into Theodora’s mouth. The portal shifts over to the bar.)

Theodora, in the bar: (takes a shot and it shoots right out of her mouth. Her stomach starts to bloat and she starts to spit up water.)

Hennessy: (Immediately stops)

Vincent: (stands up) you know, Hennessy, you can be a catty bitch. (walks away)

Hennessy: (watches him)....and don’t you forget it. (Goes through the portal into the bar.)

Meanwhile, at the bar

Ticket Master, sitting on the bar: (Watching as Theodora keels over) If only there was someone who could destroy that water, you’d be fine! ((Another running gag in the campaign; Alabaster casting Create or Destroy Water more than any other move.))

Wreybar, over at the Test your Strength

Wreybar: (Picks up the mallet)

(Her father’s head appears on the target as she swings down.)

DM: You still have the chance to stop.

Wreybar’s Player: ... I’m gonna follow through.

DM:...What, really? Shit, didn’t expect that! So, you smash in your father’s head. Blood, bone and grey matter fly everywhere. Then, you’re entire family comes running out cheering and screaming “Wreybar! you killed us! Yay!”

Wreybar: (starts crying) I’m sorry!

DM: As you see everyone praising and cheering you, you notice something weird. There is one person not doing that. It’s your brother.

Wreybar:(goes up to him)

Wreybar’s brother: Wreybar.... what’s going on? (Unlike everyone else, he seems real)

((I was drinking so this particular convo gets a little foggy. But it ends with someone killing Wreybar’s brother (Almost positive it was Ticket Master) and the DM pulling her aside to discuss something in private. I’m typically the one who keeps track of the story so I hope Wreybar remembers this part well enough. If not, its our DM’s job to remind her anyways.))

Art, At the Fortune Teller (Koejin’s player: Of course you would go there!)

DM: You step in to see a robotic person who is a very racist stereotype. He’s dark skinned, wearing a turban, talking in a thick accent and saying, in a broken robotic voice “I aM a Raacis-t dePICtion! Wo-ould you like your FoRTune?!”

Art: Uhhhh, wow. This was not at all what I was expecting... Uh, is there a way out of here?

Fortune Teller: A W-ay OuT? Whaat evR do you Me-aaN?

Art:....Nevermind. Can you just... not do this? Turn into someone else.

Fortune Teller: Wh-o would you LYKe?

Art: Literally anyone else would be better.

Fortune Teller: (Turns into Alabaster) Bet-ter?

Art:... Yeah, I can work with this.

Fortune Teller Alabaster: S-oo... WouLD you lYKe your Fooort-une?

Art: Sure. Uh.... what’s my future look like?

Fortune Teller Alabaster: BLEAK!

Art: Sounds about right.

Fortune Teller Alabaster: (Morphs into Hennessy. All robotic jerking is gone.) Now, how about we talk about why you’re a piece of shit?

Art: ...And that sounds like something you’d say to me.

FT Hennessy: And it’s true; you are a piece of shit. My hubby says you abandoned your sister and I’m inclined to believe him over your lyin’ ass.

Art: Okay no. Hennessy’s the smartest one out of all of us. I know for a fact he has enough sense to not follow Vincent blindly and think I actually meant to abandon my sister.

(A Ticket Master portal appeared in the bar near Hennessy. He tunes in just in time to hear Art speak.)

Hennessy: .... (reaches through the portal and smacks the Fake Hennessy in the face. It melts away to reveal Ticket Master underneath.) You’re right, Art. I am the smartest person here. And I’m smart enough to know you have a lot of problems; abandonment is not one of ‘em.

Art: ...Alright. I guess.... you’re not so bad.

Ticket Master: (Hand on his cheek) Hennessy just slapped me.... what an honor! (Hearts appear around him)

Art, noticing this: Okay, that’s not at all concerning.... (Goes through the portal and into the bar with everyone else.)

Alabaster over by the Carousel (Everyone to the DM: You better not fucking hurt him, I swear to god. ((We are all a part of the Alabaster Protection Squad.)))

Alabaster: (Sees his family near one side, his old friend on another, and Eris (the daughter he recently adopted) on a third. Sidenote: Eris was his old friend’s and General Blue’s daughter. Blue left her to Alabaster, but we ended up killing her long before knowing about Eris.).... (Sits by his family being that he hasn’t seen them in 400 years)

Blue: So, you’re gonna completely ignore my daughter? Maybe I shouldn’t have trusted you with her. Maybe I should just kill her now and put her out of her misery now.

Alabaster: There is no need to resort to....

Blue: (Goes to Eris)

Alabaster: (immediately dives for Eris)

(Ticket Master Portal appears in the bar next to Theodora. She doesn’t see it until Wreybar points it out to her. This turns into a fight for everyone to keep Blue away from Alabaster and Eris, which everyone learned was just a heated water baby.)

Alabaster: (casts blindness on Blue)

Art: (Reaches in for Alabaster)

Alabaster, to Blue: You’re sight will return momentarily. And I promise you, Eris will be well taken care of. There is no need to worry.

DM: Alabaster, Art; you two look at each other and remember the first time you met, back in that pit where Thia saved you. You think about how much you’ve been through together and start to feel a little more at peace. Both of you roll a 20. If it turns out you somehow get the same number, your sanity will be at -20 (The scale goes from -20 to 20. Negatives are more sane.)

(Alabaster and Art rolled an 18 and a 17 respectively. The numbers were so close, the DM gave us both a point for sanity.)

DM: So, you guys are at the bar, having a grand old time. The bartender, for each of you, looks like you’re ideal sexual partner.

Koejin’s Player: (laugh) does that mean Art’s is just Ticket Master?

Me:..... yeaaahhhhhhh.....

DM, looks at Alabaster’s player knowingly: And what’s Alabaster’s?

Alabaster’s Player: A giraffe with Jeff Goldblum’s head.

Everyone: (laughing)

Me: Can anyone else see that? Cuz Art might be judging his best friend if he can.

DM: Nope, you can only see your own. But you guys are having a good time. Alabaster and Wreybar are understanding they both have a similar history and have been through a lot of the same issues. That starts to bring them closer. Hennessy and Art; you two now understand there is more to one another that you didn’t know before. You feel as though you’re coming to terms with one another. And, Theodora and Koejin. The two of you understand now that the past should be left in the past. There is a lot to work on, but you’re on the right track.

....(Personally, I think this would have been the perfect time for Ticket Master to send us back and let that be the end of the session. We were all closer than before and all that.... but the DM had a different plan.)

DM: The bartender shifts from your ideal partners to Ticket Master... So, he stays the same for Art.

Ticket Master: Well, now that you’re all closer, I’d say this is a time well spent. Now, here’s something you can do for me. (He slides a blank piece of paper in front of everyone.) When you’re ready, all you need to do is sign the bottom. No rush.

Art: (Sees the actual contract and decides to keep it to himself.)

Theodora: (Takes out a cigar that Ticket Master gave her and hands it back to him.) Here, so you’ll have a last smoke (she throws the contract back) when I kill you.

Ticket Master, frowning(A rare occurrence):... you shouldn’t have done that.

Me: Oh shit...

Koejin’s Player: Byyyeee Theodora....

Alabaster’s Player: (covering his mouth) nononono

Ticket Master: (his face opens up to reveal unspeakable horrors. Tentacles move out to grab for Theodora and drive her to complete insanity.)

Wreybar: (Moves in the way to share some of the insanity. Both are now insane, but Theodora is at least able to function.)

Alabaster: (Casts create or destroy water over them. I think the purpose was to get Ticket Master away from them. Don’t remember; was pretty drunk.)

DM: Oh god... shit! No...(Sigh) well, I need to follow my own rules... As the water comes down, you see a giant minotaur come from the ground behind Ticket Master. It’s Shmoogie. Ticket Master stops what he’s doing but, before he can say anything beyond “you don’t-”, Shmoogie grabs him and tears him apart. In Shmoogie’s hand, you see Ticket Master’s face. He’s saying “You have no idea what you’ve done!” Then, Shmoogie crushes it.

Shmoogie: You’ve all done well. We will deal with him now; no need to worry.

Skelly, at Shmoogie’s side: Yeah, we did good!

Theodora: Skelly! How do you know our buddy, Shmoogie?

Skelly: Well, I like sand. And I don’t have any memories, but would really like to have some so.... God of Sand and Memories.

(Shmoogie then disappears back into wherever he came from.)

Koejin: Well, good work team! No more Ticket Master.

Art, who isn’t the happiest about this turn of events:.... but now we’re stuck here.

Koejin: That sounds like a problem for Next week Koejin!

(And this is where we left off. I have conflicted feelings about this situation. Art is.... a little less conflicted than me....)

DM: Oh shit! I almost forgot!... you guys are sitting around, thinking about everything that just happened and, suddenly.... Art dabs.

Art:.... (hating his life and his creator)

Theodora: Art..... you’re so dated.....

(Context: Me and the DM are close. So close that we have a tendency to argue about anything and everything. This doesn’t work when I’m a player in his campaign. Which means, he decided that, inspired by a miniature I just bought, any time I say no to something DND related, Art has to dab. It’s a stupid little thing, but a thing nevertheless.)

#dnd #adventures of art the bard #dnd wizard #dnd bard #dnd tiefling #dnd cleric #dnd ranger #dnd barbarian #dnd paladin #dnd elf #dnd gnome #homebrew characters #can't wait to see how we fucked ourselves over here #Art's gonna drink his face off from everything we got going on #He's gonna wanna save Ticket Master #and he'll most likely be alone there #shut up jay

3 notes · View notes

lewnatic · 5 years

Note

For the D&D asks, 1-20

Oh gosh, okay. This is gonna be long so I’m gonna do it under a cut.

What was your favorite Nat 1 Experience?

I don’t think a lot of my characters have had really funny Nat1 moments, sadly. I will always remember the one when @zhixx made a goblin named Spook’em specifically designed to have the least survivability possible. The first time he was downed he rolled a Nat1 on his first death save. The feeling of comedic timing was just beautiful.

Favorite D&D Inside Joke?

“You are a privateer! BUT ON LAHND.”

Favorite Item Your Character received in D&D?

Phailyn was supposed to get a tome to increase his strength, but when his crush said she wanted it, he immediately fucking dropped it so she could have it. So the DM let me sneak off and get a scrying orb we’d passed up earlier. He hasn’t used it yet, but I just like the story behind it.

Ves probably considers Sikrikta to be the best item she’s received has a lot of really expensive shit she’s keeping just because she has bourgie taste. She got a bottle of wine as a gift that would have been 400g if she’d left it unopened. She’s drinking it gradually through the adventure. It’s good, but not quite as good as what she’s used to.

Teeki has a gaudy diamond crown that Bing bought for 300 gold. It does nothing. It is purely cosmetic. She loves it.

Basically I love frivolous shit.

Preferred Animal Companion (if you had any)?

Vesxlit has a familiar, if that counts. He’s a parrot named Brilliant. He talks like a normal human (in a setting where that is definitely not commonplace) and is a member of the Bardic College in the capital city of the nation we’re traveling in.

He’s a posh gentleman who helps Ves sew dresses. They spend 90% of their time arguing because, being a bird, his fashion sense is incredibly bright and garish.

Favorite D&D Battle Encounter?

Every boss fight Skaaren has done is goddamn awesome, tbh. My favorite is the first just because of how scary it was.

Keep in mind, we’re level 1 in Pathfinder, an Oracle (Ves) and a Barbarian (Cato.) We’ve just watched a big hole open up in the ground, and our characters don’t know why, but we’re looking for missing people (including the barbarian’s boyfriend Fabius, he’s important) so we figure hell, this is probably where they’re missing.

We find some of the missing people at the bottom of the hole, but we haven’t found Fabius, so we go deeper in. We find this creepy old woman doing some kinda ritual or something by a pool of water? Barbarian charges in to kill her and save his man, and… kills her very quickly.

Silence. We go to check on Fabius, and we’re not sure if we can safely move him. I’m running out of heals from earlier stuff and I pop my last one on him, and after a while of debating what to do a ton of undead start coming out of the water. Just a goddamn mob. Whatever the hell creepy-lady was doing, we were suddenly way in over our heads. Even if we picked up Fabius and ran, we don’t have a fast way out of this hole. And we start taking damage fast. Including Fabius.

I don’t remember the specifics of the fight. I think that’s a testament to how much we were panicking. I remember feeling the helplessness of being a mage completely out of spell slots frantically trying to hit things with my stupid mace.

And I remember when the fight was over, I stayed down there panicking for several more minutes, trying to determine if Fabius was even alive while the barbarian ran to get the local doctor in a town of which he didn’t even speak the language.

In the end, Fabius was okay, and we both got out of it alive. It was just that sense of dread and fear, that we didn’t know how the DM’s rolls were going or if anything we were trying had any impact. Skaaren has always done a stellar job since of bringing that sense of genuine fear into the game when he wants to, but that first unexpected taste of it was so damn cool.

Favorite D&D NPC Interaction?

Varis Vrynn was my favorite villain. Not because of his fight, or how he fit into the greater lore, but because of how @extravagantshoes played him. He was a slimy uppity elf in the city of Galthiel, a city with heavy class divides based on magic ability. Varis was a powerful diviner, and a lot of our party interactions involved everyone in the party trying to piss him off and Varis looking down his nose in disgust at all of us.

Then Cedlanna, our young sorcerer, got a conversation with him alone in his manor, where he wanted to make a deal with her. And she just ripped into him. Cut to the core of his insecurities and how with all of his riches on display, his manor still was incredibly empty–that for all the parties he hosted he was completely alone.

He was doing some really irredeemable things and later tried to kill us all but I still managed to feel kind of sad that we ended up gruesomely killing him.

Dumbest thing You & Your Party Did

Charging through multiple spinning saws comes to mind. Every time I try to sneak around in heavy plate armor also comes to mind.

I feel like I need to make a separate post to discuss just all the impulsive things Cato does. Turning an entire city upside down just for the chance to punch a specific guy in the face was one.

Most Epic thing You & Your Party Did

I might also make a separate post about this, but Cato and Ves convinced a bunch of lizard people that they were their gods.

Basically in this setting, the level 1 baddies generally fought are called Rapia. They’re kobold-esque in design, but they have a faith-based culture and… well, kind of a faith-based biology. Rapia need something to worship, they undergo gradual physiological changes based on the thing they follow. (Say it’s a sea creature, they might get gills.) And if they don’t have something to worship, they literally become sick and presumably die.

We’d fought a few before and looted crap from their caves, including a tiny hammer that we never could have used but the barbarian held onto cuz idk??

We later ran into some others by falling through the roof of their cave, but they didn’t attack us. They started to assume that we were the gods depicted on one of their cave walls. For the sake of brevity, a fight broke out later when we were trying to leave, and Cato gave the hammer to one of the rapia who was helping us escape. It turned out in the DM’s notes, this hammer had significance to the rapia, and was supposed to be given to the religious leader of a tribe. And so the entire tribe turned to our side and protected us. And… they started following us.

It was about this time that the DM broke character to tell us he had no plan of this happening, and I guess we just have a tribe of rapia now. And we’ve had the goddamn campaign balanced around having a tribe of rapia ever since.

What did you like about your Campaign’s World?

I’m gonna try to sum these up quickly cuz these stories have already gotten long.

The Ascension world has elements of what I affectionately like to call Pop Fantasy, there’s some genre-awareness while not being parody, and all the work on the pantheon Spi did has been goddamn amazing. I also cannot figure out the overarching mysteries and that is awesome.

Nejj puts a ton into immersing us into the world. I can always very clearly get a feel for the sort of setting he’s putting us in, and I’ve been having a lot of fun with the political intrigue he’s been setting up.

Skaaren’s got the weirdest goddamn races in his setting and I love every single one of them. He’s also packed the setting full of little cultural details, I swear to god he’s done extensive research into what we’re having for breakfast in the morning based on where we’re staying.

What was the most Interesting Lore you Found?

I seriously can’t pick a favorite here so I’m going to give a silly answer, and that’s that acolytes of Ves’s goddess commune with her by getting super high.

Summarize Your Campaign(s) in a Single Sentence

One for each campaign:A group of weird rebels and one very ordinary guy dismantle the ruling government.Goblins discover crazy politics and necromancy, what happens next will warm your heart.Tourists getting intimate with the horrifying hidden truths of nature

Describe your whole Party Dynamic in a Sentence

The best bunch of weirdos and one stupid shady paladin.Loner rogue becomes Team Mom by sheer force of how much the other two hate each other.Bug Jesus and The Angriest Boy discover family in the form of lizards.

What Alignment do your characters lean towards?

I have a weird time choosing an alignment for characters cuz motivations change a lot for my nerds. Teeki was True Neutral but has become more Chaotic Good. Ves is Lawful Good I guess?? And Phai is a goddamn mess whose alignment has shifted at least thrice since his conception.

How do you tend to Take Notes (if you do)?

Badly! Next question.

Prefer Story/Plot Driven or No Plot/Character-Driven Campaigns?

I tend to prefer plot-driven, but I honestly think elements of both should be implemented in your narrative–occasionally giving breaks from the overarching plot to give the cast some time to dick around can give a breath of fresh air to roleplay.

Combat or Role Play?

Roleplay, of course. I actually used to think I hated D&D combat. It took a lot of great sessions to make me realize that the RP doesn’t stop for combat, and that’s when I started really getting into learning and enjoying mechanics elements.

Favorite D&D Monster/Creature?

Illithid. I would love to actually play as one someday.

Magic User or Fighter?

Magic is more engaging to me, personally, but I like both.

Preferred Weapon/Spell in D&D?

Tasha’s Hideous Laughter. In large part because of how it’s roleplayed in Critical Role tbh. I also have felt the high of Sneak Attack enough times to really love it now.

What was your Favorite Nat 20 Experience?

One time I rolled a Nat20 perception while we were on the road and it was literally just to find a coin on the ground. That might always be my favorite.

#dnd #lewnspeak #gobbos #ascension #scarecrowmes

2 notes · View notes

thewhiteboardofkanjisan · 6 years

Note

Hmmm...how about 1-30? :-P ["I don't know" is a perfectly valid answer to ones you may not have an answer for yet, and so is guessing.]

Hi @prionailurus!! :D

1. What’s the first game system ( __ Edition D&D, Rifts, GURPS, Shadowrun, etc.) you ever played?

5th edition D&D! I sat in on a Pathfinder campaign once but didn’t actually get to play.

2. What’s the most recent one you’ve played?

Also 5e!

3. What’s your favorite system?

5eeeeeee

4. Is there a system you’d like to play but haven’t?

I’d like to play Pathfinder so I can try the Oracle class out. I’m also interested in another RPG called In Nomine.

5. Are there any systems you’ve tried and did NOT like?

Haven’t had the chance to try any unsuccessfully!

6. Do you have any house rules for the system(s) you play?

Not really? Mostly we have house-handwaves of certain aspects we’re too nooby to enforce, like spell components and rations, and spell prep. That Pathfinder session I watched left me with a house rule I’d love to implement though, that Barbarians can redo a bad roll by punching the table to “pop” the dice.

7. Do you DM/GM for your group?

Occasionally! In my group, I and two others take turns being the DM. Comparing notes without spoilers is a real thorn in the side.

8. Do you say DM or GM?

DM for D&D. I imagine that GM is more fitting for other systems.

9. Do you have a go-to setting?

If I understand the question right, my group’s running campaign is in an ever-expanding homebrewed world of no name, which canonically has an Austria and a New Orleans. There’s a LOT of misty coastal towns, because that’s in the aesthetic of all three DMs.

10. Have you ever run a game, or do you prefer to just play?

I’ve run three campaigns, and there’s a special magic to running, but I do really like playing and being able to get into character. DMing carries a lot of pressure, too.

11. Do you play with game mats and/or minis?

We have a wet-erase mat we keep forgetting to erase and a small set of minis for the party. NPCs and small monsters are played by Monopoly pieces, big bads are amiibos and other kitsch owned by the DM who hosts at his house.

12. How old were you when you first started gaming?

25 c: I’m new

13. How often does your current gaming group meet up?

Weekly, usually, but sometimes we skip a week or two because of scheduling conflicts.

14. How often would you LIKE to meet up for gaming?

Ideally weekly as a minimum. Twice a week would be rad. A week can be a long time to wait!

15. How long do your gaming sessions tend to be?

4 hours min to 6 max. Anything past 5 and people start to disengage and get sleepy because we start in the evening, because scheduling.

16. How long would you LIKE your gaming sessions to be?

I would love to have all-day games, at least for Big Plot Occurrence sessions. With snacks.

17. Have you tried/had any luck with Roll20?

I’ve been trying to connect with a group on there with no luck thus far. I want to use it to playtest some other characters I’ve brewed up.

18. What’s your preferred gaming beverage?

Whatever beer the host is willing to part with, hehe.

19. What are your preferred gaming snacks?

I don’t really snack, we get dinner during our game sessions. Usually sandwiches or pizza.

20. What are your superstitions or rituals regarding dice?

I named a few of my d20s (Rocky, Misfit, Elf One), and I switch between d20s depending on the task at hand. (Rocky is for strength, Elf one is for charisma, Misfit is for attack rolls, etc) I also have a REALLY SHARP d4 from a high-quality set I bought on sale, which I’ve dubbed the 𝕯4 𝖔𝖋 𝕯𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖍 and keep it out for poking people when they have bad gaming etiquette.

Other than that, I mostly just put misbehaving d20s away and switch to my first d20, which rarely lets me down.

21. Do you know anyone with really good/bad/weird dice luck?

Yes! My good friend has NEVER rolled well on initiative in all the times we’ve played. He always rolls 8 or lower.

22. What would you say is your alignment?

Chaotic good, I’d like to think.

23. What is the class you’d like to be?

I’d love to be a bard. Magic and music and charm out the wazoo.

24. What class do you think you’d actually be?

Probably a fighter. I’m good at music, but charming I’m not. Brute strength is where I excel irl. (I do play rugby, after all.)

25. What weapons would you wield? [@thewhiteboardofkanjisan] (It me!)

Sword! I would love to wield any kind of sword.

26. If you could cast one spell, what would it be? [@thewhiteboardofkanjisan]

Probably Fly, or maybe Polymorph.

27. What school of magic would you specialize in?

Either Divination or Evocation!

28. If you could have any creature - real or fictional - as a familiar, what would it be? [@thewhiteboardofkanjisan]

Gonna agree with you, pseudodragon is the WAY TO GO! For a real animal, though, I’d pick a klipspringer antelope or a Honduran white fruit bat.

29. What was your favorite character to play? [@thewhiteboardofkanjisan]

My currently-only character, Mariya, a CG half-elf ex-acolyte bard loosely based on Maria from The Sound of Music. Over time she’s grown away from the source material in a lot of ways. Depending on what the DM does with Mariya’s backstory, I might give her an alignment shift to LN and heavily multiclass in warlock for the second half of the levels.

30. Do you tend/prefer to play characters of your own gender/orientation?

I’ll shake it up with gender, but my group’s world tends to operate under the rule that Everyone Is Bi Always. One time a plot-hook NPC swapped genders mid-session with no in-world explanation just to make it a little gayer (Landon the lighthouse widower. Poor fellow. That’s a story for another day.)

31(Which I’m adding because I think you sent me the ask before this one got added). What do you, primarily, get out of roleplaying? That is, is it for fun with your friends, to experiment with being people who you are not, or something else? [@aetherspoon]

For me, D&D is both freeing and gives me validation I can sometimes miss in real life. I can be things the real world doesn’t allow, but I can also remind myself that Real World Daisy is talented, a good team member, has ideas worth sharing. D&D helped me make it through my final semester of grad school when a really bad semester-long group project was giving me hella anxiety. (I actually wrote an article for the student newspaper about why business students should play D&D. I’ll share it if anyone wants, though my name’s attached to it, but I’ve totes shared that info on here before so it’s nbd!)

#Dungeons and Dragons #D&D #shut up daisy #Hi Candice!#prionailurus #asks #tabletop rpg

1 note · View note

cleretic · 6 years

Text

The problem with ‘Riddler Plots’ in RP

Something I’ve seen plenty of times in roleplaying of all stripes are DMs including overt puzzles into a plot or scene they’re running. We’re talking about direct, unobfuscated tests of knowledge and problem-solving, sometimes absent of any in-story justification outside of ‘finding a puzzle that needs solving’. They’re usually puzzles that the DM themself either designed or adapted. I’ve taken to calling these ‘Riddler Plots’, because that’s what they’ve always reminded me of: the exact kind of challenges the Batman villain uses, that are only there for the sake of puzzles.

You could also call them ‘Da Vinci Code Plots’, but I think the Riddler’s actually a step up.

I don’t want to take away from the work inherent in designing a good puzzle; it’s a skill I definitely don’t have. But designing a good puzzle is a world different from designing a good puzzle for roleplaying purposes, and one that’s suited for the former might well be god-awful for the latter. I want to explore that, expose the problems and potential solutions.

When talking about this, I think it’s best to start with an example that gets everything wrong, before exploring how to do it well. What I don’t want to do, though, is shame people who have actually done these things wrong in RP; we all make mistakes, and we can all learn from them. So rather than actual or mocked-up RP examples, what I instead want to do is use missions from The Secret World as examples: to explore why missions like these would or wouldn’t work as a scene or plot in roleplaying, because of reasons that tie into the problems with Riddler Plots, and what we might be able to do to improve them.

“Fly through my maze, Superman!”

Superman 64 is a famously bad game for many reasons: extremely poor controls, countless glitches, terrible graphics, the list goes on. But perhaps the most important single reason to me was always right there in the title: ‘Superman’. The game’s very title delivered a specific promise, that it then failed to deliver on, because it couldn’t possibly make you feel like Superman when you’re just flying through a ring maze. There’s a reason one of the biggest compliments given to the Arkham games is that they make you feel like Batman.

(I promise I’ll stop referring to DC Comics stuff now.)

This is the problem that the worst Riddler Plots bring: players are coming to the plot as roleplayers, for roleplaying. And an overt puzzle isn’t roleplaying. Characters aren’t the ones interacting with an overt puzzle: the players are.

Consider Digging Deeper from The Secret World; this would be awful in a strictly roleplaying context, despite being a good mission in the game, but let’s explore why.

In the context of the game, this is one of the earliest investigation missions, and acts to teach you the skills in looking up pertinent knowledge that you’ll need in future investigation missions. This works, because the game is directly challenging the player; it doesn’t care about the character. But if it were a roleplayed scene it would fall apart, as the characters themselves have no agency, and the players can’t possibly roleplay out a solution. They have to solve it themselves.

This problem only becomes more present when you enter spheres like freeform online roleplaying and in many MMOs, because at the very least tabletop roleplaying has tools to mitigate this. In a tabletop game, there are often skill rolls or feats built into the game that players can enforce, to bring an in-character element to an out-of-character puzzle. Those tricks aren’t in play in many other roleplaying mediums, and so the players are either left to solve the puzzle themselves, or try to use nebulous parts of their character to negotiate help from the DM. And in my experience, ‘I don’t know classical music, but my character definitely would’ is rarely accepted without something to enforce it.

Not only that, but the puzzle is directly present to an almost comical degree: you have to solve a puzzle, for no other reason than because the puzzle is there, there’s no logical, in-story reason the obstacles in place are puzzles. This is also true in the game, but in roleplaying it would be even more egregious because it takes away all potential alternate approaches that could be roleplayed out.

The DM has thrown away the central draw of roleplaying for the players, and is instead forcing them to fly through their maze.

So there’s two major problems here preventing this from being a good roleplaying experience. How do we fix them? Let’s take them one at a time, starting with the first mentioned, and what doing it right could look like.

Character Skills and Accepting Alternatives

So, the problem is that we have a puzzle--or series of puzzles--that exist to both the player and character on the exact same level. The player and character would be using the exact same approaches and skillsets, and there is effectively no difference between the two until the puzzle’s been solved. This is a problem if the goal is ‘providing a good roleplaying experience’, so how do we solve it?

Of course, this has already been solved by tabletop games, although implementing the solution is another matter: respecting and utilizing the skills or equipment the character has actually been written up to have.

Using another Secret World mission as basis, let’s use Death and Axes, which does well to demonstrate avenues that could be pursued to improve a puzzle in roleplaying. This is a mission all about following fragmented clues left by ghosts (both figurative and literal) to discover the identity of their killer. With all the clues put together, the player is expected to figure out themselves who the murderer is. In a roleplaying setup, this works pretty well, but it does have the problem that the player and character are on the exact same level.

But what if they weren’t?

This mission involves learning from literal ghosts; what if one of the characters being played actually was a medium, and so could communicate better, and glean more information? Or alternatively, what if somebody’s playing a police detective, somebody whose whole profession is figuring these things out?

In both of these cases, the planned elements of the plot should be bent or revised, to respect and aid the fact that somebody’s character is uniquely suited for solving this.

Alternatively: who’s saying that your solution is the only way forward?

Consider the mission The Orochi Group; you sneak into a research camp, to learn just what these guys are doing. I bring this up because of a specific point in the mission, where you force a tent to evacuate by contaminating their air conditioning. It gets everybody out, allowing you to get in, but then you’ve got the problem of dealing with the gas you put in there yourself. Interestingly, this isn’t a problem that the game outwardly gives you an answer to. You can muscle your way through the debuff it gives you--and in fact this is the only option in Secret World Legends--but there’s another way.

Near the place you start the mission is a side mission, Up In Flames, that gives you a hazmat suit. Wearing this suit means the debuff is never applied, allowing you to complete the mission without trouble. This was clearly the intended way…

But it’s not the only way. Other ways to filter gases also work: a mission introduced later gives you a respirator that also works. But even at launch, there was another one: Illuminati players are given, as part of their faction uniform, a gas mask that turns out to be functional. So, if Illuminati players are smart enough, this puzzle never even exists for them. That rewarding of lateral thinking, using resources available in-character, is fantastic, especially for roleplaying.

These two approaches do great to help players feel more like they’re actually roleplaying out a solution, but both of them (the latter more than the former) require the DM to do something extremely difficult: to accept their creation being broken. Either by providing more information than the players have personally ‘earned’ through the character doing the hard work, or by smashing past the puzzle entirely though alternative approaches. This is why many DMs will refuse to do this, out of a desire to protect their creation. And in freeform or MMO roleplaying, they’re the ones with all the keys to progress; the players only have the tools to interact that the DM has permitted, because the lack of an established system means they have none of their own.

This is an obstacle the DM needs to overcome, not the players. DMs in any medium need to understand that roleplaying is inherently collaborative and creative, that the other players are not subordinate. And if they want to break the DM’s toy, it’s not up to the DM to tell them ‘no’: it’s to help them figure out how.

Immersion in the RP’s world

Immersion is a tricky word in gaming, because it implies a quality that’s hard to attain, but not necessarily helpful. But when designing an in-RP puzzle, some of it is needed.

Remember the example of Digging Deeper. There is no effort made to make those puzzles fit in-universe, it is squarely intended for the player. And that’s fine for the game, it’s working in the lines it drew up for itself, but it won’t work for an RP puzzle. What’s needed is to link it to the world it’s taking place in, rather than the world the players are in.

The puzzle needs to make sense as something that exists within the game’s world. That can be hard sometimes, but ensuring you have answers to some simple ‘who, what, why’ questions will go a long way.

Who made this thing?

What is it supposed to do?

Why is it a puzzle? Why is it this specific puzzle?

Having some firm answers ingrained into the puzzle and its presence itself will help to entrench it in the game’s world rather than our own, thus helping it be more of an actual roleplaying experience rather than a diversion from such.

For an example on how to approach this, we’re turning to Obstructive Persons; a mission that tasks you with infiltrating the Morninglight cult’s underground crime and surveillance operations. This one’s brilliant, because every single step of it is grounded in the world of the game, and is presented in such a way that every part of the process makes reasonable sense. We can answer all of the questions above, comfortably:

Who made it? Obviously, the Morninglight.

What’s it supposed to do? The system you’re infiltrating is a secret operative network, designed to keep out uninitiated.

Why is it a puzzle? Because we’re trying to get through security used by that operative network. It’s not linear, because we ourselves are not initiated; there’s implied to be training and context we don’t have.

This puzzle works perfectly within the world of the game, because every question about it can be answered, and every step makes total sense based on the surroundings, and the one preceding it. In a roleplaying plot version of this, you can see a lot of this playing out because of actual character agency and behavior, rather than progress happening ‘because Greg figured it out’.

Both this flexibility and immersion need to be in place for a puzzle in roleplaying to work; to make it something that the characters are interacting with, rather than solely a challenge posed to the players.

There’s one more thing I need to raise, though. Something that’s much harder to figure out a solution to, and I would say it’s the reason that a plot can’t purely be puzzles like if the Riddler wrote it.

The Fighter Problem

So you’ve taken these things into account, and designed this elaborate puzzle (or puzzles) that’s designed to be able to work with character skills. One that fits perfectly within the world. And you’re willing to adapt it when somebody comes up with something you didn’t. You’re fine, right? You can go ahead, everyone’s gonna be happy!

Except that you’ve forgotten somebody. Somebody we’ve not mentioned in this whole discussion, but someone who undeniably exists within the group you’re pitching your roleplaying plot to, especially when the environment is a game:

The dedicated warrior.

This is a problem across every single medium someone could be roleplaying a puzzle-focused plot in: it inherently cannot permit somebody whose character is focused on combat. Whose character reasonably knows little else other than skills relating to combat. I’ve met plenty of people playing these characters, and they would all be ruined if a puzzle came up--several of them actually were. It doesn’t matter if the DM gives them a caesar cipher, references to Shakespeare, or even a literal jigsaw puzzle; the character is out of play, either totally unable to participate or working much slower than anybody else, even if the player wants to join in.

Picture this from the warrior’s player’s point of view, because this is a lose/lose/lose situation for them from a roleplaying perspective:

They sit it out completely, because their character can’t contribute.

They contribute only out-of-character as a player (depending on who else is involved, this option might not even be possible).

They break character, having them come to conclusions or propose solutions that their character would normally never do, just so they can participate.

I can’t show you an example that demonstrates how to fix this. Because I can’t give a simple fix for this problem at all: there is no easy way to give the warrior something to do during a dedicated puzzle. My only suggestion is that you design your plot so that those people can be important to it: that there is something for them to fight. But that wouldn’t make it a pure puzzle like I’ve been talking about, and it still means that your puzzle acts as a time-out for them.

Conclusion

Puzzles are hard. Roleplaying puzzles are harder.

That doesn’t mean they’re not worth pursuing, or can’t be fixed. It just requires more than the skills inherent in constructing the puzzle in the first place. It requires writing, it requires integration with the world, it requires improvisational thinking.

But perhaps most importantly it requires compromise, and humility. The DM’s willingness to to pull apart the puzzle machine they’ve built, and the humility to realize that not everybody is going to be happy with it in the first place.

#roleplaying #roleplay #rp #mmorpg

0 notes