Medieval Fantasy 1shot. Join Trammil and Rolan as they embark on their first adventure where someone totally doesn’t accidentally kill an innocent person.
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Joshua = DM
Don = Rolan
Taylor = Trammil
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This month’s topic comes to us courtesy of +John Marvin:
“How do you scale encounters for a smaller or larger group than you had planned on. Or than the published adventure planned on? What works, and what does not? Do different systems affect how you scale? And what about fish? They have scales.”
So once again we have a roundtable topic to discuss. The questions are all centered on the same theme, but we are going to go ahead and address each one separately to flesh out the discussion.
A while back, I promised to share some tips about how to make better characters. No, not betters that are bigger or faster or stronger. I am not a big fan of min-maxing in games because it is often done at the price of character depth, and depth is what I really believe makes a strong and memorable RPG character. Today I am going to make good on my word to share some tips with you about making sure your characters are deeper and feel more real. Now my hope is that this list will be tips that anyone can use. There are plenty of unique talents that can bring a character to life that I personally do not possess; skills like voice acting, drawing, costume design, makeup artistry, and puppeteering. I wish I had some of those skills, or all of them if I am being greedy. Oh dear. Now I’m getting much sidetracked. On to the tips!
When you and your friends sit down to an RPG you invariably get to the question “what characters should we choose so we can be successful?” The answer to this can often be different based on the types of players and the type of campaign you are playing.
What we would like to remind you is that at the core of playing an RPG game you are trying to tell a story. No matter the setting/world/system, a way to guarantee enjoyment in a story is to have some kind of drama. In a physical campaign like a D&D game or Pathfinder game, this drama can usually come from the fighting and the chance of death. In other systems the drama can come from a more social aspect and how the different characters interact and what happens after. No matter what kind of campaign or system you are running, we have the 4 types of characters that can guarantee you a successful campaign.
We believe, that to tell a successful story you should use these 4 character roles: stick, stone, rubber, glue. Now, the idea of having 4 different character types in a successful story is nothing new, if you are familiar with Humorism this may seem very familiar. There is even an interesting CRACKED video that covers that as well as a TV TROPES. The types of characters we are going to be talking about have different temperaments and provide a different purpose. We believe these 4 types of characters ensure a longer more successful campaign.
Below, Joshua and I have a little conversation on these 4 character types. Enjoy!
The Stick
Some character types are easier to play than others. A fighter in old DnD is much easier than a wizard, especially for new players. Street Samurais over deckers. Minor talents over white court vampires. A big part of this difficulty curve has to do with mechanics, but another part has to do with familiarity.
Religious characters, for example, are often challenging to play. They are often played for mechanical benefits (healing, advantages versus evil, balance of magic and equipment, etc.) without consideration for their beliefs, which is much more limited when compared to the ever-popular hero that makes his own way and plays by his own rules.
Rather than rant about clerics that mechanically serve the goddess of generosity and yet steal from crippled beggars, I’d like to take a more constructive approach. Religious characters can be a lot of fun to play, and it is not hard to play them well if you have a good grasp about what their religion means to them. So with that in mind, let me share with you some tips to help play a devoted holy character.
Day 1
My name is Candice Morcraven. It feels odd for me to continue this journal, considering that I have literally killed all 3 of the previous authors. But their entries are so void of valid content that I feel I need to do this book justice.
Besides, if the curse finally takes me and I am unable to revert back to my human form then I will need someone to pick up where I left off and continue my mission to destroy all of the Others. Yes, even myself.
After my last ritualistic killing I have found myself to be in good mental health. Justin’s head contained a great deal of humanity, though much of it was based on his own imagination. How he survived so long is a bit of a mystery to me. Perhaps the Others did not see his skull as worth taking.
Day 7
Tried to be useful today. It did not go so well. I did not get hurt or anything. In fact, I found a pretty good romance book tucked away in the warehouse. It doesn’t really feed me much, but some of the scenes are really ~~~ heartwarming. Not the sort of thing I would have read before, you understand, but out here alone with nothing but a disfigured corpse…well I guess I am not as picky as I used to be.
(Death Card Drawn, and Candice died searching. Cache (size 6): the Hermit, the Empress, the Star)
Day 1
I feel really weird writing in this ~~~ Wait, sorry. I should start with my name: Justin Whittman. I’m sort of a flop actor, but I’ve been telling people that I am a doctor. Sorry Anne. I just wanted an excuse to touch you. I wish I’d gotten to do more before you~~~
Man, I am no good at this sort of thing. I thought that because I can actually spell and use grammar that I’d be so much better at all this journal stuff, but anyone reading this is going to think I am a bad person.
(OOC list: hatchet [6 of spades], backpack [World], Candice [Hanged man]. Health: wounded)
Day 6
I made myself some bandages for my knee. Candice left without me again today. I suppose that’s ok. It hurts a little when I walk, and I don’t think I would be able to run fast if I had to.
That’s a very scary thought. I do not want to think scary thoughts right now.
Candice came back with a glowing rock. It was not purple like the lights. It was more of a dark blue earie light that it gave off. She called it a star and has been cuddling it since she got back. If I die with the diary on me, then she will die with that star in her hands. That is how you will know us.
Unless the dark ones take it. I don’t think they take anything besides…well…but they might. Candice also has scars on her neck. Almost like rope burns. She was probably into things before the dark ones came. You can probably still find the scars on her body if you look.
Day 1
My name is Anne Darcy. I have found John Brighten’s journal. I hope John does not mind if I continue his story where he left off. I have not been injured or become sick, but I think about my death all the time. If I die, will I matter? Will anyone know me?
I know John because he kept a journal, and so I will keep his journal as well. If the dark ones get me, like the must have gotten John, and my altered body is found, please know who I am and miss me. I will take John’s hatchet and pointy pole as well, though I fear I will never be able to use them effectively.
I am definitely not staying in a house tonight. I am currently sleeping in an upside down bus in the ditch. It does not look like anyone could be in there when you see it from the outside. I like that about the bus. There are also no dead bodies in the bus, altered or not. That helps too.
Burn Everything Gaming 