Archive for the ‘Characters’ Category

Romancing the Party

Friday, August 12th, 2011

alt textThe best implementation of intraparty romance I’ve ever seen is in the Dragon Age video game.  Inspiring dialogue, decision points and elegant rules combine to create a wonderful model that can easily fit into your own D&D adventures, from whomever love or romance springs in your party.

NPC companion characters or party allies particularly make excellent potential romance options in D&D, whether they’re a good friend whose been with the crew since day one (perhaps filling out a small party and missing tactical roles in the process), or an unusual sort passing through for just an adventure with his or her goals temporarily or tangentially aligned with the rest of the party. 

For example, maybe that lovely fire-haired lady is simply also headed for Winterhaven, and could both use and offer some company and protection along the way.  Love and romance often begin in such incidental ways.

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Encouraging Roleplay: 3 Easy Tips

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

alt text Wish your playgroup roleplayed more often, or simply more creatively or naturally?  It’s much easier than you think – including how to start.

Over the years and editions, the quickest and most comfortable ways to get new or shy players to roleplay I’ve seen and used include:

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Trained Skills Need Stage Time

Friday, April 15th, 2011

alt textYour characters’ highlight reel throughout a campaign includes scenes of all kinds, from the dramatic and humorous to the glorious and proud, in and out of pitched battle and fiery dialogue.  One critical aspect of your characters’ rich and memorable stories are their trained skills.  Could your characters’ trained skills use more stage time in your campaign?

Your check bonus, while often impressive, is actually secondary – the fact that you’ve trained in these skills means they are a core part of the vision you have for your adventurer. 

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Adding Character to Your Character

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

alt textYou already know your characters are more than the sum of their abilities and statistics.  You already know your characters have a unique look and a style all their own.  You have a sense of how they treat people and how they look at the world.  You have an idea where they’ve been, where they’re going, and most importantly… why!

Now the question is: how do you present and share all this truly awesome characterization in your head? 

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How To: Write Great In-Character Posts

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

Really looking forward to next session?  Can’t wait to play your character and return to your adventures? 
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One way to keep some of the magic of your last game’s adventures fresh is to make an in-character post between sessions.  The impertinent intrusion of the real world on your campaign is actually a great opportunity to amp up your ever-growing RP and creative writing skills, develop and present your spectacularly cool character’s background and personality, and share your private and keen thoughts on the unfolding adventure and campaign.

Advantages of In-Character Posts

“The creation and convincing representation of fictitious characters” (the very definition of characterization) – adds memorable amounts of mood, atmosphere and storytelling flavor to your campaign.  This encourages other PCs to roleplay with your character – both with their own in-character posts, and, using your cues and clues, “live” in your next session and all sessions beyond.  They also make for a handy and entertaining  journal-like record of your adventures and the campaign. (more…)

Companion Characters: Gather Your Allies!

Monday, March 7th, 2011

Love the cast of characters in your D&D game?  Especially those party allies you make and keep on the way to, through, and after the Nine Hells?  Like the ideas presented in DMG2 but looking for something with even more simplicity and even less DM prep work? 
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Better Together!

Why are companion characters or party allies so great?  NPC companion characters provide a wonderful storytelling and roleplaying tool for DMs.  Ideally, they help draw out some amusing or memorable roleplaying atmosphere from your players through their questions and banter.  

And of course, party allies make for a helpful brother or sister-in-arms in the thick of combat.  For small parties, they especially help in filling a missing role. Regardless of party size, just one companion character can help breathe a lot of life into party banter alone as the adventure and campaign continues.  (more…)

What is Atmosphere? Not What, But Whom

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

When you conjure up memories of your favorite stories – in books, movies or in your RPG campaigns – what’s often the first thing you remember?  If you thought or mouthed “the characters,” then read on.  And if you didn’t for some wild yet almost assuredly creative reason, read on anyway because it’s worth it! 

Atmosphere is defined as “the dominant mood or emotional tone of a work of art, as of a play or novel: the chilly atmosphere of a ghost story” – for our purposes, this literary definition serves us best.  Now I’m not going to fire us all back to English class (and oh how I honestly miss those halcyon days), but I do want to emphasize the importance of the connection between atmosphere and the cast of characters in your roleplaying games. 

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Just look at the in-context example of atmosphere’s definition.  The mere presence of a ghost indicates characters, and likely human characters with all sorts of very real and identifiable human emotions.  Strong ones like fear, hate and love – the latter usually buried deep in the story somewhere, somehow, preferably as convoluted or tragic as possible – are common in ghost stories.  Certainly other important elements help create atmosphere (music, descriptive language, etc.), yet characters create and drive the lion’s share of mood and atmosphere in a story.  If the character is shallow, boring, or we simply don’t know much about him or her, or the actor is terrible, they’ve lost you before you also realize how bad the background music, plot or dialogue is.  (more…)