A Quick Formula for an Adventure!

 How to Be a Great Narrator (Game Master) #3

Sometimes you plan for weeks and weeks to make your campaign ready. You spend days in worldbuilding, days in the maps, hour after hour making the core NPCs, and even more hours working out the storylines.

Other times, you’re just sitting around with some buddies and you want to throw down some dice. While they’re whipping together some quick characters, can you improvise an adventure? Can you make something interesting and exciting?

Here’s a fast formula you can use to put out an exciting and compelling adventure! It’s “SNGC” - you could possibly pronounce that like, “SNUG-kkh” if you wanted to, but I’m not sure why you would...

Anyway...

1 - Setting

Where is this adventure going to happen? This is more than just “What world?” or “What city?” the players will be wandering through. Is there a basement or catacombs under an inn or a chapel? Will they be creeping through a dark and spooky forest? This is the first decision.

2 - Characters

Who will be involved? In this case, I’m speaking much more about the NPCs, rather than the players. Who will they encounter, and what will they be like. Jot down a few names (maybe use an online name generator or an old IKEA catalog) and a few notes of the role of the character and their personality. The less of this you have to improvise, the more fleshed-out the story will be.

3 - Goals

Why are we here? And why should we care? 

These are the deep existential questions your party will be asking you. Well, they might not ask these questions out loud, but believe me, they are thinking about these issues. Exploring the sandbox or shopping for new armor and potions only carries you so far before you start to wonder what the point of it all is. Is there some magical McGuffin they can seek, or some monster terrorizing a village? Is there a tourney to be won, or someone to be rescued? The sooner a goal, a task, is established, the sooner the game will get underway.

4 - Conflict

This is critical. Without conflict, you have no story. Sandbox play can be fun, but if the characters don’t have something driving them to act, they will either shut down in boredom, or will look to create some conflict with the characters in the setting. It’s NOT likely that this will end well. Trust me.

There are two kinds of conflict here: One is the conflict the party will face when they try to achieve the goal. This could be pretty obvious: The monster they’re trying to kill might not WANT to be killed, or the powerful evil wizard whose McGuffing they’re wanting to steal might not WANT to end his comfortable reign of blood and horror.

It’s also a lot of fun to establish some external conflicts between the NPCs. Maybe some of the villagers don’t trust each other, and maybe they want to get back at an old rival in the tavern. These sorts of conflicts might not drive the story quite as much, but they can sure flavor it and make it more tricky.

Remember to hint at the conflicts and the goals early on. This is often called the “Hook” or the “Teaser”. This is what triggers the adventurers into action mode and away from drink-themselves-into-oblivion-on-the-inn’s-barstool mode.

So, that’s the SNGC formula for a quickie adventure. Even if you can’t decide how to pronounce it (“SNOG-ick”? “SING-K”?), you’ll find that it will help you establish an active and energetic adventure that your players will lunge into. It can also be used in preparing the individual sessions of a long-running campaign as well.

Happy Gaming, and roll 20s!

How to Roll Dice With a Disability

Inclusion at the table is a big deal these days, and rightly so!

My son, and one of the dev team for The Hero's Tale RPG, Jacob, has Cerebral Palsy.  It basically means that his brain doesn't talk to his muscles very well. That effects those that have the condition in many different ways. Some have tense muscle tone, others are very lax. Some are cognitive and verbal, others are not. Some can learn to walk and function, others can't, and many are in-between.

Jacob has very high, tense muscle tone. It's virtually impossible for him to use his legs, and he's stuck in a wheelchair full time. He struggles to use his arms and fingers with any real control. He is, however, fully cognitive and verbal.

So, he has been playing RPGs with us ever since we first created The Hero's Tale, even before we called it "The Hero's Tale". And rolling dice has always been a struggle for him. Here's why.

Picking up one of the small d20s means he has to isolate his thumb and forefinger, reach out (a difficult move with high muscle tone), direct his fingers to open and pick up the die, raise it, and then drop it and hope it doesn't roll away, or fall down under his wheelchair.

We've experimented with larger dice, and those are much easier for him to wrap his palm around and pick up, but the large d20s have numbers aligned and arranged for MTG scorekeeping (called "countdown" or "spindown") rather than a random arrangement. It works, but it's not as random.

Now, we have found the solution! We put a small d20 in a larger plastic box. This one is a display box for an autographed baseball.

He can pick up the box easily, shake it, and set it down to see what number he rolled. Easy grip, easy roll, and it doesn't fall on the floor!

A bonus benefit for everyone: How many times has an over-eager player tossed a die and had it roll off the table, or, worse, tumble onto the battlefield, scattering walls and miniatures as it goes? There's no save vs the die itself!

But if everyone at the table uses this method, there are no scattered dice, no hunting under the chairs! Just shake the box and read the die!

Brilliant!

Monthly Monster - Dimensional Cat

We're starting a new feature her in the Hero's Tale Blog - the Monthly Monster! Every so often, we'll publish the stats of a new creature to use to scare, vex, harass, attack, or otherwise annoy your players! These will, of course, be shown in details native to The Hero's Tale, but can easily be adapted to any other game system. If you think of a monster you want to share, post it in the comments, or email us at theherostaletht (at) gmail.com

Name:  Dimensional Cat
Description: The Dimensional cat appears as a typical, small, gray tabby house cat. As kittens, in fact, they are indistinguishable from their normal, non-magical counterparts. As they mature, however, their tails get a bit longer, and a bit furrier toward the tip, and a knot of bone grows at the top of the head. This is just a small bump and is often hidden by the animal’s fur. The bump becomes the locus of the cat’s dimensional powers.

They are very rare, and there are few who even know they exist. Those who know of them believe that a few normal housecats who were pets of a dimensional mage may have gotten infused with powers, and then bred among themselves. They are often found as pets of unaware humans/humanoids, or by dimensional wizards who know full well what they are.

They are also sometimes found in cities or forests as feral breeding groups of as many as a dozen individuals.

Good, Bad, etc. : Freewill. Most who know of them believe them to be evil. In fact, if a dimensional cat is content living with a particular person, they will likely not do much to change their comfortable status quo. However, some believe that they actively manipulate those they live with or near. Most dimensional cats will predominantly act in their own self-interest.

Intelligence: Slightly higher than animal level. Not quite rising to communicative sentience.
Hearts: 1
Difficulty: Challenging

Attributes:
Str:   -2    Dex:   +2    Frt:    +1   Awr:   +1   Soc:   0 

Attacks\Combat Skills: They can attack with their claws and bite, and these successful attacks will be quite vicious and painful, but they will only cause pain, not loss of hearts. If they fight, they will prefer to use dimensional powers.

Armor/Protections: None

Powers (including WP): Basic Dimensional powers between +1 and +4. Those with a +3 or +4 may well even specialize. If they attack, it will most likely be reality shaping rather than their physical claws. An individual will have anywhere from 3-5 DimDWP. Cats in feral groups or living as pairs in a home are able to draw on each other’s will.

Other possible skills: They move silently, and their size makes it easy for them to conceal themselves.

Special Rules:  If they are socialized to live with humanoids, they will not be afraid, but will sometimes like to be petted. They may be particularly drawn to mages or magic items, particularly with a dimensional power base. Some will be playful and easily distracted by shiny objects, which they will collect in their residence, but not hoard in a stash. Feral dimensional cats will often be fearful and will hide or portal away from people who stumble on them.

Possibility of treasure: The trinkets they gather may at some times be valuable, but the “treasure” they have will typically be whatever is in the home where they live. If a dimensional cat is the pet of a wealthy merchant, there will likely be gold in the home. Feral cats will not likely have significant treasure. They may have acquired an oculus in their stash.

Diversity - How to Be a Great Narrator (Game Master), #2

I’d like to carry on with the theme that I started in my last HTBAGN (now pronounced “hit-boggan”) post. In that post, I talked about having an “open chair” policy for anyone that wants to come over and game. Our gaming group has seemed to become a magnet for people with disabilitities. 

I want to start off on this topic by telling you about one of our group members. I won’t use his name. One day, as we were gaming our usual friday night game, there was a knock on the door. I answered it, and saw a nervous, but pleasant-looking chap standing there. After I said hello, he said something like, “Hello. Is this where the game is going on?”

I was a little taken back, so I hesitated. It turns out that one of our group members had invited him to come play with us. But that member wasn’t there that night, and hadn’t mentioned to me that he’d be inviting anyone. 

I wasn’t sure what to do. But it only took me a moment of internal debate to swing the door open and let him in. He’s been coming pretty much every week since then.

We’ve gotten to know him. He’s told us that he’s on the Autism spectrum, and we can kinda tell that in some of his behaviors. He hesitates to make eye contact, and his characters are, well, unique, to say the least.

Nonetheless, he’s become a welcome member of our group, and we’ve come to enjoy his creativity.

Sometimes, though, I’ve thought back on that first night, and considered how difficult it must have been for him to reach out and find us, just on the recommendation of a friend. A friend, who, wasn’t even there at the time! The social struggles that many on the Autism spectrum can have must have made that a particularly difficult challenge. I sometimes think that it must have been quite a risk for him. I’m quite pleased that he took that risk. Our lives are richer for it.

Some practical thoughts, and some questions:

We’ve had several gamers at our table who are “on the spectrum” and have been diagnosed with some level of ASD. How does one integrate them into an adventure, and into a gaming group. Here are some thoughts (from someone who is definitely NOT an expert):

• Integrate them. Engage them in the game like any other player. Help them set up characters if they’ve never played RPGs or never played your system, and just get them into the game, just like any other person at your table.
• Give them plenty of space. That’s a tricky one, because I don’t mean to isolate or avoid them. I mean, when they do something that “doesn’t quite fit in”, either in game or in the room, let them. Have the game respond to them as they choose, kinda like the game is normally supposed to. There is always a lot of banter around the table about what should be done, and there is always a time when any player says, “I’m doing this or that thing.” As a GM, you respond to that. So, allow that same freedom of choice for all players. 
• Overall, I’m saying to just engage them as you would any other player, and it will all work out.

Now, if any of you reading this have personal or professional experience in this area, I would love to have a conversation (phone or social media) about additional ideas about gaming and ASD. Any thoughts?

<<<>>>

Here I'm just talking about my ideas for being a Narrator (a GM), in the world of The Hero's Tale, Family Friendly RPGs. Here's more info on The Hero's Tale, and family friendly RPGing.

“A walk in the Countryside” - A Tale of Heroes - Scene 56: Granthurg

Granthurg and Thissraelle left the chapel and walked in silence. It was just before mid-day, so the streets were very busy with townspeople going about their business. In spite of the noise around them, they said nothing to each other.

Their original plan had been for each group to find out what they could and to reconvene at the inn for further planning. Somehow, Granthurg felt an urgency to go where Brother Mathazar had directed them. In a hushed voice, the acolyte had said, “Keep following the main road west, along the river. You’ll leave the town. Soon, you’ll find a way that turns off to the north and leads to a few buildings. One of those buildings used to be a waypoint inn. It’s the dark market, now.”

Brother Mathazar continued, “But be cautious, and ready. If you’re attacked and defeated, you’ll be taken and sold. I daresay, you’d both get a pretty hefty price. You, for your strength.” He had motioned to Granthurg, then to Thissraelle, “And you, for, well... Other things.”

After the quiet pause that followed, he’d added, “You’re both very selfless and brave for helping your friends. I wish you the very best!”

It wasn’t long before the buildings became groves, meadows, and farmlands. They had been plowed and sown, but the crops were only beginning to appear above the ground. Keeping the unwanted weeds away was a constant task, and there were farmers and vassals out in the fields striking at them with hoes and digging them with sticks.

They were less than a mile from the edge of the town when they saw the small cluster of buildings around a larger, central structure. There were lots of wagons and horses tied to posts and fences around the perimeter.

“Hmph.” Granthurg grunted, “For such a remote place, there are a lot of people.”

Thissraelle nodded, “We probably shouldn’t approach from the road.”

“Good point.” He looked around. “How about that knoll with the hedges on the far side?”

“We’ll keep walking on the road as if we’re passing onward, and then double back.” She drew her cloak around her, in spite of the noonday sun.

A wagon started leave the compound, its driver steering the team along the narrow, but well-worn path to the main road. They picked up their pace a bit so they wouldn’t cross their paths.

Another man had been walking along behind them. He carried a bulging pack over his shoulder, filled with a bundle of sticks.

Granthurg glanced down at Thisraelle and turned his gaze back to the road.

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This continues the story of the heroes in Wynne, in Twynne Rivers, in the world of The Hero's Tale, Family Friendly RPGs. Here's more info on The Hero's Tale, and family friendly RPGing.


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How to Be a Great Narrator (Game Master), #1

Welcome to all!

As we created, tested, and adapted the rules to The Hero’s Tale over the years, we’ve had an unwritten rule at our table: Anyone is welcome.

I will say up front that this has been both good for us and bad for us. However, overall, this has been right for us, and has been very helpful for many of us at the table.

How this has been good:

I’m not inside the heads of those who sit at our table, laughing and throwing dice, but as I look around it, I see a core group of great friends who have been through a lot together. We’ve saved the world and the universe a time or two, and, in the process saved each other. We all have issues. We all have struggles. Over the years, our (mostly) consistent adventure night has given us a chance to bond with each other. We’ve become “our tribe”.

All of us, in some way or another, have at times felt like we were socially disconnected. We’ve felt “not cool” or on the fringes of the mainstream. There are some of us at our table that have actually been professionally diagnosed this way, with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, or even with physical disabilities. When we’re playing, the table evens everything out.

Through the years, various people have drifted in and out of our group. Some stay for a while, some stay only for a session or two. A few have moved away and come back. Life is kinda curious that way. I like to think that each one has brought something interesting and beneficial to the group, and I hope that the group has been beneficial to them.

There are a few in the group that I’ve essentially seen grow up here. When we started, Jacob, my youngest son, was 14 years old. He’s 18, now. There are two or three that came in from his social circle that are in the same age range. A lot changes in those four years of a kid’s life. I look at the process of their growth, and I’m certain that the gaming group had a big impact on that.

How this has been bad:

There are some practical considerations with having an “open chair” policy. One can be the physical lack of chairs. There have been nights where we actually run out of chairs and room around the table. We’ve gotten good at adapting things.

That indicates another “big” problem. The party gets to be too big. It takes some tricky Game Mastering to manage that many players. At a few points, we’ve tried to split the group into two tables, but for some reason, we always tend to drift back to one big one. I guess we like the camaraderie. And yet, in spite of the challenges big groups bring, our GMs have never insisted that anyone leave.

That many people also means a lot of character inconsistency. There are few weeks where everyone is here. How do you continue the story with missing characters? You just adapt. Our running joke is that this character or that character is “visiting his mother”. Or someone else can play the character of the missing player (as long as he/she stays true to that character’s character).

In spite of all of the challenges it brings, I’ve seen the impact our game group has had on the players themselves. I’m quite proud to be a part of it all. For all of the problems it brings to the story line, I would now always err on the side of inclusion.

Keep on rolling!