The Importance of Character Development

The Importance of Character Development

  May 14, 2020    Nayla Brunnbauer

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The Importance of Character Development

“Your dagger clangs against the bandit's sword. You both struggle to push each other’s blade out of the way at the same time trying to keep the other person at bay. Your eyes lock with his, Rogue. The color of honey gold glints back at you. A shiver runs down your spine as they smile and lick their teeth. As their lips spread, the dull light from the street lamp catches on a small scar that hooks up from their top lip.”

The DM watches as the eyes of the player of the rogue widen in sudden realization. They take in a sharp breath, holding for silence as their DM finishes.

“This particular scar you’ve seen before. It’s one no one else could ever recreate since— yes, there it is— the permanent split of the lip which never fully healed. It’s him, you know it. In the midst of your thinking, your blade is twisted from your grasp. With a ruff kick, you’re pushed to the ground and the bandit towers over you; blade pointed at your throat.”

“‘Wait’ I scream!” Shouts the player from across the table. “‘Is that you, brother?’”

The DM lips thin into a closed smile, enjoying the sudden reveal. “You watch as the bandit halts, arm raised to strike you. His eyes widened too in sudden recognition. “Can it be? Little- Little sister?’”

These are the moments that fill any Dungeons & Dragons player with pride and joy. When the Dungeon Master incorporates a player's backstory into the campaign it not only creates a deeper love for the story but is a silent way of saying the player does have a say in how the story is told. At first glance, some may argue a campaign is run by the DM only since they are constantly in full control of whatever hell the players are put through. That is far from the truth. A perfect Dungeons & Dragons campaign is created by both the DM AND the players.

The best way to do this is by utilizing character development to deepen a story with the aid of the players. Character development is when a character goes through something challenging that forces them to grow as a person. It’s our equivalent to life events since as we age new experiences change who we are and shape us into the person we’ll become. This skill should greatly be used in any Dungeons & Dragons game. If the character never goes through any tough choices or does but never learns from them, they’ll stay the same person and it’ll heavily dampen the end of the campaign.

An easy way of including character development into any campaign is incorporating the character’s backstories. They are important because it's the one area of the story the players have control over. From their origin story to why they started adventuring, all the way through what screwed them over most in the past. These are all juicy details every DM should pay CLOSE ATTENTION to. They are the clockwork that makes up each character of your main cast.

What’s important to note is this effect can’t fully be pulled off without effort put in by the player. What I mean by this is this: if the play puts in little effort to flesh out their character, an example like saying they were a soldier and had little contact with their parents, the less depth the story will have. This is because the DM has little to go off of. Sure, they could hone in on the strange relationship this character has with their family but that’s about it. Likewise, if the players dig deep and express several vulnerable points of their character the more the DM can do. 

An example could be a human baby being left on a man’s doorstep. As she grew up, he started noticing signs of her being a tiefling. He continued caring for her anyways, but never let her go outside. One day, at the age of eleven she snuck out to play with the village kids. They discovered what she was and went home screaming. The next day the man was arrested and sentenced to death. The tiefling girl ran away and was soon picked up by a group of rangers deep in the woods and raised to her teen years before she decided to travel the world, wanting to find out what happened to her father.

This is perfect because there are so many spots for a DM to pick over and extort. The background also is left with questions or holes. This helps the DM also so they can add their own spin on things. If you make it too rigid then the moment the DM starts laying little clues about what’s to come, they’ll be too obvious and ruin the surprise.

Understand that everyone plays differently. I am a different kind of Dungeon Master or player than you are, but I strongly believe these tips will help strengthen any Dungeons & Dragons story. This game is the art of telling stories with a group of friends to have fun. If these things ever dampen your gameplay then maybe it’s not for you. If there’s one thing I want to be taken away from this is remembering that both the players and the DM are important to the game. One role doesn’t need to dominate the table. Find a healthy rhythm of trading the spotlight between player and DM. You’ll find just how easier the game becomes to play.

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The Art of Improvisation

The Art of Improvisation

  May 10, 2020    Nayla Brunnbauer

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The Art of Improvisation

“Okay, this is stupid. I’m jumping the pit,” raves the fighter, pushing past the group to get settled for a running jump.

There’s suddenly violent coughing as the Dungeon Master sharply sits forward. “You’re going to try and JUMP a twenty-foot pit?!” He made no effort to sugar coat how unlikely he thought they could accomplish it.

“Yes. I’m not walking the edge of a cliff which, to me, screams ambush when I could just leap across with a rope and make an easy path for the party.”

The DM stared at the player in disbelief. He watched as several other players nodded in agreement, saying they didn’t mind the fighter trying. “What— guys, come on. Are you sure you want to do this?”

A collective wave of nods spread around the table much to the DM’s dismay.

With a sigh, head resting in his hands, and the pain of their stupidity weighing heavily on him already the DM wheezed, “O-kay. Roll athletics….”

If you want a great way to torture your Dungeon Master, fit the easiest ways to derail the entire session. The little story above is a perfect example of this. All you DM’s out there know the terror of “oh GOD what are they doing???” when the players suddenly decided to do something completely unexpected. The fear comes because the players have chosen to take a route of the story you didn’t plan for.

You could be thinking about how it is impossible to predict and prepare for every scenario of a situation and you’re right. We’re only human, it’s very unrealistic for us to figure out every answer to a situation you’d be putting your players through. Fortunately, there is a skill every Dungeon Master can learn to combat these surprise encounters. It’s called improvising.

The act of improvising means you play off the other character's action. When a player makes a choice and it’s not the decision you intended them to make, mentally process their move then formulate a plan of how to get the story back on track. Once you have an idea of how to play things out, lead the player’s along like you’ve always done until you’re back to your original storyline.

An easy way to do this is following the role: “yes and”. The “yes and” role means you never say no. By no, I mean you silently agree to the player’s actions by adding on your own response to their choice. This can be hard to understand so I’ll put it into simpler terms using the example above. The player’s decision was when the fighter decided he wanted to leap across the twenty-foot rift. Now, obviously, anyone knows that in real life that would be impossible but in Dungeons & Dragons completing the impossible isn’t unheard of. Of course, any DM would know to pass this certain ability check (that being athletics) the player would have to roll super high; most likely between an eighteen and a twenty. 

Rather than saying “you can’t do that, it’s not possible” to the player, the DM asks, “Are you sure you want to do this?” I believe it’s important to clarify with the players to make sure what they're about to do is a choice they really want to make. Sometimes they’ll say things before thinking it through and if you make it clear this probably isn’t a good idea, it helps them give a deeper thought over what choice they just took. Most of the time, players stick to their decision, believing they can complete the task. If the do, just like the fighter above did, proceed to the next step.

Since the DM wasn’t planning for this to happen, they had to quickly set a certain DC ability check for the player to pass in order for the player to succeed (that’s where the DC 18 ability check comes in.) By doing this step, depending on whatever situation it is, you’d be following the “yes and” role. The DM was following along with the choice the player took, even though it’s not the greatest idea. Rather than immediately shutting them down, he agreed to the decision and played it out in-game.

When a player throws a wrench in your plans things get stressful fast. We all want the story to go one way and when things are suddenly being derailed panic ensues and all we want is for things to go back to what was originally planned. We can’t expect that though. The players will grab the stories wheel sometimes and do a complete one-eighty with several choices they decide to make. That is completely okay and actually deepens the story so much more I think. Whenever this happens remember to breathe, remember where the session is supposed to end, and follow the “yes and” role.

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My Four Tips to Story Building

My Four Tips to Story Building

  April 23, 2020    Nayla Brunnbauer

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Four Tips to Story Building

“Thank you for the tea,” says the barbarian reaching up for a teacup.

“Of course,” replies the blacksmith with a gentle smile. The man moves around the table, passing out more cups to the rest of the party before taking a seat next to the barbarian. “That task I ask you to do must have been challenging since it took all day.”

“Nonsense, sir,” the sorcerer says with a subsequent hand wave. “We handled it just fine. Don’t worry about use.”

The cleric grunts, rushing to finish a sip of tea. “She’s right, it was nothing. It took us longer to find the place compared to actually getting the item.”

“Speaking of which,” the monk begins rummaging in her pack. When her arm is removed she clutches something wrapped in cloth. “Here’s what you asked for.”

She passes it to the blacksmith who snatches it away. “My greatest thanks. With this, my vision can finally come true. You have no clue how much this means to me. I’ll make sure to remember the sacrifice you made for me. I wish you could be there to see the new world,” —several distinct thuds sound as three bodies slam against the table— “but I can’t take any risks by letting you live.”

One of the most important features in Dungeons & Dragons is the art of storytelling. The Dungeon Master’s job is to set up a creative and fun universe for their friends to explore. A good campaign is full of an adventurous atmosphere they can get lost in for hours on end. The game is built mostly on a mindset of “make-believe” because you’re not only playing fictional characters —like elves, dwarves, orcs, et cetera— you’re building a fantasy world piece by piece as each session continues.

For today, I plan to teach DMs and players the four core attributes that I believe to create a good story. These four ideas are types of setting, storylines, creating tension, and character backstories. These four tips will provide you with the necessary foundation to begin crafting a unique world of your own. I’m sure that by the end, your creativity will be flowing and any questions swimming in your head will be taken care of.

1. Type of Setting

Asking questions about the time period, the rarity of certain races or the main setting of the story brings to life your personal goals for the campaign you’ll be running. The setting is important because the scenery of the characters sets the mood for each encounter. If you can have a small idea of the greater picture of your universe, describing small town hillsides or an old dungeon will be easy.

When you start thinking about what the world will look like, keep in mind the things you find most important to the story. For myself, I always have a basic image of what the landscape looks like, I create key locations most important in my story, and I create a basic form of government. This is what I do, however. Find the key things that will make your story interesting. So spots to get you started are: the time period, does magic exist, the variety of races, more cities or villages, and religion.

2. Storylines

Once you have step one completed, use those ideas as a foundation to build the first session. You need to formulate the reason the player’s you’re DMing forgot together. There’s always a reason for people meeting and this shouldn’t be something that’s overlooked in your story. The first encounter the players will have is what solidifies the rest of their adventure together. This can sound intimidating, but by taking a step back it’s not as overwhelming as you think.

Think of these things while planning the group's motives for becoming adventurers: where are they, what brought them here, and who’s their implorer? You should also use this time to plot what crisis the characters will be facing. You can’t have a protagonist if there is no antagonist and because of this, you need to create the villain. It could be a person, a horrific effect from some action, or some weird, suspicious item. The point is, there needs to be a conflict the characters mutually agree on they’ll work together to fix. Once this has been decided, it's up to you how long this choice plot device will last. It could be the plot of one session or it could take up a whole campaign to resolve. That’s your choice as the Dungeon Master.

3. Create Tension

This is my favorite part, creating the dramatic pieces of the story. What these do to the story is to add little surprises for the players as they journey around your world. You’ll want to get creative with these, personalize them for your party specifically. Imagine these moments being one of your many cards. Once you use it, most likely you won’t be able to play this card again. I do find this also being the most tricky thing about Dungeon Mastering because this is the place you must be the most mastered in.

Here is a time I used to create my plot twists: use your players as reference. What I mean becomes familiar with each of the characters' backstories. You’re going to find that each player has different but personal little features their characters will have. You could have a rogue who grew up not knowing their parents, a bard who ran away to the circus, or a cleric who lost their temple to demonic fire. Those are only a few examples, but within each of those backstories are areas you can dig into to make intense encounters that add to the plot. So try it, look at your own party members and see what things you can exploit from their backstories.

4. Character Backstories

If I could stress anything being them most important on this list, it would be this one. Character backstories are the essence of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. While the DM gets to come up with every other feature of their world, it’s the player's job to set up their character in the world. To me, it’s observed for the Dungeon Master to take on this responsibility because the game is for both them AND the players. That’s why I strongly encourage every player out there to dig deep into their character. Figure out why the tick, what makes them emotional, why did they take up adventuring in the first place?

When this feature gets applied to the universe, it completely changes the story. Not in a bad way, but in a wonderful and beautiful way. The story suddenly becomes something personal shared between everyone sitting at the table. It makes the characters more unique and special to whoever's playing them. Another thing this does is set the Dungeon Master up to create unique, intense moments that I described above. If this step is ignored, not followed, or altered so the DM does most of the work, this atmosphere of friendship is really hard to achieve. That’s why Dungeon Masters, encourage your players to get creative. If you do this, what your story turns from an idea into pure reality.

These tips are what I suggest and won’t be for everyone. Don’t linger long, worrying about how you can incorporate these ideas into your campaign. If you feel there won’t help or improve your story then that is perfectly okay. Dungeons & Dragons is a unique game in that you can make it what you want. Taking risks and trying something new is what makes the game fun. Trust your inner creativity and yourself to make an awesome world your players will enjoy exploring. I hope these tips were helpful and happy adventuring!

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Dice to Get You Started

Dice to Get You Started

  April 13, 2020    Nayla Brunnbauer

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Dice to Get You Started

“With an eerie creak of the large wooden doors, you step foot into an enormous chamber,” the Dungeon Master describes. He leans back in his chair and surveys the worried expressions of each player. As the DM creates the characters' surroundings and tension builds, the excitement in the players rises. This was it! All their hard work over the last year all led up to this moment.

“You look around but find the space empty,” the DM finishes. That’s when he points a thin finger across the table. “Rogue, roll a dexterity saving throw,” he instructs before looking at the rest of the group. A devilish smile slips across his face and a knot forms in each player's stomach. “And you three, make a constitution saving throw.”

Whether it be an ability check, saving throw, or simply crafting a character, you can’t play Dungeons and Dragons without dice. This tool is one of the most important key items in the game. To play, there are seven different dice needed: a four-sided, six-sided, eight-sided, ten-sided, twelve-sided, twenty-sided, and hundred-sided. With all these different sided dice, a diverse amount of outcomes result and add to the excitement of the game.

Once you’ve made the choice to begin playing and all the rules have been read, the next step is to pick out a set of dice. Being a beginner in Dungeons and Dragons is hard because so much is being thrown at you at once. The least of your problems should be picking out the right set of dice. There are many different materials dice that can be made out of which appeal to different people. It all depends on what you're looking for. 

Today, I will cover and break down three of those different materials. I’ll explain each material’s advantages, the dysfunctions they have, and provide an estimated cost of one full set.

1. Plastic Dice

For most beginners, plastic dice is the most common type bought to play with. This is because it's more accessible and cheapest in cost. Plastic dice can come in arrays of different colors. From the basic colors of the rainbow to different shades of a specific color. Some even come clear and are made with items inside: clay animals, flowers, glitter, etc. Even though we all wish to own a set of nice metal or fancy stone dice right away, owning plastic dice is never a disappointment. In their own way, they’re quite beautiful. 

An issue with these dice can be getting an unfair dice set. This is when half of a dice is heavier than the other, causing certain numbers to be rolled more often than it should. This makes what’s called weighted dice. While you’d think this problem is used to make weighted dice to roll higher numbers, the truth is, more often than not, professionals make these dice to roll lower numbers. In Dungeons and Dragons, this is no fun because now your character is failing their checks more than they should. Dice makers do this not to sabotage your gameplay, but to lure you into buying more dice. Eventually, we all become dice hoarders, but it shouldn’t be in this way. That’s why avoid plastic dice made with two halves of a different color.

The average cost for a good plastic set of dice is $8.34 in most stores. The pricing mostly depends on how they are made, so they can be more or less expensive than that base price.

2. Metal Dice

Whether we like to admit it, every player covets that one set of metal dice from afar. They scavenge money together for the day they can finally buy the set for themself. That’s why one of the highest achievements of any D&D player is getting that first metal dice set. They make great dice because of their strong material which is much durable and lasts longer than plastic dice. For obvious reasons, these dice usually aren’t clear, solid metal to the core. What’s most appealing about them is their beautiful paint jobs and the special ways their metal has been cut. 

A repercussion of this type of dice is its weight. Unlike plastic dice, it is very difficult to weigh them to the point they roll unfairly. The real problem is how heavy they are in weight. When rolled, they can do lots of damage to wooden surfaces like tables. That’s why many players get something called a dice box. It’s a small wooden box made to contain dice so they don’t scatter while being rolled and can take the damage heavier dice may do. If it’s unrealistic for you to get a box for yourself, rolling these dice on a folder or player's handbook works too.

The average cost of one set of metal dice is around $19.95. Just like the plastic dice, this estimated cost can vary depending on the manufacturing process of each set.

3. Gemstone Dice

The next step up from the metal would be stone dice or, more accurately, gemstone dice. These don’t need much explanation of why they're so unique. Whether they're made of stunning amethyst, striking tigers eye or luscious lapaz each set of stone dice are special in their own way. What’s great about them is how there are never two sets alike. Professionals cut the gems and hand paint the engraved numbers on each side of the dice. In shape and material, these dice are similar to sets made of metal or plastic. Depending on the stone, the dice can be see-through and like the metal dice, you’ll need a safe place to roll them so furniture isn’t damaged. 

The disadvantage of this material is how expensive it can be. This shouldn’t be much of a shock since many of these gems and crystals are used to make expensive jewelry, usually, with around ninety percent less stone than one dice in the set is made with. That’s why it’s probably smart to get a cheaper set of plastic dice before one of these. I know some may say they could look on amazon and buy a set for real cheap, and you can. However, make sure to read the provided description first because it would be no fun to get a fake gem-set rather than the real thing.

Speaking of cost, one set is normally around $57.14. As mentioned already, this number can rise or fall depending on what gemstone it’s made of or the effort put into the production of each set.

Something that applies to all these different dice sets is doing your research. Every set is different in its own way. That's why it's important to be knowledgeable of what you are investing in. Dice can be bought in comic book stores, off of amazon, or crafted at home but no matter what, always look for good reviews. Make sure what you see in pictures is what you will be getting. Whether it be materials for homemade dice or professionally crafted dice sets. Keep in mind nothing’s ever perfect, flaws will be present in them. However, if there are major things that will affect what you're getting, it’s better to be aware of them now rather than later. 

To conclude, picking the right dice set is important. By covering three possible options I hope any stress about picking out your first dice set has been taken care of. Now you can begin your journey to selecting those perfect dice and take one step closer to gaining the achievement of “Dice Goblin”.

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