Got an awesome map? How about a secret message you want to pass on to the party? Tired of scribbling something on a piece of scratch paper right after somebody says “I loot the bodies”?

Maybe you just would like to jazz up your pre-printed handouts.

Here are a few ideas.

Try changing your fonts. There are literally hundreds of awesome fonts out there that you can get for free. DaFont is among the best. Fonts range from hand-writing imitations to Old-English style print.

If you aren’t going to invest in buying or making specialty paper (see below), then download a good image of a scroll. A simple google image search for scroll will turn up something you can use. Paste it into the body of your document and set the properties to go behind the text. After you print it, cut the scrap of paper down to the scroll size. You can even tie them up nicely with a bit of ribbon if you print them out full page size.

Buy different paper. Paper comes in hundreds of different colors and textures. Take an afternoon to visit a specialty paper store, or take some time online to find one, and you will be well rewarded. You can find a thicker paper that already has an aged look to it. The majority of these papers are relatively inexpensive. For a few dollars you can buy enough to last you through any campaign.

You can also age your own paper. This is a fun project, particularly if you have younger children who want to help. Start with a decent grade of paper, 20 lb copier paper will work just fine. Don’t use notebook paper as the lines will still be there when you’re finished and that won’t look good.

1. Mix up a batch of your favorite brownish beverage (coffee, tea, hot cocoa, coke, etc.)
2. Place your paper in a square baking pan.
3. Dump said beverage over the paper.
4. Remove the paper from the beverage and place on a rack to dry.

You can dry the paper in the over, however use extreme caution here. The oven should never exceed 150 degrees Fahrenheit or it may combust. It is just as easy to leave it out for a few days until it dries.

The paper will curl and twist and generally feel aged. I like to dry mine in as much direct sunlight as possible.

Most printers will handle this paper just fine. Not every printer will, of course, so you may want to experiment with only one piece at a time, but most printers will. In most cases you will need to feed the printer one sheet at a time.

Be warned that if you print your handout or map or whatever first and then try to age your paper the ink may run. If you used an inkjet paper you will likely lose everything, so prepare the paper first.

Thanks, and enjoy the game!

Welcome back to Dungeons and Dragons Corner.

You can find Character Sheets Here.

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This guest post is by Dragon Blogger who is has been playing Dungeons and Dragons for almost sixteen years.

I have developed many monsters, encounters and custom Dungeon Master information over the years. I have decided to guest feature one of my monster creations here on DnD Corner.

This monster I wrote several years ago before the DragonLance series was adapted to Third Edition Dungeons and Dragons, I needed a creature that the Draconians used to torture information out of their captives and this little beast fit the bill.

The drawing is rather crude, but was also by me.

Draconian Torture Wyrm
Dimunitive Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 1d8
Initiative: +7 (+7 dexterity)
Speed: 30’
AC: 22 (+1 natural, +7 dexterity, +4 size)
Attacks: 1 (+8)
Damage: bite (1d4)
Face / Reach: 1’x1’x1’
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +2
Abilities: Str 5 -3, Dex 24 +7, Con 10
Int 5 -3, Wis 10, Cha 10
Skills: Swim +6, Hide +10, Move Silently +8
Feats: Weapon finesse (bite)
Climate Terrain: Any, prefer warmer temperate
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral (Always)
Advancement Range: 2-4 HD ( Tiny)

Draconian torture wyrms are not encountered in the wild, in fact the only time someone has ever encountered one has been when captured by draconians. This little creature is used as the most effective torture device, it originally was said to be a magical creation that has spawned and been bred specifically for its purpose. Once the wyrm touches warm flesh it starts burrowing immediately, causing 1d4 dmge per round for 1d6 rounds until it reaches the spot it wants at the base of the neck on the spinal cord. When the wyrm reaches the spinal cord, it sinks its tail into the soft spinal tissue and its mandibles clench onto the brainstem. This forces the victim to make a will save vs. DC 20 or be under the control of the wyrm. If the victim succeeds in a saving throw, the wyrm will try again in 1d4 rounds causing another saving throw. If the victim succeeds twice at saving against the wyrm then the wyrm will savagely burrow and bite causing 1d4 dmge per round until it either kills the victim or decides to try again (50% chance of either).

While under the control of the wyrm, the victim cannot hide any thoughts or feelings. The wyrm will force the victim to answer whatever questions the draconians ask. The wyrm can even control the victim and make the victim fight at a –4 penalty to attacks and AC. These torture wyrms have a limited form of empathy that is understandable by draconians. While the wyrm is burrowed in the victims flesh, it can be cut out by a successful attack that does equal damage to the host as it does to the draconian. This attack can only be made with small piercing weapons, and only done if the victim lies still and is immobile. In this case the AC to hit the Wyrm is the same to hit the victim and both take equal damage.

Draconian Torture Worms and their creation and breeding method are kept secret by the Draconian’s, though it is rumored some Lizardfolk and even Drow have discovered the creatures and their value and have captured some to be used for their own nefarious purposes.

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Here’s the dilemma, the party missed a key piece of treasure.  They to in a hurry and didn’t search the bad guys, or just rushed from one room to the next.  You can substitute “clue” here for treasure.  But any item or object that you think they will need later on.

• A powerful magic item they will need for a tough fight coming up.
• Any magic item that will throw off their treasure levels and make them weaker.
• The artifact that is the object of their quest.
• The message that has the secret pass-phrase to get past the magic mouth on level 4.

 You have a coupe of options here.

1. Ignore it.
2. Move it.
3. Replace it.

 Ignore it

In some situations this is the best option.  If the object can be safely removed from the campaign without impacting what happens later on then just ignore it.  Many times DM’s who have created complex puzzles struggle with this idea.  If all they missed as the blue gem to place on the blue pedestal in the final puzzle room, then get rid of the blue pedestal.  Problem solved.  They still have the pink gem and the yellow gem and the green gem, they will still be able to fulfill your puzzle.

Move it.

This is the most common, and probably the easiest.  Just give the treasure to the next monster.  “But it was a unique artifact specific to that boss,” you say.  “So what,” I reply.  The players don’t know that it was a unique artifact specific to that boss until you tell them.  So don’t tell them.

In situations where you are trying to balance treasure or get them ready for the big fight there is no rule that says you can’t just give it to them.  Ok, so the players didn’t search under the bed or they failed their perception check, that doesn’t mean you should Party Wipe them in the next room because the dice hate them.  Just say, “Ragnish, while you are resting you notice glimmer of gold from under the bed.”  They’ll investigate.

What if they’ve already moved on?  It is never too late.  If the combat begins and you realize they are going to get slaughtered without it, just say, “Ragnish, you notice a super-powerful glowing sword over to your left, it seems like a good idea to pick it up.”  Of course you can be more or less creative that this, but the idea is pretty straight forward.  If they need it, give it to them.  Otherwise you’re being more than a little unfair.  Your being a jerk and a bully.

Replace it

So you don’t think they should have super-item A because the missed it.  Well, you can always give them an equivalent GP value (just add extra GP) after the next fight.  When they loot the bodies just add it to the list of what they find.  Nobody will know the difference and you can balance the power levels of the game.

Hey, have fun with your game!

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Character Optimization (CO) is the practice of building the best possible character for dnd or another rpg. The question is what a player means by “best”. For most optimizers (min/maxers, munchkins, power-gamers), this means a character with the best mathematical chance of performing an effective action in the game, usually an attack.

Everyone who has read the Player’s Handbook knows to add strength to their melee fighter. Not everyone sees the synergy of multi-classing their ranger with a rogue to increase their damage potential.

Spend a little time in the forums at Enworld or Wizards of the Coast, and you will see just how far many players will go.

The question of the day is why and how far should a player go when optimizing their character.

Whenever I speak with players about why they do various things, it always comes down to increasing their potential for having fun. A character optimized to be effective in combat will generally die much less often in combat, and character death is not fun (usually). However, if they play with me, they will soon discover that there are many ways of effectively ending a character’s life/career outside of combat.

I am then not surprised to find the players optimizing against or in reaction to whatever their last horrible situation was. As an example, I was DMing for a party that had no rogue. They had wonderful healing ability, and could dish out damage left and right. They walked through most combats easily. Every time they found a trap the party had a serious challenge to deal with. Eventually they found a trap that killed a party member and hamstrung the party. Next session, the player whose character died showed up with a rogue – optimized against traps. The party did much better.

The moral of the story is that as a player when you build your character you should think of it in terms, not only of your character concept, but also in terms of survivability.

I love to build backgrounds for my characters in dnd. I will spend up to forty hours building a single character (yes, overkill, I know). I consider where the character came from, who their parents are, their likes, dislikes, favorite phrases etc. And then I go and optimize feats, skills, powers, and everything I can think of to keep that character alive – all within the concept of who that character is and what they want to do. Because spending a week’s worth of work to build a character only to have it die in the first session is very, very unfun.

I don’t recommend that you obsess as much as I do. That’s just insanity. However, I do recommend striking a balance between theme and mechanics. If you wish to play a Dwarf wizard with a penchant for drink and an eye for Halfling women that is fine. Just remember to make him a useful wizard, and give some thought to what will happen when the party eventually leaves the tavern.

The other side of the optimization coin, is when it goes too far. Many players would suggest that there is no such thing. Respectfully I disagree. All things can go too far. When you find yourself debating energetically and emphatically with your Dungeon Master or with other players, take a step back. You may have crossed the line into the realm of unfun. If your build is making life unfun for the Dungeon Master, you can bet that he or she will make life unfun for you, either they will target you unfairly or they will stop running the game for you.

If other players complain, I suggest you listen. They are not whining at you. They are warning you, and often not so subtly, that you have crossed into unfun territory and that your actions are not welcome. If those players are your friends, then you owe them the respect of listening and working with them to restore fun to the game.

Build the best character you can, and have fun with it!

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Let me preface this post with a link to a post on the WOTC D&D Forums.

Link

This is a wonderful concept, and the downloads (which you can find in the post) are exceptional.

A lot of times it can be difficult to get a seed started to generate ideas from. A randomly generated back story is a great way to get the juices flowing, even if you end up rejecting some of the generated information.

It works pretty well in conjunction with the ideas that I presented here and here about developing a character when you don’t know what character to play.  Once you have a basic idea of where the character is going it becomes much easier to put together the details in terms of rules and mechanics.

The beauty of a random back story is that it doesn’t really matter what system you are playing because it is really all about developing the flavor of the character that you are going to be playing.  In any relatively balanced system the class or path that you choose shouldn’t affect your character’s ability to be successful, but many players find it difficult to be successful with a character that they don’t enjoy.  Getting a story behind a character that a player can enjoy is a huge step forward towards playing a successful, interesting character.

Check it out and have fun!

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Last time we talked about the specific difficulties that newer players may have when deciding what kind of character to play. Today we’ll address the same concern with a more experienced player who may be feeling a bit burned out.

So you think you’ve played everything under the sun. Well, I’m sure you have. What’s more, you’ve played with people who have played everything you weren’t interested in trying out yourself. When we play with a group we experience pieces of each character in the party, almost as if we were playing those characters ourselves.

So what do you do?

Option one: Play the stand-by character. Go back to the tried and true. Your old favorite. Re-create the first character you ever played.

Option two: Ask your DM or party what they need. A lot of times other members of your group will have decided what they want to play and they just need something to round the party out. This will at least give you an idea of where to start.

Option three: Play a random character. Use any random number generator to choose a race and class.

If none of these ideas work, then look around for inspiration.

• Scan the internet. Plenty of D&D sites and forums out there.
• Look at your fantasy books (you know you have them).
• Watch an action movie.
• Look at some old TV. shows.

If all else fails, drop me an email and I’ll tell you what to play

As always, remember its about the fun!

Click here for part 1

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Here is a pretty common dilemma for both experienced and new D&D aficionados alike.

For new players, they often don’t know what to expect from any of the individual classes so they just stare at the Player’s Handbook and hope someone tells them what to do. More experienced players have already seen it and done it and don’t want more of the same.

Today we’ll address the new player.

If you’re new to the game or if you’re helping someone new, the first thing to remember is to focus on the personality you want to play.

Don’t get overwhelmed with the rules and specifics of any powers or classes. Instead focus on the kind of hero you want to play.

Do you want to:

• Bash face at close quarters?
• Be mysterious and sneaky?
• Use spells to help the team?
• Strike from the shadows?
• Become a forest guardian?
• Serve in the town guard?

The idea is simple. Decide on the character’s place in the world and go with it. Your DM or a more experienced player can help you with the math and filling out your character sheet.

Another pitfall common to new players (as well as experienced players) is focusing too much on what the character could become. Dungeons and Dragons is a game about progress and change. There will be roughly 300 encounters, some 100 sessions between level 1 and level 30. If you play once per week that means that any plans you make for your character won’t be happening for several months at a minimum. Thinking about what the future could bring often stifles the decision making process of today.

Dungeons and Dragons offers you the ability to pretend to be whoever you want. Character creation gives you the chance to pick that person. If you focus on who you want to play in the future you may end up disappointed as the campaign may well go a completely different direction.

If all else fails, you can always play a random or premade character. There’s no harm in using someone else’s ideas until you get your feet wet.

Hope this helps, and as always have a great D&D night.

Click Here For Part 2

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This encounter is designed as a level 8 encounter as a tough challenge for a 5^th level party.  The treasure listed with the encounter card is for a level 5 party.  You could easily substitute in a treasure packet of any level appropriate for your party.  The encounter, of course is generic enough to be dropped into any campaign, or used as a random encounter.

The orcs here are led by their leader Hard Fang, an old, scarred orc who has trained his followers in the use of the trident.  Hard Fang has spent years developing his gang, and favors hit and run tactics.  Because of his vast experience, Hard Fang has learned patience, and to wear his enemies down.  His followers, however, are prone to fits of rage and sometimes ignore his commands.

Hard Fang has no problem using muscle from any race, and has brought a pair of gnolls into his group. 

The setup for this encounter involves an ambush for unwary prey.  Everyone in the group is familiar with the terrain and they try to remain mobile, engaging their foes only from superior positions.  The melee combatants do their best to draw the enemies into a position where they can be fired upon easily.

• Hard Fang Orc Chieftain (700 xp) level 8 elite brute
• 3 Orc Forkman (200 xp) level 5 brutes
• 2  Gnoll Huntmasters (200 xp) level 5 artillery

You can download the encounter card here.  You can find all of the associated cards on the downloads page.  And if you need more information about how to use encounter cards, there is an article here.

I suggest using the blades camp map from Faiths of Eberron, available from the Wizards of the Coast, though you should definitely choose a map of your liking.

Hard Fang will have blocked off at least one of the entrances to try to force any enemies into the area to the west where he can use cover for his archers. 

Hope this provides some inspiration.

As always, enjoy the game!

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Ok, this is the single most versatile gaming tool I have ever used.  It is not necessarily the prettiest, but it is a time saver and you can use it session after session.

The idea is very simple.

Buy a magnetic white board (recommend 24″ x 36″) and write a 1″x1″ game grid on it with a permanent marker.  That’s it. 

The advantages are tremendous.

• All you need is a dry erase marker (comes with most boards) and you can quickly draw out dungeon maps.
• Magnetic so if you apply magnets to your minis you don’t have to worry about anyone bumping the board.
• It is metal so it doesn’t break.
• The sturdy surface allows for dice rolling (and the magnets mean you don’t have to worry about the dice knocking things around).
• If you use clear plastic maps (see information here) you can simply lay them over the field, tucking one edge of the map under a corner and get the advantages of the durable magnetic surface and a pretty map.

 So, how to you get your hands on one of these things without forking out a ton of cash?

Go to your local department store or office supply store and buy:

• A magnetic white board (get a size that will fit on your gaming table)
• A couple of permanent markers (Black Sharpies)
• A couple of dry-erase markers (make sure they are dry erase, not wet erase).
• Felt backing, if desired.

 Take it home and draw your grid.

There are two basic methods.

1. Get a broom handle.  Have someone hold it flush to one edge and run your sharpie down the other side.  Move the broom handle over until the edge is flush with the line you just drew.  Now draw a line down the other side.  When you have lines all across your board, rotate it 90 degrees and do the lines the other direction.
2. Get a ruler.  Using a dry-erase marker, mark off lines 1″ apart down one edge of the board. Go to the other edge and measure/mark the same lines.  Now take a long straight edge (like broom handle) and use a permanent marker to connect the lines.  Rotate the board and repeat for the lines going the other way.

 You’ll have a product you can use for years.

Have fun gaming!

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I’ve recently uploaded a bunch of images of Monster Cards.  You can get them on the downloads page.

Here are a few tips on using them as well as explanations.

First of all, these cards are not meant to replace the Monster Manual.  The Monster Manual has all of the detailed description about the monsters, including flavor text, group behavior etc.  These cards are designed to dimply act as a reference while you are running the game so that you don’t have to have the Monster Manual at the table.  If you are like me then anything that reduces clutter at the game table is a big help.

So, how do you use them? 

When you make an Encounter Card print copies of the monster cards for that encounter and paperclip them all together with the Encounter Card on top.  (Click here for more information about making and using Encounter Cards).

When you go to run the game, have the encounter cards to one side, prepared for when the PC’s find the encounters.  I like to keep a generic set of minis (ok, I often use generic looking tokens) that I use for all my minions and a couple of more interesting minis for the more interesting monsters.

During “chat” time, when the players are doing whatever they are doing, I will often pre-roll initiatives for the monsters and note those initiatives on the monster cards.  If there are two or three of the same monster I will draw a quick column in pencil for each initiative.

As the encounter progresses, I use the cards to keep track of Hit Points, effects, and so forth.  This is particularly useful for longer encounters where I have to keep track of monsters will large amounts of Hit Points.

As the monsters die I simply flip their cards over and set them to the side.

When used in conjunction with good Encounter Cards, they essentially make it so that you can run all of your games without the need for books of any kind.

I hope this helps, and HAVE FUN!

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Last time I talked about how to make a large dungeon map on standard 8 ½” x 11″ paper.  You can see that article here.  And personally I think it works pretty good.  Sometimes, however, you know that you’ll be re-using a map a lot, or you just want something sturdier.  Here are a few ideas.

• Print it on Card Stock.  You can get card stock in various off-white colors at pretty much any office supply store.  There are several specialty paper stores as well, but the office supply stores usually sell for less, though the quality of paper won’t be as nice.
• Print it on paper and then glue it to cardboard.  This is particularly useful if you are going to build a 3D dungeon.  Tape or glue (I recommend glue in this case) the map to the cardboard.  Now you have a perfect template for building your 3D dungeon, or you can use it as-is.
• Print it on clear plastic sheets.  Depending on your printer and or copy machine resources you can print (black and white generally) to clear overhead projector sheets.  Again these are available in office supply stores, though they can get expensive fast if you are using large maps.  Why would you do this?  Well, if you happen to have an overhead projector it works nicely for overland maps.  However, a more common use would be to apply them to a magnetic game grid..  Slip the map onto the grid and you get the benefit of the magnets as well as a more interesting map.
• You could also glue the paper onto even more sturdy backing, such as plywood or even sheet metal, however that is probably going to the extreme.

If you have access to a laminator then by all means laminate to your heart’s content.  Alternatively you could apply clear contact paper to the map.  

As always, have fun with your game.

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Making fun, interesting dungeons from scratch can be difficult.  Bringing them to life at the game table can be really tough unless you are spend a lot of money buying pre-printed dungeon tiles on a 1″ grid.  So how do you get your newly created dungeon onto a 1″ battle grid?

Enter Microsoft Excel.

Ok, Microsoft has a lot of bad press, but this is a trick that will save you time.

Convert your map to an electronic image.  If you don’t have a scanner, visit a friend who does.  If you are downloading free maps from Wizards of the Coast or another site then you will already have an image to use.  The sweet thing here is that it doesn’t matter the format or size of the image, though I recommend using jpg because the file size is smallest, which works well if you plan to email the finished product around.

Now open a blank workbook in Excel. 

• Change your print margins to .5″ all around (1/2″ border all around).  You can go smaller if you like.
• Click Insert | Picture | From File. 
• Browse to the image that you saved on your computer.  Select it an click insert.
• The picture should appear in your workbook.
• Move the picture to the top leftmost area of your workbook, so that the top left corner of the map is covering cell A1.
• Click on your zoom, and change it to approximately 40%.  This will show you how many pages the map will cover when printed.
• If you don’t get the dotted lines for the pages click print preview and then go back.
• However, you’ll want to go into print preview anyway, so open it now and count the number of squares of your dungeon that appear on the page.  Assuming that you are using standard 8 ½” x 11″ paper and printed portrait then you will want 7 squares to appear on the page so that you get nice 1″ squares when you print.
• If there are more than 7 then cancel print preview and adjust your image size by dragging the bottom right corner diagonally down and to the right.
• Go back to print preview and count the squares.  If the squares are too big, then go back and make the image smaller.
• When you have the right size of squares, print the pages.
• Generally speaking you will end up with several pages.  After they print, lay them all out on the table, or the floor if you have a very large map.
• Cut the bottom ½” border off the top row of pages.  This will allow you to tape or glue (I prefer clear tape applied to both sides) the second row to the top row.
• Cut the right ½” border off the left most pages.  This will allow you to glue or tape the next row of pages together.
• The idea here is to end up with a ½” border all around your nice map but still have plenty of room for assembly.

 You can do up an entire dungeon level in one evening and save yourself a ton of time explaining and drawing maps for players.  Personally I like to let my players keep the maps of the areas they have cleared.

Hope this helps and have fun!

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Many Dungeons and Dragons players get caught up in the quest for treasure and level advancement, which is understandable as these are primary goals of the game.  However, there are other ways to gain an edge in the game.

• Min/Maxing.  Careful character building can give you a serious edge over non-optimized characters.  Taking training in the perception skill while maximizing your wisdom score simply makes sense.  If you couple that with a feat that gives you a bonus, then you have effectively freed up an item slot from requiring a perception bonus.  This same principle can be applied to any skill, though it is important to understand your particular group and DM to know which skills will be the most important.
• Understand the direction of the campaign.  Some skills will be used session after session.  Some skills will sit there as unused numbers on your character sheet.  Nearly every dungeon has a secret door or two.  If you are playing a premade module, you can guarantee that there will be a couple of perception checks required.  If you are playing a more role-playing intensive campaign with diplomacy and intrigue, you may want to consider insight.  Similar arguments could be me made for most other skills.
• Play to your strengths.  All too often players will min/max their character, focusing on melee or ranged combat and then spend their time doing the complete opposite.  It doesn’t do you much good to max your insight skill if you don’t engage the NPC’s.  If you’ve maxed your stealth ability but charge into combat every encounter the points you’ve placed won’t do you much good.
• Help your party.  There are some items that can help nearly any character.  Other items are much better only in the hands of specific characters.  If you don’t need an item, don’t horde it.  If that ring could be used by the mage and you only need it as a spare, you may want to pass it along to increase the overall effectiveness of the party.  Sooner or later, in a well-balanced campaign, every party member will need to perform at their peak.
• Take advantage of terrain.  If there is a well in the middle of the room.  Push the bad guys into it.  No reason to face them in a straight fight if you don’t have to.
• Role-Play.  Towns and villages can be much more than just a quick stop for clues and shopping.  Milk every NPC for all the information you can find.  Many times the clues to walking unscathed through the encounter is waiting to be uncovered by talking.  Many times you will be able to convince someone to act as a guide or scout.  Having an NPC helper is worth more, in terms of power, than earning a level.  DM’s enjoy the interaction and will often reward an enjoyable role-playing exchange.

Paying attention to the details of the game outside of the advancement tables and treasure charts can pay big dividends.  Nobody likes to lose a character to an unfortunate combat incident or stray trap.  You can do a lot to avoid these tragedies by playing a smart game and taking advantage of all the resources presented.

As always, have fun!

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Every campaign has monsters and treasure.  Even the most plot driven campaign will have things to kill and loot to grab.  That doesn’t mean that combat is the only thing.

A part of Dungeons and Dragons is the story.  For many players and Dungeon Masters the story is the big part.  It is the reason they started playing in the first place.

As greed sets in, however, many players lose sight of the story.  While the story does not necessarily need to be the center of the entertainment, for many players it is still very important.  One of the most common complaints I hear is that one player or another refuses to play to the story.

While there is no need to cling blindly to any DM’s plot, it is a good idea to pay attention to and find enjoyment in the story as it unfolds.  What are the clues that are being given away early on?  Where will they lead?  Often the story elements are tied closely to the most powerful magic items and most interesting NPC’s.

When the DM introduces a particularly interesting person, sit up and pay attention.  Take a moment to enjoy a good role-playing exchange.  If you can, try to step outside of yourself a little and play your character as well.  As you get into the story, the events of the campaign will have more meaning for you as a player, and the long journey up the level ladder will become more enjoyable.

Watch out for players who want to enjoy the story.  Pay attention to their needs.  For these people, combat encounters can be drudgery.  Even the reward of loot doesn’t mean much.  When their moment to shine comes, usually in town and outside of combat, give them the time they need to play up their character.  Most of the memorable moments in my role-playing career happened outside of combat.  These moments can help cement friendships, and often are what keep players coming back in-spite of other poor outcomes in the game.

As always, enjoy your next Dungeons and Dragons session

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If you visit any Dungeons and Dragons forum, you’ve probably heard of monster cards and power cards, perhaps even magic item cards.  Today I’d like to introduce the Dungeons and Dragons Encounter Card.

This is a handy little device that keeps me from forgetting a key component of an encounter.  Have you ever forgotten some bit of treasure?  Remember a trap only after the second player should have activated it?  Left out a monster?  Scramble to count out minis for your set up?  The encounter card is designed to help avoid those little slip ups.

The encounter card is very simple.  In fact, the term card is used pretty loosely here since I don’t always bother to print it on a 3×5″ card, often I just print them all on a page and then paperclip it to the monster stat cards for that encounter.

Here is the information I usually put on them.

• A list of the monsters that will be involved.
• The total XP award for the encounter.  (If I know ahead of time how many players will be there I may divide it out to an individual award as well).
• The total treasure award, including items for the encounter.  I always write the GP value of any items in this section.

See, pretty simple.  I then paperclip that card together with the monster cards for the encounter as well as any magic item cards for that encounter.

The beauty of the encounter card is that if the PC’s go off in a totally different direction than expected and I have to ditch the dungeon I prepared I don’t have to worry about upsetting the delicate balance of treasure and XP.  If they are slated to battle 2 orcs, and an ogre, well by golly there will be 2 orcs and an ogre, complete with treasure waiting for them wherever they happen to go.

I’ll get more into how to adjust the story later, but once you try it a time or two, you’ll see just how much flexibility this little tool can add to your campaign.

You can find a list of the Keep on the Shadowfell encounters (spoilers) which has the information that would be included on an encounter card.  I have also included a 3×5″ encounter card (Microsoft Word Format) that you can download and customize.

All downloads are available on the download page.

Thanks, and enjoy the game.

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