Dungeon Master's Log - Long Term Planning and Making Players Paranoid

  Here's the thing - I like DMing. A lot. Underneath all the theory, work, etc. I just love working with friends and family to build stories.
  But since, in my mind, RPGs are a form of interactive storytelling part of my job is build a plot. This means I think about RPGs like they were television series - episodic storytelling.
  Now, TV shows with no continuity or overarching mythos can be great (Twilight Zone) and a series with a very limited mythos can also be very, very good (Mission: Impossible) but I want to build something where we have monster-of-the-week episods and long-term plots, too.  How do you do this without railroading your players? Let me use some real-world examples from the campaign I am busy discussing, the Blackstone Campaign.
  1) Let players do some of the work for you: During player creation S. rolled up a 2e Spells & Magic Fire Elementalist. He sat down with me and explained that he wanted his character to be an amnesiac. In a few minutes we worked out that he had been found washed up on a beach, lashed to a bit of ship decking, with no memory 1 year before the game started. I knew this had to be something saved for years of real time, so I looked at the other elements, below.
  2) Have plans for long-term magic items. As I mention in this post, I like to mix in items that can grow with the characters. Try to plan for at least one of these for half the party before the first session.
  3) Have a relic or artifact lurking about. Think of a relic or artifact that makes sense for your world (even if you must make it) and integrate it. Into the history, politics, etc. And keep that in your mind for long-term planning.
  4) Have a few Big Bads for the characters to face 'someday'. Players like challenges and goals, so give them both in one package - a big villain. Having more than one around keeps the players from feeling railroaded and lets you adjust to the changes they will male.
  5) Have NPCs be more than Sir Dwight of Plothook Hall. If all your NPCs are doing is delivering hints, plot hooks, and exposition please reconsider. NPCs should interact with players for reasons unrelated to the story but closely related to the NPC and their relationship with the character(s). Did the party rescue the son of the Dowager Duchess? Maybe they should get a cake on Midwinter Eve. After all, in real life people send gifts, right? Consider having a colorful character the players interact with who never advances the plot, gives a hint, etc. Why?
  Because it adds depth and realism. Plus, some of the 'non-plot' NPCs might be critical later. Do it right and, just as in real life, you ignore people at your peril.
  Now, how do you combine these things?
  Here is an example;

  As mentioned above one of the player wanted his character to start with amnesia. Fine, great idea. He picks a name for himself and begins adventuring as a fire elementalist. One the third adventure his character (still first level) discovers a Ring of Fire Resistance in the loot from a band of pirates. He likes it because it is related to his specialty and it is lovely, having a bloodstone in an elaborate setting. At the same time, the slightly dotty old lady who sells vegetables from a booth near the party's townhouse in the capitol talks to them whenever they pass.
  Fast forward 1 year in the real world (3 in the campaign) and the now-5th level elementalist is buying a citron from the old lady when she clutches his hand and utters a prophecy about his ring and how it must bathe in the blood of dead fire. She lets go and continues on as if nothing had happened.
  Nine months of game time later (6 months real time) the party visits the Empire of the Undying Witch-King to look for an obscure tome in a library. Every now and then someone is obviously startled when they see the elementalist, but they all hurry away. Except for one, who asks why he hasn't bothered to disguise himself, even wearing his family's ring openly. The Witch-King's assassins almost kill him, but the party is just able to slip away. Intrigued but forced to flee across the oceans, they continue.
  After another year real time the 10th level fire elementalist kills a Salamander in solo combat then watches as the deal elemental creature spills its blood into a pool. Inspired, he quickly plunges his ring into the ichor, awakening a Ring of Fire Elemental Command. Another 3 months real time later they finally, after a great deal of time and money on research and spies, learn something else. The Ring was the family ring of a clan of Fire Elementalists from the Empire, a family believed wiped out after they rebelled against the Witch-King. The only survivor of the Witch-King's purge was the youngest son, but he was killed when pirates attacked the merchant ship he was fleeing in off the coast. The pirates looted the ship and then scuttled it in the deep ocean. Those pirates were then killed just over a year later by - the party.

  This little story obviously isn't over yet, but you get the idea. This one plot line (and it is just one!) has been played out over 3 years real time and has only really been a direct part of play 4 times - yet it has a huge impact on how the character is played, perceived, and the arc of the party. Now, do this for every character and one or two for the party as a whole.... Suddenly no adventure is a one-off, no detail to be ignored, the players are interested in it all. And the great thing for the DM is, he only really needs to drop in an element for someone every few games or so!
  Long term planning like this actually saves you time and effort.

Items that Grow with your Characters

  Years ago I was struggling with a dilemma - when players start out they have no magic items. Them through adventuring, they find weak magic items but keep 'trading up' as they advance in level. Not a big deal, really, but I had two problems - would you really just sell/cast aside the sword you did so many heroic deeds with because the new one is shinier and where did all those magic items come from?
  Then, while I was considering this, I re-read the entry on Rings of Elemental Command.
  That was it - items that grow with your characters.
  Keep in mind , this was more than 20 years before Weapons of Legacy was printed and 30 years before I read that book!
  Anyway, I came up with two major ideas that have crept into and out of my campaigns over the decades since.
  First, some magic items are magic because of what they are and how they've been used rather than from being enchanted by a mage or cleric.
  Example: At 2nd level Lyon the Paladin finds a well-made sword forged of an alloy of meteoric iron and mithril. Although not enchanted, it is +1 to hit and damage because of its excellent quality. At 3rd level Lyon is part of the defense of a remote border fortress when waves of Orcs attack. When catapults finally punch through the outer curtain wall Lyon stands in the breach, alone, holding it against the Orcs until archers can drive them back. After the battle he kneels and praises God. Now his sword is still +1 to hit and damage, but it is a magical bonus. Further, if Lyon is fighting alone against multiple foes he gains a +1 to A.C.
  At 5th level Lyon is part of an expedition against a demonic chapel. During the fighting an evil cleric uses a magic item to summon a horror from the Abyss. Undaunted, Lyon fights bravely against the fiend. Although badly wounded, he still prevails. Bathed in the ichor of this magical creature the sword is now +2.
  Over the years Lyon engages in a duel with an anti-paladin, overthrows a tyrant dominating a small Halfling nation, and slays a kraken after being dragged beneath the waves. At 14th level his sword is now a +4 Defender and almost as much a companion as a weapon. Now, much older and wiser, he once again faces a terrible foes from the Abyss. Chanting a litany Lyon closes with the fiend and does battle. After a long struggle Lyon severs the fiend's whip hand and then shatters the demon's sword, finally impaling the demon through the heart. The demon topples forward, snapping Lyon's sword in two under it great bulk.
  Lyon, knowing it is but a tool, struggle to push the sadness from his heart - the sword has been with him for so long! As he struggles with the warring emotions a winged figure appears. In a few moments it is holding Lyon's sword, as whole as ever, in its hands before returning it to the erstwhile paladin. Trembling, Lyon grasps the +5 Holy Sword of Demon Slaying and thanks God for his mercy.

  This sort of arc can take all sorts of directions - a thief's gloves slowly become Gauntlets of Dexterity; a cleric's mace becomes, eventually, a Mace of Disruption. Just beware of two things - don't go too fast and don't use it as an excuse to railroad players! How I try (and sometimes fail) to use it is as an encouragement to heroic action - when the players know that dramatic actions can have a direct effect they are encouraged to make the broad gesture, to take the great risk.

  Second, some magic items need to be activated in stages, over time. This was the first idea I had, from the Rings of Elemental Command. I though that, rather than have one event trigger all the powers each power needed a different event. This can be very simple, such as needing to discover different command words. It can also be complicated, such as, oh, this
  Example: When 1st level Korbok the Mage finds a wand with a scrap of paper that has the word 'emburn' on it. An Identify spell indicates that it is a Wand of Burning Hands with 98 charges and, well, maybe more; the results were a little murky.
  At 4th level Korbok is going through the library of an evil sorcerer that his party had defeated when in a book of arcane lore he finds a reference to 'emburn' and 'fulmose'. With a bit of (very careful) experimentation Korbok learns that the Wand will also cast a Wall of Fire with the second command word at the cost of two charges.
  At this point Korbok suspects that there is even more to the wand so he travels to the City of One Thousand Islands to visit the various libraries and search out sages. After a few weeks (and a few pounds of gold coins) he knows that there is another power in the wand and a way that might unlock it. He returns to his villa and goes through a process almost identical to researching a third level spell. After the proper expenditure of time and money Korbok succeeds in his roll but instead of learning a new spell he unlocks the wand's third power - the ability cast a Fireball at the cost of a charge.

  Now, I certainly don't do this is every magic item in the campaign. Far from it. But I do make it common enough that the players look at every single magic item with interest and (my main goal) a sense of wonder. Since I use a lot of unique or non-standard magic items it returns that sense of potential I think magic items should have. Is that just a +1 dagger or a Dagger of Orc Slaying that needs to be unlocked? Is this a Robe of Armor, A.C. 4 or a Robe of the Archmage?
  It also allows me to introduce fewer magic items into the campaign without the players feeling under-rewarded for their efforts.
  Last, and certainly far from least, these simple mechanics are a toolbox of plot hooks, quest openers, and ways of separating players from treasure!
  Is anyone else trying anything similar?

Spell I IWish I Could Cast in Real Life - the Obvious Edition part I

Detect Lie
Of course

Talking About my next Book - Far Realms

  Far Realms should be wrapped up this week (should be, should be, should be) with editing and formatting done in another week. While it is officially an OSRIC supplement, it is (naturally!) all about being useful with any retroclone or 1e/2e. It is all drawn from the house rules I developed for my Seaward Campaign which I have been running for 34 years.
  Here is a brief summary of many of the contents:

  -Alternate weapon specialization rules
  -Alternate rules for attacks versus scum
  -Alternate rules for demi-human clerics
  -Modifiers for thieving abilities in armor
  -The Danger Sense ability for certain classes
  -Alternate rules for existing races
  -Four new player character classes
  -Alternate rules for initiative
  -Disease and Parasite rules
  -Costs of maintenance and upkeep
  -Three new NPC-only classes
  -Two new hirelings, the Healer and the Merchant
  -Rules for cantrips and orisons
  -12+ new spells
  -Detailed charts to generate followers for characters who establish strongholds

I am including artwork from local young artists (none older than 15!) to encourage young talent - the artists will all receive a portion of the payments made.
  Since this is a direct outgrowth of my years of gaming, it has been a ton of fun writing it.

Names, True Names, and Magic in my campaigns

  Back in 1979 I had a problem. As a new DM I was desperate to have a gritty, realistic campaign full of sturm und drang (yeah, I was one of those DMs) with Big Ideas and lots of Drama. But, well, everyone in my party was only 12, like me, so the characters had names like BadAxe and Joey Longhair. This didn't fit my Ideas About the Campaign! Why weren't they using the 9 page glossary of common names and name elements, by race? Huh?!
  I like to think my first real insight about being a good DM happened while I was wrestling with this problem. If the players were unwilling to change something like that and it wasn't, oh, unbalancing the campaign, why not change the campaign so that it fit, anyway?
 That is why my campaigns have the concept of True Names. Certain creatures (mainly Humans, demi-humans, humanoids, etc.) are born and first named that is their true name. A spell caster that knows the true name of a target and uses that name in spell casting has a greater power to affect the target. For this reason, most people have what is called a 'Day Name' or 'Friend Name'. Some societies take the idea so far as to have a true name, usually known only to the person and their parents, a 'house name' which is used only be their immediate family, and a Day Name used by everyone else. It is also fairly common for someone to change their Day Name at key moments in their life, such as leaving home, becoming a master at a craft, etc.
  This explains why one wizard may be named Altrazar and the one next to him is Firewalker - Altrazar is probably the Day Name his mother gave him while Firewalker is one taken when he left his apprenticeship. The great thing is, they both make sense in universe.
  What effect does knowing someone's true name have? Well, I have a small section on this in my OSR supplement Mage Guild, that has a handful of ideas, but here is one suggestion: if you know the true name of your target they make all saves vs. your spells at -4 and any magic resistance is cut in half. Mage Guild also has the 8th level spell Naming which allows high level magic-users to really ruin your day if they know your true name!
  If you use a mechanic like this then I suggest that you also make finding a true name tough - asking a Charmed target their true name gives them an immediate save at +4; if using ESP the target gets a saving throw to keep their own true name unavailable to the caster; etc. Learning the true name of a Big Bad can be a major quest worthy of a long series of adventures.
  On a side naote, years later when Glen Cook's novel The White Rose came out my old friend Eric called me up,
  "That is so cool! We did the same thing in your campaign in '83!"
  That was a good phone call.

Dungeon Master's Log - Blackstone Campaign Background, Part II - The Secret Villain

 NOTE: PLAYERS IN MY CAMPAIGN SHOULD NOT READ THIS ENTRY

 Now that I have a reason for Humans to have unlimited advancement as magic-users, etc.it is time to flesh out the world. I outline three great Human Empires (all named afterward); the Jade Empire, the Ruby Empire, and the Emerald Empire.
  The Jade Empire stretches from the war that freed Humans from slavery to the Elves through the discovery of iron by the Dwarves and on until its collapse from decadence. During its glory the Jade Empire settles the Northern and Eastern continents, finding that the Elves had beat them to each and that each had local populaces of Dwarves and Gnomes. The collapse of the Jade Empire resulted in the colonies on the Eastern continent being the only truly intact ones left.
  After an interregnum the the Ruby Empire arose on the Eastern continent. Again, the empire rose, had a period of glory, then declined and collapsed. After its fall and a Dark Age the Emerald Empire arose on the Northern continent. It followed the same pattern or growth, glory, decline, collapse, dark age.
  The campaign is set in the Human Kingdom of Blackstone, a city that survived the fall of the Emerald Empire and hope to form the core of the next Human Empire. The Jade Empire is so long ago that it is shockingly obscure to most scholars and effectively unknown to even player characters who don't have plenty of skill in Ancient History. The Ruby Empire fills roughly the same place as Ancient Greece in the West and the Emerald Empire is, roughly, Classical Rome.
  Here's the twist - the cycle of rise, glory, decline, and fall isn't the natural cycle of history, it is the fault of one person, the secret Big Bad of the campaign.
  At the height of the Jade Empire there arose a cult of Necromancers, clerics and magic-users, who worshiped the Ghoul God. They were suppressed by the Emperor but remained as a secret society. Over generations this society infiltrated the noble classes amassing great influence. At one point their leader, tA'Velistram High Priestess of the Charnel Lord, attempted to overthrow the great-grandson of the Emperor who had suppressed the cult. This coup failed resulting in the death of most of her fellow priests.
  Because of her own noble rank A'Velistram could not be executed and because of he rpower she could not be imprisoned conventionally. In the end she was taken to a remote, hidden tomb and sealed within by 6 Great Seal spells and left to die. He devotion to the Ghoul God and her own fury led her to, instead, become the first Lich.
  Over time the other wards on her tomb faltered and her hidden followers (unaffected by the Great Seals) could visit with her. This time she worked even more deeply in the shadows, rebuilding her cult and re-infiltrating the halls of power. Slowly corrupting the very fabric of society she also subtly encouraged greater mastery of magic until, hundreds of years later, she selected a promising but corrupted young man whom she trained as a necromancer with knowledge gained directly from the One Who Neither Lives Nor Dies. Eventually he came and used his arcane might to shatter one of the Great Seals and was rewarded with Lichdom. The Jade Empire, however, was already in the throes of collapse from the foulness injected by the Cult. Also, A'Velistram fears the rise of mages powerful enough to repair or even replace any of the Great Seals, so she encourages the decline. Lastly, her Master enjoys the devastation this brings.
  A'Velistram bided her time and continued to watch and influence the outside world through her agents. She repeated her success with the Ruby Empire, being lucky enough to have two of the Great Seals broken before the collapse of that empire. The Emerald Empire resulted in another broken seal, leaving only two....

  This plot point lets me dodge a lot of bullets - secretly. Why was the great Golden Age that produced Staves of the Magi and such never repeated? Someone is stopping it. Why is there such a cyclical pattern of rise and fall of empires? Someone is causing it. Why does the Ghoul God cult keep returning? Its leader can't die. Why don't the Dwarven or Elven races have empires akin to the Human ones? They can't make arch-mages so they are prevented from competing with Humans. Why is the history of the Jade Empire so obscure? So that no one can learn about her existence and how to stop her.
  It also means that, if I am careful, the Big Reveal of the real Big Bad of the campaign will be an honest shock to the players.

Magic Item of the Week - the Firelance

  The item is from a a class of items in my campaigns, all suggested by Lew Pulsipher's (rather infamous) Batons of Fireballs. They are magic items that are really darn handy... for low-level characters or the henchmen of no longer low-level characters. These are combat-oriented magic items that are limited enough to not be unbalancing in the hands of your 3rd level magic-user (unlike, oh, a Wand of Conjuration with 77 charges). Here is my own favorite as an example:
 Magic Item: Firelance- Originally made by the Flamelords of the Western Realms, firelances were originally used by their elite household guards. The secret of their manufacture is now more widespread. A firelance is carved from a single piece of wood slightly over 4 feet long. The tip (which is usually capped in bronze) is about one inch in diameter and the butt (likewise usually capped) is about three inches in diameter. There is a slight flare just above where it is held, similar to that in a jousting lance (giving it its name); below the flaring is a level identical to the trigger of a crossbow. To use the firelance the butt is place against the shoulder and the user aims, much like a heavy crossbow, and squeezes the lever - this causes a jet of flame to burst from the tip of the lance, travelling in a straight line at tremendous speed.
  In game terms, a firelance is a variant of a wand; it fires a bolt of fire that does 2-12 points of damage (3-18 vs. cold-using or -dwelling creatures). It has double the range of a heavy crossbow (do use to hit adjustments for these ranges). Armor does not affect A.C. for purposes of to hit rolls but magic and Dexterity do (example: a paladin in +2 plate mail with a 16 Dex would be considered A.C. 6; +2 for Dex, +2 for the magical bonus on the armor). A firelance may be used by any class and does not require a proficiency for use. Each fire bolt uses one charge and a firelance can hold up to 20 charges. A firelance may only be fired once per turn. The secret of recharging firelances was lost with the fall of the Flamelords centuries ago.
  There are a few variants of the firelance. The most common is the need to know the unique command word to fire a particular firelance. Many are also found with a spear point added just below the tip, allowing the firelance to double as a short spear (1d6 damage, -1 to hit because of the position of the spear point, requires proficiency in the spear). In a pinch a firelance can be used as a club, but each successful strike requires the 'lance to save vs. normal blow.

  As you can see, the Firelance meets my objectives - limited in ability enough that you can give it to a 2nd level party, useful enough that a 12th level party still wants one or two around.