Six weeks after talking about regular play... In fairness, I spent November making daily D&D posts of a different kind. For NaNoWriMo, I wrote over 50,000 words for a novel with D&D at its heart. This is the fifth or sixth time I've tried writing for NaNoWriMo, and the first time I've successfully finished the 50,000 words. It was a great experience, and now I need to continue the novel, and convert it to an adventure campaign.
That was actually the seed behind the novel, the route I saw to completing the challenge. I have been playing D&D for over thirty years, and constantly working on campaigns and ideas during that time. We've been wanting to play a proper dragon quest for years, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to work on that. Usually we talk about dragons or giants until we decide to just plop down a map and a monster and play out the encounter. With the new edition, there are added rules for lairs that felt like they would be fun to incorporate. It also seemed important to build to a final encounter of that magnitude, rather than just skip the preliminaries.
Against this was the successful completion of an adventure that had seen our characters work from 1st level to 5th level over a series of connected adventures. I had gotten an idea, and fully worked out a campaign arc to cover it. I actually typed it all up with maps and tables and directions for running with the intent of using it as a sellable PDF adventure online. This worked out very nicely for the preparation and execution. For the dragon quest, I decided to work it out in the same way, but by telling it as a story of how I expected it to develop, I could succeed in the novel challenge as well.
It worked... for completing the story challenge. Now, I need to go back to game mode and convert the story into a campaign. Stories take a life of their own, and the novel became more about character development than game progression, but I think it serves well as a prelude to the adventure. I can set up an arc for our characters that shadows the novel's events. That is the beauty of the book, it fleshes out a background that I can set the adventure within, for locations, motivations, interacting groups, etc.
What I wasn't prepared for was the lack of focus that came once I finished November and stopped writing every day. I wanted to break from the story to get back into game mode, but it was a different discipline, and I struggled with the transition. This post is about getting back on track and redirecting energy into game development.
I started by looking at maps. I found one I like with a courtyard and stable areas, that also had a tower with stairs descending into a basement. I could tell at a glance that it was "abandoned", probably by force. But the suggestion of a basement left me thinking that something was left behind. They came looking for someone or something, and they carried them away, but missed their objective. It was still in the basement. While the characters investigate, the raiders return to recover it. The party takes defensive positions and holds off the attack. They find the artifact, and realize they are in a bigger story.
It's a start, and it's rough, but it works. I like the idea of the party defending a building instead of storming one for a change. In terms of the novel, I left the party crossing a moor with a powerful magic item in their care, looking for information from a wizard on the item's function. The plan was for them to get captured and carted off to a mining community near the dragon's lair. This allows me to switch those characters out for the party made up by our players. The novel party got captured (maybe their rescue can play into the story of the adventure later on), and the artifact got left behind.
Now our party has the item, and can pick up the quest by visiting the wizard and learning what they have found. I think in terms of daily dungeoneering, it is helpful to spend time each day working on the puzzle, even if it just fits one piece. This break for November meant distancing myself from the pieces, but gave me a nice framework. Maybe it was clearing the table for the puzzle, counting the pieces, turning them all face up, even setting the edge pieces together. It seemed external to building the puzzle, and at the end of the month it didn't look like much yet, but it let me put myself in a position to go forward and build an actual dragon quest that will be fully developed and detailed.
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Regular Play
Four months have passed since we began playing 5e D&D on Roll20. It has been an interesting process. Those first awkward moments trying to learn how to find anything through the interface, let alone roll a dice have morphed into pretty sophisticated use of all the system has to offer. It has been a process, but it has been fun.
There are several facets of the experience that are noteworthy. For years, we have spoken of the need to play more often. With Roll20 we have been able to play four or five sessions of one campaign, and three more in a second. Eight sessions in 16 weeks you say... not a great percentage... On the face, the numbers are deceptive. There are vacations, concerts, moving, and general coordination of schedules involved that have influenced the whole. We have forced this situation upon ourselves, and fought to make it more regular. While it took time to get into a rhythm, it has paid off in allowing us to play more in these few months than we can usually find in the course of a year. It is a great way to get together when distance keeps you separate.
Another advantage of playing regularly shows in the flow of play once engaged. Some weeks we've been able to play consecutively, others have been after a week or two of inactivity. Those can take 30 minutes or more to get everyone together, get settled, and remember where we left off. When you only allot two hours a week for play, that is a significant loss. Playing regularly helps keep everyone engaged in the game, and able to spring back into the gameplay quickly.
It is also helpful in terms of role playing. Each encounter allows the nuances of the character to emerge, and regular play lets you find that playable element and develop it consistently. This is an interesting and critical part of the game. We've often fallen into pretty narrow types with our characters because of the infrequent game sessions we have, and it has been jarring at times to break out of that routine. At times we've been able to play in consecutive weeks, and the out of combat moments have blossomed into some more memorable actions and sessions as a result. It has allowed for better interaction within the party as well.
There is a weird dynamic within any D&D game, and one of the aspects of this is that each session can take on the personality of one of the players. Even when you try to account for this by designing elements to focus on one character, it is often another that steps out to dominate that moment. It is a fascinating part of the interplay within the game. I've found that the more fractured the scheduling, the more disparate these moments become. With longer breaks, it is more difficult for everyone to fall into character. When there is better continuity of play, the party dynamic rises on the individual styles and provides a more balanced, harmonic session.
I'm looking forward to learning more from continuing to play in this fashion, and hope to add further insight as it comes.
There are several facets of the experience that are noteworthy. For years, we have spoken of the need to play more often. With Roll20 we have been able to play four or five sessions of one campaign, and three more in a second. Eight sessions in 16 weeks you say... not a great percentage... On the face, the numbers are deceptive. There are vacations, concerts, moving, and general coordination of schedules involved that have influenced the whole. We have forced this situation upon ourselves, and fought to make it more regular. While it took time to get into a rhythm, it has paid off in allowing us to play more in these few months than we can usually find in the course of a year. It is a great way to get together when distance keeps you separate.
Another advantage of playing regularly shows in the flow of play once engaged. Some weeks we've been able to play consecutively, others have been after a week or two of inactivity. Those can take 30 minutes or more to get everyone together, get settled, and remember where we left off. When you only allot two hours a week for play, that is a significant loss. Playing regularly helps keep everyone engaged in the game, and able to spring back into the gameplay quickly.
It is also helpful in terms of role playing. Each encounter allows the nuances of the character to emerge, and regular play lets you find that playable element and develop it consistently. This is an interesting and critical part of the game. We've often fallen into pretty narrow types with our characters because of the infrequent game sessions we have, and it has been jarring at times to break out of that routine. At times we've been able to play in consecutive weeks, and the out of combat moments have blossomed into some more memorable actions and sessions as a result. It has allowed for better interaction within the party as well.
There is a weird dynamic within any D&D game, and one of the aspects of this is that each session can take on the personality of one of the players. Even when you try to account for this by designing elements to focus on one character, it is often another that steps out to dominate that moment. It is a fascinating part of the interplay within the game. I've found that the more fractured the scheduling, the more disparate these moments become. With longer breaks, it is more difficult for everyone to fall into character. When there is better continuity of play, the party dynamic rises on the individual styles and provides a more balanced, harmonic session.
I'm looking forward to learning more from continuing to play in this fashion, and hope to add further insight as it comes.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Begin Again
Two years into the new edition, and we've reached a sort of balance. I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post, but interestingly, it came just as the first campaign sourcebook, Princes of the Apocalypse, was being released (this doesn't include the two part starter setting released in concert with the rulebooks, The Hoard of the Dragon Queen, and The Rise of Tiamet). At this time, the fourth since then has just come out, Storm King's Thunder. There has been a dramatic shift in that time within the game, particularly the last six months.
On the other hand, many of the initial criticisms of the game still hold true, and in a sad twist, have returned to that point from a more evolved platform. There were nice strides from the company following Princes, with fairly regular releases on the website covering rules, variant gaming elements, and profiles of the game. They also began producing a "monthly" webzine, Dragon (about 10 per year), that gathers the website pieces and pads them with longer pieces of fiction, art and commentary. Unfortunately, the last few months have seen a return to an empty, static site.
Let's focus on the positive. In March, they released The Curse of Strahd to great acclaim. A popular module from the old days, the reboot came with the usual publicity, but seemed to touch an extra nerve, sending an energetic charge through the D&D community that reaped rich dividends. Everyone was talking about the setting, and looking forward to its release. But the game changer came with a more subtle opening. Dice, Camera, Action! was an official play-through of the Strahd campaign live on Twitch.tv. After a few sluggish sessions finding their way, and adjusting to the form, the game took off, drawing huge weekly viewers, and spawning many similar games. Roll20 began an Adventurers League series that showcased that form and the virtual tabletop Roll20 offers. Matt Mercer was brought into the fold to promote the new giant campaign, Acquisitions Inc. added a series. There was a time in the summer where I was watching a D&D game played online 4 nights of the week!
Most importantly, I made the decision to play online! I've been toying with Roll20 since 2013, and with their series, I was finally able to mount the learning curve and begin setting up encounters. It was never difficult, but time made me tentative. This summer, I thought, we're only going to start if someone just does it. We're playing on this date in this campaign. It worked! It has been a learning process, and we're still trying to find a regular time, but the game works, and with each session, the ease of the process grows.
It is an exciting new world for D&D with online streaming and gameplay, and will be fascinating in the coming months to see how it continues to expand and grow.
On the other hand, many of the initial criticisms of the game still hold true, and in a sad twist, have returned to that point from a more evolved platform. There were nice strides from the company following Princes, with fairly regular releases on the website covering rules, variant gaming elements, and profiles of the game. They also began producing a "monthly" webzine, Dragon (about 10 per year), that gathers the website pieces and pads them with longer pieces of fiction, art and commentary. Unfortunately, the last few months have seen a return to an empty, static site.
Let's focus on the positive. In March, they released The Curse of Strahd to great acclaim. A popular module from the old days, the reboot came with the usual publicity, but seemed to touch an extra nerve, sending an energetic charge through the D&D community that reaped rich dividends. Everyone was talking about the setting, and looking forward to its release. But the game changer came with a more subtle opening. Dice, Camera, Action! was an official play-through of the Strahd campaign live on Twitch.tv. After a few sluggish sessions finding their way, and adjusting to the form, the game took off, drawing huge weekly viewers, and spawning many similar games. Roll20 began an Adventurers League series that showcased that form and the virtual tabletop Roll20 offers. Matt Mercer was brought into the fold to promote the new giant campaign, Acquisitions Inc. added a series. There was a time in the summer where I was watching a D&D game played online 4 nights of the week!
Most importantly, I made the decision to play online! I've been toying with Roll20 since 2013, and with their series, I was finally able to mount the learning curve and begin setting up encounters. It was never difficult, but time made me tentative. This summer, I thought, we're only going to start if someone just does it. We're playing on this date in this campaign. It worked! It has been a learning process, and we're still trying to find a regular time, but the game works, and with each session, the ease of the process grows.
It is an exciting new world for D&D with online streaming and gameplay, and will be fascinating in the coming months to see how it continues to expand and grow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)