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The Douchey DM » Entries tagged with "rpgs"

Creating a Scene in an RPG

May 2nd, 2013 | Add a Comment

Tweet Scenes are the building blocks of an adventure. They are those moments when the player characters interact with the setting, be it NPCs, searching a site for clues, etc. Organizing your adventure in scenes is, to my mind, the most flexible way to craft an adventure, but there are several questions the GM must ask himself in order to keep that flexibility and have a satisfying session. What Is the Purpose of the Scene? First and foremost, you need to know what your’e trying to accomplish with the scene. Does the scene exist to: Bring about combat or possibly bring it about? Provide the PCs with information? Allow the PCs to gather information? Give time to develop the PCs? Make time for PC-to-PC interaction? Introduce or develop an NPC? Introduce a MacGuffin? There are countess other possible reasons, I just listed … Read entire article »

Filed under: Adventure Design, Advice

Review: Drinking Quest RPG

April 5th, 2013 | 2 Comments

Tweet I take my gaming and my drinking very seriously. You have to when you’re on a podcast with the tagline, “Pursuing the RPG Hobby with Reckless Abandon… and beer.” Perhaps because of this, I was recently sent a review copy of Drinking Quest, an RPG card game designed to be played while drinking. In fact, the mechanics require you to be drinking. BEST CONCEPT EVER. Drinking Quest is a very simple RPG by design, after all, they are expecting you to play while inebriated. The game is designed for two to four players. Everyone starts by choosing one of the four pre-generated character cards. These are all about equal power-wise, and have funny names and powers. I was a little disappointed that only one of the four characters is a very female … Read entire article »

Filed under: Reviews

Empowering Players

March 9th, 2013 | 4 Comments

Tweet We all have seen players completely take their GM by surprise. Usually, the GM has planned one or two specific ways for the players to handle a challenge… and the players try something completely different. This creates a crossroad for the game. Is the GM willing to consider alternative solutions to the problem? The answer should be “yes.” I’m not saying that the GM should always give in to what the players want, but they SHOULD be open to considering logical solutions other than the ones they planned. When the players’ options are allowed, the game changes from the general mice in a maze scenario to a game where players are empowered. The players can stop looking for the “right answer” and really approach the problem from their character’s point of view. … Read entire article »

Filed under: Adventure Design, Advice, General Gaming, Table Politics

Comprehending Cross-Gender Characters

October 1st, 2012 | 5 Comments

Tweet Cross-gender role-playing can be a controversial topic at the gaming table. Opinions are as varied as one could imagine and while some gaming groups are very open to cross-gender characters, other groups are flat out against it. So why is something that has been around since role-playing began such a big deal? Women are partially to blame. The number of female tabletop gamers has been growing for many years and co-ed games can make people uncomfortable with portraying the opposite sex. After I posed the question on Twitter, one man likened it to faking a British accent with a British person at the table. The pressure to “do it right” can take a lot of the fun out of role-playing, even if the other players at the table aren’t judging you. … Read entire article »

Filed under: Advice, Table Politics

Dealing with Player Ignorance

August 16th, 2012 | 9 Comments

Tweet I have GMed many convention games, but I ran into a new problem a few months ago. One of the players in my game had a fundamental misunderstanding of a pretty simple scientific principle. I will not go into specifics because I do not wish to embarrass that player or narrow down which game I am discussing. The players were engrossed in the game and having a blast trying to come up with a solution to my challenge. They were all great people and it was a very positive game, however suddenly one of them suggested an action that defied the laws of physics. Two other players jumped on board, and the remaining players looked at me with their eyebrows raised. I casually asked for clarification, hoping they’d catch the mistake themselves. … Read entire article »

Filed under: Advice

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