Saturday, December 15, 2012

Narrative Structure in D&D

Narrative structure is used in many types of fiction like movies, television, video games, etc.
I take a look at narrative structure and how it can improve storytelling and game play.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Magic Medieval City using D&D 4E Rituals

Image a city in D&D 4E where rituals are used freely.
A place where casters are leading the city with magic guilds and temples.
Cleric and wizard class abilities are used where necessary.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Rewards affecting D&D Player Behavior

Rewards are essential to D&D: Gaining experience, levels, gold and magic items.
I explore rewards that give mechanical and non-mechanical bonuses.
Mechanical bonuses directly increase PC powers like attack, damage and skills.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Reasons to play D&D

I like playing D&D and there are many reasons why.

I came across an article on reasons to play D&D.
It mentions imagination, structure, social activity, performance and problem-solving.
I find it an interesting article and I want to add more reasons.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Promoting Diversity of D&D Characters

I want to promote diversity in D&D. I underestimated the controversy surrounding this topic.
That is why I propose small practical changes for D&D.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Cooperative Storytelling in D&D


I want stories in D&D in which both Dungeon Masters and players contribute.
People play through a passionate story while having fun.
The DM and players work together on this.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Types of Character Discriminations in D&D

In my opinion, D&D needs more diversity and I cover different types of discrimination and practical ways to improve diversity.
I'm only going to cover types of discrimination that I've got something useful to say about: gender, age, disability and sexual orientation.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Combining D&D monsters into a single monster

I create unique monsters by combining them into one multi-part monster.
Combining robots into one large robot is often found in fiction and I use it on D&D monsters.

You might know combiners from the Transformers franchise, Zords in Power Rangers and other fictional works. I bring this concept into D&D to create unique monsters and surprise the PCs.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Metagaming in D&D

When I first started playing D&D, I hadn't heard of metagaming.
This quickly changed when I became a DM and had some experienced players.
Metagaming is the use of player knowledge while playing a character.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Discrimination in D&D Societies and Settings

Discrimination in D&D depends on the societies and the settings in which people are playing.
I list my expectations for historical settings and the default D&D setting.
Small changes in settings have a large impact on the diversity of settings.

In the previous post I talked about discrimination in D&D writing.
I looked into the player's handbooks for D&D 4E and found that some societies in the core books have different gender roles.
I want to see what impact a setting has on discrimination.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Undead Stalking the Graveyard

I created a graveyard to scare PCs. It scared them because their enemies were unknown and could ambush them at any moment.

I'm participating in the October RPG Blog Carnival and its theme is horror.

I once had a party with a paladin and a cleric that were happy when they encountered undead.
These characters were extremely effective against undead.
So I created a cemetery with a huge underground labyrinth, crawling with undead.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Discrimination in D&D 4E Writing

I want more diversity in the D&D games I play in, mostly after reading about sexist art in D&D.
Although diversity can fixed by the DM, it's a lot easier if the core books and adventures fully support it, as a good example to new and experienced DMs.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Action Denying Conditions on PCs in D&D 4E

Action denying status effects deny player characters the use of their actions.
I examine stunned, unconscious, dazed, dominated, petrified, etc conditions.

Why action denial is problematic


Action Denial robs players of things to do during their turn.
Combat in D&D 4E at higher levels is often slow.
This means players are waiting a long time to do something.
Players generally get bored quickly this way.

Action Denial is tolerable if other PCs can help the afflicted PC.

Save Ends vs. End of next Turn


At higher levels, end of next turn is stronger than save ends because of many saving possibilities and bonuses. At lower levels, action denying effects that have save ends might take some turns to save against.

Stunned

woman falling
"Free Falling - Explored" by SodanieChea on Flickr

This is the ultimate action denial, because stunned PCs can't take any actions.
I simply don't use this condition at all.

Dragons use this, I substitute it for a weaker condition like dazed and additional damage.

Unconscious


This is harsh action denial, but in some circumstances PCs can get rid of it by healing, heal checks or taking damage.
If there are no such circumstances I won't use the condition.

A Night Hag uses the unconscious and stunned conditions.

Dying


Dying PCs can't use any actions but other PCs heal them or use the healing skill on them.
So this condition isn't problematic.

Dazed


Dazed is great action denial. Melee characters out of melee range can't move and standard attack, but they can still charge or use a weaker ranged attack.

Swallowed 


Swallowed isn't an official condition but larger creatures like crocodiles or purple worms use it.
Swallowed PCs are restrained, take damage each turn and make a basic attack each turn.
The PCs are released only when the creature dies.

This can be boring because players have no choices, someone could roll for them and they go for a walk.

I solve this by allowing hard Athletics skill checks and successful attacks to escape the beast's stomach and mouth.

Dominated


Dominated is less of an issue as a player gets to do something.
I use it with moderation, it is a charm effect so saving against it is easier.

The PCs are out of action, players are not as they can attack their allies.

Petrified


A character gets Petrified in stages (slowed, immobilized, petrified) and the Remove Afflication ritual is house ruled to be usable in combat.

Cockatrices and Medusa cause this condition.
When these creatures are killed they provide a way to cure recently petrified PCs.
So I see no problem with this condition.


Do you use action denial conditions as written or do you have house rules for them?
If you have house rules, I'd love to hear them.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Roleplaying Mental Dump Stats

Characters in D&D often end up with mental dump stats, stats that are below 10 for Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma. When role playing any of these dump stats, a character is often portrayed as stupid or speaking in caveman talk.


Saturday, October 6, 2012

Mind Flayers are running the Asylum Quest

A mind flayer is feeding of the patients in an asylum.
Will the PCs kill the mind flayer even if all its thralls revert to being insane?

History


hospital / asylum
Photo provided by State Records NSW
About a hundred years ago, a young half-elf physician named Derrin Urcabae began treating the mentally deficient and insane. As one of the few people in the city who would do so, he soon found himself overwhelmed with patients.

After his death, investigations discovered that Derrin Urcabae used his position and the facilities to perform inhuman experiments on some of the truly mad inmates.
He performed brain surgeries in order to fix the madness and had a special laboratory for this.


Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Benefits of Small D&D Parties

people joining hands
Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I prefer playing with smaller parties.
There are benefits and drawbacks
to having fewer PCs.

A while back there was an article about
handling a solo party.
I've never run a solo party but I've played with a small amount of players.

I like smaller parties but I can imagine there are DMs that like larger parties because there are more player interactions and large scale battles.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Intelligent Antagonists

bloodied queen
Killer Queen by Louise Docker

There are pitfalls when the PCs face intelligent antagonists.
These pitfalls make playing D&D less fun.
An intelligent villain done wrong makes players think of railroads and that they're powerless to face the antagonist because of his knowledge, power level, etc.









Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Tharaxus, Human Paladin

Tharaxus is a powerful paladin and local leader who is rumored to be invincible.
Will this antagonist end up as friend or foe?

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Recurring antagonists

Recurring antagonists are essential in story telling as they oppose the PCs.
Their recurring nature creates a connection between them and the PCs which leads to a better story.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Creating NPCs with class levels in D&D 4E

NPCs with class levels and powers are not common in D&D 4E.
I like NPCs in an adventure that are similar to PCs, and I have a way to create them easily.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Zelenna, Night Hag

Zelenna is a Night Hag that grants people their desires but twists them.
She likes to toy with people and eventually wants to create a coven of hags.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Harvesting Monster Parts

Killed Monsters can be harvested for useful parts.
This turns those monsters into rewards for the PCs.


Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Steal Cockatrice Food quest

Someone keeps cockatrices in her apartment and has everlasting provisions to feed them. Can the PCs steal the everlasting provisions for the starving people in the city?

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Vampire in Wine Cellar Quest

The PCs face a vampire who mixes his blood into wine to weaken his prey.
Can they stop him and his thralls?

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Getting Players Invested

Getting players invested in the world around them is necessary if you want to tell a story. If they are only playing to kill things and gain experience/loot there wouldn't be need of a story.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

5 Minute Workday

The 5 minute workday refers to the PCs having daily powers which recharge after resting.
I discuss how often the PCs can rest.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Rescue Merchant son from Dragon quest

A white dragon kidnapped the son of a wealthy merchant.
It's up to the PCs to track it and rescue the son.
This quest is for level 7 characters.


Tuesday, August 21, 2012

TPK and Storytelling

The PCs can all get killed in a combat encounter (Total Party Kill, TPK).
This can be due to bad choices, unlucky dices or too strong opponents.
It's hard to make up excuses for the opponents to simply let them
walk away, so I assume the opponents capture them alive.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Skills in D&D 4E


Skills are important for role playing in D&D 4E.
Ideally, if a player wants his or her character to do
something the DM should be able to map it to a skill.
Players shouldn't feel bound by their skill list to try
out things.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Dara, Elf Vampire Cleric of Zehir


Eons ago, Dara was born to a noble family in a city.
When she was of marrying age, her parents were looking for a husband for her.
It didn't come to that, as a powerful vampire - some say Kas -
entered their house, slaughtered everyone and turned her into a vampire.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Abstract Mechanics and unexplainable powers


Powers in D&D 4E allow for interesting tactical combat, explaining how they work is often impossible.


Why are Fighters only able to perform some attack once a day?
Why can a cleric only have one divine fortune per encounter?
If a cleric fires a lance of faith, will it reflect in a mirror?
How does one knock prone an ooze?
How does one sneak attack the undead?
etc...

Monday, August 13, 2012

Storytelling in Kobold Hall

Kobold Hall has good encounters but can use more role playing. I try to add a decent story, non-suicidal monsters and player choices.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Protection from Death Knight quest


When the PCs enter the city, the city guards talk to them.
"Excuse, are you adventurers?"
when the PCs say yes:
"Would you please come along?"
The city guards won't give any more information, except that the leader of the city wants to talk to them.

When they arrive at the leader, he starts a monologue:
"Greetings, I'm Tharaxus, the temporary leader of this city.
We have a problem, the last weeks several city guards have been killed.
We know who is doing this but we cannot stop him.

His name is Heskan, a death knight.
He has a grudge against leaders of this city and kills city guards until he gets to me. My predecessor has been kidnapped a couple of months ago by Heskan.

Heskan attacks only in the open, so I'd like to hire you for protection.
There is a reward of 2000 gp for killing Heskan."

Examining the quest


Tharaxus leaves out a lot of details as not to scare the PCs.
An Insight DC 22 reveals this, and if pressed, he'll tell more.
He also doesn't mention his predecessor, who is probably still alive.

History DC 16:
The city was once part of great empire.
The last king of that empire was betrayed by his lieutenant Heskan.
Heskan successfully killed the the king but was killed by the king's
loyal followers when he wanted to usurp the throne.

He didn't stay dead for long as someone wanted him still around.
Heskan, once a Dragonborn Paladin of Bahamut, was transformed in a
death knight.

Religion DC 20:
He spends most of his time in the Shadowfell torturing the last
leader of the city. If a new leader emerges he goes to the city
and kidnaps the new leader to torture him.
He only kills a leader if he has kidnapped a new leader.
This cycle has been going on ever since he became a death knight.

Streetwise DC 16:
He rides a black horse on fire, which the PCs identify as a Nightmare.
People have seen the Nightmare and Heskan appear and disappear,
riding though a blackish portal.
PCs who succeed on a Religion DC 18 know that the portal leads to the Shadowfell.

Stats


Heskan level 13 Soldier
Medium Undead
Initiative +11                     Senses Perception +16; Darkvision
HP 200; Bloodied 100
AC 30, Fortitude 27, Reflex 21, Will 22
Speed 5
Action Points 1
Saving Throws +2
Resist Necrotic 10, Vulnerable Radiant 5
Immune Disease; Poison

Standard Actions


Soulsword,        +19 vs. AC,    1d8 + 17 necrotic damage
Unholy Strike (At-will), +19 vs. AC,    2d8 + 21 necrotic damage
Sword Slash (At-Will; Range 10),
                        +19 vs. AC,   
                        3d8 + 16 necrotic damage, the target is knocked prone

Flame strike (Recharge 5 6 Bloodied; Close Burst 2),
                        +16 vs. Reflex,   
                        5d8 + 12 fire and necrotic damage,
                        undead creatures within burst deal
                        an extra 10 fire damage with attacks until end of next turn


Minor Actions


Dragon Breath (Encounter; Minor; Close Blast 3),
                        +20 vs. Reflex,   
                        2d6 + 7 fire and necrotic damage

Divine Challenge (At-will; minor; Range 5), the target is marked until
                        the death knight uses this power against another target.
                        If the target makes an attack excluding death knight
                        it takes -2 to attack and 14 necrotic damage.

Alignment
Chaotic Evil
Languages Common, Draconic
Intimidate +20, History +16, Diplomacy +18


Protecting the leader


The leader walks outside with his city guards, with the PCs nearby.
The city guards and leader are Human Guards (see monster manual).
The leader has double hit points compared to Human Guards.

Shortly after entering the streets, Heskan appears riding his Nightmare mount.
He gains fire resistance this way.

Encounter:
  • Heskan
  • Nightmare (see monster manual)
  • Sword Wraith (see monster manual)

Heskan's background:
Shortly after adventuring in the Shadowfell, he gained companions:
  • Nightmare mount, which allowed him to travel quickly from the natural world to the Shadowfell
  • Sword Wraith, which he wears as a cape

Heskan won't say much, he'll charge straight for the leader.
Being mounted on the Nightmare gives him a speed 10.
If he notices the PCs he'll let the Sword wraith kill the city guards to create more Sword Wraith (Spawn ability).
The PCs recognize the Nightmare and may recognize and Sword wraith (Religion DC 19)

An important point to make is whether the PCs keep the Nightmare alive
so they can tame it for just one trip.
Taming the Nightmare means defeating it in combat, keeping it alive and make an Intimidate DC 18 to make it choose between service and death.
That way they can save the previous leader from the Shadowfell.
An alternative is to use the Shadow Passage ritual.

If Heskan is killed while Sword Wraiths are still alive, they will try to go into nearby houses and start killing commoners (or leader and city guards first if they are still alive).
If Heskan is killed while the Nightmare is alive it will try to escape and eventually go to the Shadowfell.

Also, who made Heskan a death knight and wants no leadership in the city?
This fact may lead to an antagonist.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Encounter Management: combat and role playing

Running encounters is at the heart of D&D.
Whether these are combat encounters or role playing,
the balance between those gives an adventure more depth.
They aren't mutually exclusive, as an encounter may start as a combat and end in a diplomacy session or vice versa.
Besides, combat encounters show many details about NPC opponents and the world.


Combat Encounters

I think combat is one of the most discussed topics of D&D 4E.
Other people have compiled a list of combat accelerators.

I like the tactical combat of D&D 4E and the combination of powers.
Each class is equal in number of daily resources which I find great.
But as our group levels up, combat starts to slow down.
Which isn't a surprise considering the number of powers each player has.

I have an encounter manager for managing initiative, monster attacks, monster health and skill checks.
That way the DMs turn is finished quite fast.
Having a laptop or PC is essential for this.

I increase monster attack and damage while reducing defense,
somewhat similar to monster manual 3. I end pointless combats early.
I avoid effects that prolong combat like stun, blind, unconscious, etc.
So combat encounters are very offensive, a lot of damage gets tossed
around in a short time.


Role playing


The most important thing I did was having less combats but making them count more.
If PCs would have 8 combat encounter per character level like the Dungeon Master's Guide recommends we would barely get 2 encounters done per session.

Many encounters are role playing, information gathering, exploration, etc.
A sort of informal skill challenges (no number of successes or misses).
I think there are about 4 combat encounters per character levels.

This also prevents repetition, something I noticed in published adventures like Kobold Hall, Keep on the Shadowfell, etc.
Some encounters feel like filler to get to the 8 combat encounters.

Maps and tracking status


Maps are created in Gimp and projected by an overhead projector on the table.
Miniatures are from HeroQuest, although we sometimes use coins, bottle caps, etc.
That way a combat starts very fast, keeping the momentum of the game.

We mark only the bloodied status, other statuses are remembered by the players.
There is a public initiative list with defenses of all the monsters and PCs.
This speeds up combat and makes it easier for players to plan their strategy.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

5 Lesser known undead


Most people know iconic undead monsters like zombies, skeletons, liches, vampires, etc.
In this post we're going to examine some lesser known undead monsters and look at story telling possibilities.

All of the undead here are from Open Grave.
  1. Unrisen
    Unrisen are people brought back from the dead by the raise dead ritual.
    Something went wrong, so they look the same but are undead monstrosities at  heart.
    I find them creepy as they are one of the few undead that can easily pass of as normal humanoids. I wrote a quest about them.
    Maybe there exists a way to sabotage the raise dead ritual so that a healer can corrupt an organization or city.
    Or an unrisen healer sabotages the raise dead ritual to create a family.
  2. Caller In Darkness
    This ghost is a group of spirits that died in terror.
    It wants to draw others into the group.
    As a ghost it can be defeated but will return until the reason that caused the deaths is solved.
    Also, how large can it become? How many souls can it draw in before it gets huge or gargantuan?
  3. Forsaken Shell
    These are undead skins that want to envelop living creatures.
    When these living creatures die, their skins become new Forsaken shells.
    An interesting way to use them is in an encounter with low-level NPCs or even commoners. This forces the PCs to focus on more than just destroying the enemies.
    Only the skin becomes an undead creature, the rest of the body can be used to create or feed other undead.
  4. Wraith
    These undead are fantastic. Their phasing and spawn ability (any living humanoid killed by them becomes a wraith) can lead to an wraith apocalypse.
    An intelligent antagonist may keep them and threaten to set them loose in a populated area. Or an insane antagonist may just set them loose anyway.
    Players can then fight against swarms of wraiths or a huge amount of minions.
  5. Nighthaunt
    Nighthaunts are shadows that prey on the innocents.
    The cool thing about them is their ability to create corpse grass.
    Anyone that eats even a little of it becomes a nighthaunt at death.
    So it can be put in food, the water supply, beer, wine, etc.
    Once the first infected person dies the fun starts.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Vistra, Dwarven Wizard

Vistra was born to a poor, religious family in the mountains
south of Hammerfast.
He was born with poor legs and was unable to walk at a young age.
As he was bound to his room, he started reading.
Not religion like his parents wanted but the arcane arts.
So when a healer was finally able to come along to look
at Vistra's legs, he dismissed the healer.
He vowed to follow his own path and cursed the Gods names
for allowing such injustice to exist at all.
He conjured up a Floating Disk and used that to get away.

His anger at the Gods grew every day, while he became more and
more convinced of the superiority of the arcane arts.
"Ultimately all power is derived from Arcane"
He met someone that could give him new legs using grafts.
He rejected that offer, tricked an angel into being summoned
and took the angel's wings for his own.
He hides those wings except for combat or fleeing.


Role in a Campaign



Vistra can be enraged by sweet talking the Gods or down talking arcane magic.
When first battled he may use his wings to flee the encounter.


He uses Eye of Alarm to guard himself against surprise attacks.



Stats


Vistra level 14 Elite Controller
Medium Humanoid           
Initiative +14                            Senses Perception + 20; Low-light vision
HP 140; Bloodied 70
AC 30, Fortitude 25, Reflex 26, Will 28
Speed 1; falls Prone unless a manages a saving throw, Fly 8
Action Points 1
Saving Throws +2
Resist 10 Force
Stand Ground: -1 to push/pull/slide and saving throw against falling prone
+5 to saving throws against poison


Standard Actions


Quarterstaff,        +19 vs. AC,    1d8 + 4 damage
Thunderwave (At-will; Close Blast 4),
                             +18 vs. Reflex,   
                             1d6 + 14 thunder and force damage,
                             target is pushed 6 squares
Force Missile (At-will; Range 20), +18 vs. Reflex,    2d4 + 14 force damage
Force Orb (Encounter; Area burst 4 within 10),
                             +18 vs. Reflex,   
                             1d6 + 14 force damage, target is knocked prone;
                             Vistra and allies are not affected
Rolling Thunder (Encounter; Range 10; 2 attacks),
                             +18 vs. Reflex,   
                             3d6 + 14 thunder damage, target slides 3 squares
Force Grab  (Encounter; Range 20; Sustain minor; move 8 squares),
                             +18 vs. Reflex,   
                             2d8 + 14 force damage, target is grabbed
                             and if sustained grabbed target takes 15 force damage
                             (use Reflex Defense as DC to escape grab)
Spectral Ram  (Encounter; Range 10),
                             +18 vs. Fortitude,    

                             2d10 + 14 force damage, target is pushed 3 squares
                             and knocked prone
Thunderlance  (Encounter; Close Blast 6),
                             +18 vs. Reflex,   
                             4d6 + 14 thunder damage, target is pushed 4 squares



Minor Actions



Second Wind  (Encounter; minor),
                            
Vistra gains 35 hit points and +2 to all defenses until end of next turn
Angel's Wings (At-Will; minor), Vistra gains or loses Fly 8
Drink Potion (Encounter; minor), Vistra gains 25 hit points and saves against condition




Alignment Lawful Evil Languages Common, Dwarven
Arcane +20, History +16, Insight +18


Reactions


Heavenly Push (Immediate Interrupt; target of ranged attack; once/round), 
                           
Vistra gains +5 to defenses against this attack
Shield (Encounter; Immediate Reaction):

                             if hit by an attack raise AC and Reflex by 4 until end of next turn
Storm of Blades (Immediate Reaction; reduced to 0 hit points; Close Burst 3),

                             +19 vs. AC,   
                             6d8 + 7 damage


Tactics


Vistra is all about forced movement, so terrain will play a big role.
He tries to keep away from melee fighters using his flight.
He tries to push anyone into pits or spikes.

Encounter

Vistra is in a training room:
all walls have spikes, and there are several pits with spikes on them.
Being pushed into any of those causes 10 damage.

Level 14 Encounter:
  • Vistra
  • ShieldGuardian (found under guardian entry in Monster Manual)
  • 2 Earth Elementals (found in Monster Manual 3; level up 2 levels)
  • DartWall trap behind Vistra. It only fires at ground level and he can fly above it. The trap is triggered by Vistra and can be disabled by 3 Thievery DC 34 or Arcana DC 32. It attacks 2d4 creatures in range.
    Use Poisoned Dart Wall from Dungeon Master's Guide as a start but level it to level 13.
The trap activates when the ShieldGuardian is dead as Vistra is Flying and
the Earth Elementals have little trouble with it as they can Burrow: half speed through solid rock. The earth elementals are hidden / burrowed at first.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Masterwork Armors

Masterwork Armors


Masterwork armors are introduced in Adventurer's Vault.
They give additional AC bonus and other special properties
like additional defenses or resists.

Armorers


Some masterwork armors in adventurer's vault are related to race:
Cloth: Githzerai
Leather: Drow
Hide: Dwarves
Chain: Eladrin, Genasi, Tieflings
Scale: Yuan-ti, Dwarves
Plate: Humans, Githzerai

This is good opportunity to give PCs or friendly NPCs
a moment to shine with creating masterwork armors.

The list above is just a guideline.
If someone can explain how to make a masterwork armor,
it is possible.
It depends on character background, intelligence, race, Nature skill (skins), Arcana skill (cloth; leather), etc.

Masterwork Rules


Masterwork Armor is made using:
  • someone that knows the crafting techniques
  • correct materials, total market price is the same as normal item,
    also sells for the same market price.
    For example: a magic armor's market price is 20.000 gp.
    A character that has 5000 gp in components cost needs
    pay up 15.000 gp. The masterwork armor's market price is then 20.000 gp.
  • takes time to create in hours equal to the item level,
    which is can be interrupted.

Materials

  • Cloth Armor
    Githweave: 5000 gp Alexandrite Crystals
    Mindweave: 6000 gp Sapphire Crystals
  • Leather Armor
    Drowmesh: 6000 gp Onyx Crystals
    Snakeskin: 7000 gp Emerald Crystals
  • Scale Armor
    Drakescale Armor: 4000 gp Rage Drake Scales
                                    5000 gp Dragon Scales
        Wyvern Scale Armor: 6000 gp Wyvern scales
                                            7000 gp Hydra Scales
        Stormscale Armor: 6000 gp Gorgon Scales
  • Goggles of Night: 9000 gp Dark Crystal


Where to find Materials

  • Crystals: found in caverns in the Fey wild,
    Nature to navigate and to avoid wildlife,
    Dungeoneering to find and navigate cave,
    History to know about caves
  • Dark Crystal: found in darkest caves of the Shadowfell,
    Nature to navigate,
    Religion to stay clear of dangers,
    Stealth to bypass Nightwalkers, they can be distracted,
    Dungeoneering for navigating caves
  • Scales: kill rage drakes, dragons, wyverns, etc. 

How to use Masterwork Armor


This all depends on how adventures are played.
If it's a pure dungeon crawl with players focusing on tactical combat,
it's best just hand them Masterwork Armor instead of regular armor.
That way, they don't have the hassle of finding components or caring about the details of crafting Masterwork Armor.

If players focus a on non-combat and crafting the above house rules may help crafting Masterwork Armor.

So it all depends on the play style of the group.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

The Deserter quest

The Deserter


The PCs come upon a poster hanging in town:
Jared
Crime:    desertion
Wanted:  alive
Reward: 400 gp

with the face of blond haired middle-aged man on it.

A Streetwise check easily gives the following information:
Jared deserted his post. There was an incident
where some citizens were fighting amongst themselves.

He got a wound and fled into the sewers and hasn't come
back for 2 weeks now. Because of that the other guards
were in danger. People can't imagine him being
in the sewer for so long due to the crocodiles.
None of the other guards know him well, he seemed a bit odd.
The last weeks he seemed more off than usual.
His nickname was Crazy Jared.

To navigate the sewers use Dungeoneering. The stench in here is
quite overwhelming. Nature checks help with tracking.
Nature DC 20 finds him directly, any lower than that and the PCs spend several hours marching in the sewers and lose a healing surge.
A Dungeoneering or History DC 18 lead to the PCs being able to map the sewers. This means no lost healing surge for failing the nature check.

Finally they find him in a barely closed of room.
He's in there with 3 Fey Crocodiles (see monster manual).

Stats


Crazy Jared level 10 Skirmisher
Medium humanoid
Initiative +9           Senses Perception +12

HP 104; Bloodied 52
AC 26, Fortitude 23, Reflex 27, Will 22
Speed 6
Longsword (At-Will),   +15 vs. AC,    1d8 + 7 damage
Twin Strike
(At-Will; 2 attacks),    +16 vs. AC,    1d10 + 8 damage
Shadow Wasp Strike
(Encounter),    +16 vs. AC,    2d10 + 10 damage

Level 11 Encounter:
  • Crazy Jared
  • 3 Fey Crocodiles

There are 3 waterfalls converging into 1 stream here.
The waterfalls are difficult terrain and grant complete cover.
The streams are shallow water but are slippery: Acrobatics DC 15 when
crossing a stream to prevent falling prone or Athletics DC 20 (10 when running start).
All perception checks take a -5 penalty due to the noise.
Jared is sitting on a rotten chair. In the south-western corner
is some wood that appears to be used as a bed.
He wears a rusted scale mail and rags. He uses 2 broadswords as weapons.

The deserter fled into the Sewers because he has gone bonkers.
He believes he's a king.
The entrance is hidden to be safe from other sewer dwellers.
He has attracted Fey Crocodiles, he's a ranger multiclassed
to druid and thinks he can shapeshift into a crocodile.

If found out he shouts phrases such as:
"Onward my knights! For Anduria!"
"I won't let you kill my subjects!"
He lives under the delusion that he is King Jared IV, King of Anduria.
If one of the crocodiles gets bloodied or killed he screams:
"John, you will not have died for nothing"
"How dare you rebels hurt my noble knights"
If defeated, he mumbles:
   "How can this be?"
   "I am not worthy to be king, please take my crown..."

If brought back, he's sent to the asylum.
He carries with him:
  • decayed rat meat
  • bronze crown worth 100 gp

Monday, July 30, 2012

Hidden monster in a house quest


Quest


A cleric of Erathis named Melissa meets up with the PCs and asks
them to come along to her temple.
In the small temple lies a body, prepared for burial.

When she lifts the veil covering it, there are bite and claw marks
on the body of the human male.
She tells the PCs:
"This body was found 4 days ago in a dark alleyway.
His name is Kris, a baker nearby. We don't know who would want him
dead, so I prayed to the gods for an answer.
They show me visions of a house nearby, I know where it is.
I know the inhabitants, a nice couple:
a female Tiefling named Hope is in there with a human male named Brandis.
I didn't go to them yet because the monster might still be there and
attack on being provoked.
And I don't want to worry them by telling this, for now they seem safe.
I tried to get them out of the house but they wouldn't leave.

So could you go to the house and look if my visions about the monster are correct?

As a reward I'll give you a free Holy Water (level 11; see Divine Power rituals)"
The Holy Water is also for sale at 350 gp.

Examining the body


A Nature DC 15 reveals that the bite marks are quite small, so the monster may be a small creature or a creature with a small mouth.
A Heal DC 16 reveals some necrotic residue in the claw and bite marks.
A Religion DC 16 with the necrotic residue points to the monster being undead.


Going to the House


The neighborhood in which the house is located is filled with
Tieflings and halflings and they notice the PCs entering and leaving.
Hope answers the door, she doesn't want anyone entering the house but will
eventually let the PCs in.

A female Tiefling named Hope is in here with a human male named Brandis.
They have an adopted human child named junior.
The windows are barricaded shut, Brandis is busy in the kitchen chopping up meat and junior is crawling through the residence.
There is one large bed for the couple and a small bed for junior.
There are 2 closets containing used clothes.
There is only one light source in the building, the brander.

Hope is sitting at a table and invites the PCs to sit down.

There are some forks, knives and plates on the table with
the forks and knives becoming a bit rusted.
She has a high Bluff (Insight DC 21) and will say she knows
nothing about the murder or the monster.

When her Bluff fails her or Brandis comes back from the kitchen,
the following events happen:
Junior takes out a filthy razor from inside his clothes
and (surprise) attacks one of the PCs.
Brandis takes out a large kitchen knife and Hope kicks down the
brander, making the room pitch dark.
Hope grabs one of the rusted knives and attacks the PCs.

Combat Encounter


The parents are unrisen Adults, the child is a Corrupted Offspring.
They can be found in Open Grave under Unrisen.
Unrisen are people who came back wrong after a Raise Dead ritual.
They are undead but look normal, they try to fit in.
As undead they possess darkvision and have the advantage with the lights out.
There is only one light source in the building, the brander.
Their tactics is to let the child surprise attack one of the PCs and then put out the light, then use their darkvision to kill them.
Unrisen look normal in all ways. They can be detected with
Holy water (a few drops are enough) or the Corpse Light ritual.
When they are near defeat, they try to run outside and make the neighborhood side with them.
Should that happen Melissa will help the PCs when asked and use drops of Holy Water to prove the nature of the unrisen.

Level 10 encounter:
  • Corrupted Offspring (vulnerability to radiant reduced to 5)
  • 2 Unrisen Adults (same stats as Corrupted Offspring, except they have only this attack:
    Rusted Knife (At-Will), +16 vs. AC,    3d6 + 6 necrotic damage

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Valna, Elven Druid

Valna, Elven Druid


Valna was born in the forests west of Fallcrest and raised in a
large community of elves dedicated to the primal forces of nature.

She trained herself as a druid, protecting nature from threats
of undead, civilization and other destruction.
Her community and the forest weren't really under a lot threat.

As Valna discovered her beast form, that of a bear, she compared
herself to other druids as to who had faster or agile beast forms.
She also looked at various animals in the woods and wondered
if there were ways to have the best of both worlds.
For example the strength of a bear with the agility and speed of a tiger.

So she began crossbreeding related species and became
frustrated by the time it took to achieve anything.
Valna choose to look at insects and saw ants carrying a
wounded butterfly to their nests.
She took them all and managed to transplant the butterfly wings
to a large ant.
Happy with this success, she started experimenting on larger
animals. This went on until the other druids found out and banished her.
With most of per druid powers stripped from her and the loss
of her community, she obsessively started focusing on grafting,
transplanting body parts from one creature to another.

She wants the to create more powerful grafts and hybrid creatures to
finally impress her former community, even by force.

Role in a campaign

Valna is doesn't back out from a fight, so she won't be a big bad.
Her actions may impact the PCs long before they meet her:
hybrid creatures, grafts, mutilated creatures due to experiments, etc.
She is suited as support for an organization.


Stats


Valna level 14 Elite Controller
Medium Fey
Initiative +13            Senses Perception +18

HP 150; Bloodied 75
AC 29, Fortitude 24, Reflex 27, Will 30
Speed 7
Action Points 1
Saving Throws +2



Standard Actions

 

Scythe (At-Will),    +15 vs. AC,    2d4 + 9 damage
Savage Rend (At-Will; Beast Form),   
                         +18 vs. Reflex,   
                         1d8 + 14 damage, target slides 1 square
Fire Hawk (At-will; Range 10),    +18 vs. Reflex,    2d8 + 14 fire damage
Thorn Spray (Encounter; Close Blast 5),   
                         +18 vs. Reflex,   
                         1d6 + 14 damage, target takes -4 to defenses until end of next turn
Clinging Drones (Encounter; Close Blast 5; Beast Form),   
                         +18 vs. Fortitude,   
                         2d8 + 14 damage, target is slowed and can't shift (save ends both)
Sun Beam (Encounter; Area burst 2 within 10),   
                         +18 vs. Will,   
                         1d10 + 18 damage, target is blinded (save ends)
Floating Death (Encounter; Burst 1; Beast Form),   
                         +18 vs. Reflex,    

                         4d6 + 24 damage, druid shifts 4 squares
Wall Of Stone (Encounter; Range 10),
                         solid stone wall with 100 hit points is formed around target creature


Minor Actions


Central Eye (At-will; minor; Range 10), +18 vs. Will, target is dazed until druid's next turn

Drink Potion (Encounter; minor), Valna gains 40 hit points and saves against condition
Telekinesis Ray (twice per encounter; minor; Range 10),
                          +18 vs. Fortitude,
                          target is pushed 4 squares
Hold Ray (twice per encounter; minor; Range 10),

                     +18 vs. Reflex, 
                     target is restrained (save ends)
Confusion Ray (twice per encounter; minor; Range 10),

                     +18 vs. Will,
                     target charges nearest ally and makes melee basic attack
Death Ray (twice per encounter; minor; Range 10),

                     +18 vs. Fortitude,   
                     2d8 + 9 necrotic damage, if target is bloodied it becomes dazed (save ends);
                     first failed save: dazed and weakened; second failed save: death

Change shape (At-will; minor): change between human and Beast form and shift 1 square,
                          has central beholder eye grafted in chest in both forms.


Reactions


Autonomous Eye (free; when enemy starts turn within 5 squares),   
                     +18 vs. Will,
                          target is dazed until end of next turn


Alignment Lawful Evil Languages Common, Elven
Nature +20, Heal +20, Insight +18



Tactics

Valna isn't that powerful in a fight. She has a central Beholder Eye grafted in her chest and smaller beholder eyes on her arms.
She keeps these eyes hidden except when she has to fight.

In a combat encounter, she'll hold back at first and let her creatures attack while she attacks in human form at a range.
Defenders will be targeted by her Stone wall.
Once one of her creatures gets bloodied, she'll change shape and get up close
to be able to use her beast form powers and autonomous eye.

Example Encounter

Valna is working in her private room.
Several dead creatures like cockatrices and magic hounds are lying dead on the table.


There are 5 cages:
  • upper large cage holds kobolds and goblins, mostly with arms and legs removed
  • upper left cage holds 2 medium-sides beholders with eyes removed, scared of any sound or gesture
  • upper right cage holds 3 blinded Medusa
  • lower left cage holds several dire rats
  • lower right cage is empty
Most creatures are famined or near-dying.
When Valna gets hit they cheer.


Level 16 Encounter:
  • Valna
  • Chimera (found in Monster Manual)
  • 2 Owl Bears (found in Monster Manual; level them up 6 levels)


Thursday, July 26, 2012

Nim, Gnome Illusionist





Nim, Gnome Illusionist

Nim never knew his real parents.
His first memory was feeling hungry in an alleyway in a city.
When he begged for food, some people gave him food, most didn't.

He noticed quickly that he could change his appearance at-will,
looking like another small creature.
Like this, he started pretending other people and tricking others
into giving him food, clothes, gold, whatever he wanted.

After a few months of hide and seek with the city guards, he was
caught. Instead of jail, a wizard living in the city agreed to take
him as an apprentice.
He learned there that he is part doppelganger.

After many years he became a powerful wizard, but was still
a trickster at heart.
He desires more wealth and finds misleading those he thinks dumber than him immensely satisfying.

Role in a campaign


Nim can be used as the main villain, but is more suited to being the spy/infiltrator of the big bad.
He interacts with the PCs before his final battle with them,
and many players will want to bring him down.

Stats


Nim level 14 Elite Controller
Small Fey
Initiative +14                Senses Perception +16, low-light vision

HP 140; Bloodied 70
AC 30, Fortitude 24, Reflex 28, Will 28
Resist 10 Psychic
Speed 5

Action Points 1
Saving Throws +2


Standard Actions

Quarterstaff (At-Will),    +18 vs. AC,    1d8 + 10 damage
Phantom Bolt (At-Will),    +18 vs. Will,    1d8 + 14 psychic damage, target slides 1 square
Grasping Shadows (Encounter; Area burst 2 within 10), 

                                   +18 vs. Will,    
                                   2d8 + 14 damage, target is slowed until end of next turn
Visions of Treasure (Encounter; Area 2 square within 10;
Sustain minor: Close Burst 5), 
                                   +18 vs. Will,  
                                   target is pulled 3 squares; target that ends its turn in zone 
                                   becomes  immobilized (save ends)
Enemies Abound (Encounter; Area burst 2 within 20), 

                                   +18 vs. Will,    
                                   2d8 + 14 psychic damage, target is treated as ally for flanking
Taunting Phantoms (Encounter; Area burst 2 within 10), 

                                   +18 vs. Will, 
                                   target makes a melee basic attack against a creature (even itself) 
                                   and takes 5 damage each time it misses with a melee attack (save ends)
Vanishing Act  (Encounter; Range 10), 

                                   +18 vs. Will,    
                                    3d6 + 14 damage, Nim becomes invisible until the start of his next turn
Mesmeric Hold  (Encounter; Range 10; up to 3 creatures), 

                                   +18 vs. Will,    
                                   2d6 + 14 psychic damage, target is immobilized until end of next turn

Illusory Wall  (Encounter; Wall 8 within 20; Sustain minor), 

                                   +18 vs. Will, 
                                   wall blocks line of sight for enemies; enemy can pass through
                                   if it resists attack
Greater Invisibility (Encounter; Sustain minor),  

                                   Nim is invisible until end of next turn or until he attacks

Minor actions


Deceptive Veil (At-will; minor),
                                   Nim gains the appearance of any humanoid race of the same size category
                                   as himself. His clothing and equipment alter appearance
                                   to reflect this change.
Drink Potion (Encounter; minor), Nim gains 25 hit points and saves against a condition
Ghost Sound
(Encounter; minor)

Reactions



Fade Away (Recharge 5 6; immediate reaction when damage is taken),
Nim is invisible until end of next turn or until he attacks
Shield (Encounter; immediate reaction): if hit by an attack raise AC and Reflex by 4 until end of next turn

Alignment Lawful Evil Languages Common
Bluff +20, Stealth +17, Endurance +17

Tactics


Nim can use his Deceptive Veil to infiltrate an organization, posing as another small creature (gnome, halfling) or a child. His high Bluff skill helps him with this.

His Ghost sound combined with Taunting Shadows  can make it look like a betrayal, for example city guards turning against civilians.

As a wizard, he can use several interesting rituals:
  • Hallucinatory Creature
  • Hallucinatory Item
  • Secret Chest
The illusions set up enemies of him against each other, or create distractions so he can escape.
Secret Chest is used for escaping when given enough time to cast it.

When Nim is attacked, he escapes easily:
Illusory wall with Greater Invisibility: illusory wall stops attackers from following him and Greater Invisibility combined with his high Stealth makes him unfindable.

When Nim cannot escape combat he tries to avoid damage by turning invisible and immobilizing enemies.
Nim can use Shield and drink potion to protect himself.

When near death he tries feigning his own death.
When an attack damages so that he's near death, he'll bluff falling to death.
With his Endurance he can stop breathing for a while and temper his blood flow to fool enemies.

Example Encounter

The map below is used for this example encounter.

The brown colored doors are made from wood.
The PCs enter by the south west door.
The black squares indicate solid stone.
The grey twirly squares contain hallucinatory items,
meaning they look like solid stone to others (Insight DC 30).


The Hallucinatory Creatures ritual creates decoys, preferably transparent
undead like wraith in the central hallway near the northern door.
Fake walls are Hallucinatory Items that have been made permanent and
take an Insight DC 30 to see through.
Nim uses Ghost Sound to make the wraith illusions more believable.

He has 2 fake illusionary creatures of himself with fake shield guardian.
It takes Insight DC 30 to see through. One copy is in the north western part of the room, the other in the eastern part of the room.
Nim is hiding behind in the northeastern part of the room with his shield guardian. The Air Elementals are spread throughout the room and will only attack after Nim does.

They are to shoot anyone entering the central hallway and he will shoot
at the same person so that there are 3 attacks on one person (2 fake, 1 real).

Level 14 encounter:
  • Nim
  • Shield Guardian (found under guardian entry in Monster Manual)
  • 3 AirElementals (found under elemental entry in Monster Manual 3;
       need to be upped 4 levels)

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Grafts in D&D 4E

Grafts


In the Open Grave supplement for 4E are undead grafts.
For example zombie arm, wight's claw, mummy's eye, etc.
They usually give additional power at the expense of undead vulnerabilities.
Meaning the creatures that have undead grafts gain a vulnerability to radiant damage.

Why stop there?


If it is possible to graft undead body parts, living body parts should
be possible as well.
Here is list of possibilities:
  • Beholder's eye - gain eye beam power
  • Basilisk eye - gain petrifying gaze
  • Scorpion tail - gain poison sting attack
  • Dryad Claw - gain claw attack and treestride (teleport next to plant)
  • Medusa eyes - gain petrifying gaze
  • Rust Monster stomach - gain ability to eat magic items
  • Angel wings - gain Fly ability
  • Shambling mound tendrils - gain regeneration and lightning affinity

Depending on the compatibility between the graft and the creature receiving the
graft there may be disadvantages.
Grafting isn't widespread, it takes a high Heal and Nature skill
to pull it off.

D&D 3.5 has more graft possibilities than 4E:
see Stitching Things Together: The Graft Handbook

Where the grafts are placed


Eyes can be placed anywhere:
  • large eyes on the chest
  • small eyes on arms or topside of hand
Tails and wings can be attached to the back
Why limit a creature to only two arms or one tail?
For example: the  Skeletal Tomb Guardian found in the monster manual.

Used for PCs or NPCs


Grafts should only be used on NPCs.
Using grafts creates unique NPCs with surprising powers
and weaknesses. An example of a grafter is Valna, Elven Druid.

I think it's a bad idea to give to PCs as a reward.
As a punishment grafts could work, like the ones in Open Grave.
The idea of someone putting grafts on the PCs to make them do
what the grafter wants is interesting, but it's best that
the players are on board with that idea first.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Storytelling in Keep on the Shadowfell

Storytelling in D&D: Keep on the Shadowfell


I find telling a story in D&D quite hard.
My first experience as a DM was Keep on the Shadowfell.

Keep on the Shadowfell


When I first read the adventure I had no opinion whatsoever
about it. My experience in 4E was limited to being a player in Kobold Hall.

As we progressed into the adventure, the NPCs seemed boring
and one-dimensional.
You have the friendly innkeeper, the old sage, the mayor,
the spy, the healer and the big bad.
The adventure recommended giving the NPCs mannerisms, details and background.

I changed the sage into and old man looking to extend his
life with necromancy.
I made the mayor stupid and incompetent.
I made the spy the mother of the big bad which gave him
a background. That way the PCs had some idea about him
before the final battle.

The big bad had many creatures working for him, like kobolds.
I changed it so the kobolds worship dragons and Tiamat.
They are offended by humans expanding into their lands with
farms and digging up stuff in a nearby dragon burial site.

Later on, the PCs encounter an undead fallen knight as a skill
challenge.
I gave him a quest in which his undead family should be
killed to grant them all peace.
As he was the former leader of the keep I wanted him to have
a bigger role in the story.

Near the end of the adventure, some PCs had left the group
permanently. I made them come back as undead versions of
themselves to attack the PCs.

My conclusions


The NPCs were static and boring. I made them more
memorable with a background and a more active role in the story.
I gave them a chance to be more than a NPC waiting for the PCs
to come by and perform his or her role.
I wanted the PCs to know a bit about the big bad before the final battle.
Otherwise the final battle is a hard battle at the end instead of a climax in a piece of fiction.

The cliches are overwhelming in this adventure:
  • the NPCs exist only to fulfill their role
  • all enemies either work for the big bad or attack anything in sight
  • there are no reasons given why intelligent enemies attack, except that they serve the big bad or get paid a lot
  • the big bad wants to open a portal for no other reason to serve his master and gets interrupted by the PCs

How to tell a story


Unlike other types of fiction like books, movies, television, etc
the story isn't set in stone.
Players should have meaningful choices and a way to impact
the world.
That is why I give the PCs situations and see how they react.
For example, in Keep on the Shadowfell, the PCs could
  •   destroy the kobolds
  •   could talk to them to end the fighting
  •   just leave them alone

To make these kind of choices, I give NPCs more backstory and motivation.

The second difference with other types of fiction is that
there may be quite some time between getting into a situation
and having to make a choice about it.
In real life, there can be weeks or months between the two, depending on how often the group comes together.

The third difference lies in the players don't understanding the situation.
This can be because they choose a different path the DM thought they would take. Or that the DM forgot some details or underestimated the information the players need to understand the situation.

The second and third difference can be fixed with repeating information the players need to understand a situation.
I learned this the hard way and found a helpful site:
http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/1118/roleplaying-games/three-clue-rule

Friday, July 20, 2012

Common Magic Items


Common Magic Items in D&D 4E



Choosing magic items


I use the following method for giving out magic items:
1) I look at the theme a character is going for and whether
the magic item enforces that theme.
For example: doing massive damage per turn
                      be good in knowledge skills
                      be a sneaky thief
                      be good against certain type of enemies
                      enhance a favorite attack

2) The magic items used for attacks (weapons, implements) have useful properties and powerful powers.
Armors and the other equipment slots would be filled with
simple items that:
  • increase defenses
  • increase skills
  • gives resistances
  • enhances saving throws
  • enhances healing surges or healing surge value

An explanation for the choices


First of all, I like the strength of a character to come
from a character, not from his or her magic items.
I dislike the character to be a figurative Christmas tree
to be effective.

There are enough powers for a character to choose from,
especially at higher levels.
I don't want to burden players with an overabundance of powers.
This should also speed combat.

These common items are not as exciting as rares with amazing
daily powers, but as I see them, they aren't supposed to be.
They are treasures and rewards, the players never
seem to mind those.

Shortage of common magic items


When Essentials came out, magic items were divided
in common, uncommon and rare items.
Common magic items have simple properties like described above.

Unfortunately, there aren't many common magic items.
An overview can be found here:
http://www.captainspud.com/4ecommons/

I suppose I can create my own common magic items,
unfortunately the character builder doesn't support
them.
Our group uses the offline character builder,
and we manage to work around some of the issues.
I don't have much experience with the character builder,
so a more in-depth discussion can be found here:
http://dungeonsmaster.com/2009/08/does-character-builder-limit-creativity/

Expertise Feats and Buffing Monsters

Expertise Feats and Buffing Monsters


Player's Handbook 2 gives us the Implement Expertise and Weapon Expertise feats.
They give a +1 to attack at level 5
                   +2 to attack at level 15
                   +3 to attack at level 25

Player's Handbook 3 gives us Versatile Expertise which
works for both implements and weapon groups.

I dislike how the expertise feats are done:
  • Characters with different weapon or implement types need to take the feats multiple times.
    For example: Cleric with weapon and implement or rogue with melee weapon and ranged weapon.
  • Characters with racial abilities are also at a disadvantage.
    For example a Dragonborn breath attack will not benefit from the bonus.
  • Casual players who don't like to take too much time building a character  or like more flavourful feats are also at a disadvantage.

My Solution


In my games I just lower the monster defenses
  by 1 at level 5
  by 2 at level 15
  by 3 at level 25

The levels refer to character levels and assume that everyone in the party
has the same level.
Characters can't take any expertise feats.
Players in my group don't use Essentials expertise feats, which if I'm correct give additional bonuses.
If players want to take those feats, a group discussion about this subject is warranted.

What about the poor monsters


The solution proposed above also makes characters more powerful.
At higher levels the PCs absolutely trash an equal level encounter.
So I make the monsters more threatening.

Depending on the party composition some monsters are easier to defeat.

Divine characters: because most undead are vulnerable to radiant damage
                   I usually give them additional hit points to compensate.

Controllers: are good against minions,
             so I usually add a greater amount of them.

I give all my monsters
  • Attack bonuses, usually 1 (heroic tier) to 3 (epic tier)
  • Double damage

Some monster abilities may be frightening to PCs:
  • draining healing surges
  • redirecting attacks
  • eating magic items (see Rust monster in Monster Manual 2)
    use this with care
  • underwater fights which can be hard on PCs
  • transmitting diseases
  • create spawn: create a copy of themselves
    whenever they kill a humanoid creature (see wraiths).
  • attacking dying PCs - it's best to discuss this beforehand with the players.
    For example: zombies, ghouls, etc may want to eat a fallen PC.

Faster Combat


All these changes make combat more aggressive and faster.
This changes the pace of combat, which is why I allow players
more freedom to change feats or powers.
This is so they can adjust to the different pace.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Rat Extermination Quest

Rat Extermination Quest


Expected Level: 1-2

Meeting the quest giver

 

This quest starts by the PCs being called by the owner of
a meat store called the "Best meat in Town".
She is called Rihanna.

She whispers there is a rat problem and points to a closed passage way
to a cellar. There are other customers so she keeps her voice down.
Insight DC 5: Her attitude indicates she's reluctant to ask it and a bit shy.
Insight DC 15: She appears to be hiding something. If pushed, she'll tell the PCs
                        that the meat in her store is all rat meat, just differently prepared.
Rihanna offers a reward of 50 gp and a free meal.

Down into the cellar

 

The passage way to the cellar is easily opened and a small stone
staircase leads downwards.
It is below freezing temperature and pitch dark in the cellar.
Perception DC 5: creatures are wandering around
Nature DC 10: the creatures are rats

If the PCs bring a light source or have darkvision,
they see the following:
  • 3 Dire Rats
  • Rat Swarm
  • Skinned meat hanging from the ceiling, unreachable for the rats
  • The walls are slippery from ice, the rats aren't able to climb

The rats won't attack the PCs, as they are a bit domesticated.
They will defend themselves if attacked.
The meat on the ceiling is rat meat.
A Nature DC 12 reveals both if PCs take a close look.

Fighting the Rats


Attacking the rats results in the following combat encounter:
- 3 Dire Rats
- Rat Swarm (Rats can be found in the Monster Manual)
- The area is a 5 x 6 squares

If the PCs fail a Stealth DC 10, the owner hears the fight and comes down.
She asks the PCs to stop the fight.
The reason she didn't say anything before is that:
  • She doesn't want the customers to find out
  • She doesn't want to leave the store unattended
  • She hoped the PCs would figure out the rats are the meat source
    and would be quiet about this.

A Perception DC 10 at the back of the room reveals a small tunnel
through which medium creatures can crawl.

Crawl to the Cave


If the PCs crawl through the tunnel, they'll find a small cavern containing
kobolds. If the PCs match Stealth DC 11 and don't have light source, the kobolds won't notice them.
The kobolds speak common and attack while shouting "You won't take our food away".
This results in a combat encounter:
  • 2 Kobold Skirmishers
  • 2 Kobold Slingers (Kobolds can be found in Monster Manual)
 Note: for additional flavor the kobolds may use a bite attack.

After the encounter ends, the PCs can search through the rest of the cavern.
They'll find a heap of dead rats, with only the skin eaten.
The meat itself is untouched.
History or Streetwise DC 10: the party has heard of kobolds that consider
         the hide of an animal the best part to eat. They find Rat meat disgusting.

Conclusion


The PCs are able to get through this quest without any fighting.
They have a choice about Rihanna's secret and whether to keep it.

These encounters can be modified for higher-level play:
I used it at level 14 and used Jovocs instead of kobolds.
Jovocs can be found in the Demonomicon supplement.

Monday, July 16, 2012

NPC interaction in D&D 4E

NPC interaction in Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition


Non-player characters (NPCs) are used for various purposes
in the classic modules like H1: Keep on the Shadowfell and H2: Thunderspire Labyrinth.

Quest givers


Most NPCs that are encountered give the PCs quests to perform
in exchange for a reward.
There are many reasons why quest givers don't perform the quest themselves:
  • not powerful enough
  • more important things to do
  • PCs are better suited for the quest
  • Tricking or manipulating the PCs

This may result in NPCs which are passive and only stand still
in one place being there as quest givers for the PCs.
This play-style is valid choice, especially for a dungeon crawl
adventure.
However, I like my quest givers to be more active:
  • I usually give them one or more goals related to their quests
  • I give them activities to do or other places to be
  • I try to give them a background, for example by using the Player's Handbook 2 backgrounds.
This implies there is an active world outside of what the PCs
are doing.

Buyers and Sellers


Buyers buy items from PCs at 1/5 of the price.
This is done so that PCs focus on getting money adventuring,
not from trading.
This choice is valid but I like to do the following:
  • Buyers and sellers both use market price as a guideline
  • Players get less gold as treasure
  • Several magic items are for sale, depending on the merchant
    Not every possible magic item in existence is available,
    only a few the merchant can logically create or purchase.
    I usually choose simple magic items that add to skills, defenses or damage rolls.

Antagonists

Like Quest givers, I like antagonists or villains to be more developed and active.
I don't like them waiting at the end of the dungeon performing some ritual.

An excellent resource for giving them more depth is the Villain Workshop.

Combat Encounters


When PCs fight wealthy or influential NPCs, it is expected that
NPCs would use the best magic items they can use.
If NPCs were created like PCs they would be hopelessly outmatched
in higher levels because they lack attack and defense bonuses from magic items.
The Dungeons Master's Guide gives NPCs bonuses depending on their level (inherent bonuses).

It's my opinion that PCs should also have inherent bonuses.
That way, the participants in the world are more alike which makes the world more believable to me.

When the treasure guidelines are being followed, NPCs cannot have
as much magic items on them as the average PC.
I choose it so that only PCs can use many magic items
and NPCs are limited to only a few.

Conclusion


Fourth Edition follows a more gamist style of play.
NPCs exist to support the PCs or to hand out quests.

Personally, I prefer a more simulationist style of play.
This means more active and believable NPCs who often
have their own goals, backstories and similar powers to PCs.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Rituals in D&D 4E

Rituals in Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition


Problem


Rituals as written were never used in my gaming group.
They had the following problems:
  • casting time was too long to be used in an encounter.
  • gold cost was either too high at lower levels or too low at higher levels.
  • some rituals are broken or unusable.

Suggested Solution


I house-ruled the following changes:

Skill

You need to be trained in the skills listed to be
able to perform the ritual. 
This is to prevent strange combinations: 
Wizards casting Raise Dead or Cure Disease or Clerics casting portal rituals.
They are able to do so but they must be trained
in the skill for that to be possible.
This makes skill training more important, otherwise
everyone would become a ritual caster to spread the
cost of casting rituals.

Casting Time

This is often phrased in standard actions.
That way rituals can be cast during combat.

Cost

This is often in the form of healing surges instead of gold.
This is like rituals in Martial Power 2 and done to balance
some powerful rituals.

Duration


This is often altered to be dependent on skill check results.

Specific Rituals


Enchant Magic Item

I made it so that this ritual is not usable by player characters (PCs).
Only non-player characters (NPCs) are able to use it.
This is because the gaming group usually consists of different type
of players.
Some like to optimize their character, some don't.
In order to keep everyone on the same power level I don't let PCs
use this ritual.
Another problem I have with it is that magic items become
too common. I'd rather surprise the PCs with usable magic items
instead of them shopping around and making combo's out of them.

Linked Portal, Planar Portal

Portals require 13 symbols in a circle to create.
Each symbol must be crafted by someone that knows portal rituals.
The crafting of symbol costs a minor action, the portal itself
costs a standard action to activate.
This way, it is usable in combat.

Raise Dead

I've kept this ritual almost as written.
This should take long as it is intended to be used out of combat.

Secret Chest


As written, this ritual puts no limit on the chest nor if it can
cross planes.
Unless vetoed by the DM, the PCs could obtain a planar-traversing
chest-fortress which would be cool but probably not intended.