[Old Pro Tricks] Character Backgrounds: A fourth question!

If you watch D&D Youtubers or even many other bloggers, they tell GMs to have players write them extensive backgrounds. That sounds awesome but when I am given a four-page novella, I often go, "Huh... that's not quite how I figured things would go."

So you end up stimying the players' creativity with characters who know nothing of their background, have no family, and no love affairs. Other than ladies of ill-repute they don't care about.

If you have been around this blog long enough, you will notice I changed my mind multiple times. Like when I thought about a good background length (where I recommended keeping it short), and especially the One Person, One Place, One Event technique. Both of those emphasize simplicity and brevity. They serve to get both player and GM to discuss.

The 1P1P1E technique in particular makes for simple obvious hooks. Effectively, the player gives the GM three hooks and reason for your character to adventure.

As a forever GM, I like to have as few notes as possible. No (just) because I'm lazy, but especially so I can easily and quickly find this information when my players are in front of my without having to point to one players and go "Who's that NPCs of yours? Oh yeah, your dad!".

The fourth question, is Tell me one mystery/questions you'd like to see in the game.

Fine, fine, it's not a question.

It's a thread I can weave into the narrative. This could be a monster, a magic item, or a mystery about the setting or the character's background. This allows me to weave or use some of these into the different adventures. Give the player a simple nod during the game.

So 2p1e1q (or Spleeq) is the new style of character backstory I use from here on.

The great thing about it is that it can be used with any game system and any type of game without difficulty. It's a simple, highly portable way to create ways to have your character tied into the world.

[Old Pro Tricks] NPC-on-NPC Dialogue

I responded to a post on Murfreesboro D&D Facebook Group earlier when another member, Stephanie-M said that she tried GMing and it wasn't for her.

What prompted this post was her comment about NPCs talking between them and have extended conversations...

So my first (and quick) response was: "Don't have complete conversations between NPCs." There is no point in having any of the details of such conversation. Yes, it showcases how you can have a chat with yourself but it rarely brings much to the story as players' eyes glaze over. Then they ask you "so what did he say that was important."

I've been guilty of this. A lot. I don't ever recall doing this for the purpose of showing off my prose skills (I still think they suck), no. Thinking back on some such discussions, I usually wanted the PCs to understand some element of the NPC's personality or motivations.

But all I succeeded was to glaze eyes over.

And burn through GM voices during weekends.

So how can a GM accomplish this without boring everyone else? Here are a few tricks and ideas I've used I believe make the encounters more dynamic.

First off, a few predicates.

- The players are the main characters of the campaign. They are to be involved in the most significant parts of the action. The focus is on them.

- Not every word spoken by the NPC deserved to be immortalized on stone tablets. Do not be attached to EVERYTHING they say. A few sentences at most...

- The intent is usually sufficient.

- Know what the scene should convey. What do you want the players to learn?

How to do it?

Instead of talking about a hypothetical, let's say you want the PCs to learn that the king's advisor is really a crooked guy. The players returned from their quest and are telling the king about the dragon they killed.

- Describe the situation, the king sits on his throne as the players describe what they saw. Every revelation, they give, the advisor whispers into the king's ear.

- PCs wanting to listen in may make checks to overhear words like "tavern," "mercenaries," or "exaggeration."

- They may try to read the King and discover that the longer the story goes, the less does he pay attention.

- The advisor only interacts with the players to highlight the most comical or fantastic part of the story.

- So there is no need for the advisor and the king to have a prolongued exchange.

- If the PCs are not there, have someone TELL them what the NPCs said and interact with THEM about the conversation.

So...

The best trick I can give you is: Try it.

Try it. Fail. Try again. Fail better.

[Old Pro Tips] Creating Effective Scenes

:I've been writing a LOT these days. And I mean A LOT for Gencon (see the blurbs for everything in this post). I have been thinking of other GMs who ran games that really hit home. I focused on scene-setting. What worked best? What didn't work?

What didn't work

Among a number of elements, one that doesn't work involves over-described room. Rooms with so many elements that get lost with the number of things present. Here are two examples that jumped to my mind (one was Pathfinder Society and the other from a GM I don't want to name here).

- An inn where you know the size, composition, type of the cups of beer, add the number, size, color, and history of the boar heads trophies on the walls, the exact position of the tables, the graffiti on them... Then the scene focuses on talking to the strange guy in the corner.

- A forest where you are told the type of trees in great details, the size of the fallen trunks and branches, the color of the leaves (it was set during summer), and the sound of the birds singing and squawking nearby. And then, what we had to do was sneak through the forest.

Tere

What does work

Reversing the scene, I kept thinking back to Mario (who ran WHFRP in 2009-10) and the other is from a more recent GM. These scenes were notable by focusing on the essential and unique elements of each location. The simplicity of their dressing made it so they allowed for us players to come up with solutions. Then if we, the players, wanted to do something with the environment, we can ask and go from there. Need vines? Now they are there! Need Spanish Moss? Sure! What about a very knobby tree? Oh yeah!

- A bandit camp centered around a fire pit with a series of tents in a rough circle around it.

- A thick jungle where a creek flows into a pond covered with waterlillies.

What I really like is that each of us were able to use the basic description and add elements to it based on our common imagination, with each player adding something. By the time we attacked the bandits in the camp, there were deer skins getting tanned for cover, buckets of water (and chamber pots), the two sentries huddled around the fire, and a pair of horses were tied nearby. I really love that scene because each of us, player and GM, built into something concrete we used in our plan.

We didn't care the bandit's spears were made of maple, oak, or pine wood. So it was never defined.

Finally

Everyone can picture a tundra. A sandy desert. A pinewood forest. A pool beneath a waterfall. A fortified city gate. See what I did there? You pictured each of those scenes and I use no more than 5 words to describe each of them.

KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid. Focus on elements that matter to the players or major elements. Unless you plan to have a confrontation or a trap-like with a scaffold, don't mention it unless/until it becomes relevant to the players. Work with them.

Yeah. KISS. And grow the story and scene together.

[Old Pro Trick] Character Background: One Person, One Place, One Event Examples

Part 1

Here are some examples of One Person, One Place, One Event stolen from my own characters and those of others.

Example 1

I was raised as a monk in a mountain retreat (place) by an old and mysterious master (person) until someone set fire to the monastery.

So here, as a GM, I have a mysterious monk and I have an arsonist. Plus I have a number of threads: where are the monks now? why was the monastery where it is? why is the master mysterious?

Example 2

Son of innkeepers, I always wanted to get my mother's (person) approval. So when approached by a retired pirate about a lost treasure (event), I went to look for it (place).

As GM, I have a family with an inn, I have a treasure somewhere, I get other pirates. And threads: why did the pirate retire without the treasure? Is the treasure real? what is the story of the treasure? what does it contain?

Example 3

Coming from a distant land (place), I got drunk (event, repeated) and woke up on a ship that dropped me here. The only person I met who understood my language was the harbormaster (person).

As a GM, I get a distant land with a sea route to [here]. I have a character who does stupid things while drunk, repeatedly. And I have a harbormaster who speaks many languages. And this leads me to: what other mischief did the character do before? did he insult someone in his homeland?

Example 4

I got into a spat with my father (event, person) who threw me out. So I left town and I have been trying to get my application to the temple approved.

As a GM, I get an antagonist father as a mini-boss/distant threat, where are the character's friends? what was the argument about? are the friends employed by the father? why is the temple delaying?

Example 5 (an odd example)

I was sold by my parents (event) to a traveling musician (person) and I dream of returning to the family farm (place).

As a GM, this one is complex, but I can nonetheless get a number of things. Why was the character sold? why would the musician agree to such a deal? what is so unique and different about the farm?

This is very intertwined and leaves very little to interact with the outside world. The place is more of a motivation than a place. I would encourage the player to change that. I might replace the place with a location in town, perhaps the church or school where the character went. With a church or school, the GM can draw characters such as "Oh! Don't you remember me? I went to the Church of [...] also! I saw you there."

Example 6

I was sold into slavery (event) by my jealous sisters (persons). I became the swordmaster at the house of my new master (place).

As a GM, I get two evil sisters. I know I said to target ONE person, but a pair of sisters is close enough. Why was the character sold into slavery? where is the new house? what did the rest of the family do/say about the disappearance? Why does the new master need a swordmaster?

[Old Pro Trick] Character Background: One Person, One Place, One Event

Wow! It's been a while since I made one of these posts... Here goes.

I've been recently called upon to help work on a number of characters and I was asked for guidelines. Since many were new players, I wanted to give them a solid foundation through which they could create their characters, even if they did not know the setting very well.

I paced a little before arriving to this "three elements background" which definitely fits for any RPG, any setting, and any character. It boils down to: One Person, One Place, and One Event.

One Person, One Place, One Event

In short, give your GM a rough outline of what you want, something that allow him to include you into the story while keeping things maleable. Keep yourself open to the GM's ideas about the character. He may have a character who could fit the description perfectly. Or he might change the context a little, instead of a human, the NPC is an elf.

One Person means giving the GM one NPC that is important to YOU. This could be an ally, a relative, a villain, or your master. Whenever the GM pulls out this NPC from his bag of tricks, your character should be driven to action. Don't over-specify who that person is, or how they are.

I mean if it is the wizard who trained you... then you that NPC is likely to be... a wizard.

One Place is a location that is important to you. Don't specify the name, but keep it to a generic location, such as your home village, a castle, a church, or a ship. This gives flexibility and allows for some adjustment. Maybe your village is not on top of the highest mountain, but isolated in the hills. Or is a fishing village.

One Event means you get to decide one thing that happened in the world. The less you know about it, the more localized it should be. Perhaps your parents were killed, or you found a shiny magical object.

The one thing to avoid here is to have the event remove the person and place from the game. Basically don't have you person be your father and your event the murder of your father. Or your special place is a castle and your event the castle vanishing in another dimension. The event should be linked to the other two, perhaps clarifying the relation to the person or giving a short history of the place.

The result should fit in one or two sentences that you can easily use. Then, as you grow and the campaign advances, you will expand and explore that background.

The goal is to help the GM tell a better story and for you to feel more invested in the adventure.

See Examples in follow-up post.

[Old Pro Tricks] Finding a group: a plea

This past Sunday, in Murfreesboro TN (where I live), was held the first DMs meeting organized through the Murfreesboro D&D Facebook group. It was attended by a GMs with experience ranging from some who only ran one or two games all the way to the old guys with white beards. We had a few guys looking for a game. A wide variety of experience, interests, skill sets was represented and the discussion was dynamic, respectful, and super engaging. I really recommend it if you are in the area and interested in meeting other DMs.

From the short discussions I had with these guys (many of which I met for the first time), a few things quickly became clear to me:

- There is a big demand for GMs

- There are quite a few games out there; the problem is to link GMs and players.

I ask those of you who do have games with open seats to please post it on public forums (such as the Murfreesboro D&D Facebook group) and do the same if you are looking for a group, you never know when an availability will happen.

Now on the flip side, do not get discouraged if you don't get a group within the first 15 minutes. It takes time to find a group once you leave college. It takes even more time before you can find a group that works well with what YOU want.

You may have to try your hand at GMing. Those great GMs you played with in the past once started without experience either. At some point, we all sucked and had to grind our teeth somewhere and did horrible things - to our PCs and our NPCs, then improve.

Reach out.

[Old Pro Tip] Setting up a gaming group

I have been reading across the internet "I'm a GM and I can't get a campaign going."

I was lucky to be able to travel and form RPG groups in no less than four countries (Canada, France, Ireland, and the USA). When I reached all countries but my native Canada, I was able to get a gaming group going within a month. Here are some of the lessons I learned.

- Run Short Events I cannot stress this enough. Once we leave school/college, time comes at a premium. Spouses, jobs, children, video games, professional sports, or porn: RPGs require time and you are competing with people's own time. Many WANT to play but are not ready to put the time to actually play. Running short events is a great way to do this, by focusing on a 4h "one-shot", you bring the best of the story to the table, dropping the extra fluff. It allows you to showcase your GMing style by showing off your strengths. People are more willing to devote 2-4 hours than their every Saturdays to playing a game.

It took me YEARS to run a dungeoncrawl I'm comfortable with running and doing a good job of it. I'm typically not one who enjoys running them. But that's a rant for another day.

- Run in public This is one I learned over the many years of trying to organize games. I have been lucky enough to work with a number of great stores over the years: Le Griffon Feerique, Gamers Haven, Petrie's Family Games, and now Grand Adventure Comics. (Yes I forget a few)

This helps both sides of the equation. As a GM, I don't bring in a bunch of strangers into my house, where other family members keep interrupting. Similarly, I may not be interested in going to people's homes (I have pet allergies). There are some people you do not want in your home, to say nothing of the weirdos.

Yes, you cannot use your 100,000$ super-surround sound, 3D-projector, full wall of miniatures, and other convenience. There are on-lookers breaking the immersion, you have to keep it PG-13, you cannot act out every scene, and you may have a closing time impacting your game time.

So I ask you: what is your end game? Run a campaign. Or run a campaign at home, on your own time?

- Keep it simple This is a big issue I see a lot. Many GMs plan massive arcs that take the PCs from levels 1 to 135,000 and will run for three decades. I say do the opposite. Focus on short games, ones you can resolve in one to four sessions. Again, this allows you to focus on your best elements. By doing this, you can vet your players: who is good, who is offensive, who knows his stuff, who is a noob, and allows you to remedy situations: remove a player, train the crew, adjust your own style to the group, or change based on what they want to see.

Simple allows for expansion, saving you prep-time.

I would like to call this running the game as Columbo. Columbo was a series of made-for-TV movies starring Peter Falk as the detective. The movies were tied together only by the titular detective (hey! don't blame me, I am not a fan of the series). Perhaps this lends itself better to running a series of "I'm hiring you bum adventurers for this mission, " instead of a plot where the PCs are the chosen ones.

- Participate in Organized Play Organized Play campaigns: Adventure League, [Path/Star]finder Societies, Shadowrun Missions, Living Arcanis, or even my own Legacies, are always looking for GMs. This is a good way to meet people. Not only do they reach more people than you do by yourself but it allows you to showcase your skills. Having run a few games, you will be able to invite people you like to your own campaign.

- Fail All of the above lead to this one. You WILL fail. That's fine, just get back up and try again. You may luck out or you may fall flat on your face. Like everything in life, you get back up and try again.

LIFE!

[Old Pro Tricks] Historical Campaign and Setting Writing

I am mentoring a guy I met on Facebook, Paul-O. He is creating a campaign setting based on a historical period I find fascinating. We started talking as my experience in such things could help him deal with some of the pitfalls of doing this. Part of his latest round of question yielded experience I thought could be useful to all.

He plans on publishing his setting in the future, something I will look forward to seeing.

I scrubbed the name of the people and locations to keep his idea private.

[Paul] What makes for better storytelling: having the characters start somewhere on the [Sea], which is the trade route crossroads and at the border of the approaching destruction of the [Historical] war machine? Or, start the players inside the ruthless [Historical] empire, potentially as displaced conquered people, rebellious citizens, or loyalists on a quest?

This is where you need to change from thinking as a GM and thinking as a setting writer.

As a GM you decide what your players will do: kill the orcs, conquer the city, destroy the evil god. This is where you decide what happens. As a setting writer, you must separate yourself from those concerns.

IF D&D were a play, the setting writer paints the set and the decor. Where is this? Why here and not there? Who are the big players? The adventure writer is the director working from his own script.

Since YOU will not be at every table, the plot of things at your table and at mine will be different, but set in the same place. You may decide the [Historical] are the bad guys whereas I may decided I want the PCs to fight against the [Historical II] rebels in my city. Both plots are equally valid and the more grey/ open to interpretation to set that line, the more adventure potential you open. Monsters are bad guys and few PCs bat an eye at going and killing beasts or fiends. However, killing many other humans is something different and should be see as such.

So your [Historical] could be aggressive and militaristic with a penchant for heavy-handed tactics but their empire is crumbling from internal pressure. The [Historical II]s are on the rise but many think they are [Historical] 2.0, the [Historical III] may use dirty tactics in war and hate both, and the [Historical IV] are officially allied to the [Historical II] but sell secrets to the [Historical]. This give a GM more pieces to play with.

True the rulers of [Historical] may be evil and those of [Historical II] good, but even if the leader is of a given alignment does not make the whole country like that. One may be good but a zealot for [Historical God] and another may be evil but concerned mostly with the creation of defenses. A good-aligned leader may hire assassins to protect his people. This makes the character relatable, interesting, and complex

There are VERY FEW historical people you can qualify as "pure good" (Jesus and the Apostles) and more as "pure evil" (Hitler and Stalin). I firmly dislike the current attitude that if someone does something bad or stupid one time, that person needs to be shunned and outcast forever. I did some stupid things as a kid and changed my ways.

A character that is pure as snow (as we now see too much on TV) or with blemishes that are meaningless are not interesting. You don't want perfect people, you want them to have inner conflict. One person hates his spouse, another is broke but no one knows about it yet, and another plans to abscond with another man's wife.

That create conflicts: within the character and in the setting. And conflict is what leads to adventure. Alignment should not be the only factor in determining what an NPC does. One of the best NPCs ever: Lancelot. By all account, a good and true knight. When given the opportunity, he slept with his king and best friend's wife.

So I ask you, does "Lawful Good" tell you everything about Lancelot?

[Old Pro Tricks] Character Backgrounds: How Long?

I was lurking around on RPG StackExchange and happened upon a question that made me pause. The poster asked the following question: "How much detail should I put into my characters backstory as to not be annoying to other players?"

The question was shut down because it is very opinion-based - true. But still the question is worth asking. How long should you have your backstory?

I will go from a historical view. I created characters that had a LOT of backstories: a few pages. And I created characters that had a very short backstories: a sentence or two.

I will differentiate between a background and a shtick.

A background links the character to the setting, creating ties between local events and NPCs. They tend to be rather specific in terms of which element you relate to. For example, my winter witch Katja grew up with her paternal grandmother after her father, a mercenary, dropped her off when she was about 5 years old and disappeared. This gave Katja a reason to help the locals: she grew up there, she had a grandmother present, and she was known as a quiet girl by the rest of the party. She had a few possible side-quests: finding her father and mother, discover her own powers, and an interest in books.

A shtick is typically short idea that gives the character a reason to be present but does not really get too close. For the past few characters we built for the Adventure League, ActionMan and I based and named our characters out of characters from Treasure Island. Captain Flint, Ben Gunn, Billy Bonescrusher, and Israel Hands all made appearances in games. They are all pirates and speak using "YARRR". They are there "just because". The shtick can generally be conveyed over a sentence of two. "We are pirates from Captain Flint's crew," gives most players a quick idea of what you look like.

So how long should your background be?

I have a bias towards "keep it short". Why? Here is a short list of my thoughts.

- You want to integrate with others. The more you detail your background, the more likely you isolate your characters from the other party member.

- Easier to change and adapt. Nothing sucks more than to have to go back and redo all your background because the plot suddenly took you to a different place. "What do you mean my father is the brother of Sauron?!"

- The GM has other things to think about. Perhaps the biggest reason for brevity, the more expansive you make it, the more the GM has to remember all your stuff. Few points makes it easier to remember and integrate in the plot.

- A good shtick may be good enough. A simple one-liner "I am a son of the nobility who came here thinking it would be fun".

So I will add a caveat to this list. If your GM asks you for more of a background, then go as big as he wants it. Still try to keep it open: avoid the "I am a complete loner and I never met anyone and have no friends or family outside the party."

[Old-Pro Tips] Explain it all vs Say nothing

I have been and played with many GMs. Some good, some bad, some okay, but they all fit into one of these two categories: The Explain-it-All and the Say-Nothing. These types are not static as GMs go from one extreme to the other...

I found it really hard to find a middle ground between these two extremes. Let's examine both before we try to rationalize.

Explain it All

Someone who is Explain-It-All, cannot stop himself from telling you all the wonderful thing an adventure contains. All the intricacies the players missed, read into, skimmed, ignored, or decided against. When the adventure is over and you step away from the game table, you know everything there is about it.

People who do that are often excited and enamored with the adventure that they want to showcase it all, make sure the players understand its awesomeness.

Say Nothing

The Say-Nothing is the GM who at the end of the adventure closes the book, smiles and says "see you next time". He is a bank vault about what you missed or ignored in his work.

What you experienced is all there is.

The Say-Nothing GM can also be very excited about the adventure, but his excitement lies in the surprise of the follow-up. That time when he slaps you with "that NPC you completely forgot about who now seeks revenge..."

Who am I?

Adventure writers and GMs are an odd bunch. Differently odd. Opposite odd in many ways. Adventure writers have to be Explain It All while GMs should be Say Nothing. Why? Because their goals are different.

The writer HAS to put everything in his product so the GM can make correct rulings and understand what is going on and focusing only on the absolute essentials. That is one of the reason that playing with the author is so great: because you learn all the secrets behind the adventure, some of the secret bolts the "random" GM has little way of knowing.

As a GM (of other people's stuff), I lean towards the Say-Nothing type, letting the game be the source of record. However as an author, I want to get people excited about all the possible secret links they did not experience in the adventure.

Which is best?

That is the big question. I do not think there is anything wrong with either of these styles or approach. What type of game I play - and run - impacts my personal taste both as a player and as a GM.

As I play a lot of organized play games, I like knowing what elements our table missed as the GM is rarely in charge of what comes next and important plot elements may be needed to understand what is happening next. So, Explain-it-All. Now I no longer run organized play from others, so this one for me is only on the player side.

In the few home games I play, I prefer the Say-Nothing approach so the GM can pick and choose threads he will expand upon going forward.

[Old Pro Tricks] 10 points to a paranoid sandbox campaign

I have been talking and participating in a number of threads of rpg.stackexchange.com recently, challenging myself to post valuable insight from the many, many years of DMing, writing and playing RPGs. Every so often, I write something there I think has a lot of value that should be re-posted here.

The other user asked a long-winded question about what he called a "Unstructured narrative", basically he wanted to create a sandbox "but not quite". His question was how to create such a setting and how to have his players suffer form paranoia and avoid choice paralysis. I was quite taken by the question because it is one I struggled with - and failed quite a lot - during my long career. He asked for methods to accomplish that.

Let's see...
Pathfinder RPG Check
Making my players paranoid of what was coming up next. Check
Providing them with a sandbox where they can drown to my heart's content. Check
Keep the PCs in one place for longer than possible. Check

So I had to reply.

The biggest problem you may have is that players simply do not know what to do and don't know where to start.

Things I would do before setting them completely loose.

   1- Present the NPC and feature interaction with them. Not just *"Hi! I'm Bob, I'm your cousin blacksmith, do you want a sword?"* But something more meaningful.

   2- Make sure the NPCs bring in some of the questions you want the PCs to ask themselves. Ideally, following the rule of three. They will figure it out and take it beyond what you thought.

   3- Your NPCs should also share some possible avenues of resolving conflict, "You should take care of those Hatfields... they are jerks". Again the rule of three is a good way to start.

   4- Avoid the whole thing depending on a Sense Motive check (made or failed). A single check should not unveil everything.

   5- Provide the PCs with visuals (or at least a list) of the major suspects. Since they come from town, they should not spend their time exploring and wondering who is who. They WOULD know that Tim sleeps with his neighbors' wife. They WOULD know that Mrs Buttons is the gossip queen. They WOULD know that Father Smitty sleeps in the church on warm afternoons. Etc. All these things are good to provide right off the bat.

   6- The NPCs should FEEL like they are doing something. For example, the guards does not sit at the gate all day waiting to charge gate tax. They get called upon for things of various importance: Mrs Buttons' cat in the tree, looking at a murder, fighting off marauding orcs/goblins, breaking up a brawl. This gives the PCs an added reason to talk to the NPCs: What happened today and what did you do about it?

   7- The death of such a campaign is when the players don't know what to do because they do not have enough things to do. Ideally, overwhelming them with hooks, stories, avenues of investigation. Why? Because if they can't handle everything, guess what the mayor/lord has to deal with? His hands are tied too.

   8- Make sure EVERY PC has some personal story/ plot to deal with. Even the orphan who knows nothing about his past should have something. This may not be immediately obvious, but perhaps the spinster Miss Kara looks longingly at the PC... Every character should have a thread or two that is related to HIM/HER.

   9- Split the party... Yes, I said it. There should be time when the party will split. If they do that and you run the two groups separately, that will create some paranoia. When you do that, this leads me to the big one:

   10- Make sure everyone has equal time with you. Not everyone is as interested in a total sandbox.

What you ask for is VERY possible and doable. In the early parts of the campaign, provide the PCs with a little guidance: offer a few possible missions and ideas, see if they want to take them.

[Old Pro Tricks] Five ways not to write an adventure

There are quite a number of things that will drive me nuts whenever I look at a published adventure. Whenever I see those things, I immediately think that the author is trying to beef up his word count. I have held myself on this side of going full rant, though there is some ranting here in. See for yourself whether this warrant the rant tag.

5- Passive voice

The room has already been plundered by bandit or The animals have all been chased away from the castle. The passive tense is acceptable when making something lyrical or prosaic. Adventures are neither.

Always think of the GM when he has a table full of players bombarding him with questions about this or that. Finding what you are looking is quicker with simpler language.

4- Boxed Text duplicating maps

This is something I have grown to be much more annoyed by, particularly with PFS. Room descriptions that end up with a long paragraph describing where the door are (and the doors rarely matter to the adventure anyway).

Describe what is important and let the GM run the game.

3- "Nor Crystal Falls"-syndrome

VTF3-01 Nor Crystal Falls was a Living Greyhawk adventure, the first of our meta-region (the Velverdyva/ Tuflik/ Fals trade route, occupying the western routes of Greyhawk and the Baklunish West). The adventure was fine, when I played it, it went pretty much like this: "You are in this Crystal Tower. You enter a room, there is a priestess of water there, roll initiative. You enter another similar room, another priestess or water, initiative." I thought it really sucked as an adventure.

Then I read the adventure and prepared to run it. WOW. This adventure had a lot of flavorful background on EVERYONE of these NPCs, about half a page IIRC detailing why they joined the cult, who they liked, who they disliked, etc. All this background was nothing more than garbage and junk. It was useless and though I wanted to try and share it during the adventure, players rightfully understood that killing priest of Elemental Evil/ Tharizdun was a much safer option...

So all this writing was just junk, too bad because there was adventure potential there, and it would turn the adventure from a three-part combat into something more.

This adventure has really molded me as an adventure writer: anything that's not essential to the adventure, leave it out. This is something I later learned was called "Chekhov's Gun". I wasted so much time reading and thinking how to portray these cultists, when it would've been much more rewarding to merely have them charge across the room brandishing their weapons.

2- The Novelist

Adventures are not the place to showcase your wordsmithing skills. Keep the flowery text to a minimum. It is fine to provide some neat prose, but keep boxed text to an absolute minimum.

Beyond the introduction/conclusion, no boxed text should *EVER* tell the PCs how they think or feel about something. Even passing comments like "The biggest man you ever saw" are fine in fiction, but in RPGs... Provide a reference "as tall as a bear" or "smaller than a lap dog" gives reference without assuming of the PCs' experience.

Next in this section... Do not for the PCs into a course of action. "You meet with the king who offers you a post, which you accept." NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. NO. NO. NO. A simple test for this is to assume the following: I play a character who always says no to everyone and everything (such a character being a complete jerk, and be unplayable, but is perfect for the purpose of the exercise). If that person would immediately start screaming "NO WAY! I'm not doing that!" Then change your text.

Finally, do not write whole pages of boxed text, broken only with "give the PCs a chance to agree."

Oh and Braziers are not Brassiere...

1- Future tense

This one share a number of points with passive tense. It is rarely found in boxed text but all too common in GM-text.

After defeating the monsters, the PCs will find a map. They will follow the clues to the treasure. This is one of those things that once you notice, it becomes EXTREMELY annoying, almost like it is trying to assault me, punching me in the face. This one really makes it hard to find important words in a paragraph because "will" appears every sentence and our brains love to find repetition and pattern.

Write your adventure in the present, active tense. It will make for a lighter, faster, more dynamic read and facilitate the GM's job when players are in his face asking for the color of the African swallow.

[Old Pro Tricks] The Taldor Test

Now I have been pulling what few hair I have left to come up with a solution to my rut on my Arcanis adventure. The adventure has a clear path, the reason for the antagonist to do what they do is reasonable, and the interesting elements abound. So why then do I think it is flat?

Because it fails the Taldor test big time.

So what is the Taldor Test?

Taldor is one of the nations in Paizo's Golarion. It is a nation that I would consider to be generic med-fan. It has a little flavor of its own, but is not overly unique, especially when compared to say Ustalav (Gothic horror), or Rahadoum (anti-theist paradise). The Taldor test is something I came up with after I played a few adventures of Pathfinder Society, and gripe about how little of the setting they actually used in their adventures. Most would take place in an interesting location, then would take you away

To pass the test, an adventure must require major changes to set it in Taldor. This means that the setting of the adventure is important. Though there are a number of elements that come into play when determining whether an adventure passes the test, an obvious way is to see if the party has to change something in how the game is played. "When here, you must hide your holy symbol" or "This is enemy territory so avoid letting people know you work for us" or "While in this town, don't mess with the gelatinous cubes". Removing these unique conditions would make the adventure lose a LOT of its flavor.

Passing or failing the Taldor Test really tells you nothing about the adventure itself other than how important its setting plays into it. I personally favor adventures than pass the test, because I love it when the setting is a drive for adventure. I'm not talking just about an opening story about it, but a plot that uses and becomes better because of it.

Here are a few PFS examples. The first part of the Heresy of Man passes with flying colors. It uses local flavor as a vessel for adventure. The other two parts, however, fail miserably.

The test runs on the main elements of an adventure rather than the artifices around it. Early PFS (Seasons 1-4) usually fails the test. Pathfinder adventure paths and modules usually pass the test with flying colors.In contrast, the hard points of the Arcanis campaign rarely fail. (The soft points are a mixed bag). For

So why am I stuck on the Arcanis writing? I fail the test. Miserably. I need to find something that will make my adventure both please the PCI folks, and make me happy so the adventure takes, draws, and thrives from its location and surroundings. It becomes better because it is Arcanis.

This morning I woke up with a strange idea of a plot device that might accomplish everything in one swoop. A plot twist like M Night Shyamalan... But it makes sense and makes the adventure be more like Arcanis... I will keep working on this see where this latest idea takes me and whether it makes the adventure pass the Taldor test.

Back to work...

JP

[Old Pro Tricks] One adventure idea per page

I remember back in 2010, I had just written my first part of a setting (Akos). I had all those ideas bursting in my head: new character options, new races, complex political interaction between NPCs, between nations and between factions. It was a grandiose experience and I was so happy about my work. The draft was rough, sloppy and needed cleanup and tightening, but it was ready.

I happened to fly to Montreal in the weeks that followed and decided to put a game together for my friends. In advance, I sent them the document with a few goodies and solicited feedback.

It was honest (I'll stay just shy of "brutal"). And I learned a number of things from the experience. Things I brought into my later projects and finally into Tyrants of Saggakar.

One of the lessons a friend of mine (Alex-FG) phrased so eloquently "You need to have at least one story or adventure idea per page."

I was taken aback by the simplicity of the design rule. I like simple, elegant design rules simply because they are easy to follow and adapt. Overly complex ones eventually forces you to adapt to the rule rather than letting the rule be a guideline.

With time, I have evolved this rule to mean "every page, must present a conflict or a situation where adventurers can come in and explore." A mouthful, but in essence, everything written must lead to something the PCs may need to investigate. The less secrets are defined, the fewer prophecies explained, the better. If you think Joe killed Bob, leave clues, but do not actually say it. Revealed secrets take away from the GM's ability to write or create this adventure per page.

For me, once something appears in an adventure or in a book, that is set in stone. I don't go ret-conning or changing things because I have a new, better idea. So with this prudent approach, I define the minimum and work up from there. In many ways, this is what I see in Paizo's Golarion. Bare bones really, then things get defined up from there.

This rule evolved into my adventure writing philosophy. Focus on the important stuff, that which is required for the adventure, and move everything that is not out of the adventure. This gives the GM freedom to work within his particular style, but also limits the amount he needs to prep and remember an adventure. By giving him the tools he needs to handle the situation: what happened before, what is happening now, who is involved. However the PCs evolve from point A to point B will be up to them. How one group will do it depend heavily on their style, abilities and interests. Some will try to brute force, others sneak around, others use diversions, yet others will use the charismatic way through the problems.

The important thing in adventure design is not to burden the GM with a whole lot of information that may not be relevant to his PCs' evolution through the adventure. Nothing worse than watching "GM-loading" as he frantically searches a document of an answer. Focus on the essentials.

JP

[Old pro tricks] 5 ways to start thinking of an adventure

Someone on Facebook posted a simple question - it seemed simple - "How do you start working on an adventure?". My gut instinct was to say "at the start", but then I thought to myself that I do not always think of it that way. In fact I generally do not think that way...

I realize this is not a complete guide to writing adventure, they are just ways to start thinking about them.

Here are 5 different ways I think of adventures.

1- From a plot In this case, I think of an overall plot. "The guy wants to do something." It is as close to start with the beginning as it gets. Here you have an idea of a plot as a whole.

2- From the characters "What if the Avengers did [...]?" Here you have WHO the PCs are and have to work from there. This is a good way as it often dictates some tropes: villains, type of stories, locations, genre. You would not take superheroes for a very down-to-earth plot, just as you would not use the cast of CSI for a superhero adventure.

3- From the villain Similar to the previous entry, however, here you start with a villain. "What if Magneto decided to [...]" as with the heroes, your villain will provide you with some of the elements of setting.

4- From an encounter Here you think of an encounter - not necessarily a combat - but some type of situation the PCs have to resolve or deal with. "What if you all just woke up without any memories?" This is really interesting because it can be whatever. I will admit that this is one of the most common ways I come up with ideas and plots.

5- From a twist The "M Night Shyamalan"... Here you start with a twist: usually a revelation that changes the rest of the story. The PCs realize that they have been manipulated all along, or they realize that all the NPCs they met so far are ghosts.

JP

[Old Pro Tips] 5 quick villains for any GM

Villains are important in any campaign. I believe, the villain create the hero. To any new GM, here are five villains you need to be able to generate on the fly. They are generally not the the ones who the PCs confront directly - not initially at least.

Emperor Palpatine (From the Star Wars movies) This villain is the one who has reached the pinnacle of power and now seeks to keep it. To many ambitious villain, the Emperor is a complete success story. He would rather seduce you to join him, but you refuse, he is quite ready to destroy you. Overconfidence and paranoia are the two common flaws this villain commonly has.

Jason Vorhees (Friday the 13th movie franchise)This villain is simply a psychopathic madman with a singleminded focus and no intention to share or work with others. He proceeds on his path destroying anyone he encounters. This type of villain usually makes a lot of enemies, creating a case for the "enemy of my enemy".

Magneto (Marvel comics super villain) This is the villain with a clear idea and a definite, easy to state goal. As such, he can be almost predictable in his action, but therein also lies his power. Although his ultimate means may be villainous, many heroes might share some -or all- of his ultimate goal.

Igor (Classic Horror movies) Named for the usually deformed villain's henchmen of classic horror films, this villain is one who passes himself off as a or as a weakling to deflect all danger away from him. As such, he lets others take credit for his work as he secretly amasses the power he needs. Chancellor Palpatine (from Episode 1 and 2) fits this bill. The Igor is not in a hurry, and is willing to make temporary alliances as long as he benefits in the long run.

Hannibal Lecter (From the Hannibal, Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs movies) This is a villain who is completely rotten and insane, almost as though one chose that path of evil, and is perfectly happy with how he is. The Hannibal Lecter can be flattered into helping or pushed off the rail to become a Jason Vorhees.

JP

[Old Pro Tricks] 5-tips to writing boxed text

This week, a good friend of mine sent me an adventure he wanted to run for his friends. The plot was really good, very ambitious, full of role-play and backstabbing potential. Oh yeah! It was set in Golarion's Cheliax.

Yes.

Too bad I could not play in it. But his stuff was NICE. Very, very nice. However, one thing I lamented (and I told him): too much boxed text. Entire encounters were pre-written with only minor interaction by PCs, making it effectively a novel with a few breaks. Seriously its not THAT bad, but you get the basic idea.

Adding to that, many GM become very stiff and static when they see boxed text, and mindlessly read what is in front of them.

1- Use boxed text to set the scene, not the action Your boxed text should include only what is exactly needed to set the scene. Focus on the high points and what they might use or that has relevance. I like to think of this as Tales from the Crypt telling us where we are now, but he quickly fades and lets the action unfold.

2- Pique the PC's interest, don't flood them A common mistake and one I have been VERY guilty of over the years. By using this principle, point out the elements that appear out of place, with a goal of letting the PCs return and examine those later.

It's okay to say that the walls are covered with tapestries, there is rarely a need to describe each of them. At least until the PCs decide to examine them. Then you can provide a more detailed description.

3- Start big, finish small When describing a scene focus on elements that get PCs thinking about where they are. Then you can elaborate on the unique elements and finish by what is most likely to generate a reaction from them. Never mention the treasure or threatening monsters first.

4- Avoid the rolling boxed text The rolling boxed text often appears when an NPC appears, speaks, then the boxed text breaks to "Allow the PCs to agree" then continues. Rather than that, have the NPC give the essential of what is needed, and let the PCs ask questions. It makes for a scene that is more dynamic and interesting to play. Forcing the PCs to ask questions creates a dynamic around the table where the can each get into character in a fairly safe place. The NPC usually WANTS to interact with them so they can get into the game.

One small trick? Never have the NPC specify the payment in an employment boxed text. This ALWAYS leads to either: PCs bargaining for more OR arguing over the value, either case, it breaks the flow of the discussion. And getting back "on-track" rarely feels natural and few PCs care about the rest of the details. They heard money. They want more. The GM is now droning on like the teacher in Peanuts, because they feel cheated.

5- You have too much of it Doesn't matter what you think, chances are you could trim your boxed text. There is too much of it and you could reduce some of it.

For all the love I have for some fellow writers, many of them put too much in there. Doesn't make their products any less enjoyable, but it makes part of their adventures... well more difficult to follow and gives a 'low-point' to what happens.

Compare the following:

Description #1 "Visible rafters only add to the cavernous aspect of the throne room. Tapestries and wooden sculptures break the stark grey monotony of the stone walls. Courtiers and men-at-arms of all races stand around a raised dais upon which sits a rotting lich."

With this:

Description #2 "A rotting lich sits on a dais in the center of the room, surrounded by a cadre of dwarven and elven courtiers with human and orc soldiers wearing plate mails. The decor of the room is elegant, rich, and dominated by long tapestries depicting hunting scenes where skeletal beings hunt men and women as wooden gargoyle sculpture look down on the assembly.

How many players will actually know of care what's on the tapestry? They will be too busy rolling for initiative.

Don't believe me?

Try it.

JP

[Old Pro Tricks] 5 ways to keeping players engaged

Someone in the Moonlite Comic RPG group on Facebook asked the seemingly simple question "How do you keep your players on-track".

First let's get our topic defined. I mean keeping the players involved and interested in their game.

1- Vary the pace: Not everything can be a nail-biting encounter. There are some parts that should develop slowly: the PCs travel cross-country. The mix of slow and fast encounters allows some players to disengage for a short period and be less engaged

2- Focus on the important: Not every NPC requires a long, extended conversation. Make what is important, important. Make what is not, not. Yes, throwing a curveball once in a while keeps them guessing.

3- Make sure your style of game is what your players like: running political adventures for those who want hack-n-slash, and vice-versa.

4- Make it personal: Not necessarily possible in organized play, but give the characters an impetuous for adventuring. Instead of a nameless princess being captured, have it be a PC's sister or their mother. Adventuring just for loot is fun for a while, but quickly gets old.

5- Some players will never get it: Some players never get into it as much as you want. Make sure they have the opportunity to become engage, but don't force it upon them.

Those would be the five point list!

JP

[Old Pro Tricks] 5-points to better roleplay online edition

In my previous post, I focused on face-to-face role-playing. While most of that article remains true, there are things that do not translate to the online media too well. Unless you use a webcam body gestures and postures are impossible to see.

So let's start by analyzing the three types of media that we have while online:

- Web Cam I'll admit I'm not much on the webcam for online play. I've used it, it's fine but it also shows how bad I slouch on my chair and when I'm not overly paying attention. Still as a tool, the webcam does help translate physical motion. It is not used uniformly.

- Voice Whether the voice tool is Roll20 (my personal favorite), D20Pro, MapTool, or others the voice element significantly speeds up communication vs typing it all.

- Online Chat Is usually where the dice roller is and where the GM will post handout, boxed text and other things. Since this usually has a history or that anyone can scroll back, this is great for elements that are not directly important

So we have three media to play with. Let's see how we can use them to create memorable characters and games, online...

1- The Philosophy is the same

Now it is important to note that the idea and philosophy in the previous article is still all valid: Imitate don't duplicate, Start small, Go Big, Keep it in character, and Keep it consistent are all still valid. However, HOW we use them will change because of the different medium in which we operate. I already tackled the three main avenues with which we can play.

2- Don't hog the channels

One of the common thing people often complain about in online game is the amount of traffic on the voice chat. That does become a problem, though usually not so much because of role-playing reasons. People chat and discuss rule elements and other. In itself, this is more an issue of Netiquette than gaming.

Still, in the interest on RP, some players constantly talk on the channel, drowning the GM and other players who have some game-mechanics question. During times of great chatter, step back and only intervene if it is important. Don't be afraid of sending private notes (tells) to the GM or to another player or post it in the chat log. That helps keeping down the chatter to the important stuff.

During combat, there is a lot of traffic as the GM needs to provide a lot of information quickly: who is attacked, does it hit, how much damage, spell effects, etc. Without these communication, the game bogs down. This is particularly important to keep the game on-point and moving. Such time is NOT the time to go off into a major in-character tirade.

Keep quiet until your turn comes here.

3- Voice for important stuff, Chat for secondary

Directly linked to the above, but really requires a double mention. The voice chat is for things that directly affects the game in an immediate fashion, or that requires an answer from the GM. "I go see the merchant to see if he has potions" would require a GM answer. Or interaction with NPCs.

Anything you do that's not immediately important to the game should go to the chat.

One thing that is great about online playing is that you CAN use the chat instead of voice to roleplay side-events. This can go from a simple look at someone, to something your character whispers to themselves, to a short aparté or sotto vocce. This allows the rest of the players to see what you are doing and perhaps respond to it.

One thing I noticed is that the more you do this, the more others also do it.

4- Do it in small bursts

I know, I know, this seems to go against a lot of what I posted before about consistency. But because the format somewhat restraints overall chatter, when you do find your character's schtick, make it so it can be done in small doses. Perhaps its an expression, something you can say on occasion.

A good thing is to have just a few catchphrases. Something that will keep you in character and remind others that you are still there. This may be something you type or say. But it should ideally be short enough not to slow the flow of the game.

5- Use voice patterns

Since you cannot be seen by your fellow players, one trick I use is to change speech patterns. Think of characters like Yoda who are always recognizable just by their speech pattern. Another favorite of mine? The valley girl.

Even without doing a good imitation, just the tone and speed conveys of your speech can convey a lot about your character.

Of course, this only works when using voice and not so much through chat, but that's not impossible.

Examples

There are three of my characters and how I play them online.

Katja Alterborg Katja is a character I built for the Reign of Winter adventure path. She is a chubby, nerdy girl who is extremely passive aggressive, shy and quiet. To play Katja, I speak with a low, quiet voice, and rarely raise my voice. Similar to the little black woman from the Police Academy movie. I also created a number of macros that details some of the things that she frequently does. "Katja puts both hands over her mouth, horrified by what she heard" Usually after a sexual reference. She keeps telling people that they are "not being very nice".

Kermina val'Borda Known to almost everyone who plays Arcanis, Kermina is the ditzy patrician who adventures for reasons that are rather unclear. It has been said that she puts the "Val" in "Valley Girl". The inflections and frequent nonsensical epithets of Valley Speech make her very unique. Totally! Awesome! Like really? Duh!

Togo Togo is a primitive shaman I created for the Dragon's Demand adventure. As someone from a primitive culture, he speak without using the "I". Therefore "Togo likes music", "Togo loves women" and "Togo is a man of skills" are some of his catchphrases. He also frequently blows his antelope horn. PFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! Yeah forget about stealth...

Finally

It is important to note that when playing online, you cannot have side conversation out loud. Those should be done through the chat. It is less obtrusive, but nonetheless allows you to interact with your party members without having to do strange voices.

JP

[Old pro tricks] 5 ways to better roleplay

A few new players I have been playing with lately have been commenting they want to get more into the roleplay element of the game. So I decided I would make these occasional post to this series.

I spent some time thinking about how to help them get better. And if they have a better game experience, mine improves as well does it not? With this goal in mind here is my list.

1 - Imitate don't duplicate

When create a new character, imitate that person but noticing some of the most important thing that distinguishes this person from another: a pirate's speech pattern, an Italian's hand gestures, a woman playing with her hair, a woman constantly adjusting her jewelry, a nervous person playing with a cigarette, someone with bad hygiene scratching, the President's speech pattern (the last three are awesome for that), a flamboyantly gay person's attitude, the shifty eyes of a paranoid person. Yes these are stereotypes, but they really help you get in character, and it helps people either categorize you quickly as to the type of character you are and convey personality.

Seriously. Look around you in a public place. At a quick glance, you quickly make your mind about the TYPE of person you see.

Think of a moment in a game when you sat down with new people and one player describes himself as "highly aristocratic and snobbish" but slouches and laughs at fart joke, it doesn't work... But if he looks down at every one disdainfully, introduces himself curtly, and demands a bottle of wine for himself. Then yes.

2 - Start small

Very few great actors or writers started off that way. They had to work as understudy and rose through the ranks. That's why I recommend that you start small. Pick one quirk about your character, something you can do easily and that you can remind yourself. I used to place notes on my character sheet to remember about the character. Perhaps it's a keyword, or a hand gesture, or something to put you back in character.

These small things that remind you will eventually become second nature.

3 - Go Big

This may sound like the opposite of #2, but it is not. By go big, I mean that whatever you do, make it in a way that others can notice. It's what I sometimes refer as "the Steve McQueen," based on SMcQ's performance in the Magnificent Seven. If you don't know, throughout the movie, whenever SMcQ is on-screen but not the center of attention, he does something that draw your eye to him: he plays with his gun or hat, he dusts his coat, etc.

There is no point in role-playing something no one else will ever see. If your character has a tick and plays with his fingers, do it above the table where other see it. There is no point in doing it beneath the table away from everyone. Do it where the others can see it - or can pick up on it.

This doesn't mean that you necessarily do some wild, grand gestures all the time. You can wow people with a withdrawn character. Just make it so others can notice. That's what it means to "Go Big."

4 - Keep it In-Character

Perhaps the biggest thing... ask question of others in character and respond to them in character (IC). This has the double advantage of engaging someone else. After a time it becomes a reflex. It also helps others differentiating you the player vs you the character. If you-as-PC speak like Jerry Lewis, people pay attention to you because they quickly make the distinction.

Staying in character often draws other players into the game.

I won't lie that it's hard.

It is very hard to do in a consistent fashion.

But the rewards are awesome and worth the effort. Not only do you raise your game, but others will do it too.

5 - Consistency is important

This is the one that links all of the others and raises the bar. Without consistency, others never know how to approach you, and in doubt, they will not communicate with you as a

This one is something I've seen a lot of. A player comes up with a good shtick, does a grandiose show for the first 10 minutes then his character disappears, replaced by the same character the guy is. Players "default" to an out of character conversation if they have a choice. So Imitate, start small, go big and keep in character, but do it consistently.

Some of my characters

For a number of my own characters, I have small tricks I use to get into character quickly.

- Sir Azrel was an LG character of mine who was a demon hunter and something of a snob. At the start of every game, I would straighten myself and begin looking down my nose at people, knowing they would never meet the exacting standards I set for myself. In spite of this attitude, he was a kind and compassionate man.

Sir Alexite is a retired PFS character of mine who was a Hellknight. He spoke with a Cluzeau-French accent. At game time, I would make gestures like a classic actor would, and keep playing with my pretend puffy shirt and cravate.

Katharan Was my first character in PFS, and the first Colorado-based PC to reach retirement level. She was a complete Paris Hilton style shallow bitch that spoke with a Borat-like accent.

Katja is my character in Reign of Winter (and PFS), she is very traditional and extremely shy around people. Before any game, I do two things: first I start avoiding eye contact and keeping my gaze down; second I lower my voice to a low pitch and say something simple often times "No" or "I'm Katja".

Viviana is Katja's older sister and something of a minion. When playing her, I wrack my body a few times with severe twitches then call out in a raspy voice "The Mistress is great!"

JP