Rolling High very nicely captures the concept of Attacks of Opportunity.
A must watch for fans of Pathfinder and Dungeons and Dragons!
Showing posts with label d20. Show all posts
Showing posts with label d20. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Thursday, December 22, 2011
And Then The Dice Rolled...
 |
| by Popculturegeek |
by Tobie Abad
Originally published before 2009
(Yes, this time, the opening story is NOT something from classic World of Darkness. Surprised? Hey, I played a LOT of games in my time. So yes, lo and behold, this article was written at a time when we were still playing Dungeons and Dragons 3.0)
Storyteller: "The Minotaur charges past you and slams its weight against the Cleric. Garell falls down, bleeding but still thankful to the deity Corelion for sparing his life. As the Minotaur turns, you take the advantage and act! What do you do?"
Player 1: "Taking the opportunity, I strike with the longsword, hoping for Kord to guide my blow."
Dice rolls, a critical hit.
Storyteller: "The Minotaur roars in agony as the blade cuts across its shoulder, but still it charges past, billowing clouds of dust all over. The horns are raised, ready to thrust through the Fighter's armor. This time, the creature aims to kill. Meanwhile, above the commotion, Adon the self-professed specialist is ready to strike with his crossbow."
Player 2 rolls the dice and gets a 20. Critical threat according to 3rd edition Dungeons and Dragons rules. The second roll comes up a 20. And the last roll, a 19.
Result, an INSTANT KILL on the highlight of the battle.
And I ask you all now, tell me WHY that happened that moment?
I'm sure we've all experienced that sort of thing at least once in our gaming lives. Times when the dice just acts PERFECTLY to match the scene. Critical rolls when the tension is up. Or perhaps fudging rolls when the Storyteller was desperately hoping the Players won't make it for the scene to continue. Or perhaps a life and death scenario with one escape and that 05% chance just happens to ACTUALLY happen.
I wonder; what makes the dice act that way?
Is it supernatural force? The consensual reality shifting? Luck? Coincidence?
The devil?
Obviously this article cannot answer that question, simply because I have no idea myself (although I do know what I DON'T think caused it). So what's the point of THIS article?
Well, here I want to talk about DICE.
DICE has been a major constant in many (but keep in mind, NOT ALL) roleplaying games. Be it the actual dice which, in my experience, range from 1d4s to 1d100s to electronic variations as those from scientific calculators, computer computations in videogame rpgs, and the like... DICE has allowed a sense of randomness and chance to inhabit the game and make it less predictable.
But can DICE be more than just the rolled shapes to get the results of an action?
YES.
DICE can be used as a very powerful storytelling tool as well.
PSYCHE WAR BASED ON DICE-VALUE
Once, in a vampire game, I had a lowly neonate get into a verbal argument with a Player Character. The two loudly debated on whether or not the City needed a guardian and if the Kindred had any right to act as such. When the debate nearly entered a physical quarrel, I merely grabbed a handful of ten-sided dice and counted eight for the roll.
The player, seeing this got concerned and had second thoughts about starting the fight, something I hoped he'd realise considering the characters were in Elysium (a place in Vampire:the Masquerade designated as a place of peace and safety. Breaking it can be very bad for the character.)
In effect, the dice acted as a "think about it" signal that the Storyteller can use to his advantage. Whenever a player seems to be intent in breaking a scene violently, pick up a large sum of dice and pretend to prepare for battle. That might give the subtle hint for him to back
off. Of course, as a Storyteller, you shouldn't be afraid to tell the Player directly that the actions might not be appropriate for the scene.
PSYCHE-WAR BASED ON FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN RESULT
In another case, this time while playing 3rd edition Dungeons and Dragons, the Characters were all on a ship sailing down the Sea of Swords, moving nervously down past Pirate's Isle. Just to add more tension, I grabbed a load of dice and placed them near my hand, occassionally tossing a roll behind a screen without saying a thing.
It was one of the most realistic "nervously looking around and keeping watch" scenes in that particular group's gaming history.
All because I had DICE nearby.
DICE AS INSTANT PROPS
Dice can also be used in smaller approaches. Fake rolls can keep the game unpredictable. Using them as impromptu miniatures for tactical planning if necessary. And even as simple as using them as a prop as one of the signature objects a particular killer leaves around.
(Imagine the game running, you leaving a four-sided die on the bathroom sink, only to declare as a game scene the killer leaving exactly the same thing in a bathroom. Don't even ADMIT you left it in the bathroom, and your horror and suspense game has risen to new heights.)
BUT BE WARNED. DICE ARE VICIOUS LITTLE DEVILS
Be careful though, because dice can always get back at you. From hiding when you need it the most, to falling down tables in futile attempts to run away... dice can be pretty vicious too when angered. (Take for instance my friend Awie, who once stepped on a four-sided die* three times in one evening. And the best part, we were playing Vampire: The Dark Ages which uses ONLY ten-sided dice.)
Never underestimate the power of a twenty-sided die that also decides to suddenly turn into a six-sided die for a whole evening of gaming. No one was spared. No one got a roll higher than six for three hours with that one.
* that particular die, by the way, has been isolated and placed among marbles. Perhaps he'll learn his lesson when he notices all the dust the marbles have collected. (edit 2011: actually I've long since moved out of that house. I wonder if that die is still there, somewhere in the cob-webbed shadows sitting among the marbles, hoping to someday be rolled once again, but unawares that his life has long come to an end. Oh my.)
Storyteller: "The Minotaur charges past you and slams its weight against the Cleric. Garell falls down, bleeding but still thankful to the deity Corelion for sparing his life. As the Minotaur turns, you take the advantage and act! What do you do?"
Player 1: "Taking the opportunity, I strike with the longsword, hoping for Kord to guide my blow."
Dice rolls, a critical hit.
Storyteller: "The Minotaur roars in agony as the blade cuts across its shoulder, but still it charges past, billowing clouds of dust all over. The horns are raised, ready to thrust through the Fighter's armor. This time, the creature aims to kill. Meanwhile, above the commotion, Adon the self-professed specialist is ready to strike with his crossbow."
Player 2 rolls the dice and gets a 20. Critical threat according to 3rd edition Dungeons and Dragons rules. The second roll comes up a 20. And the last roll, a 19.
Result, an INSTANT KILL on the highlight of the battle.
And I ask you all now, tell me WHY that happened that moment?
I'm sure we've all experienced that sort of thing at least once in our gaming lives. Times when the dice just acts PERFECTLY to match the scene. Critical rolls when the tension is up. Or perhaps fudging rolls when the Storyteller was desperately hoping the Players won't make it for the scene to continue. Or perhaps a life and death scenario with one escape and that 05% chance just happens to ACTUALLY happen.
I wonder; what makes the dice act that way?
Is it supernatural force? The consensual reality shifting? Luck? Coincidence?
The devil?
Obviously this article cannot answer that question, simply because I have no idea myself (although I do know what I DON'T think caused it). So what's the point of THIS article?
Well, here I want to talk about DICE.
DICE has been a major constant in many (but keep in mind, NOT ALL) roleplaying games. Be it the actual dice which, in my experience, range from 1d4s to 1d100s to electronic variations as those from scientific calculators, computer computations in videogame rpgs, and the like... DICE has allowed a sense of randomness and chance to inhabit the game and make it less predictable.
But can DICE be more than just the rolled shapes to get the results of an action?
YES.
DICE can be used as a very powerful storytelling tool as well.
PSYCHE WAR BASED ON DICE-VALUE
Once, in a vampire game, I had a lowly neonate get into a verbal argument with a Player Character. The two loudly debated on whether or not the City needed a guardian and if the Kindred had any right to act as such. When the debate nearly entered a physical quarrel, I merely grabbed a handful of ten-sided dice and counted eight for the roll.
The player, seeing this got concerned and had second thoughts about starting the fight, something I hoped he'd realise considering the characters were in Elysium (a place in Vampire:the Masquerade designated as a place of peace and safety. Breaking it can be very bad for the character.)
In effect, the dice acted as a "think about it" signal that the Storyteller can use to his advantage. Whenever a player seems to be intent in breaking a scene violently, pick up a large sum of dice and pretend to prepare for battle. That might give the subtle hint for him to back
 |
| by Jamesrbowe |
PSYCHE-WAR BASED ON FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN RESULT
In another case, this time while playing 3rd edition Dungeons and Dragons, the Characters were all on a ship sailing down the Sea of Swords, moving nervously down past Pirate's Isle. Just to add more tension, I grabbed a load of dice and placed them near my hand, occassionally tossing a roll behind a screen without saying a thing.
It was one of the most realistic "nervously looking around and keeping watch" scenes in that particular group's gaming history.
All because I had DICE nearby.
DICE AS INSTANT PROPS
Dice can also be used in smaller approaches. Fake rolls can keep the game unpredictable. Using them as impromptu miniatures for tactical planning if necessary. And even as simple as using them as a prop as one of the signature objects a particular killer leaves around.
(Imagine the game running, you leaving a four-sided die on the bathroom sink, only to declare as a game scene the killer leaving exactly the same thing in a bathroom. Don't even ADMIT you left it in the bathroom, and your horror and suspense game has risen to new heights.)
BUT BE WARNED. DICE ARE VICIOUS LITTLE DEVILS
Be careful though, because dice can always get back at you. From hiding when you need it the most, to falling down tables in futile attempts to run away... dice can be pretty vicious too when angered. (Take for instance my friend Awie, who once stepped on a four-sided die* three times in one evening. And the best part, we were playing Vampire: The Dark Ages which uses ONLY ten-sided dice.)
Never underestimate the power of a twenty-sided die that also decides to suddenly turn into a six-sided die for a whole evening of gaming. No one was spared. No one got a roll higher than six for three hours with that one.
 |
| by Dave Morrow |
Monday, October 17, 2011
The Breeders of Yore : d20
The Breeders of Yore
d20
I met up after work with Wyhan to journey all the way to Malate and host a d20 game for them. After warning them of my preferrence for rules-lite games, I ran them a story which began with interesting start-up stories on how their characters began and lead it to an encounter with some female elves that were desperate to continue their dying out line.
After escaping their "jewel" grabbing clutches, the party arrives at a halfling town and there forms a party with the daughter of the elven queen and a halfling priest whom they had rescued. Their crazy antics lead to their accidentally slaying a kobold Paladin who had been used as a distraction by an evil shapechanging elven sorceror, the father of the elven warrior, and finally, a trapped encounter with the elves returning to see thier sorceror-king dead.
Confusing? A tad. But it would make more sense if you ask the players.
All I am doing is marking down the fact this game happened.
Then again, they DID ask me to run an adult d20 game. So that's what I did. Maybe I should have clarified with them that "adult" is different from "mature" but somehow I cannot help but suspect adult was truly what they had wanted me to throw at them.
(Correction on the image, by the way: It was Wyhan, not Wynhan)
On hindsight, if I had more time to prep, I probably would have had them infiltrate a porn studio run by Beholders. Now THAT would have been an awesome "I-can-never-unsee-that-image" thing to have thrown at them.
Desperate Heroes : d20
Desperate Heroes
d20
We gathered at the Game Room to play a one-shot d20 game which I told my players was heavily inspired by Lord of the Ring's Helm's Deep situation and Dragonlance. But what I didn't tell them was that I was prepping two major twists in the plot: the first being that the enemy had actually already taken over quite some time ago, and the second being the way the heroes have been viewing non-humans... yes, I touched on racism in a role-playing game like d20.
This was Desperate Heroes.
The game was a blast with players begin forced to try different tactics as they faced off against the hordes of non-humans that were DEFENDING what they have long believed to already be their own home.
Admittedly, some times I find myself missing the tactical component that d20 games offers. And the fact that killing a character honestly feels less... game-breaking compared to how it feels when you lose one in a storyteller game.
Having finished in the wee hours of the morning, we decided have a session of Uno Stacko (whose pieces we had lovingly used to map out our game). It was a nice fun way to cap the game weekend.
Makes me wonder how those gamers are now. Been a while since I've seen them.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The Company II : d20
The Company is a series of self-contained games following the tradition of Squaresoft's Final Fantasy series. Each game would have its own distinct goals and set of characters, but familiar names, terminology or places would be reintroduced in, at times, radically new ways. The name of an ally in the first Company game might happen to be the name of the biggest enemy in Company II.
Do not be confused though; each Company game is a self-contained world. A storyline set in Company 1 will NOT cross-over to Company 2. Nor is Company 2 to be seen as the future (or past, for that matter) of Company 1. Many similar terms, creatures or concepts may still be used, however, in every iteration of the game.
The Company uses the d20 Dungeons and Dragons system of Wizards of the Coast.
Evidently, each version of The Company has its own theme and flavor.
Before 2009
The Company II
d20
d20
The world of Gehares is a world of magic, science and hope.
Its three Great Kingdoms are at war.
The Company I : d20
The Company is a series of self-contained games following the tradition of Squaresoft's Final Fantasy series. Each game would have its own distinct goals and set of characters, but familiar names, terminology or places would be reintroduced in, at times, radically new ways. The name of an ally in the first Company game might happen to be the name of the biggest enemy in Company II.
Do not be confused though; each Company game is a self-contained world. A storyline set in Company 1 will NOT cross-over to Company 2. Nor is Company 2 to be seen as the future (or past, for that matter) of Company 1. Many similar terms, creatures or concepts may still be used, however, in every iteration of the game.
The Company uses the d20 Dungeons and Dragons system of Wizards of the Coast.
Evidently, each version of The Company has its own theme and flavor.
Before 2009
The Company
d20
d20
Touched on the effects of war on a world struggling to know the truth. Magic was rare. Healing was accomplished only through mundane means (skills or natural recovery). There were no magical spells or items that can help in recuperation, making the threat of war far more dangerous.
For many generations, the world of Gehares was at war.
After millions of deaths and mislead heroic exploits, only two of the once many kingdoms of the land still remained standing: Throndur Kingdom where the noble and the mercantile citizens had more clout than the typical citizen. And Sigurdwhere one's place in society was predetermined by genetic purity, and neither wealth nor skill warranted one's increase in the ranks.
In a world where the Gods have long been forgotten, and the lore of magic has degenerated to merely arts that cause destruction and pain, the brave and courageous soldiers of both Kingdoms clash in battlefields sown in the bodies of their brethren, knowing full well that a single wound can lead to death due to infection and bleeding.
A company of soldiers find among them a wayward battlemaiden whose loss of memories and yet innate recall of skills might prove vital in thier hopes of ending the centuries long senseless war.
See all the recovered chronicle information here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
