Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 wizard Nov 11, 2005 23:45:24	Occasionally, it happens to everyone. One too many staves of the magi appear, the bartender starts using prestidigitation to polish the glasses, or the dragon donates his hoard for tax credit when he realizes the virgins he's been eating can craft him more wealth anyhow. Or perhaps your PCs constantly complain how low-level they are---this while the fighter toys with his +4 spiked chain, and the rogue is appearing and disappearing for fun. Of course, they're not actually a fighter and a rogue. They're a monkey-gripping Ftr2/Barb3/Frenzied Berserker10, and the rogue is actually a strange gestalt fighter/monk combo, with levels in shadowdancer and master thrower. The cleric, of course, is some unholy amalgamation of five different splatbooks. You're not actually sure what alignment he is, as his classes require him to worship both Pelor and Vecna, with a bit for Olidammara on the side. Here are some small suggestions that are easy, automatic helps to the problems I've outlined above. 1. Un-"real" rewards. This section is titled somewhat misleadingly, because if done correctly, nothing will be more "real" to your players than this: Glory. I haven't read Dragonlance in a long time, but I was recently reminded of a specific event: the party's welcomed entry into [forgot the name of the city]. Crowds lining the streets, celebrating the arrival of Heroes. Capital H. One thing that is relatively easy (and exciting!) to do (and I wish a DM had done this for one of my characters) is to give them titles. Not boring titles like "Sir;” I’m talking about "Elxethan, who recovered the Staff of Kessen." "Ogion, who stilled the earthquake." "Quitheren, Master of the Weeping Wood." Think of your favorite character that you've played. Wouldn't it have been awesome if they'd had such a title? And turn that around---from a peasant's viewpoint, wouldn't it be awesome (in the traditional meaning of the word) to meet someone right out of legend? How would you react? There are two opposing things to remember when using this: i. It doesn't take a whole lot to impress a peasant. The druid in the local forest can be "Master of the Wood." So don't be afraid if the PC hasn't done anything particularly noteworthy. ii. At the same time, remember that these PCs may reach higher levels and do greater things. DO NOT create titles that take forever to say! The PCs should probably have only two or three titles throughout their life, at most! An excellent guideline is the legend lore spell, which defines characters of 11th level or higher as "legendary." No one gains fame as a "Great Warrior" (at least beyond the scope of the local Ewok tribe) by killing a bugbear or two. I would advise very careful consideration before bestowing a title on a character below 11th level. It can be done, even often; but choose the name or title carefully, as you do NOT want to change it more than once at the most. Name turnover will completely ruin the effect. While we're talking about names, it's also pretty cool to have random tribes or organizations give a character a name as pertaining to that tribe. The "tribe" idea is easy to conceive ("You now He-Who-Dances-Fire. Huzzah!"), but the "organization" can perhaps be a bit more fruitful with some imagination: The circle sat, silently staring at the tall figure in robes matching those of his companions. He beckoned with a pale finger to one of them, who approached the middle of the circle. The tall figure motioned for the other to approach closer, that he might hear a whisper. "Kalix," the figure said quietly. "Kalix is your true name." 2. Putting the "Prestige" back in. Think about your ordinary hedge witch. She can brew love potions, cure warts, and summon some animals every once in a while. A pretty good adept, eh? Compare to an adventuring wizard. Relying on his spells for his livelihood, perhaps a bit geeky or scrawny, but able to pull off a good fireball every once in a while. Good utility, too. Now compare to an Archmage. A Master of the Art. Very few exist in the world---there may only be one! His wisdom unparalleled, he ranks equal with most kings. This is not simply a wizard---this is a Wizard. Who is never late, and is both subtle and quick to anger. This exercise was intended to put you into the feel of what PrC's can be. The only way---the only way---to preserve this feel is to restrict Prestige Classes. Serious roleplaying requirements should be included. By "serious," I don't mean anything crazy hard, but I do mean that other characters should be easily able to tell the difference between a dwarven Ftr 15 and dwarven Ftr10/DwDef 5. It's almost impossible to make it too hard to get into a prestige class---they're there to provide prestige, and hard entry requirements help immensely with that. Shadowdancers are the next such class that spring to mind---a secret, elite group that has stumbled upon the Penumbral Secrets. Emphasis on secret and elite. If you as the DM are not excited about a player entering a PrC, don't let him. This doesn't mean you can't change yourself to become excited---by all means---but under no circumstances should you allow something you feel even slightly iffy about. This is not to be mean or restrictive for its own sake---its about refusing to settle for less than the best. Also, I enjoin you to always capitalize your PrC's in writing and in your mind. There are no loremasters in my campaigns---but every once in a while, in one of the better libraries, you might catch a glimpse of a Loremaster. It's a little thing, but it helps. PrCs are cool. Don't cheat yourself. Give them what they deserve. 3. "He died alone." There's a Neil Gaiman story, the name of which I forget. Throughout the story, the main character is regaled with different accounts of who was with John Belushi when he died (in the protagonist's hotel). Finally, one of the workers at his hotel tells him, "Doesn't matter who was with him when he went. He died alone." Do this to your characters. Give them spotlights! If you don't treat the PCs differently from one another, don't expect them to RP any differently than each other. Separating them physically is often an easy way to ensure some solo or spotlight time, but it can occasionally create problems. There are other ways to go about it---a psion character might be drawn into a mindscape, doing battle with an enemy psion on the landscape of the mind, while the rest of the party can only watch their seemingly catatonic friend, waiting anxiously for him to wake...or not. Or perhaps a character is knocked unconscious and taken for dead, while the rest of the party is captured and helpless. He wakes and is on his own to free them/confront their captor/whatever. An excellent example of this is in (gasp!) Final Fantasy III. Characters are frequently separated from each other even when they're physically right next to each other, through moral dilemmas, dream worlds, or even just walls. DM's must take care, of course, to ensure that these scenes aren't too long---don't want to make the other players mad. OTOH, if they know that they have received/are receiving spotlight or solo time of their own, they'll usually shut up and listen to what's happening. 4. Know the rules. This is Wizard posting. What did you expect? I won't beat a dead horse, but the DM must be the most rules-knowledgeable of the group. It's possible to do this vicariously by delegating odd rules questions to players, but this is at best a second-rate option. Having to stop to look things up can really hurt the RP aspect. Note that I didn't say that looking things up is bad---rather, I said that stopping to look things up is bad. Have a system for finding specific rules quickly and efficiently, even if you have to add Post-It's to your DMG like a maniac (like me, admittedly). 5. Bean farmer before Giantslayer. After reading this article, it's tempting to run your 3rd-level party through some epic, world-spanning campaign. This is fine. The problem arises when DM's inflate the importance of the low-level PC's beyond reason. 3rd-level PCs do not begin a systematic campaign aimed at destroying a 20th-level lich. No one should expect them to. Doing this sort of thing leads to a few problems: Strained credibility: "Wow, you can turn invisible for three minutes a day? Watch out, Skeletor!" Long, circuitous plots: There are 17 levels between the PCs and the lich. Are there 17 levels worth of monsters in between the party and the BBEG? Disappointingly easy finish: Say the players are bored to death of fighting against the seemingly untouchable Lich Lord at level 12. (They've fought against this guy for nine levels!) The DM, in an attempt to save the game, lowers the Lich's level and has the players fortuitously find him. The players sense DM intervention=no more suspension of disbelief=no fun. Meanwhile, the DM is slightly miffed that the players lost patience, so he can't use the 8 levels of Lich-aimed adventuring he'd planned. I hope I've made my point. DM's, keep your twisted 20-level plots to yourself! To fill in that gap between 1st level and about 8-9th, don't be afraid in the slightest to use completely unconnected adventures. This is where modules come in very handy. The adventures must connect from the character's point of view, of course---people may have heard of them, etc.---but don't feel a need to connect the adventures to each other independent of the player. You can do it, but it's not necessary. The easy way of saying this: A party can rid one town of kobolds and then save another from plague, and the kobolds need not have caused the plague. In summary, while the first three points highlight the value of making the players wait for something, this portion warns that they have to eventually get that something, or all your cat-and-mouse is in vain. If you take anything away from this thread, take this: Players want what they can't have. And when they at long last achieve their goal, it's all the better for the work they've put into it. I referenced inflation in the title of this thread for a good reason; what is common, becomes worthless. Wizard
#2 guru7892 Apr 16, 2006 1:16:36	It's ok to have a high level villain, but generally not a 20th level one. If I have 1st level PCs I could give them a 10th level villain, with a 7th level side kick and a goal for them to want to kill the guy. Then as they advance in levels they eventually start to get the attention of this level 10, as he has to put resources into killing them. First just some of his hired help, then his actual followers, then his elite units, soon he has to send his side kick in and eventually he’s starting to see the PCs face to face and is running to complete his plan, until he decides he must kill them.