Good news – we have a special offer going on through Friday, April 5th for loyal Leonine Roar and Roleplaying Tips readers, fans and followers, right here.  (Go ahead and click, the Perception check DC is easy, I promise!)

Our special offer includes three different feat chains options between the book and course to help you crush your combat grind.  

Now wouldn’t that be great?

A HUGE thanks to all our fans and readers across all our sites!   I’ve loved writing and talking game design and storytelling with and for all of you since February of 2011.  You help make our favorite hobby and game greater and better every day.

Remember, special offer ends this Friday, April 5th.

::Rolls a natural 20::  Yesss!

Here’s to your faster combats and sweeping stories!

Tony

Here’s one quick way to fix this common problem every GM and playgroup faces, while keeping your story and characters brilliant and alive: use story glue.

Remember, Remember the Last Session

Life outside of gaming exists, so small and helpful reminders go a long way.  You need a sort of glue that connects the space between sessions.  A glue that reflects and celebrates last game’s best moments yet also previews your next game, generating excitement for your upcoming game night.

Think of this glue as quick, simple, character-focused story summary to help your players remember and relate again to the game and setting in two critical ways: the story you’re creating together, and the characters who lead and grow throughout that story.

After all, it’s all about the characters – who they are and what they do – when it comes to a great story, right?  Just ask Game of Thrones.

Here’s an example of the glue posts I use on our current campaign’s message board.  No later than one or two days following our weekly game night, I post something like this:

Seascape Cast of Characters & Memorable Moments

Recent Moments of Greatness

“Don’t worry, I have something powerful – a compass!” — Thorvald, in reference to sailing into the fog of the Cauldron’s Heart, after recovering Witch Hazel’s floating hand

“It burns, but thank you master!” — thought to be the last words of a zombie gnoll dancing in a fire made by Morngrim after he seized control of the zombie gnoll’s mind

“I’m going after Leopold!” — Ashram’s last words before jumping on The Jackal’s cog, in hot pursuit of the The Sea Titan – before his friends grappling hooked him back

“Oh!  You want to go on a date with me?” — Lillian to the mute elf sailor, who smelled her deeply before he attempted to mime that he, like her, was also a skilled cook

Dramatis Personae

     in reverse order of appearance, following player characters

Ashram – security, deckhand (Ryan)
Lillian – security, deckhand, ship’s cook (Lexy)
Morngrim of the Drazhalhar Clan - security, deckhand, ship’s priest (Dave)
Thorvald Rimehammer - security, deckhand (Bouche)

Mad Witch Hazel - head, hand and teaset!
(unknown) – elf sailor rescued from Jackal ship, cook, mute w/ 3 even white streaks in black hair

Wil Awlings - nervous deckhand, nephew to Aemes
Jon Crimley – shady deckhand
Kaetlyn “Kaet” Leurey - flirtatious deckhand

Aemes – ship’s cook
Mullens – ship’s carpenter
Ferris – ship’s surgeon

Leopold – captain of navy ship Sea Titan
Kinsing – captain of The Jackal, quartermaster/bosun of Sea Titan

Select the Best Moments

As you play, make a note (mental or written) of the very best lines you hear from your players – or from yourself when you roleplay NPCs!  What are some signals that a memorable moment just happened?  One worthy of posting as story glue for its creativity and impact?  If everyone’s having a great laugh or has an expression of jaw-dropping wonder or amazement, that’s your cue.

Sometimes it’s more subtle, such as when your quieter players are suddenly excited and engaged, having a rare, lively conversation with a monstrous NPC they captured.  Maybe a halfling paladin and a fugitive gnoll ranger named Slurg (this happened in last Saturday’s game!).

Keep Up with the Cast

Keeping your cast of characters up to date is easy – 80% of the time, a copy/paste from your last glue post works fine.  Add in a few tweaks, such as a rare new party members, or a few new NPCs from last session at the top of the list, and presto, you’re done!  This simple maintenance task doubles as a useful name list for both you and your players.  No more wondering who’s who or how to spell this or that character’s or NPC’s name.

Remember, characters drive an adventure, story and campaign more than any other element, so there is no more important list to maintain than a list of your story’s most influential personalities.

Finish Strong to Start Strong

Story glue is a fast, simple way to communicate with your playgroup between games.  Whether you post, email, text or read it aloud at game start, it helps you finish strong with your last game’s best moments and most impactful characters.  And this simple, artful summary prepares everyone mentally for the next chapter in the unfolding story of your game.  It helps set the story’s tone and rekindle the curiosity surrounding its mysteries and secrets.  It’s a natural preview or teaser for all of the unanswered questions from last session.

So next time you feel like summarizing last session and opening the next with a classic prose or narrated intro, try a few memorable quotes and scenes and a prioritized list of major characters instead.  This simple twist on the classic adventure summary saves you time and keeps the focus on the best things of all in tabletop RPGs: the characters and all the incredible (and hilarious) things they say and do.

If you liked this article you might also like:

• Adding Character to Your Character
• What is Atmosphere? Not What, but Whom
• How to: Write Great In-Character Posts
• Fear of Death: Creating Unforgettable Character Death Scenes
• Reward Moments of Greatness: ‘I Attack the Darkness!’

And then, at the last moment, a friend (hopefully!) swoops in and jams a healing potion down your throat?  Or casts a cure wounds spell – or the holy grail of healing spells, heal.  Your eyes fly open, your consciousness powerfully aware of your near-death experience, of your very real mortality.

Or those times where there were no spells or potions left, or they weren’t strong enough.  So your friends did what they could to buy time – bandages, setting bones and so on while you slept, hoping you would wake up, frantically carrying or dragging your body to help.

And how about those times when you and your friends needed days, weeks, even months to recover from facing down one of the most mighty, vile and vicious villains that only come along once every campaign or two.  Broken bones, broken spirits, broken lives – only time could mend all the fallout, all the loss, all the sacrifice.

That is how healing should look, sound and feel!  Dramatic, cinematic, or urgent - sometimes all three.

Healing: A Natural & Supernatural Flashback

So in what D&D edition does this sort of healing exist?  Where is this approach to healing best represented?

There was an edition where there were two clearly understood healing options.  And within those, there were two clear tiers of power.

First, there was magical healing.  It began with the more modest cure spells, whether spoken, bottled or written.  Next, beyond the common healing spells, scrolls and potions, there were just a handful of extremely powerful heals that mended nearly every broken bone, disease or other malediction.

Second, there was natural healing.  Those who studied the mundane arts of healing and herbalism, using everything from bandages to incense to pain-numbing plant pastes and resins, could offer slow, but steady recovery.  Still, this sort of natural healing paled in comparison to the most classic healing method of all: a good night’s rest.  While still slow in comparison to magical healing, sleeping and full bed rest were king when it came to natural healing.

And that was essentially AD&D 2nd edition healing.  Simple, believable, and useful on the natural side while more expedient and powerful and dramatic on the magical side.  No intrusive mechanics bending or breaking the story.

While 3e retained much of that healing ideal, 4e’s mechanically sound healing surges changed the game.

Mechanically sound?  Yes.  Mechanically intrusive?  Also, regrettably, yes.  Not once has any healing surge or “short” or “extended” rest – whatever the hell those mean! – blended seamlessly with the unfolding story.  In fact, I bet you remember some really gamey, immersion-breaking mathlons at higher levels, don’t you, just to heal up from a big fight?  Ooo, fun!

The Holy Grail?

As I told you last time, there were some disturbing thoughts on the direction and style of D&D Next’s healing in  recent Legends & Lore column thoughts.

Healing is all over the place; it’s simply not cool right now.  It’s not dramatic, cinematic or urgent – at the very least, it’s not enough of any those.  There are a handful of healing approaches in Next to playtest right now, from new Hit Dice rules to a relevant Bloodied cap to simple flat-rate healing.

I am experimenting with the latter – the latest ultra-simple Legends and Lore suggestion of flat natural healing rates of level times hours.  Combined with healing magic, it looks like a 2e/4e hybrid on paper.  We’ll see how that goes in my current D&D Next mini-campaign on the high seas.  I’ll keep you posted – and keep Wizards posted through Next survey feedback.

But why wait?  I’ve made my ideas clear.  What about you?  What are your ideas on the holy grail of healing in D&D Next?

Speak or die!  (Don’t worry, I’ll heal you.)

Or should I say, you don’t notice them.  That whole awful standard of “set piece encounters” that 4e encouraged is being turned and destroyed in a flash of white light – and not an edition too soon!

This means more time for storytelling and roleplay.  More time for more encounters – and more types of them.  Smooth transitions throughout the game’s action and scenes.  Isn’t that what your D&D game needs?  Isn’t that what we all want?

No longer do you spend two or three hours fighting one of the villain’s lieutenants, forgetting why the hell you were there in the first place.  Surprise – long, intensely tactical fights as a standard can create player (and DM!) fatigue and boredom.  Now I love the thrill of pitched combat, but who wants that?

So like this past Saturday’s prequel adventure to my upcoming nautical D&D Next mini-campaign, I’ll take a rich story I never feel too far away from thanks to plenty of exploration, roleplay and a gauntlet of short combats (read: 5-20 minute high-risk combats) that D&D Next is serving up any day – and so should you.  Your friends and fam who play with you will thank you for it, trust me.  (Remember Tiny Encounters?  Yeah, feels like that!)

It’s all about imagination and the cool factor, after all, and D&D Next is doing a great job of capturing D&D’s classic essence of “cool.”

Which brings me to recent Legends & Lore column thoughts on healing in D&D Next.

Healing is all over the place; it’s simply not cool right now.  I’ll explain why and offer solutions next time.

I always loved the theme and style of the bard and monk throughout D&D’s editions, but in actual play, they failed spectacularly until 4e.

But as we all know, for all 4e’s strengths, the weakness of  “supercrunching” the game with rules and too-long combat took away from a classic, balanced D&D RPG experience.

Well, I created this blog because I love D&D and RPGs because of that fine balance of crunch and flavor, story and game, strategy and roleplay.  D&D Next is doing a commendable job of bringing that essential D&D feel back, and I love that quality more than any other.

Last night, I got my first chance to play as a PC since my first D&D Next experience at a cozy and comfortable gaming event, and I jumped at the chance to play the new-to-Next-playtest monk.  I loved the 4e monk, and was left wanting to play more – what a delightful opportunity!  So my brother kindly offered to DM a 14th level game for us, and we had an absolute blast.

The Story: A Nymph’s Vengeance

We woke up in a dungeon cell.  Our last memory was a great feast – a celebration between warring nations who had made peace.  But something went horribly wrong as all of nature’s denizens – led by a mysterious, angry nymph – burst onto the scene and slaughtered or imprisoned nearly everyone.

Everyone but us.

Weeks later, our strength finally returned to us, we forced our way out of our cells and then explored the suddenly deathly silent remains of the ruined feast hall, looking for any gear or weapons we could get our hands on, any other survivors, and any clues as to why our feast celebrating feast ended only in slaughter and destruction.  Who was this nymph, why did she lead this attack and where had they all gone?  Why did she kill all those people?  What was this crystal and staff she whispered questions about as she tortured and killed?

And why… why were we the only ones left alive?

Just as we began to make sense of some of these questions, two insane treants burst through the walls and began beating us to death.  It was only when the cleric burned away the mind-poisoning vines covering the treants with a Flamestrike spell did the normally peaceful creatures cease their attacks.  Confused, they could only ask how they had gotten there.

The vines we burned away were the first clue for both us and the treants.  The creatures recognized the vines – a deadly plant not of this world that caused insanity.

And that’s how it ended!  Can’t wait for next week!

The Game: Smooth High Level Play… Wait, What?

From a rules perspective, I increasingly came to loathe high level play across D&D editions.  Those games were always more work for the DM.  And in 4e, not only were they more work, any “set piece” combats (and I hate even saying or using that term these days!) ended up being hours of drawn-out, slow-paced combat.  High level play meant a painfully long combat encounter or two per game, which I couldn’t stand.

Enter D&D Next.  The combats – even at 14th level! – were fast and furious.  More burst damage, less actions to track, plenty of options (not too few or too many), and smoother, more seamless inclusion of story options and resolutions.  Honestly, I was stunned how the mechanics – even at 14th level – didn’t feel like they ever got in the way of me enjoying the unfolding story and adventure.  It was the pace of a story rather than the pace of a story with a drawn-out miniatures war game broken in.  That’s quite a switch from 4e.  A refreshingly smooth, elegant, wonderful switch!

Be Awesome: How Can YOU Help D&D Next Be More Awesome?

Here’s a collection of links to give you a sense of D&D Next’s feel, get you participating in or simply reading the official blog’s ideas and questions for the community, and – last but certainly not least – how to sign up and help make D&D Next awesome by playtesting and sending in your feedback through their email surveys:

• D&D Next Playtest: Sign Up! 

• D&D Next Goals, Part I

• D&D Next Goals, Part II

• D&D Next Blog

P.S.  I specifically love how powerful and flexible the Monk’s Martial Damage Dice are! Cool flavor, burst, options… all in one!

P.P.S.  How have your own D&D Next playtest games gone?  What’s your favorite part of the game so far?  What’s the one thing you’d like to change?

Enjoy your weekend!  Play something cool if you can!

Dungeon Bastarding for the Holidays

Looking for some D&D-flavored holiday laughs?  Then once more, you need the Dungeon Bastard!

Found this 2011 holiday gem from Bill Cavalier, also known as The Adventure Coach.  ”William” strikes gold again – this time for the holidays!

Santa: Level 20, 30, or 40?

And for something completely different: if you’re curious what Santa’s stat block might look like, check out this great Paizo/Pathfinder thread.  Depending on which RPG you actually play, your level suggestion may vary!

Sorcerer or wizard?  What do you think?  Time Stop and Wish are locks for Santa, I agree!

Happy Holidays from Leonine Roar!

Your Merry GM and Player,

Tony

Any of the following sound familiar in your games?

• Waiting for someone to add up all their attack modifiers
• Waiting for someone to find all their damage dice – and finally roll and add them all up
• Waiting for someone to get the most out of all their turn actions, rummaging through a huge list of possible attacks and moves

Yep, that’s exactly where our typically faster, smoother Dragon Age combats had gone, much to my lament.

This is where the fun begins to wane for me.  What about you?  I hate than anyone gets so bogged down or overwhelmed by options and steps that it wastes time.  That it creates 5, 10 or even 15-minute player or GM turns.

I mean, obviously I hate that.  I did write for FasterCombat.com after all, with this as a core issue we teach you how to tackle.  Or more appropriately, slay!

Even the best games can fall victim to Complexity Syndrome.  Don’t let your game get there!

Here’s a few quick and dirty ways to save your game before the increasing complexity of rules and actions overwhelms it:

1. Stay Low.  Play only low levels.  If you want to keep the combat flowing and the turns quick, there’s not much reason to go beyond the first three-to-five levels in most games, whether it’s D&D, Dragon Age, or something else.
2. Let’s Play That Tonight.  Do something else on game night that’s close to your campaign – but faster and lighter.  Break up the complexity and pace: break out a fantasy board or card game – many of which, like Castle Ravenloft or The Legend of Drizzt, run like a rules-light RPG.
3. Playtest D&D Next.  Remember, this 5th edition is all about modular complexity (something 4e could have used).  So if that’s important to you like it is to me – to pick and choose where to add rules elements – then join the club, try the game material they send you, and send them your thoughts!
4. Faster Combat You Say?  Or talk to me and Johnn Four over at FasterCombat.com.  We wrote up 52 interactive instructional lessons for a community of gamers who want faster, more efficient combats – and still experience a moving, exciting adventure along the way.  You’ll find hundreds of ideas and guidelines from not only a couple of gamers with decades of RPG experience to their credit – but some great suggestions from our killer members as well.  We’re lucky: our community rocks!

As Johnn and I like to say: To Your Faster Combats!

See you in December!

Tony

But it was a costly victory.  It all happened so quickly, yet in slow motion.  And… I helped.

My character, the proud and always-aggressive Avvar hillsman, Nall, already black and blue and bleeding from countless wounds, was lifted towards the sky by a massive horned ogre.  And as my barbarian looked to the heavens, its massive hands clamped around my chest and ribs, its muscles rippling… the beast squeezed hard.  Bones snapped, blood and guts exploded and showered the battlefield.  My dwarf warrior and elven mage friends watched in horror and shock, their rock-like protector and instigator suddenly and brutally dead.

But it wasn’t over.  Here is where I jumped in, adding to the grizzly narration of my death scene.  This is Dragon Age after all: violent, gritty, tragic, dark fantasy.  (Perfect timing with Halloween right around the corner by the way!)  As my GM finished the description of my character being killed, stunned by strangely fascinated by the spectacular death, I wanted it to be even more spectactular.  Especially because the beast wasn’t done fighting in this awesome battle.  So I added: “And then, the ogre grabs onto the barbarian’s head, and tears Nall’s head off with its monstrous strength – and then starts beating the rest of you with it, like a rock in its fist, crushing Nall’s head further until he is completely unrecognizable.”

Pretty horrific right?  Now that’s a death scene for the ages!  The guys loved it and said they’d never forget.  I know I never will.  Domnall “Nall” Ar Colban Frosthold died spectactularly, as tragic as it was and as much as we had all come to love his sometimes exasperating restlessness and incredible toughness.  One of the guys even called me after the game to reiterate how regrettable yet awesome that death scene was, telling me he doesn’t think anyone will be topping that death for the rest of the campaign!

So remember, one of the more creative and collaborative ways to die – and die with style! – is for the player and GM to team up during the character’s death scene.  It’s just one subtle, creative way to sharpen your roleplaying and storytelling skills on either side of the table.  And while no one loves seeing their character killed, it happens in every RPG.  And when it does, fight the natural desire to quietly lament, sulk or speed through it.  Instead, turn it into a cinematic, dramatic and unforgettable scene together.  Make it great.

If you liked this Fear of Death article, you might also like:

• Fear of Death: Which Monsters Finish Off Dying Characters?
• Fear of Death: Make Character Death Fun!
• Fear of Death: How To Smoothly Manage Character Death

But enough about football (you know I’m a huge RPG and NFL fan, of course!), here’s an update on what October and the rest of 2012 looks like for both me and Leonine Roar.  Here’s what you can expect as the chill of autumn and winter settles in…

1) Teach D&D to Brand New Players.  Earlier this year I introduced a friend’s fiance to D&D – she’d never played anything like it and was curious.  Next, I’ll be introducing my cousin to D&D – and instead of 4e, we’re going to playtest D&D Next together along with her boyfriend, a long-time Pathfinder player.  This event goes down Saturday, we’re all very excited! 

• What to Expect on Leonine Roar?  More advice for and observations on teaching and encouraging new players, like this one, based on my experiences this coming weekend.  I love to teach as much as I love to write, so this will be a blast – and insightful too!

 2) Play More D&D Next and Pathfinder.  With over a decade of D&D 3.x experience, mostly as DM, I hear this will be like riding a bike.  Their newest box set is in my Amazon cart – along with Avengers on blu-ray of course!  I keep hearing how quality it is, plus a friend of mine plays it heavily, plus one of my longtime D&D group guys really wants to try it (yes, the power gamer, what a shocker!) plus I want to study, play and master the rules set in the event I have opportunities to work on 3.x or Pathfinder projects.  Wouldn’t that be cool!  I love D&D Next’s direction, but our 4e games have come to an end in my group, so Pathfinder and D&D Next are now high on the list of what I’ll be GM’ing next.

• What to Expect on Leonine Roar?  More reviews of Pathfinder and D&D Next playtest.  Two playtest packets into Next now, so pretty exciting times.  Can’t wait to “go back” to some old school 3.x-ish gaming again, and see how it’s changed for the better.  Hey as long those horrific 3.x grapple rules are better in Pathfinder, I’ll actually GM it a while!

 3) Play More Dragon Age.  And by play, I mean play as a player too, which I’ve been doing since early summer with my brother as GM – and he’s done a tremendous job creating the gritty, dark fantasy Dragon Age feel in our stark, deadly adventures. 

• What to Expect on Leonine Roar?  It’s impossible not to notice the passion of the playing community.  The Dragon Age RPG is popular for good reason.  It’s also impossible for me not to notice how much I’m enjoying it – especially how invested I feel in my Avvar warrior, a barbarian whose whole tribe was just wiped out by darkspawn – except for the women, and only the women capable of bearing children, who were instead taken into the skies by wyverns.  Already a brutal tragedy, just add unimaginable horrors.  That happened last time, and we’re still chasing the wyvern captors down.  My point of all this?  To show you just a dash of how awesome Dragon Age can be – and to let you know expect me to talk more about the tremendous world and smooth, comfortable game system that is Dragon Age.  Similar in feel and complexity to D&D 2e, Green Ronin’s Dragon Age designers and ever-growing community continue to impress – and impress mightily.

4) More Balanced Crunch & Flavor - with a Shot of Humor.  All of these are Leonine Roar staples – and you can see them in my ongoing Faster Combat project with Johnn Four, too – so there is plenty more to come! 

• What to Expect on Leonine Roar?  With my work schedule shifting in October, I’ll be back to a more regular schedule of content of weekly or bi-weekly articles. 

Thanks so much for reading and following Leonine Roar – especially during one very busy, crazy wild summer of work and projects!  Your understanding, kindness and support have been awesome – thank you again and talk to you soon!

Kilsek (Tony)

A lot can happen to heroes on holiday, though – at both the destination and back home.  Here are some vacation hooks sure to bring adventure to an otherwise relaxing time away from swords, spells and dragons. 

As a player, you can use these ideas to help describe your character’s downtime and background events and actions. 

As a DM, use these ideas for whole new story twists and adventures – and even separate game sessions!

5 Holiday Hooks

1. Solo Adventure.  Got a ”solo” quest you’ve beem wanting to do since you created your character?  Talk to your DM and make it happen.  Lots of gamers on vacation, so a quick one-shot session to wrap up a personal loose end is a great way to spend a game night  or two until the band’s back together.  Or as DM, look through the party’s backstories and find a side quest that captures your imagination.  Ask if the player’s up for a quick game.

2. Paradise Lost.  You arrive at your favorite vacation spot only to discover a ghost town or ruin.  Everyone and everything is gone, destroyed or dead.  What was once a gorgeous and relaxing vista is now ugly, unsettling and utterly unwelcoming.  Who or what did this – to your favorite getaway, and why?

3. Festival Week.  Depending on your point of view, you picked the best or worst time to go on vacation.  Your favorite getaway is celebrating a historic event all week.  Art, culture, contests, games, sports and more are flooding the streets with visitors from all over the world.  Food and drink are plentiful as every enjoys the entire week’s events.  Want to throw in a fantasy board game, a card game, puzzles, riddles or some other non-traditional D&D “game within a game” into the session?  There’s no better time than Festival Week!

4. Home Sweet Home?   Unfortunately, while you were away, crime took place – in your backyard.  Your apartment, house, mansion, tower, castle or village were broken into to – but only one thing – or person – was taken.  Who or what is gone, and who dared?  Another mystery to solve, and the stakes could be quite high.  One of your most prized possessions needs to be recovered – or one of your friends or family members must be rescued.

5. Marooned.  Island paradise your idea of a great vacation?  That means a ship to get you there safely – or not so much.  Sea monsters, pirates or storms cause the ship to veer far off course, damaging or destroying the ship, leaving the party safe but stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere, nearly all of their supplies washed away.  Suspicious natives and giant serpents?  Check.  Actually worrying about food, water, shelter?  It’s D&D: Lost!

Who knew RPG vacations were so rife with adventure possibilities?

And with that, I wish you all a great summer vacation!  See you in September!