Dungeon Master: Ceremonial Swords

It's easy to start to get fascinated with weapons such as swords. However, not all swords have to be magic to be special. On that thought, I will list a few ceremonial, mundane swords that could be used in different games to add flavour to various regions. Take as little or as much as you want. These types aren't completely separate as well, so feel free to combine elements (fancy pommel on a utilitarian sword, etc.)

Really Fancy Sword

Description

This kind of sword is as exquisite as they can be. Everything from scabbard (it is uncommon for such a sword to be kept in a sheath) to the sword itself is usually decorated with engraving and on the upper end of the quality spectrum, gold. Still, practicality is considered in the making of such swords (high quality materials are usually used, though counterfeit are known to exist and lower quality weapons often used by lower nobles) and as such they can still be used in combat if needed. However, the decorations can be scratched or chipped when used in the way a sword normally would be.

In the World

“One's possessions reflect on their owner.”

In a culture where such swords are present, they are a way of showing off wealth and success. For this reason, it is considered important to fix the damage that occurs from use. While it isn't uncommon to see such swords with damage, it reflects on the owner. While having a sword of this quality, even when damaged, puts the owner above normal people, being seen with a damaged sword tends to give the impression of the lowest rank of noblemen (though damage to some parts can easily be hidden).

Utilitarian Swords

Description

While the overall design of these weapons is simple, every part of their construction is meant to be used in combat. The overall quality of these weapons ranges, but on the upper end of the spectrum the quality is as good as any other, if not better. Since no consideration is given to appearance, these weapons have no weaknesses or extra weight created by cosmetic work.

In the World

“A weapon is meant to be used.”

Weapons of this type are worn by those who actually use them in. For this reason, if a sword is seen at the side of a noble, it is almost a given that they know how to use it (exceptions occur with young nobles from army backgrounds). It is also not uncommon for people to wear the under-padding from their armour as clothing. However, like the sword, the under-padding is expected to be exactly as used in battle. The beauty in these items is their simplicity and effectiveness and any addition purely for cosmetic reasons is seen as ruining the weapon.

Decorative Sword

Description

There are places where having a real weapon is frowned upon, but where the association with the sword may be desired. In such cases, other items such as pins can be used to suggest the background of the individual. If, however, the image of the sword wielding noble is needed, a purely decorative sword is acceptable in some places. These kinds of swords can range from simple pieces meant to signify that the owner knows how to employ weapons of war to elaborately adorned pieces. They are artistic pieces that look like a sword in its scabbard or sheath, but are incapable of actually being used as a sword since they are a single piece.

In the World

“There is a place for weapons, but my home is not it.”

Swords of this type are often seen in cultures where having a weapon outside of war is seen as aggressive and bringing a weapon into the home of another is a great insult. Such swords would be checked at the door. Though they lack a cutting edge or thrusting point, they are still heavy enough to cause blunt damage when swung, similar to a mace. Since it is meant as a decoration, using such a thing as a weapon is generally not a consideration in the construction and as such damage is possible. Stories regarding nobles who lose their tempers and start fighting with these blunt swords are quite famous but doing so is considered to be the lowest of actions. A few stories do talk about such an action favourably, but in such a case the person who was hit with the decorative sword was extremely hated.  

Dungeon Master: 5 Uncommonly Used Game Elements

Usually, I talk about some of the solutions I have for certain tabletop role-playing game issues or general concepts. This time, I will instead talk about elements I haven't seen used very much over the time I've played. Some of these could be overlooked for good reason, but I still want to list them for the purposes of discussion. In general, they will tend to be big things I feel should be used more often.

Languages

It's common to select different languages based on an assortment of conditions (feats, intelligence, etc.). However, I haven't really seen this amount to much in practice. Properly using language as a cultural barrier in foreign lands can create a unique experience as well as make learning new languages through mechanics a viable option, instead of being mere fluff.

Food/Rations

I haven't played very many games where rations and food play a major factor. I've played a few, and remember them fondly, but in general it seems to be work for no real gain in most games. As a quick aside, it is easy enough to abstract that stuff away by having players say where they wish to go and have the costs paid as they leave the town/city.

Owning Property/Businesses

In D&D 5^th edition, we have a set of rules for property and businesses in the Dungeon Master's Guide. In my opinion, the math tends to work out in such a way that it isn't that attractive as an option. When they do play a role, I have noticed that they don't really contribute to the story (excluding the times where players are close enough to their property to be able to go there during their down time). However, if we are dealing with earth shattering events, player owned keeps and businesses can and arguably should play major roles in the story. If their business or property is doing well, it can overlap with the “Reputation” section below.

Reputation

It could be the kinds of games I played, but in general the impression the players make on other characters is overlooked. I don't mean just on major characters, but for simple people who might have heard the stories. I say this since I remember a story of one adventure we did as a group being so distorted that it took us multiple sessions just to realize that they were talking about something we did as the party. To really consider this element, even things such as items and clothing need to be considered, since they can also carry their own reputation. Once again, for some kinds of games, this could just drag the game to a halt. For political intrigue games, I would probably say this kind of thing should play a major role. In general, seeing the effects on the world, even if it is extremely small such as a character remembering a favour or slight, should be present in a game to make the world come to life. Even if the characters aren't important enough to make big changes, things should still be happening that will affect them in some way. It could be fluff or minor, but having the world change instead of remaining static can be a good thing.

Longish Term Injuries and Consequences

Let me clear, by longish I mean multiple sessions. It can be cured 2 sessions later in a temple, but for my purposes, that is still long term. Usually, injuries don't that have other effects than lower health points until you rest or heal. However, even if it is temporary, long term injuries and other consequences, when done fairly, can add immensely to the overall tone of the game (this will once again depend on the tone you are trying to create as a Dungeon Master). It could just be the kinds of games I ended up playing in, but often times the general

Conclusion

Those are the first 5 that came to my head. If there is something that you felt reading this that should have been mentioned or I should have left off, feel free to say so. This is also true if you feel there is a good reason those elements aren't being used more often. I merely wanted to get some more attention on these topics and have people consider these elements.

Dungeon Master: In-Game Weather

Typically, in the games I have played in, weather does not have a meaningful role besides adding to the atmosphere (despite D&D 5^th edition, the newest edition at the time I am writing this, having a fatigue system). Sometimes, weather is completely left out and not even mentioned over the course of the entire campaign. As I result I thought it fit to go over some general strategies to let weather play a bigger role. As usual, this piece applies to all tabletop role-playing games but will have an emphasis on D&D 5^th edition.

When to Use It

Unless the campaign is set somewhere that would make the weather a constant factor, making it have a mechanical effect should be used sparingly. There is going to be certain types of campaigns were it will need to play a major role at almost every turn (a campaign in the desert or on a ship). For the majority of them, however, the weather will mostly create atmosphere. In these kinds of cases one or two lines describing the weather and how it affects players would be enough (interlacing this with character actions also makes it feel more thematic). I would also say that weather should only be described when the weather changes, when it directly affects an action they are taking, or when players ask. Having the weather change, villagers comment on it and the occasional extreme helps flesh out regions and in campaigns were there is a lot of travelling, helps give each area an identity.

When to Use a Fatigue System

Naturally, if the weather somehow makes the characters hungrier, thirstier or more tired more quickly and the rule system already has a fatigue system (D&D 5^th edition, I'm looking at you), it is straight forward to apply that same system. If it doesn't you'll have to make one up, applying penalties you think are fair. It is also worth noting if the effects can be lessened or ignored by travelling slower and more carefully (either giving advantage to the check, ignoring the check all together, or rolling checks less often).

When Not to Use a Fatigue System

I generally say that if the effects of the weather go away when characters step indoors, then the fatigue system shouldn't be used. This gives the Dungeon Master more freedom to have effects for strange and possibly magical weather (for those times you find yourself on an alternate plane of existence). Most of the time, the major effects will be penalties to perception checks to see people in the distance and perception checks for detecting creatures for the purposes of determining surprise (in this case, I would suggest to use the concealment system currently in D&D). However, the weather could add additional penalties or bonuses. The weather and type of terrain will also determine how far away you would have to be for concealment to apply (open plains and a very clear day would allow for very long distances). An example of a bonus would be a particularly good day for sailing may increase the speed a ship moves.

Conclusion

Though this is shorter than my usual pieces, I hope it got people thinking about weather as an element of a campaign or session. In the case of areas with mild weather, I feel using such elements can really add to a game and help build the world. In campaigns built around extreme environments, I feel it can make a game memorable. If there are particularly good examples of weather being used in your games, I would love to hear them.  

Dungeon Master: Describing In-Game Items

Typically, descriptions of items, weapons and armor are kept short. In this way, D&D 5^th edition is no exception (the lists themselves are quite short for this edition). This, however, can be a good thing as it allows a wide variety of different descriptions for armor that has the same AC. I will cover a few different methods of describing such items ranging from strict to very loose. For discussion purposes, I will just go over both (I have used them both in the past, depending on the type of game at play). As usual, it should also apply to tabletop role-playing games other than D&D, but D&D will be the only one I explicitly mention. To display my points, I will focus on armor (since armors have stats) but they can be applied to any other kind of item.

Descriptions As They Are

I have to be honest, I typically am not really a fan of the different armors as traditionally described in game. The gold costs and AC values tend to be fine, but the actual armor appearance and name can sometimes turn into an argument (I say this as someone who has spent too much time listening to why studded leather armor is historically dumb). For this reason, I am generally in favour of describing the armors however is needed for the game being played.

Strict Approach

If the descriptions are extremely strict, the variations in the descriptions will be extremely tiny. Plate armor is plate armor, and that is all. For in world consistency, this system means the players can easily identify a rough AC for NPC's simply from their description. However, it also can make it difficult for some character concepts. If you have a fighter who is meant to look like a Templar wearing chain mail, but for combat reasons wants to wear plate, it can create a situation where the role-playing and character appearance directly conflict with the best choice for combat. For some weapons not directly covered in the rules, it can be difficult to find the closest analog for them.

Pros

• The world is internally consistent. Plate is always better than chain mail, meaning players can identify better equipped troops.
• There is no “inferior” quality chain mail.

Cons

• Players are restricted in how they can describe their character based on the armor they bought.

Very Loose Approach

The basis of this approach is that if you pay the required gold amount in the table, you can describe the armor however you want. There can be added restrictions, such as heavy armor must be made from mainly metal, but they are not required. The advantage of this kind of method is that players can look however they want and still be as effective as someone who used by the book descriptions. However, as a result, it can make it difficult to identify the AC of an NPC. It also places magic items into a weird position, since a +2 set of chain mail is now the same as a set that was bought using the price of plate (making it not as rare).

Pros

• Players are free to describe their appearance however they wish. The protection is always determined by how much they paid.
• Not every set of mundane chain mail will be of the same quality now, possibly adding to the immersion (minimum stat levels may be required).

Cons

• Internal consistency of the world is sacrificed, as it is now possible to have chain mail as good as plate armor.
• Differences in quality of the same armor type would need to be described to players instead of just the armor type (this means the description will be longer, taking up more time for play). These descriptions can be held back until the players ask for them, in order to save time.

Identically Stated Armor

If your player has a particular type of armor they want to use that is not in the list by default (maybe metal lamellar over chain mail), regardless of the approach, an analog will need to be found in the list. As a result, it isn't really making a new type of armor as re-skinning an old one.

Conclusion

I hope the above discussion at least got people thinking about these differences. Like everything in a tabletop role-playing game, the best choice will depend on the group. In general, I haven't seen the loose approach used very often, but I have had many games I enjoyed with it and wanted to mention it.  

Dungeon Master: Large Scale Battles

Somehow, in some way, large scale battles have a way of sneaking themselves into campaigns. Maybe the battle is just a backdrop for the events the party takes part in. Maybe winning the battle is actually the main goal of the adventure. Regardless, one way or another, they have a way of arising in my games. I hope to devote a little bit of time to talk about the different ways that they do and my humble opinion on how to handle them. As usual, this will have a slight focus to D&D, but it can apply to any tabletop role-playing game system.

Battles as Backdrops

I've already mentioned this in my introduction, but battles make good backdrops. In such a case, the party themselves probably won't be able to have much influence over the battle directly. They won't be commanding. They won't be managing. At best, maybe they will be merely trying to access a dungeon while by pure chance, a battle is occurring close by. Obviously, in this case, there won't be any large scale battle rules in this case, though special tables to decide if a scout is close by may be needed. The important part is that the players don't have much influence over the battle at all. The flow of events that make up the battle are fixed, but the players have their own little story that is running at the same time.

Players as Key Players

It is also possible that the players will be taking part in the battle as soldiers who will have an influence on the battle. They could be part of an attempt on a generals life. The players' influence won't be at the level of a commander, but their actions will affect the course of events. If they manage to hold when everyone else on their line routes, they may find themselves surrounded. The key here is that the characters have influence over the course of events in the battle (which means that multiple different courses of events are possible and have to be written in advance), but their influence isn't at the level of a commander. If the battle was a backdrop, the battle would always unfold the same way. Here, the players influence how the skirmish goes and perhaps even influence what objectives are accomplished, which may play a role down the line. They, however, have no influence over how the fighting goes for the flanking force, for example.

In such a case, there are no extra rules being applied to the game (the effect that the players' actions will have on the larger battle will need to be considered, however). The players will be fighting as normal (maybe with some low level soldiers to help buff out their ranks, allowing you to put more enemy soldiers) and talking to commanding NPC's as normal (trying to convince them against something foolish, or to let them go about their business if captured if they have no alignment with the other side, etc.).

Players as Commanders

This is when the players have full reign over the events of the battle. This is where tons of new rules are needed to decide the flow of battle, since the players decide on the strategies.

Pre-made Combat Rules

You have a favourite system for large scale battles? Great, that was easy. Just use it the same way. I do this quite often myself. This will most likely come from a tabletop war game or from an older version of D&D, if you are playing D&D. This is also probably the easiest way to find a good, deep system that will keep players' attention (it is possible to make a brand new system but more effort is required).

Making Your Own System

For me, there are a few things I like to look for in a large scale battle system. Having the player characters having noticeable affects such as bonuses is usually a big plus (though if players are used to war gaming, this may not be needed). There also needs to be a way to determine how many forces from the other side get wounded and or killed. I will provide an extremely simple system below to use as a starting point.

Simple Large Scale Battle System

1. Decide on prices for troops (good basis for D&D 5^th edition would be the skilled and unskilled labourers).
2. Decide on a dice for each type of troops (d4 to d20). Decide on movement speed to be used on a map (could be squares, grids, hex, inches, centimetres, etc.). Decide on a type of round system (the usual D&D system with movement and attack as a turn or is it a two part turn system. The first turn is moving the troops and the second is when both sides attack at the same time). This should be done as part of the adventure setup. Note: Not all dice may be used. 
3. Based on tactical advantages, a troop can move up a dice type. Multiple advantages stack until the dice reaches a d20. Alternatively, used advantage like D&D 5^th edition and just roll twice (in this case, no stacking).
4. For every bunch of 20 of the same troop, roll their troop dice. This determines how many of the enemy group that was in contact was wounded and or killed. If a group is less than 15 but more than 10, divide the roll by 2 (rounding down). If less than 10 and more than 5, divide by 3 (rounding down). If less than 5, divide by 4 (rounding down). For bigger battles, assign multipliers as needed to speed up play or use electronic tools. In the table below, I also give alternate multipliers.
   

   Number of Troops	Multiplier to Dice
   More than 15	1
   Less than 15 but more than 10	1/2 (3/4)
   Less than 10 but more than 5	1/3 (1/2)
   Less than 5 but more than 0	1/4

5. Resolve the wounded for both attacker and defender at once. This means both sides roll at the same time and then casualties are counted. If using the D&D style turn, movement after an attack is stopped until your next turn (this takes away some of the advantage of having the first turn). 
6. Go until a side dies, retreats or a condition is met. If the defender retreats, the attacker gains the location. If the attacker retreats, the defender keeps the location. 

Problem: Above rules mean at least one person will always be wounded or killed. If a one is rolled, roll a dice and if it's in the bottom half, no one was hurt and if it's in the top half, one person was hurt.

Problem 2: Above rules don't distinguish between wounded or dead. To fix this, round the number wounded or killed down to the nearest dice (d4 minimum). Roll the dice (if it is more than rolled previously, just use the same number as originally rolled). That is how many were killed. Alternatively, pairs of dice up to d10's can be used (one for wounding, one for killing).

Note: Technically, the above can be run as a free form system where both sides can act at the same time. In this case, the one reacting gets to decide actions unless they relinquish their right or the other side reacts in response. When all movement and attacks are used up or both sides have no actions left they wish to use but still wish to continue the fight, a new turn begins. The Dungeon Master can decide that the attacker failed at any time (to prevent simply standing in the same place), leaving all troops in the same position. 

Morale Rules

As part of determining events of a backdrop battle, or retreating of an enemy skirmish group when players are soldiers, or routing of entire sections of army, morale rules can be used. If you already have a favourite system for large scale battles but it lacks a morale system, great, you can use this one.

The rules I would use in such a situation would probably be the exact same as my other morale article, but instead a much larger group will end up routing. As the Dungeon Master, it will need to be decided if the entire group routes or only a portion. For portions, a d100 with modifiers can easily give us the percent routed after a success. If it is higher than a certain level, the entire group will route. To determine success or failure, look at the morale article.

Conclusion

I hope the above discussion and notes at least got the creative juices flowing. In general, having to have players command a battle does not come up often in my games, but when it does having a system in place really adds to the fun (though they also love war games). Even if that isn't the case, battles come up as backdrops or parts of the adventure and in such cases, I hope the above discussion helped. If there is a system you like to use, feel free to note it below.  

Dungeon Master: Low Value Item Lists

When I look at the item tables for D&D, I notice that there really aren't many items that are worth less than a gold coin. However, we know that in context (the lifestyle tables in particular), a gold coin is a significant amount of money. Over the course of this piece, I will be going over ways to add miscellaneous items not in the table that would help give silver and copper coins some use. Some of these may only pertain to Dungeons & Dragons 5^th edition, but most of them should be more universal.

Trinkets

In Dungeons & Dragons 5^th edition, there is the trinkets table that can be used for extra items. The issue is that some of the items are extremely strange and it would make sense that not every shop would have all of them. For this reason I tend to roll a couple of time for some obscure items the shop might have after using the items to construct a table (this table will vary based on campaign).

Souvenirs/Special Items

Depending on the location or region in a campaign, it would make sense for them to have certain goods that other areas might not. This can be something as simple as renaming the ales or slightly changing the prices for the same product in a region (importing costs). Depending on the characters that make up the party (maybe you have a party member who collects eating utensils from all the regions they visit) you may need to come up with specific items just for the party.

Impromptu Items

Sometimes you may have to think of the price for a mundane and cheap item on the spot. When it is something not covered in the usual table and not a weapon, the only real consideration needed is to decide on the price. Either a logical one can be decided on the spot (a fork of that quality would cost 3 silver), or rolling can be used to determine prices. Since the items I'm talking about here are rather cheap (a few silver or copper), using a quick roll to determine prices is an option as the players won't feel the variation too much (prices may reasonably shift with demand as well). The steps to do so would be:

1. Player asks for a miscellaneous item.
2. Choose a coin type (silver or copper usually for the kinds of items I'm talking about here, but it can be used for some more expensive items requiring gold or platinum as well) based on the item.
3. Choose a die type (I usually use a d4-d10, though a d12 or d100 could be used as well) based on the item. Optionally, you can choose to use just multiples of d4's instead (for less randomness).
4. Roll and calculate.

Of course, other ways can be used as well but the above is what I usually use as a guideline. The advantage of this is you don't have to worry about miscellaneous item tables for stores, since the players will ask for something in particular. If you feel inclined, you can make a note and use the same prices for the same items later (often a good idea for more expensive items, even if you add or subtract a couple of silver later) or re-roll prices (chalking up the difference to the economy).

Conclusion

I hope the above helps make copper and silver coins more useful in games. Since they are such small denominations (usually players deal with gold coins), these kinds of small items can be a great way to add specific characteristics to a character (a special pin, for example). The small price also helps encourage players to buy unique items, since they cost so little. In general, the system can also be expanded for more expensive items, but I felt it necessary to specificity address silver and copper coins.  

Dungeon Master: Battle Map vs Theatre of Mind

Well, since D&D 5^th edition allows both theatre of mind and battle map based combat right out of the book, I thought it was about time that I talked about the strengths and weaknesses of the two approaches. I will assume the game is being done in person, as virtual tabletops can take away quite a few of the setup disadvantages of battle maps. I personally employ both in my games, and will also talk about how you can combine the two methods. This piece is aimed for newer Dungeon Masters, but I hope the more experienced ones can participate in the conversation.

Theatre of Mind

Theatre of mind means the Dungeon Master will be describing everything. When run by a great story teller, this can be an absolutely wonderful experience and since it requires no physical materials, it is extremely versatile and light weight.

Advantages

• It's extremely versatile.
• It requires no physical resources, meaning it is highly portable and has very little setup overhead.
• It flows naturally from the rest of the game.
• Can easily be done online through VOIP programs.

Disadvantages

• When dealing with complex situations (lots of players or monsters, 3 dimensional environments, etc.), positioning is easy to lose track of.
• Amount of choice given to player can seem less (since they don't have very precise control over movement).
• It can be difficult for players to know how far they can actually move in a turn, causing lost time when the Dungeon Master corrects them, and the player reconsiders their turn.

Solutions

• Whiteboards sketches or paper sketches to set the scene can help with positioning (at this point, it may be not much more effort to just use battle maps).

Battle Map

For the purpose of this article, this involves using a ruler and miniatures. Using battle maps means the Dungeon Master will have the battle setup with miniatures and maps, clearly showing the situation. They can also be used to describe a scene where there is no fighting, but the physical representation makes the layout far less confusing for players choosing which way to go.

Advantages

• Positions are shown for players, so they know exactly where they are.
• Seeing the scale of their characters compared to something can really fill them with a sense of dread or make them feel confident.
• Exact positions are seen, so complex tactics can be employed quite easily.
• Easily translates to virtual tabletops, allowing new features (such as field of view, showing only details the characters can see).

Disadvantages

• Physical resources are needed for the map and miniatures (depending on the budget and fidelity, it can range from printed maps and coins to plastic 3d tiles and painted miniatures).
• Setting up the map and positioning takes time away from play if you pause to do so.
• Finding/replicating or creating maps takes more effort from the Dungeon Master.
• If the chunks of the map are present on the table at once, meta-gaming is made possible (player can see the dead end up ahead). If you instead only show maps once the players enter line of sight, we are back to the issue of taking time to set everything up.

Solutions

• Putting together the maps ahead of time can save time during play (this is more easily done with paper tiles, as major chunks can be filed away and quickly brought out and connected). When using paper tiles, the Dungeon Master can prepare pieces in advance (while waiting for perception rolls, etc.).
• The location can be described (using the theatre of mind technique) to set the scene and describe details that cannot be represented by a battle map (room smell, for example) while the Dungeon Master sets up the battle map or adds tiles to it. Note: This is true when players enter a new room and are ambushed or attacked.
• If combat cannot be avoided or if your players initiated combat themselves, the time while everyone is rolling initiative can be used to set up the battle map. Note: Only saves time if you already rolled initiative for creatures in advance.

Using Both Together Without Virtual TableTops

For me, the dead time while setting up maps is an important detail to handle. Practice in setting up the battle map can become a factor, as it can minimize dead time. The actual act of laying the tiles down isn't the hard part, it's getting the right tile to the right spot so preparation (knowing which tiles go where to form the battle map) can make a huge difference in keeping the game rolling. I've found that players tend to like to look at the battle map when it has interesting features, and seeing it being put together isn't as damaging as it may seem. If done reasonably quickly, they see the details as they come up and get to see details you may have had described, making it more real.

Sometimes, one method cannot or should not be used. If your players just saw a single guard and are trying to kill him before he can react, setting up the battle map could be overkill (especially if you can't bring it onto the table in one piece). If he succeeds in raising an alarm, more will come and at that point the battle map could be very handy (handling 10 guards vs 5 player characters using complex tactics can be a real headache). Finding this balance is tough. However, if you are putting your battle map onto the table in a reasonable time, the players probably won't care (depending on players, they may appreciate the visual aids).

Using a Virtual TableTop

Using technology to assist can be a great help. In particular, if you can't get people to a table a virtual tabletop can become an incredible tool. Personally, I found my players prefer having real physical objects in front of them to a flat screen, even with the delays that come with the setup of physical objects. The line of sight feature is nice, but you can also build the map as players move using tiles (when doing so, having the right pieces ready to go cuts down on time).

Conclusion

Enhancing games through visual aids is a common way to help make games more enjoyable, and using tiles is the most basic of these strategies. Still, if used incorrectly (taking too long to set up, at the wrong time, etc.), it can be less effective than the good old theatre of mind. I hope this discussion was thought provoking or helpful. If there is something you feel needs attention or any other reason, feel free to comment.