DM Dean’s RPG Stuff

  #RPGaDAY – August 31, 2025 (REWARD) Reward – Last day of August and last word – Reward for the August #RPGaDAY 2025 challenge. For Reward, I present to you a door puzzle with a reward at the end. Since this is the last day, I will present some other stuff about the situation also for context. Setting the scene: For my Grimdark campaign, one player in the group made a deal with a major devil (always a good idea) to explore a missing wizard, Xeris’ tower, and locate and obtain an artifact level evil great sword, named Violator.   The other players declined to make a deal with the devil directly, but were “hired” and paid to accompany the one player anyway. The devils had previously made a deal with Xeris to hold onto and protect Violator until the devils needed it back.   Unfortunately, Xeris disappeared several hundred years ago and now the devils needed the blade back before they went to war with the demons. The character made a deal with the company, Devils D...

  #RPGaDAY – August 30, 2025 (EXPERIENCE) Experience - The obvious thing to talk about today would be the way handling experience points and leveling have changed throughout the years. We used to track experience individually, with every action generating experience for that character, which we passed out at the beginning of every session.   Each player was responsible for recording and keeping track of their own experience. Back then, you received experience for gold collected, each monster slain, each spell cast, etc. I used to give everyone the same base experience points, which increased in value as they increased in levels.   Then I would mark tick marks for anything a character did, including non-combat role playing and interactions, and mark check marks for each spell cast, with the higher the spell level the more experience earned.   I would announce the MVP for the last game session, emphasizing who gained top experience out of the players and highlightin...

  #RPGaDAY – August 29, 2025 (CONNECT) Connect – As far as D&D and other fantasy RPGs, the strongest connection I think characters can make are with clerics/druids and their god. Warlocks also have a unique connection to their patrons, but sometimes those are contentious or even adversarial as they struggle with the deal they have for some reason made with this powerful otherworldly being. Clerics and druids by contrast pretty much always have a strong holy connection or bond to their deities. For most of my campaigns, these holy casters can pray and meditate to gain their spells, usually dealing with some mystical intermediary on behalf of their god.   They can request aid and sometimes even unique spells they need to fit whatever they are trying to accomplish. In times of great need, they can pray to their god and sometimes get some sort of assistance or guidance. Game play wise, I have them roll % dice, the higher the better. Usually if they do receive some sort of...

  #RPGaDAY – August 28, 2025 (SUSPENSE) Suspense – I think suspense is a hard thing to create in most TTRPGs.   It is a cousin to horror and intensity, but is a little harder to generate. I have heard about games being played by candlelight or with appropriate mood music playing, but I think those things come with inherent complications.   Maybe I am just old (which I am) but trying to read the results on most dice would be tricky by candlelight, not to mention the inherent danger of playing a pen and paper heavy game around open flames and music needs to be in the background, loud enough to elicit the intended response, without making it hard to hear what everyone is saying and interfering with the game play. I do think you can crank up the suspense and intensity of your games, by keeping things interesting, dangerous, and moving for the players. I now pretty much make all important rolls out in the open, in front of the players. This tends to keep the players payin...

  #RPGaDAY – August 27, 2025 (TACTIC) Tactic – I was stumped what to do for today’s word, Tactic, so when in doubt, just make something up.   I present to you – Tictac’s Tactical Toothpick   Tictac’s Tactical Toothpick   This appears to be a good quality, well used rapier, with a gold wire wrapped leather handle •This weapon can be used un-attuned, where it grants its wielder a +1 to hit and damage only.   •Once attuned, it gives the wielder a +1 to initiative when it is being used in melee combat and grants them the Vex Weapon Mastery property, if they do not already have it. •The round after the wielder makes an initial attack against an opponent wielding a melee weapon, as part of their attack action, user can study that same opponent’s fighting style and tactics to gain an additional +1 to hit and damage, as well as a +1 to AC versus attacks from that same foe.   These bonuses remain if that same opponent is attacked each round. •Additiona...