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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Telling the story in a role-playing setting is tricky business.  When you pick up a book, you understand that the author is in complete control.  You will go where she takes you and have no control over any of the action or characters.

 

The DM/Player relationship is not the same as an Author/Reader relationship.  Some of the same principles apply, and some are completely different.

 

The elements of a good story include (but are not limited to):

• An interesting plot
• Memorable, multi-dimensional characters
• Interactions between those characters

 We’ll get to plot in a minute.

 

By definition Dungeons and Dragons and pretty much any other role-playing game will have characters.  If the people you play with are as much fun as the people I play with then those characters will be memorable.

 

But the players are only a handful of characters in a rich world that can have dozens even millions of characters.  As a DM you have to make those characters memorable.  This means giving them personality and depth.  Does that innkeeper just automatically bring what is ordered or does he do it with a snarl?  Is he racist against elves?  Is he in love with dragonborn?  Does that shopkeeper always talk that way or are those allergies?  Why does she keep a vase of violets on the counter?

 

Once the characters are interesting, they have to interact with the players.  This interaction can be physical, verbal, emotional, etc.  Don’t be afraid to spend time dialoguing with the players in-persona.  Don’t be afraid to avoid a combat altogether so that the cowardly goblins can back out of a combat.  If everyone the bad guys all jump to the attack and the good guys all act as money-changers the game can grow stale quickly.

 

The players will remember the story element of that goblin who talked his way out of a fight long after they kill his buddies.

 

Finally, a word on plot.  Plot is far less important in a role-playing setting than in a novel or short story.  If you have interesting characters and interesting interactions, the thinnest of plot lines will engage your group for hours.  In fact, some of the least memorable and least interesting sessions happen when the DM tries to bury the players in the plot rather than letting them grow into the story.

 

Have a great game!

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