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Work-Life Balance While Working From Home

Collaboration / Bonnie MacDonald / 0 comments

March 26, 2020

Last week I had the privilege to post an article written by my wife, Bonnie. As she mentioned in that post, we have both worked from home for more than four years. We know that with the current global pandemic, many people are adjusting to working from home for the first time. The previous post was all about working with a partner from home, but we also wanted to provide some general work from home tips for you all! So we both worked on the words below. (And if you’re looking for RPG content, have no fear! This blog will be back next week with a My Dad’s Monster Manual preview.)

So you work at home now. It wasn’t your decision, and you’re not set up for this at all. Let us give you some tips on how to balance work and life.

A lot of people want advice for work-life balance while working from home when we put out a call on Twitter for topics. Before we get into this, we want to tell you that it is 100% ok if you are having trouble focusing on work. Not only is working from home an adjustment, this once-a-century pandemic has many people understandably worried and panicked for themselves and their loved ones. It is really, really, really normal to have a hard time. Being socially distant does not mean you are alone. You are not. Reach out to people. They likely need connection and a chance to talk as much as you do.

List Priorities

Both of us typically start our days by making a list of the things we need to get done that day. Writing it down helps you visualize your day. If you get distracted by your dog, a package delivery, or any number of events that can happen, you can refer to your list to get back on track. Bonnie uses a whiteboard hanging above her desk to make her list. Just a glance up at those tasks can help to regain her focus from her distractions. James uses a Google document. In both cases we use a list that can easily be rearranged and added to throughout the day. It’s also great because we can use the previous day’s list to build the next one.

We try to build our lists so we have “end-of-day” goals. What do we need to accomplish before we break for the day, and what would we like to get done in addition to those tasks? You can break this down as granular as you like. Maybe you just write, “Draft three My Dad’s Monster Manual creatures,” or you could write, “Rough draft cryon, rough draft chicktee, rough draft gordon.” Whatever helps you is best. James likes to break down tasks into subtasks on the list because it helps him plan his day and because crossing or deleting items from a list gives him a sense of accomplishment!

Plan Your Day

Here in our household, we try to adhere to regular 9AM to 6PM work hours with a lunch break. That means getting up in time to do your morning routine and be sitting down at your computer by 9am. You don’t have a commute, so that should help you budget some time before and after work to do the other things you need and want to do with your life (even if that thing is sleeping in). If you can start your work day at a time most other people are working, it will help you stay focused and on task.

Breaks Are Good

While being focused is important, you should remember to take breaks! Your day can be much more flexible than it can at the office: you can do laundry during the day, or do some prep for dinner, but it’s important to think of those things as convenient breaks, the same as if you’d go on an errand during a workday at the office. Try not to engage in household chores that would take a longer time than you’d take a break normally. James often wants to check Twitter, watch a funny video a friend sent, or read the latest RPG news when he also needs to write. Typically, he rewards himself with a quick break when he crosses an item off his list.

Sticking to the end time of your work day is as important as sticking to the start of it. When you work from home, you can get TOO focused. Many people can’t leave the office behind, especially when the office is their living room. If you have crossed everything you NEED to do for the day off your list, and it’s quitting time, go ahead and break for the day. Especially in these times, it is important to have some stress relief. Watch TV, hang out with your partner, play some games, hop on a video call with friends, or dance! Do whatever you need to do to clear your head. If you need to work late, remember to take a break, eat a meal, and, if you have a partner, share some time with them before diving back into work.

Keeping to the end of your day also helps you stay focused because you know you have a limited time to work. That means the quality of your work in those hours improves, and you’re not wandering to social media, cat videos, etc. If your work time is “sort of all the time” you are more likely to get distracted and lose focus because you never give yourself a regular break.

Bonnie is going to jump on her soapbox for this all-the-time tip: TURN OFF YOUR WORK NOTIFICATIONS WHEN WORK IS DONE. All of them! Slack and email and whatever other apps you use at work give you the option to limit when they’re activated. Take advantage of these features. If you receive text messages from coworkers, don’t answer them after hours. If it gets overwhelming, ask your coworkers to email you or slack you after hours so that you can get to it in the morning. Rest and a mental break actually makes you more productive when you’re at work, so don’t let it creep into your free time just because you’re sitting in the same place where you were working earlier.

Avoid Internet Temptation

Avoiding internet temptation is difficult. James checked Twitter three times while writing this article! No one is perfect, so forgive yourself if social media or something else distracts you from your work. That’s number one! Be kind to you.

If you can, make internet rewards part of your daily breaks. If social media is important for your job (like James promoting his podcasts, this blog, and other work), schedule time in your day to promote stuff. You’ll notice James is an active Twitter user between the hours of 9AM and 11AM Eastern, which is usually when he’s checking his email and updating all his promotional stuff.

If the internet keeps distracting you and you have a job that doesn’t require the internet at all times (such as copywriting, audio editing, graphic design, etc.) you can turn off the wifi on your computer and turn your phone to silent (like actual silence, not vibrate). This will help you stay in the zone. Sometimes when you need a moment to think you’ll find a new tab is open on your computer and Facebook or your favorite hobby site is there without thinking. It’s automatic. If the internet is off, that site can’t appear.

Of course, many people need the internet all day for their jobs, so if you’re getting distracted by the constant news, desperately seeking answers so you feel like you have some control in this overwhelming hellscape (… just us?), might we suggest exploring apps that limit your time on certain sites. Bonnie uses StayFocusd, which is a Chrome extension that times how long you spend on certain websites and then cuts you off with a shaming message “SHOULDN’T YOU BE WORKING?!” It is extremely diligent, so you don’t have to be. You can set up your schedule and which sites are distracting you (heck, these days, maybe it’s CDC.gov) and allows you to decide how much time you spend on them. I gave myself 10 minutes daily on both Facebook and Twitter between the hours of 9AM and 6PM. The timer counts down and when you’re done, you cannot get into that site again nor can you change the settings you made. It is a really helpful reminder that “Past Bonnie” made this decision for me and maybe “Present Bonnie” should listen to her. There are also built-in settings on Android and Apple phones that do this for you.

We’re All In This Together

We are all in this thing together. If you’re home alone, don’t hesitate to reach out to someone in a similar situation and ask them to be your work buddy. Your work buddy (or buddies) and you should check in on each other everyday at the start of the day. Ask, “What are you working on today?” and “What did you do yesterday?” These should be people who’s work you are genuinely interested in. Think of these people as your virtual officemates. By talking about work and holding each other accountable, we’re more likely to get stuff done. James doesn’t want to tell Bonnie all he did at the end of the day was write a great Tweet about Lilo, and that helps keep him motivated to write cool stuff. Having a work buddy will also help you feel less isolated in these scary times!

Lilo says, “This post is done. Back to pets!”

If you like what you’re reading please consider supporting me on Patreon, supporting me on Ko-fi, follow me on Twitter, like World Builder Blog on Facebook, check out my podcasts, find my products on the DMs Guild, tell your friends about the blog, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!

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Ode to Will Doyle

General / Avernus, Baldur's Gate, D&D, D&D 5e, D&D fifth edition, dungeons and dragons, fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons / 0 comments

September 19, 2019

You can order The Demonplague, my level 1 – 20 fifth edition adventure, right now!

This week Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus was released. I got to help contribute to the story for the book and wrote several thousand words for it (more on that in later posts), and I contributed to two DMs Guild products for it, Encounters in Avernus and Hellturel (more on those below). However, I did not work on these projects alone, especially when it comes to the hard cover adventure, which had a massive team to support it.

My friend and fellow designer, Will Doyle, was unfortunately left out of the credits for Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus. It was an innocent mistake, and Wizards of the Coast is working hard to correct the error in the next printing of the book and get Will’s name out on digital platforms. These things happen in publishing. Will has been super cool about it as has the entire D&D team. I wanted to take a quick moment to recognize Will’s work in the book and how awesome he is.

We’re all celebrating the release of this massive adventure that represents hours upon hours of labor. Will was a big part of that! He wrote a lot of chapter 3, including parts of the adventure that will be your favorite and most memorable not just of this adventure, but of any D&D adventure. I won’t get too spoilery here, but if something in chapter 3 makes you say, “Holy shit!” odds are Will contributed to it in a big way.

You may also know Will from his work on Storm King’s Thunder, Tomb of Annihilation, Beyond the Dragon of Icespire Peak, many DMs Guild Adepts products (including being the lead designer of our only Adamantine Best Seller, Waterdeep: City Encounters), his Adventurers League adventures (including many truly epic Epics), and/or his articles in Dungeon and Dragon magazines back in the 4e days. Will was also recently announced as one of the new Adventurers League admins (along with the incredible Shawn Merwin). He’s got a lot of other credits in a career dedicated to game design and our community. Will has made a lot of memories for people with his incredible products.

Most importantly Will is a great, brilliant human. I’ve worked with him on countless projects at this point, and every time he’s been collaborative, communicative, honest, organized, artistic, and straight-up genius. I learn something new from him on every single project. He challenges his fellow designers to innovate, while leading the charge to do so himself. He doesn’t rest on his laurels. Will sticks up for what’s right, makes incredible jokes, and hasn’t punched me in the face for making the same joke about throwing tea into the harbor every July 4th. This dude has spent many late nights to get the job done, revising and tweaking until a project is perfect. Working with Will is the definition of enthusiasm, mutual respect, and creativity. If you get the chance to work with him, do it.

If it were possible to bleed ampersands, Will Doyle would do it. He’s given hours to this community, far beyond the pay check he made on Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus. So when you’re sending out tweets, posts, and more thanking people for Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus, don’t forget Will. He crushed it on this one.

DMs Guild Products

I also want to tell you about the two DMs Guild products I helped create for Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus: Encounters in Avernus and Hellturel.

Hellturel

I wrote Hellturel on my own, but the maps for the product were created by Meshon Cantrill, a master cartographer! I don’t want to say too much because of spoilers. Here’s the description:

Note: Light spoilers for Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus in this description!

Expand your Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus game with four new adventure locations, complete with plot hooks and NPCs, plus five new magic items all found in the holy city of Elturel! This supplement adds more challenges for characters of levels 5 to 6 who enter Avernus through the city.

Elturel is in Hell. It’s up to you to save it.

Encounters in Avernus

Encounters in Avernus is a great supplement from many DMs Guild Adepts that continues the trend of offering many encounters you can drop into you Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus campaign. Who worked on it?

M.T. Black
James Haeck
James Introcaso
Rich Lescouflair
Shawn Merwin
Ashley Warren

Here’s the description from the site:

Bring your Hell to life with this companion supplement for Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus!

Encounters in Avernus presents more than 60 short encounters for the wasteland of Avernus, the River Styx, and the city of Elturel. Keep characters busy with these story-rich encounters that help flesh out the first layer of Hell. The supplement is great for Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus or any infernal adventure!

Two longer encounter chains are included to help you craft an amazing story with Tiamat or Zariel!

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Prison for Dragons – Shuzal Entrance Citadel Lower Level

Brass Tacks / Adventure, D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, DnD, dungeon, dungeons and dragons, ogres, onis, world building, worldbuilding / 1 comment

May 26, 2015

It’s time for part five of my prison for dragons series! Thanks to this month’s RPG Blog Carnival theme of “Unusual Dungeons” chosen by Nils Jeppe over at Enderra I’ve been inspired to create an Exploration Age dungeon post by post. This dungeon is meant for a group of four level 12 PCs. So far I’ve written a general overview of dragon prisons built by aberrations, the background and character hooks for a specific dragon prison called Shuzal, the area and random encounters around Shuzal’s entrance citadel, and the surface level of Shuzal’s entrance citadel. Now it’s time to take a look at the lower level of the entrance citadel.

Shuzal Entrance Citadel Lower Level

Shuzal 4 — Map created with Pyromancers’ Dungeon Painter.

The lower level of Shuzal’s entrance citadel lies in ruin, but is not as badly damaged as its surface level, since it is better guarded from the elements. The Ox Tribe are on high alert in the lower levels, even if they have not received warning adventurers are invading. Members of the tribe have mysteriously been going missing in recent months and the whole place is on edge. By order of Chief Crtulak the Jaw all members of the tribe must travel through the tunnels in groups of four or more for protection.

Features of the Area

Illumination. Since the ogres and onis of the Ox Tribe have darkvision there are no light sources in the lower level of the citadel except where otherwise noted in an area’s description.

Ceiling. All ceilings in the area are 20 feet high except where noted in an area’s description.

Doors. The doors on this level of the citadel are made of adamantine (AC 23, HP 100). Unless otherwise noted, all doors are unlocked.

B1 – Entrance Studio

Rubble lies strewn on the ground of this chamber, the remnants of an old stair case.

The hole in area A3 is directly over the center of this chamber. If the Ox Tribe has warning the PCs are coming the door in this room is barred from the hall side and requires a DC 20 Strength check to open.

Rubble. The rubble lies in a low pile before the door and is difficult terrain for Medium or smaller creatures.

B2 – Warden’s Office 1

The Ox Tribe have taken the time to scratch the Giant word for danger onto the door to this room. The door here is jammed and requires a DC 20 Strength check to open.

The rubble-strewn room features a large desk at its center. There might have been more furniture in this place at one time, but now only stone rubble remains. Unlike the other areas in this ruin, the stones seem almost polished and dirt free.

Beneath this floor is a nest of four black puddings. The oozes are able to travel through the complex, sometimes picking off unwitting, lone ogres. They are starving since the ogres are traveling in groups too powerful to attack, which has made them desperate for a meal. If the ground in this area is disturbed by someone walking above the slink through the cracks and attack.

Desk. The desk holds the Shuzal warden’s old files on the prisoners and is trapped. Any creature who touches the desk releases a destructive wave of psychic energy. Creatures within 20 feet of the desk must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. Creatures who fail take 33 (6d10) psychic damage and are pushed back 10 feet. Creatures who succeed take half damage and are not pushed.

The trap’s magic is controlled by a small pearl (worth 100 gp) on the underside of the desk. A DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check allows a character to spot the pearl. A DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals the source of the trap’s magic is on the underside of the desk, provided the person making the check has seen the trap activated. A DC 15 Dexterity check made with thieves’ tools can remove the pearl and disarm the trap. A failure made on the check to remove the pearl activates the trap.

The desk has only one drawer intact which is locked shut. It can be forced open with a DC 20 Strength check or its lock can be picked with a DC 15 Dexterity check made with thieves’ tools.

Files. The old files within the desk are mostly useless and lost to time, but two files explain the aberrations reasons for holding and questioning the silver dragon siblings Maxathaltros and Kerrinalastraya.

Rubble. The rubble lies is difficult terrain for Medium or smaller creatures.

B3 – Warden’s Office 2

The Ox Tribe have taken the time to scratch the Giant word for danger onto the door to this room. The door here is jammed and requires a DC 20 Strength check to open.

The rubble-strewn room features a large desk at its center. There might have been more furniture in this place at one time, but now only stone rubble remains, covered in dust and undisturbed for years.

Desk. The stone desk here is not what it seems. When a creature enters the room, the desk shifts in half and stands, revealing it is really two stone golems. The golems are meant to guard this room and an old stone chest, which was smashed in the rubble long ago in a battle with some now dead ogres.

Rubble. The rubble lies is difficult terrain for Medium or smaller creatures.

Treasure. A creature who searches the rubble with a successful DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check finds a bag of holding which contains a Shuzal portal key and two bombs of silence.

B4 – Crate Storage

Crates stacked up to the ceiling fill this chamber branded with various sigils of merchant guilds. This must be where the Ox Tribe keeps the goods they raid from passersby.

If PCs take the time to clear out the chamber there are 2000 gp worth of trade goods and mundane weapons and armor within the crates (what specifically is inside is up to you). The goods are heavy and weigh about 5000 pounds total.

B5 – Barrel Storage

Twenty-seven barrels the size of an adult dwarf branded with a camel sigil take up most of this room.

The Ox Tribe recently raided a caravan of Bragonian liquor vendors know carrying Camel’s Hump Whiskey. This alcohol is extremely potent and flammable. The Ox Tribe has taken to drinking the potent beverage with each meal.

Whiskey Barrels. Dealing 10 or more fire damage to a barrel with one attack or spell causes the liquor inside to explode. Creatures adjacent to the barrel must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. Creatures who fail take 22 (4d10) fire damage. Creatures who succeed take half damage. If a barrel is next to another when it explodes, both barrels explode.

The Camel’s Hump Whiskey is a rare and worth 200 gp a barrel. A single barrel weighs 275 pounds.

If a creature drinks the whiskey, it must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 hour. For each drink the creature has in an hour, the DC for the saving throw increases by 2.

B6 – Ogre Den

The rank smell in this room must be coming from the numerous sleeping mats spread all over the floor. A large group of ogres is gathered here, talking, resting, and playing games of dice.

If the ogres know the PCs are coming they have cleared out of this room. Use the following text instead.

The rank smell in this room must be coming from the numerous sleeping mats spread all over the floor. The mats look disturbed, like a large group of creatures left this place in a hurry.

When the PCs arrive sixteen ogres are in this room (which used to be where the aberrations slept and took their meals). If the ogres get word the PCs are coming or hear them in the hall trying to open one of the jammed doors, eight of the ogres wait until the PCs come at least part of the way into the hall and then burst out and attack, some running down other halls to surround the PCs. Four other ogres join their friends in area B7 and the remaining four ogres go to area B8.

Treasure. Taking the time to search under all of the sleeping mats reveals 701 gp and 32 pp.

B7 – Dining Hall

Bright light, a warm heat, and a sickly sweet smell hit your senses as you take in this room. Four huge fires, each with its own anvil and water basin, are being used to roast four human corpses. Bones of various humanoids lie all over the floor. Two onis grin wickedly as you enter the room.

If there are also ogres from area B6 in this room add.

Four ogres whoop in delight, raising their weapons. “More food for the fires!” they cry.

Two onis (and possibly four ogres from area B6) prepare dinner here for the rest of the tribe. What was the aberrations’ smithy has now become a kitchen. The Ox Tribe also keeps a few extra barrels of Camel’s Hump Whiskey in here.

Everburning Fires. Thanks to the aberrant magic of the citadel, the fires always burn hot in this room. A creature who starts its turn in or passes through the fire takes 11 (2d10) fire damage.

Everfull Wells. Thanks to the aberrant magic of the citadel, the water in the basins here is always full of clean water, which is how the Ox Tribe stays hydeated.

Illumination. This room is bathed in bright light from the fires.

The Camel’s Hump Whiskey is a rare and worth 200 gp a barrel. A single barrel weighs 275 pounds.

B8 – Throne Room

A bright light fills this room. Two onis stand guard on either side of a red seal on the ground before a dias. Atop the dias sits a throne made of stone and bone and atop the throne sits the largest ogre you have ever seen. In surprisingly well-spoken Common the huge beast speaks through a smile and an enormous mouth. “Welcome weary travelers. Let’s avoid bloodshed if we can. I’d hate to have to scrape you off my floor.”

If the four ogres from area B6 are there, add:

Four ogres stand on the dias, flanking the one sitting on the throne.

Chief Crtulak the Jaw has made this throne room his own. He has two onis who serve as his personal bodyguards (who are possibly joined by four ogres from area B6). Once a place for the warden to question prisoners and suspected traitors, the magic of the red seal is still active in the room and the attuned chief knows exactly how to control it. He knows the adventurers must be powerful to have made it this far and he hopes to use them to help him solve a problem.

Chief Crtulak’s Deal. The chief offers to pay the adventurers to help him with an issue. He tells them that his people are being attacked by something sinister in the complex. For the last few months members of the Ox Tribe have gone down to the crypts to pay respects to the dead and have been going mysteriously missing. At first Crtulak thought maybe his people were getting picked off by the traps, oozes, and constructs in the tunnels, but it began happening so often he suspected it might be something else. He then ordered his people to travel in groups, but that has only led to more Ox Tribe members disappearing in the tunnels.

The chief offers the adventurers a deal, he’ll give them each an emerald worth 1000 gp now if they agree to find the problem in the crypts and destroy it for him and then another emerald worth 1000 gp each when they return. A successful DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check also gets Crtulak to agree the Ox Tribe will no longer attack any passing caravans or tribes and feast only on animals (though he does so begrudgingly).

Chief Crtulak is calm and intelligent in his negotiations. He cares about the lives of his own people more than anything else and knows the adventurers might be too strong for him to handle, but that means they also might have the strength to wipe out his hidden foe. He is willing to make sacrifices to ensure the survival of his tribe. He will also use the properties of the red seal (see below), but only if he feels he is being lied to or about to be attacked. If the PCs agree to take on Crtulak’s job, he offers them an ogre guide through the tunnels in area B9. The ogre knows the tunnels well, but will only guide the PCs to the area of entrance B10 before getting scared and leaving them to fend for themselves.

Illumination. This room is bathed in bright light from the fires.

Red Seal. The red seal on the floor has magic properties which are controlled by whoever is attuned to it. To attune oneself to the red seal, a creature must spend one hour sitting on the throne with no interruptions or distractions as it mediates on the seal. A creature attuned to the seal can cast detect thoughts, hold monster, or zone of truth (centered on the seal) on any creatures touching the seal as an action (spell save DC 17).

Treasure. Chief Crtulak keeps his treasures in a locked stone chest behind his throne. Any character who looks behind the throne can easily see the chest. It is locked but a successful DC 15 Dexterity check with thieves’ tools or the key Crtulak holds can be used to open the chest. Inside the chest are twelve emeralds worth 1000 gp each, 354 gp, 12 pp, and a staff of walls (which Crtulak is waiting to award to one of his oni bodyguards).

B9 – The Catacombs

The maze-like tunnels which lead to the Ox Tribe’s burial grounds were put in place by the aberrations in case a dragon ever escaped Shuzal. The prisoner would have to find its way out of a maze of cramped tunnels, guarded with sinister traps and construct guardians. Since then black puddings have found their ways into the maze of tunnels. The ogres have navigated the tunnels enough times they can quickly get to their makeshift crypt and pay respects to their dead usually without any trouble.

Each time the PCs find themselves at the dead-end of a tunnel, roll for a random encounter on the table below to see if they are attacked or encounter a trap.

d10	Encounter
1 – 5	No encounter
6	1d4 + 1 black puddings
7	Spectral tendrils trap
8	1d4 + 1 helmed horrors
9	Withering tapestry trap
10	1 stone golem

Spectral Tendril Trap. This 10-foot-square area has been cursed with a ritual that forms tendrils of pure necrotic energy which hunger to feed on the living. The ritual is powered by an unholy symbol painted or carved into the ground at the center of the area. The tendrils live below the surface of the floor and wait for a living creature to walk into the area before attacking.

A character notices the trapped area and its immediate surroundings are slightly colder with a DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check. A character trained in Arcana can determine the meaning of the symbol with a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check.

When a creature steps into the area, the tendrils rise from the ground and make an attack roll against that creature with a +8 bonus. On a hit the tendrils deal 22 (4d10) necrotic damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 15). Another creature can attack the tendrils grappling a creature (AC 15). If they deal more than 15 damage in one attack the tendrils let go. The tendrils disappear if they are dealt radiant damage.

Withering Tapestry Trap. This 10-foot-square tapestry depicts a regal aberration king and queen sitting upon a throne with crowns of gold. Any creature who can see the tapestry must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw. A creature who fails is overcome with admiration for the tapestry and cannot willingly move out of sight of the tapestry for 24 hours. During that time the creature cares only about the tapestry and will defend the work of art with its life. It acts hostile toward any creature who tries to touch the tapestry or tries to move the effected creature away from the tapestry. The creature will try to find its way back to the tapestry if it is forcibly removed from it. The creature will not sleep while it is under this effect. After 24 hours the affected creature suffers a level of exhaustion. It must repeat the saving throw if the tapestry is still within line of sight.

A DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals the nature of the trap. A DC 20 Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals the tapestry is immune to all damage except for fire. The tapestry has AC 10 and 30 hit points.

B10 – Crypt

This room has been cleared of any rubble and heavy stone coffins slide into spaces all along the wall, up into the raised ceiling.

The ceiling in this room is 50 feet high. The Ox Tribe use this room to store the bones of their dead. When they first took the citadel, the Ox Tribe released a horribly contagious disease and so it was worth traversing the catacombs to put their dead far away from the living. The disease has since faded from all but memory, yet the Ox Tribe still entomb their dead here, carving coffins from the stones of the ruin. Characters who search the coffins find they are empty.

Secret Door. A successful DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals the small scrapes in the ground before secret door which leads to area B11. A successful DC 25 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals the outline of the door. Because Akros Sepora and her minions use this door, all traps and locks have been disabled. If the PCs do not notice the secret door after one hour of time spent in the room, the door is revealed when eight ogre zombies come through the door and attack. One of the zombies carries a Shuzal portal key.

B11 – Portal Room

This small room contains a cauldron holding placid blue water. Braziers burn all around the room, flickering with madly.

The pool in this room can become a portal which leads to the demiplane where Shuzal is housed.

Braziers. The braziers in this room are powered by the aberrant magic of the ruin and never go out. A creature who moves into or starts its turn in the same space as the brazier takes 5 (1d10) fire damage.

Illumination. This room is bathed in bright light from the fires.

Portal. The water pool begins to glow red when someone brings a Shuzal portal key within 10 feet of the pool and the portal becomes active. Any creature who enters the pool while it is red is immediately transported to the demiplane outside of Shuzal. Even if the key holder goes through the portal it remains active for 1 minute.

If a creature enters the pool when the portal is not active it must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw. Creatures who fail take 22 (4d10) radiant damage and are blinded for 1 hour. Creatures who succeed take half damage and are not blinded. The creature must repeat this saving throw at the start of its turn every round it remains in the pool.

If the PCs do not have a portal key, fear not! One hour after they arrive in the portal room a group of eight zombie ogres comes through the portal. One of these ogres carries a Shuzal portal key.

Next Time…

…we’ll go through the portal!

If you like what you’re reading, please check out my podcasts on The Tome Show, follow me on Twitter, tell your friends and share this blog post, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!

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Dungeon Brawls!

Uncategorized / 6 comments

March 26, 2015

I know the title of this post sounds like it should be the name of my high school metal band‘s album but I’m writing about one my favorite formats for dungeon crawls.

The History of the Dungeon Brawl

Dungeon brawls were first incorporated into my game when I was DMing a campaign using the D&D Next Playtest rules and The Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle published adventure. The adventure itself isn’t awesome (it’s a little too railroady for my taste), but there are a lot of interesting ideas, NPCs, dungeons, and encounters one can easily adapt.

I was running Part Three of the adventure, “Ironaxe Halls,” the majority of which is a three-level dungeon crawl. The first level of the dungeon has 48 baddies… and absolutely no doors between any of the rooms. No doors on the first floor of the dungeon?!? Why?!? Check out the excerpt from the adventure below.

So the party of 5 PCs backed by some allied elf NPCs went in swords swinging and magic blazing. All out chaos ensued. Fireballs were hurled, greataxes were swung, and healing spells were depleted. It was glorious. Instead of several small fights in tiny rooms, waves of enemies came out of different hallways at different times as the PCs constantly shifted and repositioned themselves to meet their foes. At the end the PCs were exhausted, but accomplished.

I’ve since adopted this style of gameplay for other encounters which I (oh so cleverly) refer to as dungeon brawls.

What Makes A Dungeon Brawl?

So do dungeon brawls only happen in mines without doors? No! The fact that a door can dampen the clash of steel on steel or the explosion of magic thunder so much that it could never be heard is frankly ridiculous.

Dungeon brawls don’t always have to be in dark, dank areas. They could take place in a necromancer’s tower, the mansion of a tyrannical noble, or the castle grounds of an evil warlord. I draw inspiration for dungeon brawls from action movies like Commando or Dredd. In a nutshell a dungeon brawl consists of a few heroes teaming up against a whole compound full of baddies. Here’s how I go about creating mine.

Create a 5 – 12 room dungeon, complex, or level of a structure.
Prepare 3 – 5 encounters that average medium difficulty. If you build a hard encounter, that’s ok, but make one of your other encounters easy to balance it out. Even if your dungeon is mostly populated by one type of monster, mix things up a little. Goblins, for instance, might have warriors, assassins, shamans, and worg riders in their ranks. You’ll also want to be sure to have at least one oh shit monster, that is to say a monster that is larger, smarter, or has some special attack (like a beholder’s eye rays) that players aren’t expecting. Ya know, the kind of monster that makes your players say…
Place one encounter’s worth of monsters in the room you think players are most likely to enter first, or at least the first room they’ll enter which has some baddies.
Spread the rest of your monsters throughout the dungeon as you see fit. They might be on guard duty, sleeping, eating, gambling, training, etc. Whatever makes the most sense.

Running A Dungeon Brawl

Your dungeon brawl begins when the first loud, all-out battle is going down. The rest of the complex is alerted by the noise and know it’s time to throw down. Quick note: remember a dungeon brawl is multiple encounters tied together so they work best if your PCs are at full strength.

Adding Waves

Take these steps to run a successful dungeon brawl.

As part of your prep, separate your monsters into waves. Waves are usually an encounter’s worth of monsters who will all appear on the battlefield at one time. Mark your minis or make note of which creatures are in which wave. To keep things simple you could have each wave made up of one create type, but if you have the time, mix it up and spread out creatures of one type across various waves.
Roll initiative for each wave involved in the brawl, even the ones which cannot be seen.
On its turn decide if a wave enters the fray. Unless you’re using an online game table that has a fog of war function like roll20.net, you probably won’t be able to keep track of precise monster movement. So how do you know when it’s time to add another wave? As a general rule, if there are less enemy combatants than there are active PCs, add a new wave. Use your best judgement. If the PCs are struggling, don’t add another wave of its a hard encounter. Wait for an ray or medium to roll around.
Be prepared to adjust. I admit this method is pretty swingy. Be prepared to hold a few monsters back if the PCs are really getting their butts handed to them or add a few creatures if you feel the combat is too easy or going too fast.

Encourage PCs to Move

Dungeon brawls can be great fun in one room, but they’re even better if the PCs have a reason to move. Each new room can changes the dynamics of combat with varying hazards, choke points, terrain, sizes, and opportunities to gain cover and hide. A new room can break up the monotony of a long combat.

The only problem is that many players have a dungeon crawl mentality of clearing one room at a time. You’ll need to adjust that if you want them running through rooms battling it out. There’s a few ways to tackle this.

The first is to simply talk to your players before the dungeon brawl and let them know they’ll need to make a mental shift in order to get the most out of the encounter. While this method is simplest it’s the least interesting and takes away player agency. Plus if you have a PC die during the dungeon brawl because he ran off into another room and got stabbed, now you’re partly to blame.

A more enticing way of getting your players to move their characters around the dungeon is to have monsters use ranged attacks from other rooms. There’s only one way the great weapon fighter can hit the goblin mage who keeps ducking behind full cover after blasting everyone with a fireball.

Another method you could use makes for the most daring and exciting of dungeon brawls, and only requires a little more planning on your part. Give the players a timed objective. For instance a devastating ritual to crash a flying city nears completion or the Brotherhood of the Moon plans to turn the dean of The Arcane College into a werewolf at midnight tonight are great objectives for the PCs to stop. Remember a round of combat is only six seconds long. Unless your dungeon is huge the timed objectives should have limits of five minutes or less. Alternatively the PCs could not know their exact time limit but be given the impression that if they don’t keep moving a massive army of devil-aberrant hybrids is going to rise out of the ground.

The Oh Shit Monster

This oh shit monster is inspired by every action movie ever. The heroes think they’ve won the day, and are catching their breath when a creature unlike anything they’ve ever faced suddenly shows up. In dungeon brawls, one of your waves should include an oh shit monster. Savor the moment this creature shows up and revel in your description of its power. Get the players good and scared when this baddy shows up, preferably at a moment the PCs are close to thinking their job is almost done. Think cave troll in The Fellowship of the Ring movie.

Improvised Weapons

Because a dungeon brawl is actually multiple encounters strung together the combat has the potential to drag on and feel like a tiresome slog. In order to keep things fresh you should have a bunch of different monsters and a reason for PCs to travel through different rooms in the dungeon. Finally, adding some fun environmental props will really take things to the next level.

When building a complex for a dungeon brawl, I like to think about the environmental props that populate some of my favorite video games. Video games high on action are most fun when you can shoot barrels full of oil to make them explode, throw baddies off ledges to their doom, and stealth attack an enemy below by jumping down on them from a gargoyle. Stock dungeon rooms with interesting objects, even if you don’t have ideas on how they could be used as weapons. I promise your players will find a way to turn anything into an instrument of destruction. When they ask if they can tip the deranged wizard’s tank of piranhas onto the flesh golem, for the love of all that is holy say yes. Let the effects be just as devastating if not better than the PC using its action to attack. Even if damage isn’t dealt by an improvised attack, think about conditions it might impose on a target, like dumping a barrel of glue onto a kobold shaman. If your PCs see their ingenuity pays off and soon they’ll be trying all kinds of high action antics!

Why Dungeon Brawls?

Dungeon brawls are a fun way to clear out a level of a dungeon without the traditional time sucks of listening at every door and searching every 10 feet for a trap. It’s not meant to replace every good, old-fashioned dungeon crawl, but it’s a nice change of pace, especially when you need to save some time. They’re a challenge, but done well they’re also extremely rewarding. If you give it a shot, please let me know what you think in the comments below.

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Writing on a Schedule

Inspiration / Blog Carnival, blogging, commute, D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, DnD, dungeons and dragons, music, rpg, tabletop, tabletop rpg, TRPG, world building, worldbuilding, writing / 19 comments

February 12, 2015

This month’s RPG Blog Carnival theme is How/Where You Write/Prep chosen by V.A. over at Leicester’s Ramble. So it’s all about where and how people like me and all the other creators and GMs out there write for tabletop RPGs. Whether you write homebrew adventures, a blog, novels, short stories, supplements, articles, or rule books, this information is for you.

My Schedule

Like most of you I have an insane schedule. I’ve got a full-time job, three regular podcasts, and freelance assignments. I’m in a committed relationship with an amazing woman that I enjoy putting time and energy into. I run two D&D games. I’ve got family relationships and friendships to maintain. I also have the human requirements of food, clean clothes, showers, exercise, and sleep. I don’t even have kids or school to attend like many of you and I’ve already got a full schedule. So when am I supposed to write for this blog and my campaigns?

My Happy Place – The Commute

I have a 20-minute to 30-minute (one way) commute to work that uses public transportation. While I’m waiting for and on the train, I write. That’s what I’m doing as I write this sentence. Even if if have to stand on the train and hang onto the bar over my head with one hand because all the seats are taken, I write. Even if my commute is as fast as can be each day of the work week (and that never happens with the Washington, DC metro), that’s 3 hours and 20 minutes of solid writing I can get done each week.

I do this writing on my iPhone using the Notes app. I can email, text, and copy/paste my words with a few quick finger motions. Notes is linked to my Google account so all the work I do is automatically backed up. Combine this with the WordPress app I also have on my phone and posting a blog update is a breeze.

Of course, using a smartphone is not ideal for editing. That’s why the man (in his corporate anti-rock-and-roll visage) created the lunch break.

Edit During Lunch

I’ll be honest. I hate editing. I’m sure Greg Blair can attest to this fact as he has found many a typo in my blog over the past year and emailed me about them. (Thanks, Greg!)

Still, editing is one of the most important parts of the writing process. Editing is shaping your lump-of-clay words into a beautiful statue. It never takes as long as you think and if you can find time to write, you can find time to edit.

I like to edit my work during my lunch hour. This works out well for me since I don’t need to edit every single day. I usually need only two hours of edit time a week, depending on how many projects I have going and how many PDFs I’m trying to put up on the Free Game Resources section of this site. That gives me three hours for whatever I need to do, like grab lunch with a friend, catch up on work for my day job, run errands, write podcast notes, etc. Giving myself two guaranteed hours of edit time is great and I try to use them at the beginning of the week. That way if I need some extra edit time I can try to use my lunch hours later in the week to help me out.

The Editing Exception

I must admit that there is one thing I never edit and that’s my home campaign notes. Good lord are they riddled with typos and mistakes, but it doesn’t matter! Those notes are just for me and I know what I meant. Unless you’re planning on sharing your home campaign notes, don’t worry about editing. Save yourself some time (and also use helpful organizational tools and improv techniques to cut down on your prep time).

Best Laid Plans

Sometimes all the lunch hours and commute time in the world aren’t enough to get a project done. Sometimes life gets busy and all your time free time is spent doing stuff that isn’t writing. In these cases I still have my favorite time to write, which is the early morning.

Starting the day off writing is like starting the day off with a great workout. You feel accomplished and ready to face the rest of the day once the task is complete. If you can wake up and get going before anyone else in your household, that’s even better. Your distractions are limited because the rest of the world is sleeping or just waking up. Email, Facebook, Twitter, texts, and more are just as sleepy as the rest of the world. The quiet and the good night’s sleep you just had put you at the top of your writing game. The anxiety you felt the day before as stress built up over work, family, etc. is gone or at least lessened at the start of a new day.

There’s another great reason I like to write at the start of the day. The work gets done sooner. That writing is no longer hanging over my head. Even if you enjoy writing, waiting until the last moment to complete something makes it feel like a chore. It can conjure up bad memories of pulling all-nighters to finish a school assignment. Write in the morning and you’ll be less stressed the rest of the day.

Music

When I’m writing I tend to like music without lyrics or music with lyrics I know by heart. For me lyrics I don’t know very well become distracting. (Did she just say she wants to see my peacock?!?) Depending on what I’m writing I usually opt for something thematic for fantasy, like a John Williams and Hans Zimmer station on Pandora, or I go with something upbeat to help the words flow and keep me in a good mood. That’s where my favorite bands The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Action Slacks help out. I’ve been listening to them forever so the lyrics don’t trip me up and their fast-paced songs help the words flow like ambrosia.

Listening to music can help you get inspired and write faster, so if you’re on a schedule grab a favorite album or appropriately theme soundtrack and get rocking.

What About You?

How do you like to write and what helps you be super quick? I’m always looking for more tips so sound off in the comments below!

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Searching for Something

Brass Tacks / art, coins, D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, DnD, dungeons and dragons, gems, items, objects, rpg, search, tabletop, tabletop rpg, treasure, TRPG, world building, worldbuilding / 5 comments

December 11, 2014

I dare say Perception is the most used skill in many D&D games. It’s used to find secret doors, treasures, traps, hidden foes, read lips, smell distant fires, listen through doors… you get the idea. Heck, it’s the skill which inspired the passive ability check, allowing DMs to know the result of a PC’s Perception roll without the player ever knowing it occurred.

For all its uses, Perception checks do slow down game play. How many dungeon crawls have been turned into dungeon complete stops because players wanted to pour over every room and find the secret doors and treasure hidden by a crafty DM, only to find that there really is NOTHING in that one room with the gray ooze. This isn’t the players’ faults! There’s fun in finding something hidden and sort of the point of many a dungeon crawl.

Still, this method of play becomes monotonous after a time, because players will search a room and find nothing. Even in your favorite published adventures there’s usually a room or three per dungeon that’s monsterless, treasureless, secret-doorless with the words “nothing of interest” attached to the description.

I understand this plight. There’s only so much treasure to go around. It’s not like the DM can put objects and areas of interest in every room, right? I mean that’d be a butt ton of work. Right?!?

Say Nay to the Pile

Now let me say that I LOVE big old pile of treasure. I love a sleeping dragon buried beneath a hill of gold that would make even Scrooge McDuck drown. I love a lich hiding her loot in a secret vault, guarded by devious traps and constructs. Who doesn’t want a moment where adventurers run into a glittering cavern of ornate treasures a la Aladdin‘s Cave of Wonders or The Mummy?

But does every freakin’ lair need all its valuables centralized in one place? Wouldn’t the bandits be more likely to split up their booty immediately after a highway robbery rather than hoard it in one room in their cave? Doesn’t the bandit leader have to pay his goons in order to stop a revolt? Why would an evil cult keep all their artifacts under lock and key? Wouldn’t they hire guards and put the pieces on display as a show of power to remind followers their deity is strong?

Think about your own house. Most of us don’t have a wall safe behind a comically large, hinged self-portrait above our office desk. Your most valuable possessions are spread out all over. The functional things are in the place where you need them most, your art is on display, and your money could be in different places (for instance my wallet is on my person, rolls of quarters are kept next to the laundry detergent in the closet, loose change is thrown into a tin next to the TV, gift cards are on the fridge, and my check book is in a filing cabinet). I don’t hide all my valuables and I’m guessing you don’t either, because you believe the security measures you have in place (door locks, a dog, a doorman, an alarm system, etc.) are more than enough to deter thieves and murderers. You wouldn’t then also hide all your valuables because it’d be inconvenient to find them when you need them. Wouldn’t it be the same for most fantasy baddies who have henchmen, locks, alarms, and traps of their own?

Next time you make a treasure hoard, think about spreading it out in every room. Here are the steps I normally take.

Roll up or decide the grand total of treasure you want to put in the lair. Get a grand total of loot for the adventure, it makes dividing it up a lot easier. I find this works best after you’ve already created and populated the dungeon you want to use.
Assign any useful magic items in the hoard to NPCs. Magic weapons and armor would be worn by the person running the operation or by his or her most loyal henchmen. Don’t just leave it at items good for bonking adventurers. Monsters aren’t just waiting around for PCs to show up and kill them. They have just much use for a bag of holding or some dust of dryness as the PCs do. Simply make a note next to the NPC’s name to remind yourself it has the item.
Display art. What good is a gold-framed painting, silver sculpture, or beautiful tapestry if it’s lying in a treasure heap or locked in a chest? Put them on display! Make a note next to the room’s description or read aloud text about any art object that might be on display (and possibly warrant extra guards, security, or traps).
Hide gems. In my mind gems are the big daddies that baddies keep squirreled away for a big purchase or trade. That said there’s no reason why the dungeon’s big boss should hold every single gem. A lowly henchmen might hide one in his or her boot or under a mattress so their coworkers don’t steal it. The ogre mage might give them to his or her favored bodyguard to assure loyalty. A ruined temple’s former caretaker might have hidden a ruby away in an altar during the structure’s heyday. Again make notes next to the room about the type of gem, its worth, and where it might be hidden next to a room description or NPC.
Divide coinage. Figure out where all the various copper, silver, gold, and platinum pieces should go in your dungeon. First question – are the dungeon’s henchmen being paid? If so, hand over some gold! Each henchman should have a little something tucked in a belt pouch or in a chest at the foot of a bed. Are their prisoners hiding away money? Did someone long ago hide a cache of coin beneath the floor? Is the ogre paid more than the orcs? Remember that most money a person would have on hand would be in a small amount in an easily reachable place (like a pocket or pouch). Large sums of money are more likely to be hidden, locked away, guarded, and/or trapped. Make your notes and you’re ready to rock.

This method assures that your players constant searching will be worth it. Rather than slowing down gameplay, it’s a major part of it.

But what if you really like the big treasure pile? Or your adventure calls for it. Or what if you don’t have time to parse out all the treasure in the way I listed above? Fear not! I have ideas below that can still make PCs’ constant searching and ransacking worth it and interesting.

Worldbuiling Through Searching

Players can find interesting stuff that isn’t treasure when they make a Wisdom (Perception) or Intelligence (Investigation) check. While moving through a ruin, players might find objects and hints about the former life of the structure. While moving through a dragon’s cave, players might evidence of what the dragon eats or the journal of a former adventurer who failed to storm the lair. While moving through an enemy’s castle they might find letters from their enemy’s allies, written plans for villainous schemes old and new, or games of strategy and chance the guards play in their downtime. All of these things may not be of direct monetary value to the PCs, but they tell the story of your world and that’s the reward for finding them.

You can stock a dungeon with these items or you could roll on a chart whenever a player searches a room and you decide there should be something of interest in it.

If you’re in a pinch, page 299 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide has two tables – General Features and General Furnishings and Appointments. These two randomized tables are a great place to roll for randomized objects. Just roll there until you get a result which makes sense when your players search. If you’re a quick improv, attach significance to the object (like a symbol, a note, a special crafting material, etc.) to make it relate to your story and your world. Alternatively you could use the trinkets table in the Player’s Handbook, but those are items are so specific it may be difficult to fit them into your story.

The tables above aren’t really meant for random Wisdom (Perception) checks. They are meant to help DMs create random dungeons. Large furniture is on those lists as well as piles of wood, which are things a player wouldn’t need to search for and in most cases be disappointed to find.

That’s why I’ve created the table below of random story objects players can find in a dungeon!

d100	Object
1	Prayer book to a resident’s diety
2	Vial of herbs used to soothe joint pain
3	Map of an inhabitant’s hometown
4	Notes on an inhabitant’s current scheme
5	Notes on an inhabitant’s old scheme
6	Notes on an inhabitant’s future scheme
7	Bag of local candy
8	Bottle of local alcohol
9	Map of an inhabitant’s dream retirement location
10	Letter to an inhabitant from a loved one
11	Book of the local government’s laws
12	Book of fairy tales for children
13	Book of scary stories
14	Local herbs used in tea
15	Pipe-weed from an exotic location far off
16	Bag of bones used to predict the future
17	Spell component pouch full of sulfur and guano
18	Letter opener with an inhabitant’s family crest
19	Fancy undergarments from a nearby city shop
20	Board game favored by the locals
21	Card game favored by the locals
22	Dice game favored by the locals
23	Drawing of a local legendary monster done by a child
24	Poem written to an inhabitant by a lover
25	Small musical intrument wrapped in sheet music of a classic song
26	Copper coins from a fallen empire
27	Blanket knit with the symbol of a local government or organization
28	Darkened glasses used by an inhabitant with a light sensitivity
29	Ear trumpet used by an inhabitant with hearing impairment
30	Invitation to a party thrown by a local noble
31	Signet ring of a local authority
32	Coffee grounds from an exotic location
33	Sack made out of a local monstrosity’s hide
34	Mask made in the likeness of a legendary monster
35	Pen and stationary set from an institution of learning
36	Text book about the specific ecology of a monster by a well-known sage
37	Brass holy symbol of an inhabitant’s deity
38	Stuffed doll made in the likeness of local dog breed or pack animal
39	Stuffed doll made in the likeness of local monster
40	Recipe for an inhabitant’s grandmother’s famous pie
41	Recipe for an exotic dish
42	Recipe for a local dish
43	Tankard from a local tavern or inn
44	Preserved corpse of an inhabitant’s pet
45	Beast’s preserved head as a hunting trophy
46	Floor plan of the closest blacksmith’s shop
47	Flask emblazoned with a mercenary group’s symbol
48	Pen knife with initials carved in Undercommon
49	Stone arrowheads from a nearby primitive civilization
50	Hidden engraving of an evil god or cult
51	Hidden closet or trapdoor meant for hiding runaway slaves
52	Petrified pet rat
53	Sword sheath with the crest of a noble family on the other side of the world
54	Iron manacles with the preserved hands of a humanoid locked in them
55	Dagger with the crest of a city guard on the other side of the world
56	Wood box displaying the corpse of extinct insects
57	Hit list left behind by an international assassin
58	Dull straight razor made for a Huge creature
59	White gloves made for a Tiny creature
60	Monster training manual written by a now dead eccentric explorer
61	Journal of an inhabitant
62	Music box which plays an off-beat tune
63	Waterskin filled with blood for a ritual
64	Calendar with every holy day of a religion circled
65	Sundial bearing the name of a long-forgotten sun god
66	Saddle for a flying beast of burden
67	Notches in the wall noting the passage of time
68	Small booties meant for a baby
69	Broken miner’s pick bearing the sigil of an Underdark king
70	Tiny set of antlers, too small for a deer or moose
71	Directions to an inhabitant’s best friend’s house
72	Cipher for a secret code which is no longer used
73	Bowl made from the wood of an extinct plant
74	Belt buckle bearing the symbol of a knightly order
75	Set of brass knuckles with a criminal’s initials raised on the points of contact
76	Magnifying glass carved with the initials of a dead police inspector
77	Work gloves covered in the blood of an aberrant creature
78	Iron pot full of humanoid bones
79	Small flask full of an inhabitant’s favorite condiment
80	Voodoo doll of an inhabitant’s employer
81	Paper target with a perfect hole through the bullseye
82	Stone statuette of a beast found on the other side of the world
83	Wax candle carved into the image of a god
84	Map of the world
85	Map of a mysterious island
86	Notes from an inhabitant’s trip to another plane
87	I.O.U. written to an inhabitant
88	Notice of debt written to an inhabitant
89	Collar and tag made to fit a Large animal
90	Sock for a Huge creature
91	Scarf bearing the crest of a local artisan guild
92	Small wooden box with a secret compartment
93	Yo-yo bearing a child’s name
94	Wooden halfling skeleton
95	Common to <insert language of your choice here> dictionary
96	Set of finger puppets resembling a legendary band of heroes
97	Steel box containing the leaves of plants from an exotic location
98	Homemade political cartoon commenting on local affairs
99	Copy of the local news publication
100	Warrant for the arrest of a person on the other side of the world

After rolling on the table above, the rest of the object’s story is up to you!

Variant: Ruin Rule

If the PCs are making their way through a ruin that was formerly inhabited by people other than the current occupants, roll a d10 before rolling on the Randomized Story Objects table. A roll of 4 or below indicates the object found is older and pertains to the previous occupants, a roll of 5 or higher indicates the object is related to the current occupants.

When All Else Fails… They Gotta Eat!

Maybe you don’t want to give your players treasure, but you don’t want to overload them with story objects either. Maybe you’re the kind of DM who asks players to track their use of food, water, and ammunition. Well if that’s the case, when your PCs search, roll on the table below to see what they might find. In certain campaigns, food and water are worth more than gold! For that sort of thing roll a d100 and adjust the rarity of these items based on how often you want them to show up.

d12	Items
1	1 full waterskin
2	1d2 days of rations
3	1 bag of ball bearings
4	1 bag of caltrops
5	1d6 pieces of chalk
6	10d6 feet of hempen rope
7	1d4 flasks of oil
8	1d10 torches
9	1d20 arrows
10	1d20 crossbow bolts
11	1d20 sling bullets
12	1d10 iron spikes

Tables as PDFs

Hey if you like the tables above and want to use them in your game below is a PDF for you. This document will live on the Free Game Resources section of this site!

Alternative Search Tables

If you like what you’re reading, please check out my podcasts on The Tome Show, follow me on Twitter, tell your friends, share this blog post, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!

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Let the Players Do the Work

Inspiration / Cities, D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, DnD, dungeons and dragons, insomnia, magic items, rpg, rules module, tabletop, tabletop rpg, TRPG, world building, worldbuilding / 3 comments

September 30, 2014

I have a friend who warned me after my second blog post that involving my players too much in the creation of my world was bad news. “Players will tell you what they want, but they have no idea really.” I’m delighted to report that I think this friend, great as he is, was incorrect.

Sitting down to create a campaign guide is no small feat and I couldn’t do it without the help of my friends and all you folk commenting on the blog. My players in particular have done a ton of work, helping me playtest and revise the various mechanics I’ve created. They are world builders and architects with me every step of the way. It’s thanks to suggestions and direct contributions from my players that I was able to create rules for naval combat and firearms. Not to mention my players helped create adventure sites via the Well of Heroes and suggested I create the Explorers’ Guild and The Society of Seekers.

Well I just read through a whole bunch of character backstories, some less than a page of bullet points, others 33 pages single-spaced. Now I have a lot more story material with which to play!

Encouraging Players to Create

Right now all my players have access to a rough manuscript version of the Exploration Age Campaign Guide. While I asked them to help edit the book, I also invited them to create their own cities, adventure sites, and whatever else they wanted to bring into the world. After all, the book isn’t close to being published and the earliest we may see any kind of OGL is December, and even then the launch wouldn’t be until 2015. So anything they add at this point I can actually add to the book itself. That’s pretty cool! Even if we did have a published book though, or we were playing in a setting someone else created, like Dark Sun, I would still invite my players to do this. These guys are doing the work for me and everything they create is a new and interesting story hook!

I suggest you do the same. I ask all my players for a backstory. The least I can do is let them write what they want within the themes of the setting. Writing a backstory should be fun, not homework. I don’t give them any restrictions in page count or format and I encourage them to let their imaginations run wild.

Usually, my players still clear anything major with me before they cement it into their backstories. I’m very cool with this, but it’s a courtesy, not a requirement. When they do ask about something I always use that old improv trick of saying, “Yes, and…” If you don’t know the concept, essentially when a player offers you an idea you say yes and build on the idea so it works within your setting.

I’d now like to give you a look at a few of the things my players brought to Exploration Age.

City of Autumn

My friend and frequent Round Table panelist Andrew was writing the backstory for his Archfey Pact Human Warlock, Nightshade, when he asked me if he could create a a city in the predominantly elf and halfling country of Taliana where Nightshade was raised. His thought was to create a city which spanned two sides of a major river in a forest. I thought that sounded interesting, so I said yes.

It doesn’t stop there though. Andrew also wanted to create Nightshade’s Archfey patron. He knew of the Summer and Winter courts in the Feywild, but wanted to know why it was more difficult to find information on the Autumn court. I told him I had never seen it fleshed out and so he took it upon himself to detail the Autumn Court and its queen, his patron, Messia. So not only did I get a city out of the deal, I also got a whole Feywild court detailed, which gives me plenty of adventure ideas and hooks for Nightshade as well as the rest of the party. Take a look at the description of Siannodel from the Exploration Age Campaign Guide.

For your reference. Note: Siannodel has not been added to the map yet!

Siannodel

Taliana’s City of Autumn sits on both sides of the Vumba River on Vacurion Bay. The city itself sits in an enormous maple grove and is most beautiful during the Autumn season when all the trees are changing and the river runs calmly. Twisting bridges made of orange, red, and yellow maple leaves held together by magic bring both sides of the city together. Perhaps this is the reason the city is favored by Messia, the Archfey queen of the Autumn Court. Since lumber is the city’s main trade, Messia is honored by the lumberjacks who try to make a point of planting trees each year to replace the ones they cut down, for fear of losing Messia’s favor. During the Autumn sacrifices are made and feasts are held in Messia’s honor and in exchange the city is warded to keep undead, vermin, and evil outsiders from entering Siannodel’s city limits. Giant vermin from the Arachna War are something the people of Siannodel are worried about these days, so it is important they keep Messia happy. Unfortunately, there is an indication that the city could be falling out of the Autumn queen’s good graces.

Siannodel used to always have a guardian, a champion warlock of Messia who would watch over the city and surrounding forest. However, it has been more than a century since Messia made a pact and the folk of the city whisper their corrupt ruling council is causing them to fall out of Messia’s favor. Heian Zeïtan, a longstanding council member, has recently begun throwing more gold around than it seems he takes in. He claims it is the inheritance of a distant relative, but others are not so sure. Siannodel did not participate as much as it could have during The Fourth Great War, and some whisper he was paid by enemy forces to keep Siannodel out of the fight as much as possible.

Because of its position on the on Vacurion Bay, Siannodel is a usually a stop for merchants and adventurers on their way to other parts of Findalay or Verda. As such, the city has thriving local blacksmiths, shipwrights, carpenters, artisans, and hospitality establishments.

Just Sign Here

Sometimes players create a magic item in their backgrounds. It might be a lost family sword or a rumored suit of armor which can resist the breath weapon of the dragon which destroyed a PC’s hometown. There are some players who think way outside the box and give you a unique artifact to put into your setting. My friend John gave me the background for Oruk, the half-orc wizard, and included in his history was an (evil) artifact called The Death Note Scroll (and yep, it’s that on the nose). Essentially, this artifact allows a user to write the name of any living creature on the scroll, the creature then dies, and the scroll teleports away to a new unknown location. This note plays a huge part in Oruk’s history, though I didn’t get more specifics than this, so I’d have to create the mechanics myself. Now, I’d like to present to you the story and game mechanics for The Death Note Scroll.

The Death Note Scroll

Wondrous item, artifact

Made from the skin of a long-forgotten, dead archdevil, by a victorious demon prince in the Blood War, The Death Note Scroll still hungers for souls. Every time a new name is written on the scroll, a tiny black diamond appears next to it, holding the name bearer’s soul inside. The scroll never runs out of space, for every time a name is added it stretches and grows a little. The Death Note Scroll is constantly hungry and those who bear it feel a strong urge to add to it the name of their closest foe, annoyance, or even friendly rival. In the black of midnight each night the scroll whispers aloud the names on the scroll in a voice as dry as forgotten paper. It often appears in an unremarkable black case, but when heated by flame, red Abyssal script appears on the outside, telling of a powerful gift within.

Once a name is written on The Death Note Scroll, the creature who’s name is written dies if they have less than 200 hit points. Their soul is trapped in the diamond which appears next to their name and they cannot be revived or brought back in anyway, unless The Death Note Scroll is destroyed. Once a name is added to the scroll, it teleports away to a random location (DM’s choice).

The Death Note Scroll is forged by powerful demonic magic and can only be destroyed by an archdevil or demon prince. Courting the favor of these beings is nigh impossible and those who do, must be prepared to give up much.

I Can’t Sleep

Sometimes players get a little more complicated than creating a city or magic item for your campaign world. My player Ray has a sorcerer PC, Ezra, who at times cannot sleep (he’s rather troubled). Ray took his PC and tied his background into that of Andrew’s Nightshade. Both have the favor of Messia, the queen of the Autumn Court. So sometimes Ezra is able to sleep soundly, for Messia takes pity on him and comforts him in his sleep.

Ray wanted to create an insomnia system which would put him at a disadvantage on the nights he did not sleep, but give him a slight edge on the night’s Messia, a powerful Archfey, showed up to help him sleep. I told him I would check it out to make sure it wasn’t giving him a huge advantage, and if it all looked kosher, we’d playtest the mechanic. Here’s what Ray created. Nice work!

Rules Module: Spellcaster Insomnia

You have trouble sleeping. Every time you take an extended rest, roll on the chart for the results below.

d10	Effect
1	You cannot sleep. You gain no healing benefits from an extended rest, though for the purposes of spell casting, you have taken an extended rest.
2	You have a half night of very troubled sleep. Others can hear you cry out at terrible dreams. You only regain half of the hit dice and HP that you would normally recover.
3 – 4	You have a poor night’s sleep. You recover one fewer hit die and two fewer HP (this increases to 2 and 5, respectively, at 10th level) than you would otherwise recover.
5 – 9	Messia (or a different other-worldly force) sends a projection of herself to comfort you until you are asleep. You gain all the benefits of your extended rest.
10	Messia (or different other-worldly force) comes in person to comfort you as you sleep (often only for a moment and after you have already passed into a shaky slumber). You gain all the benefits of an extended rest and wake up with 5 temp HP (this increases to 10 at 10th level).

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What a Deva

Brass Tacks, Inspiration / D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, Dark Sun, deva, DnD, dungeons and dragons, dwarf, mul, Rakshasa, rpg, shardmind, tabletop, tabletop rpg, thri-kreen, world building, worldbuilding / 2 comments

July 29, 2014

On Thursday last week I wrote a post about the nature and game mechanics of aasimar in Exploration Age. In that post I hinted briefly that deva PCs would be available to my players as well. This was not the first time I mentioned deva – they also made an appearance in a post I wrote about the multiverse in Exploration Age. So now, let’s get a little more in-depth with the deva as a PC race in Exploration Age.

The Eternal War

Reborn and ready for war.

No one is sure which came first – the demonic rakshasa or the angelic deva. Both claim to have given rise to the other. It certainly is a chicken and egg situation. A deva who lives an evil life will be reborn as a rakshasa and a rakshasa may defy its nature, live a life of selflessness and charity, and be reborn a deva. These two races, who are so connected, also hate one another. Both will stop at nothing to see their enemy’s complete obliteration. Of course each race’s immortality makes that nigh impossible, unless all deva are reborn as rakshasa or visa versa.

Deva live on the plane of Biatopia, fighting a never-ending was with the rakshasa as both races are eternally reborn. Deva have bards who sing at the top of their voices in battles. These bards focus on songs of selfless heroic deeds and the value of good. It is the hope of the deva forces these songs will change the hearts of the rakshasa before their deaths in battle and bring the demonic beings back as one of the good guys. This tactic rarely works, but it is only one method the deva use to convert their foes. Many defeated rakshasa are taken as prisoners of the deva, confined to small, anti-magic cells, where they are shackled. The deva then engage the rakshasa in a sort of conditioning to try and make them see the light. This tactic seems to have some success, but the rakshasa actually seem to be slowly winning the war.

The rakshasa tactic is very straight forward. They commit acts of atrocious evil against the deva and try to make the deva retaliate in kind. The eternal war has broken the spirit of many deva and some are pushed over the edge when rakshasa openly torture their friends.

Some deva (and rakshasa) are so weary of The Eternal War and so these renegades have left Biatopia in hopes of seeking a better life on the Material Plane.

Deva Religion

Most deva believe their immortal souls are actually a piece of a soul of one true creator god who they call Zaxa. Their religion is known as Zaxism and they believe this god was benevolent. It is said when Zaxa created the multiverse, the effort tore his soul asunder into many small pieces. These pieces fell into Biatopia and became the deva. As deva lived their lives, those who were wicked were reborn as rakshasa. Zaxists believe if they can convert all rakshasa to deva they can enact a ritual in which they will sacrifice themselves and restore Zaxa to existence.

Zaxists are told that Zaxa’s heart survived the creation of the multiverse and was forged by a deva master craftsman into a hammer. This hammer, Zaxa’s Heart, is said to be able to remove both deva and rakshasa who are slain by it from existence. Those laid low by the hammer will not be reborn. If this is true, there is no way to know. Zaxa’s Heart was lost long ago in a battle during The Eternal War. Ranmar, the first deva to wield the hammer was captured by the rakshasa in battle before he got to use it. Before his capture he teleported the weapon away to an unknown location. Ranmar has not been heard from for thousands of years.

Deva as PCs

Many deva worry that they are forsaking the cause of their people when they head to Canus seeking a life of adventure and leave the front lines of The Eternal War. Biatopia’s deva citizens are warned that this act alone is selfish enough to fate them to a rakshasa rebirth. Though many now know truth is much more complicated.

Some deva adventure so they might experience new worlds and cultures. Others leave Biatopia in the hopes of actually accomplishing something in the multiverse as opposed to fighting a desperate, never-ending war. Then there are those who strike out on their own for a greedy purpose. They don’t wish to be part of The Eternal War any longer because they don’t enjoy working with a group and want to live a life at the expense of others. These devas often feel they are owed something for their service and are usually the ones reborn as rakshasa in Biatopia when they die.

A deva’s life on Canus is one of discoveries both wondrous and disappointing. The variety of experiences and the moments of life’s pure joy astound and delight most deva, while the cruelty of non-demonic humanoids disgusts them. Deva often find themselves fighting a different sort of never-ending war, against the cruelty of civilized humanoid races. This can make some deva jaded, broken, and world-weary. Too many lifetimes with such cruelty has turned more than one deva toward alcoholism and orange spice addiction.

For other adventuring deva, this is not their first lifetime on Canus. They have been in the Material Plane and other places in the multiverse for as far back as they might remember. These deva usually have a pleasant outlook on the world and sometimes travel with the ancestors of people with whom they adventured lifetimes ago.

A deva adventurer might be a wizard traveling the multiverse in search of the origin of magic, a cleric searching the Material Plane for rakshasa to kill, a barbarian tired of The Eternal War and hoping to do some real good in Canus, or anything you dream.

Deva Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1, your Wisdom score by 2.

Age. Devas are born as humans and have an immortal life span. They do not die of old age, but can be killed by disease or by wounds.

Alignment. Most devas tend toward good alignment. They may have been first made that way, and now lifetime after lifetime has taught them that being virtuous to others has its own reward. Many deva are also lawful. They follow their own codes of conduct so they don’t slip into a wicked life and return as the thing they hate most.

Size. Deva range from 6 to 6-and-a-half feet tall and weigh as much as humans do. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Astral Resistance. You have resistance to necrotic and radiant damage.

Cantrip. You know one cantrip of your choice from the cleric spell list. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability score for it.

Memory of a Thousand Lifetimes. When you make an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check and dislike the result, you can roll 1d10 and add it to the result. You must complete a short rest before you can use this ability again.

Worldly Knowledge. You have proficiency in the History skill.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Celestial and Common.

The End… Or Is It?

You know what? You guys are awesome. Thank you for reading, sharing, and commenting on my blog. Last week was my most successful week ever and that is thanks to you all.

Since you have been so awesome, I actually want to share a few more of the game mechanic I created for some more D&D races which won’t be in the player’s handbook. Say hello to the mul, shardmind, and thri-kreen. You can read more about these races in Exploration Age in my previous post Stealing Races.

Mul Traits

This guy is pumped to be here.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, your Constitution score by 1.

Age. Muls mature a few years before humans, and have a slightly shorter lifespan.

Alignment. Muls usually to keep to themselves and not get too involved in the matters of others, so they tend to be more neutral rather than good or evil. They run the gamut with respect to law and chaos. Some lawful muls have personal codes which guide their adventuring, while chaotic muls live life without caring what others may think of them.

Size. Mul range from 5 to a little over 5-and-a-half feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Darkvision. Thanks to your dwarven heritage, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 30 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Dwarven Toughness. Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level.

Incredible Resolve. You can end any incapacitated, paralyzed, or stunned condition effecting you on the start of your turn. You must complete a short rest before you can use this ability again.

Mul Vitality. You gain an extra hit die.

Tireless. You have advantage on saving throws and ability checks against increasing your exhaustion level.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Dwarven.

Shardmind Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, your Wisdom score by 1.

Age. Shardmind are forged as fully-formed adults and have an immortal lifespan.

Alignment. Shardminds tend toward neutrality on both the good and evil scale and the law and chaos scale.

Size. Shardminds are the same height as and slightly heavier then humans. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Construct Rest. Instead of sleeping, you enter a sleep‐like state. You need to remain in it for only 4 hours each day. You do not dream; instead, you are fully aware of your surroundings and notice approaching enemies and other events as normal. After resting this way, you gain the same benefits a human does from 8 hours of sleep.

Crystalline Mind. You have resistance against psychic damage.

Living Construct. Even though you were constructed, you are a humanoid. You are immune to disease. You do not need to eat or breathe, but you can ingest food and drink if you wish.

Shard Swarm. As an action, your body breaks apart and moves 15 feet and reforms. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks. Every creature adjacent to you before you move must make a Dexterity saving throw (DC 8 + your Intelligence modifier + proficiency). Creatures who fail the saving throw take 1d10 piercing damage. You must rest before you can use this ability again.

Telepathy. You can communicate telepathically with any creature within 60 feet of you that understands a language.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.

Thri-kreen Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, your Wisdom score by 1.

Age. Thri-kreen have short life spans. They mature around five years of age, and only live about 30 years.

Alignment. Many thri-kreen are lawful neutral. They are loyal to their friends and tribe, but suspicious of those they do not know well.

Size. Thri-kreen are usually around 7 feet tall and weigh between 400 and 500 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Darkvision. You have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 35 feet.

Multiple Arms. Thri-kreen have two large arms and two smaller arms. Your large arms function as a human’s normally do, and the smaller arms can be used to wield light weapons in combat. As a bonus action, you may use your thri-kreen claw attack or attack with a light weapon wielded by of the smaller arms. You do not add your ability modifier to the damage of this bonus action attack.

Natural Jumper. Whenever you make a Strength (athletics) check to jump, you have advantage. In addition, you are always considered to have moved at least 10 feet on foot whenever you jump, even if you have not (in other words, you always jump as if you had a running start). You can long jump a number of feet equal to 5 + your Strength score and high jump a number of feet equal to 5 + your Strength modifier.

Thri-kreen Claws. Thri-kreen have claws. These natural attacks count as light, finesse melee weapons which deals 1d6 piercing damage. All thri-kreen are proficient with their claws.

Torpor. Instead of sleeping, you enter a state of torpor. You need to remain in it for only 4 hours each day. You are fully aware of your surroundings and notice approaching enemies and other events as normal when you are in this state. After resting this way, you gain the same benefits a human does from 8 hours of sleep.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Thri-kreen.

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