There are a lot of roles out there that are very fun to play.  Most of us prefer to play the action oriented damage dealing sorts.  I was not surprised when we put together our first 4th edition party everyone (and I do mean everyone) chose a strike role for their first character.  I was also likewise not surprised when they all decided this was a bad idea and started mixing it up a bit.

One of the main problems was nobody wanted to be the healer.  Being the healer isn’t always very glamorous.  You don’t generally get to dish out tons of damage.  You aren’t always in the thick of things.  In short it isn’t a role that appeals to everyone.

Playing a fun healer means having fun with your role.  The role of a healer has more to do with the other players than any other role.  By definition you must interact with the other players.  This means that from the start you should be planning those interactions more than the ones with the NPC’s.  If your focus is on destroying the enemy you will always come in second to a well honed striker of some other class.

As far as builds go you have a couple of choices, but two main ones.  Are you going to be good at healing or are you going to be awesome at healing.  Either way doesn’t much matter because like I said before it has more to do with how you plan to interact with the other players to determine the amount of fun you have.  I would recommend being as good at healing as you possibly can because it will make your in-game actions more significant most often.

Now, when you perform an action, most of the time it will be performed on another player.  Not always, of course, but certainly more often than not.  So the question of “fun” becomes one of how, why, and when you perform those actions.  In general it is “fun” to save someone from the brink of death.  It is also fun to boost your friend just enough so that he can deal the final blow and save the party.  So play to maximize your chances of doing these fun things.

I also find it fun to talk and interact with the other players.  Role playing makes this fun.  Pretending to be a devote priestess might mean making it clear that you will not heal those who perform evil acts without penance.  So that rogue who kept a bit more than his share might need to show some sorrow (and give the money back) before you waste your goddess’ precious power on him.  This could be as simple as choosing to heal a different ally each round before finally consenting to save his life or it could be much more blatant and extreme.  Or maybe your character really is neutral and dispenses healing equally to enemies who surrender without questioning their motives.

The PHB does not allow for rules regarding much more mercenary healers who use their powers only for wages.  It is assumed that a healer will perform these actions as a natural course of adventure in return for her share of the loot, but it is not impossible to imagine a situation where a healer holds a party for ransom at a particularly dangerous stage, refusing to use a powerful spell until an additional share of the treasure is agreed upon.

Whatever you decide to do, mold your healer to the characters around you and you won’t be disappointed.  Just being the guy who hangs in the back and says you regain X HP once in a while probably won’t be as much fun.  Being the character in the party that everyone wants to please because his powers are unique and useful tends to be more fun.

Welcome back to Dungeons and Dragons Corner.

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Fundamentally all table top games are about interacting with other people.  It doesn’t matter if you are playing Monopoly, Magic The Gathering or Dungeons and Dragons.  Being able to understand what other people at the table are thinking is an invaluable skill in any game but can be especially useful in Dungeons and Dragons where player interaction has far fewer restrictions than most other games.

If you are running the game, being able to pull of a lie at a table full of savvy players can be really difficult but at the same time very important in order to maintain suspense.  When you know all the secrets it can be difficult to keep them hidden until just the right moment (or to encourage the players in just the right way to find them).

Here are some basics to keeping abreast of what is really going on at the table.

First, watch for moods.  If you have been playing with the same group for a while, then you will know that when Eddy is in a grumpy mood he will be thinking about smashing face a lot more than usual.  When Cindy is happy she gets creative and devious and may try to mess with the other players.  A general rule of thumb is that happier people do more while those who are feeling glum will do less.

Keep an eye on the time and the amount of caffeine consumed.  As players get tired their style of play generally changes.  If you have just found what you think is going to be a very tough fight but all of your party members are out of Mountain Dew and half asleep you may want to consider suggesting they tackle it another time.  A tactical error because someone is too tired to hold up their dice may not be a good idea, unless of course you are looking to sabotage the party, in which case this would be a good time to make your move.

Pay attention to sudden changes in behavior as well.  A player who is whispering to the guy next to him is up to something, but so is the guy who suddenly starts dancing on the tavern tables.  This could be a signal of a surprise attack or just that the player is bored.  Either way keep your eyes open and adjust your plans accordingly.

Learning to pass off a lie is extremely difficult, but perhaps the best tool is distraction.  Whether you are playing a devious NPC or just trying to keep a portion of the loot for yourself, getting the players to focus on something else is a good start.  Using out of game stuff like food, drink, their dice or what happened last week can all be useful.  Most of us can’t think about more than a few things at once and when we’re tired focusing on one thing can be a challenge.

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There are power gamers and then there are really, really annoying power gamers.  You know who you are (or at least the people who play with you know who you are).  You are the kind of person who has to squeeze every last advantage out of every single die roll. The person who has figured out the exact best strategy for each and every situation and then berates the rest of the party into doing it your way.

So how can you make power gaming fun?  Is it possible to create a powerful character that doesn’t give the DM a headache?  Can you maximize your efforts without overshadowing the rest of the party and making the game generally un-fun for everyone?

The key to being a fun power gamer is to understand two concepts: limits and differences.

The limits I am talking about are primarily limits that apply to things outside of the rule books.  The rules are the rules.  Yes there is some room for discussion on certain points, but by and large the rules are defined.  However there are limits that are not written and often also unspoken.  For example as new splat books are published you may be tempted to run out and get all of the latest books in hopes of finding obscure feats that enhance your play style so that your planned character can maximize some combat action such as doing massive amounts of damage.  While the rules allow you to do this, your DM or playgroup may frown upon it.

Is it unfair for the DM to restrict your game?  Maybe yes, maybe no.  Fairness is more than just doing what is written in the book.  Fairness is also making sure that everyone at the table has fun.  If the DM does not have time, energy or money to get all the latest books and review all of the information then it can become un-fun for him or her and they may simply apply a restriction in order to save themselves time.  If you have used obscure rules in the past to gain an unexpected advantage, don’t be surprised when the DM decides on this course of action.

What about limits with the other players?  Combat strategy is one way in which a power gamer can get a true advantage over the other players.  It is possible to go through an entire combat without taking any damage.  It is possible to go through an entire campaign without taking any damage.  In fact it is possible for the entire party to escape completely unscathed from combats that appear on paper to be overwhelming.  Not every player understands this.  Most players aren’t even interested in figuring out how to do it.  Most of them are happy to wade in and slug it out knowing (or hoping) that the encounter is balanced and they will survive.

The power gamer (and different kinds of power gamers) will find himself at conflict at this point.  Yes the combat may go better if the stupid Halfling would get into flanking position and just wait for one stupid turn so they can get in that extra damage.  On the other hand if you tell Joe one more time what to do with his character he may just punch you in the nose.  There are no rules (except house rules) governing these types of situations.  Learning the limits, especially the unspoken limits that other players expect from you will help everyone have more fun.  More than once I have watched players purposely undermine the power gamer’s efforts just because he pushed his min/maxing so far that it detracted from their role-playing experience.

Now differences.

There are many ways to play the game, and power can be defined in many terms.  Is power defined by combat ability?  Is it the ability to overcome encounters (no, not the same thing)?  Is it defined by treasure?  Ability to deal damage without magic items?  Being able to do maximum healing?

When a pair (or more) of players put a definition of power on their character and then play to maximize that power at the expense of everything else they will inevitable come into conflict.  Understanding that these differences exist and that they are irrelevant until they start affecting the level of fun is crucial to avoiding the kinds of conflict that can lead to players actively undermining each other.  Differences in character builds, combat strategies, gear choices, negotiating styles and many other areas can all be equally powerful in terms of having a successful game experience.  If the goal is to have an enjoyable game session there are many ways to achieve this goal and each are as different as the people who play the game.

Until next time, have fun!

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There are a lot of risks here as a DM.  What happens if they go where you haven’t planned?  What happens if they start a fight with someone you haven’t fleshed out?

Be warned, you are leaving things wide, wide open for the players.  This means that they will go and do things you are not prepared for.  What do you do?  You get prepared.

Prepare a few encounters.  The most likely that they will face.  Get some monster cards for some human guards.  Or if you are in elf land, some elves.  Make up a goblin encounter for when the party decides to sleep in the woods.  And then treat any “special” NPC’s just as you would any normal character in terms of game mechanics.  Just change the flavor a bit.

Finally, practice negotiating with the PC’s.  Just because they start a fight doesn’t mean you have to end it.  Sue for mercy.  Surrender.  Offer a compromise.  There is no need to flesh out combat stats for something that just lays down its weapons and sues for peace.  Either the characters will slaughter it outright or they will role-play, and trust me it isn’t very fun to just slaughter stuff, especially when the possibility of becoming discovered as murderers is real.

The big question on the backs of some (if not all) of your minds is what about XP and treasure?  Aren’t these fundamental to the system?

Of course they are.  So get together your little treasure packets.  Just like you would if you were having a normal combat game.  Hand out the treasures after the characters do something interesting.  They spend their time gambling, or working hard to win a chess tournament – very good.  Hand them out a couple of treasure packets and XP for beating a hard encounter.  If they fail, hand out less XP and less treasure.

If they find out where the Duke’s daughter is being held, let the Duke award them with a treasure packet.  Give them XP for their level.  If they get her back then give them another packet and more XP.  That nifty chart in the DMG that outlines the target XP awards for an encounter by level is ideal for this.

No go and play nice!

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Okay, there are characters and then there are characters that we remember (for good or ill) for years and years, long after they have been retired.  These are the characters that are talked about by the gaming group or to anyone who will listen even when the conversation has nothing to do with Dungeons and Dragons.

One way to make a character memorable is to give that character a trait - a player playable trait - that sparks an emotional, physical, or mental reaction of some sort in the other players.  In many ways this can require a bit of meta-gaming, but in other ways it is just really thinking through who the character is and what he or she is about.

An easy trick to developing this kind of trait is using a tick.  Something that happens at regular intervals.  Some examples would be a catch phrase such as a barbarian’s battle cry, which is used at the start of every combat, or the character always referring to himself in third person.

Often during the character creation process we think in visual terms, i.e. the style of armor or the color of the character’s hair.  Unfortunately these things are relatively intangible.  The picture of that character is different in the head of each individual sitting at the table.  The shade of red in your heroine’s hair is going to be different for everyone.  The things that you as a player do, however, are going to be witnessed by all and will bring a much more tangible expression of your character that everyone can relate to.

I cannot over-emphasize that these need to be verbal or physical actions.  The other players need to hear or see what you do.

Now, be cautious in that you do not choose something that is very difficult to maintain.  A goofy accent, for example, works pretty good for about half an hour or so but then tends to become forgotten.  By the second session you don’t even bother trying.  Likewise complex or time consuming rituals will simply be annoying.

Which brings us to the final point of the day which is that these kinds of ticks will probably annoy someone?  You can overdo it, and you probably should – just once.  Overdoing it once will implant it into the memories of everyone at the table.  Overdoing it twice and you will most likely be asked to stop.  Throwing in the occasional reminder will play to the character without driving everyone nuts.  The whole idea is to make the character come alive with those little details that make all of us real.

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I’m not talking about the old backstabbing mechanic from yesteryear (don’t even get me started on the different iterations from various versions of the game) I’m talking about when one character in the party decides to grab the loot and/or slit throats on his way out of town, leaving a wake of destruction and a really pissed off party behind.

Going against the party has a lot of ramifications.  First, it is likely to cause some out of game friction.  If, for example, you play in a game with your wife/girlfriend, then slitting her character’s throat in her sleep may cause you to sleep on the couch in real life.  In other words it really does piss of the players, not just the characters.  If you make enough people mad (or just one mad enough) you may find that you as a player are no longer welcome in your group.

Next, understand that in all likelihood this is a suicidal path.  There are times when the evil-doer gets away with it.  Usually this is because there is generous support from a willing DM.  In most cases, however, the resources that the other members of the party can garner are simply overwhelming for one lone character.  So if you decide to undertake this option, beware that it will most likely ultimately result in some sort of permanent retirement.

Now, for role-playing purposes, I highly recommend that you play a character that is evil from the start.  This can and will make for some interesting interactions from the start of the adventure.  If you play a good paladin for sixteen levels and then wake up one day and slaughter your companions there just isn’t a good way to explain it.  Many people have tried in many different ways, but the truth is it always feels unsatisfactory.  Plus it usually carries more out of game consequences.  When the evil warlock who the party recruited because they needed his support starts poisoning the water, nobody is surprised.

I recommend this sort of option only for more experienced players.  In general once this happens the main adventure gets forgotten entirely.  For this reason it could really piss of a DM, and if you do it to a new DM they may really do some horrible things to your character by way of retaliation.  A group that has been playing for a while, will know how to handle the situation better and there is a greater chance that everyone at the table will find a way to enjoy it.

Now, if you are going to do this and get away with it, here are my suggestions.  First, play an evil character.  Second, make yourself as valuable to the party as possible.  Third, gain a measure of control over at least one other party member.  Fourth, blame it on someone else.  Finally, get your DM’s permission first.

In case your wondering these experiences are also almost always the most memorable.  People will talk about it for years to come.  You will be regaled in D&D history.  And you will never be trusted again.

As always, have fun!

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Is there such a thing as too much realism in a fantasy game?  Most people that I have talked to would agree that yes there is a line that can be crossed where the game gets too real and it is no longer fun.

So where do you draw the line?  My simple answer is “when it isn’t fun anymore.”

Unfortunately in a game as dynamic as D&D, the definition of what is fun is as varied as the people who play it.  This means that the amount of realism that should be included in your game in order for it to be fun will also be different for each player.

Some players want the game to feel as real as anything.  They want the game to feel as close to real life as possible.  This could mean live action role-playing and speaking in character at all times or complex house rules to govern occasional situations that arise.  Grappling and disarm rules, for example, have evolved over the various editions of D&D.

Realism can also come in the form of the way that the game world evolves.  Treatment of social structures, businesses, commerce, family life, religion, and so forth can all be made more realistic – that is they can more closely mimic actual organizations or people, or they can draw closer to some fantasy ideal.  The level of realism again needs to reflect what is fun for the players.

Some players really want to be involved in a game that is totally foreign to their lives.  They want to imagine themselves doing and saying things completely different from what they live day to day.  Other players would rather play a game much closer to their lives.  They simply want to extend their imaginations to the point where they are the heroes in an existence that greatly mirrors their own.

As players it is important to understand where the expectations begin to impinge on the expectations of others.  If the degree of realism for one player is so diametrically opposed to another player’s then they may not be happy in the same group.  This means that they need to communicate with each other in order to find a compromise or agreement; even if the agreement is that one or the other leaves the group on peaceful terms.

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Local area encounters can be spiced up by using small variations in terrain.  Overland travel can become its own encounter by providing different types of terrain for the characters to traverse.

Overland travel can really make a session interesting.  Travelling through a desert where temperatures fluctuate throughout the day and night provides for unique challenges.  Combine that with a lack of water, food and other resources, and the characters will be in a position to do more than hack and slash at the nearest enemy.

Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and forest fires can all also change up the scenario quite a bit.  Often these kinds of natural disasters are too much for low level parties to handle.  Mid-level parties generally have the resources to deal with these sorts of problems though they can be a test.  At higher levels, fighting dragons in hurricanes in swampland with danger from multiple sources makes things more interesting than yet another dungeon encounter.

Mix terrain with weather, disasters and clever monsters that use the terrain to their advantage and you have a recipe for something interesting and challenging.

Have fun with it!

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Okay, here it is the custom made battle map that I am using to run my Keep On The Borderlands – more specifically the Caves of Chaos.  It measures 55 inches by 73 inches, which is why my excel version of the Caves of Chaos map is a bit different from the original.

I’ll walk you through how I put it together, and then give a room by room tour (at least for some of the rooms).

Ok, let’s get started.

I started off with some upholstery fabric that I picked up at JoAnn’s Fabric and craft store. They were running a sale and I got it dirt cheap. Usually this stuff sells for $25.00 a yard and I got it for $3.00 a yard. 2 yards = 6 bucks for the base.

The material used for the walls I got a similar deal on, but I only need half as much (actually less than that, but half is a good starting point.

If you should attempt an insane project like this yourself, I recommend very much that you choose a fabric that has a pattern that lends itself to making the 1” grid. If possible, get fabric that already has a 1” grid on it, like a checkerboard or plaid. The lines on this particular fabric are spaced at ¼” so it was pretty simple to make my grid.

Okay, for the next step I started marking my grid and gluing down my walls. If I had it to do over again (which of course I do), I would recommend drawing out the grid in its entirety first. I used a green permanent fabric marker. They are machine washable and really do a very nice job. A word of warning here, though. You have to let the marker dry for a couple of hours before you expose it to steam.

Why is this important? Well mostly because I used a lot of steam.

In order to attach the walls I used fabric glue, which comes in little rolls. The rolls come in a variety of widths from 1/8” up to 2”. I chose the 1” width, but the 7/8” would work just as good, if not better. In order to stick the walls to the base you cut a strip of wall and a strip of glue and then place the wall on the base with the clue in between. Then put a damp cloth over the wall and apply a hot iron (set to wool) for about 20 seconds. The instructions on the glue say to keep it there for 10 seconds, but I found that keeping it there longer really helped, especially with some other types of fabric, like denim, which I used for the pool in area G.

Here we can see what the whole thing looked like with all the walls done but no trees, water, or furniture. At this point I was experimenting a bit with the fabric markers to see how they would look for drawing in furniture and stuff. I decided to go ahead and cut out shapes for most of the furniture like tables and chairs later on because they added more dimension to the dungeon. After finishing the walls I went ahead and glued down the trees, water, and major furniture elements like tables, chairs and altars.

After finishing all of the gluing I went back with a fabric marker and drew in the rest of the elements that I wanted including furniture, fireplaces, the kobold garden, and the magic runes in the temple of chaos.

All told the project took about 50 hours of work, but it is really a wonderful little blanket to have around. My kids just love it. And as for gaming, it really does bring a whole new dimension to the game experience.

Want a close up tour of some of the rooms? Let’s get started.

Area 1: Entrance. I don’t show the pit trap, but will place it down when the PC’s discover it. The red star represents the cave entrance. There are no furnishings in this area, so it is kind of boring visually. The kobolds get to use the narrow hallway to hold back the PC’s if they turn aggressive.

Area 2: Dump. I admit that I had a hard time drawing trash, so it looks a bit like scribbles. When the PC’s go poking around they will find the rats and scorpions waiting.

Area 3: Also visible in this picture is area 3, the Storage area. Crates, barrels and bags are all drawn out. Mixing colors with the fabric markers is a bit difficult, but they are outlined with black and then colored in with yellow and bronze. The yellow doesn’t show up too well in the photos.

Area 5: This is the kobold king’s lair. If you are paying close attention you will have noticed that I switched areas 6 and 5 on my final map. Why? Well because I screwed up and glued in the king’s throne here. Not a big deal I guarantee the players will not know the difference. I tried to get a bit creative with the fireplace, the lantern, and the little playing cards on the table.

Area 6: This is the kobold main living quarters. Notice the large fireplace and exposed rug. The kobolds like to lounge here next to the fire. They also have a couple of oversized sofas.

Area 4: If you’re wondering what happened to area 4 so am I. At the time of this writing I’m just noticing that area 4 got left out. I guess I’ll stick the guards in the hall somewhere.

Obviously this continues on for the rest of the caves.  If you want to see the whole thing then you’ll just have to download the entire module.  I’ll post links for that next week, I’m just putting on the finishing touches.

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Creating suspense in a game session is a matter of creating risk for the players.  There are several kinds of risk that are valuable to different players.  The most common is danger to the characters, but other kinds of risk can also be important.  Loss of riches.  Potential gain can also create suspense.

Once you have decided on a type of risk, then the level of risk needs to be set correctly.  An overwhelming risk – such as a Red Dragon at level one is overwhelming and feels more like insanity than suspense.  If the risk is too low again it doesn’t feel like risk.  Typically the risk should feel slightly beyond the capabilities of the party.  Something that will cause a stretch for them, but which will be worth it in the end.

Presenting the risk in a meaningful way is also very important.  The presentation must be geared to the players as well as the characters.  Different players value different aspects of the game.  Some appreciate the excitement of combat – others like mysteries and role playing.  Present the risk in a way that appeals to the various players in the group.

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Diseases are an often underutilized tool in the DM’s box of fun tricks.  Typically they come about as a side effect of throwing in a monster that hasn’t been used in a while – such as a lycanthrope.  Only after the rules complications enter play does the DM remember why they don’t use them.

Then one of two things typically happens – either the party (or at least the afflicted member) dies because the party is completely unprepared, or the disease has almost no effect at all and presents no real challenge or change of pace.

In order to make diseases interesting they need to be introduced at a point in the campaign when they will be challenging and fun.  Putting in a disease that will cripple or kill a party member in the middle of an already challenging dungeon is a recipe for party wipe.  Put that same disease around the corner from a temple with all the cures at a reasonable price and nobody even notices.

In 4th edition there are levels associated with the various diseases.  This makes figuring out their difficulty fairly easy.  Once again, however, the options for curing a disease need to be considered carefully as well as their potential effects.

First, consider how likely a party member is to become afflicted with the disease.  What is the actual likelihood that the afflicting monster will hit with the given attack.  If the character is afflicted, what is the likelihood that a party member will recognize the disease?  Unless the party started somewhere around level 5 you probably have a pretty good idea of their play style and the disease question hasn’t come up yet.  In other words these shouldn’t be difficult questions to answer.

Consider the consequences of the disease on the party.  Who is most likely to be afflicted and how will they deal with it.  If it all seems too easy, then consider making the challenge a bit more difficult.  In general it is easier to make an encounter or dungeon easier on the fly than it is to make it more difficult, so plan for the party to handle your situation better than anticipated.

I recommend against introducing a disease if there is only one option for curing it – unless you can carefully control who gets the disease.  One typically very challenging situation is when the party healer gets diseased and nobody can help him out.  If there is only one person who can tend diseases with any reasonable hope of success, then as a DM you should have a backup plan for the party.  An NPC that can cure them, a magic item or something.  They may not need the help, but spending an entire session watching the party healer slowly degrade may not be the most fun.

There are situations where it is a good idea to afflict the party this way.  There are times when it can be a learning experience for the players and the characters.  It can open up new adventure hooks, but in general it is a better idea to treat diseases like all the other challenges – they are something the party is supposed to beat and be rewarded.

Like everything else, have fun with diseases!

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According to me, probability is the chance that something will happen.  Look it up in a dictionary and you may find three or four other definitions.  If you play a tabletop RPG, then you should have some bit of understanding of probability.  Because dice are involved, probability is involved.

If you get onto the forums, you can find some pretty in depth discussions of the topic.  Not surprisingly, Dungeons and Dragons attracts some pretty bright mathematical minds.  Actual statisticians and mathematicians play the game and in their off time they go through studies to determine various outcomes of various theoretical D&D situations.

For the average player this level of discussion is not necessary.  However, some understanding of probability is necessary.

For example, what is the difference in damage between something that does 1d8 damage and something that does 2d4 damage?  On average they will both do 4 points of damage per hit.  However, the item that does 2d4 damage will never do only 1 point of damage.  This means that in general your lower damage limit will be higher using the 2d4 damage.  But what about maximum damage?

This is where probability does come into play.  For something that does 1d8 damage, the probability that you will get max damage is 1 chance in 8 (12.5%).  For something that does 2d4 damage, the probability that you will get maximum damage is 1 chance in 4 times 1 chance in 4 or .25 x .25 or 6.5%.   Because you are rolling more dice, the chance that both dice will come up at maximum is actually less.  The trade off becomes dealing slightly more damage more consistently with less chance of doing maximum damage.

The concept here is to pay attention to what is actually going on when you are rolling all those dice.

Two key principles to watch are the law of averages and the gambler’s folly.

The law of averages says that the more dice you roll the more likely you are to get the average value of those dice.  This means that a 10d6 fireball is more likely to get 30 as its result than anything else and that it will be rare to find anything more than 40 or less than 20 as a result.  It also means that the difference between a 10d6 fireball and an 11d6 fireball is 3 points of damage, not 6.  Take it up to 20 dice and you start to get closer to that average number even more consistently.

This also means that over time the damage that your character deals will also average out.  If your character wielding her longsword is going to make an average of 50 damage rolls per level (10 encounters with an average of 5 hits per encounter) then he or she is going to do 50d8 damage during that level.  There are enough dice here to fully invoke the law of averages, so the character will do about 200 points of damage – not much more and not much less.  Kick this up to a Battleaxe and you’ll do another 50 points of damage during that level.

The gambler’s folly is nearly the opposite of the law of averages.  It says that each roll of the die is independent of all other dice rolls.  So just because you rolled 3 20’s in a row doesn’t affect the chance that you are going to roll a 20.  In essence it says that all the superstitions about dice rolling are just bunk, but I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

The hang-up that players get caught in is when they try to circumvent probability with probability.  Doing more damage by adding more dice is deceptive.  Doing more damage by adding bonuses – by eliminating probability is generally better.  Players read the PHB and when they see an entry like 2d6 they immediately think 12 damage.  The way they should read it is 6 damage with an equal chance of doing 2 or 12 damage.  Only when they roll a 7 damage 6d6 fireball (yep, it happened at my table) do they realize that the odds swing both ways.

On average something that does 1d4+2 will do more damage than a regular old longsword (1d8).  Though it will never do 8 points of damage, it will always do at least 3 and usually 4 damage, and the odds of doing maximum damage are 25% instead of 12.5% so it may not be a bad choice.

Math behind probabilities of chances to hit are a bit more complex, but only because you have to also understand the probabilities of different opponents having different defenses.

What does this all mean, and why should you care?  It means that if you want to get the most from your character you need to look at more than just the numbers in the book.  Think about what they actually mean during play and what they will mean during session ten and twenty.

Or just skip the math and have fun!

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A table top role playing game is a bit different from an MMORPG or some other activity.  Not all of the parts and pieces may be readily available.  Things like character sheets, minis, dice and so forth are the responsibility of everyone involved.

In addition there are often some responsibilities that need to be dished out as well.  Mapping, treasure division, leadership roles, tracking initiative and any number of other administrative tasks need to be handled.  Often the DM will handle some of these for the players, often she will not.

There are a couple of ways of making these assignments.  Where possible I recommend asking for volunteers.  Someone who wants to do a job is more likely to do a good job at it than someone who doesn’t really want the responsibility.  It is important to remember that these assignments don’t necessarily have to be role played.  The player drawing the map may not be the character drawing the map.  This makes it so that the fighter in the party doesn’t have to be walking around with a piece of paper in his hand rather than a shield.

Helping out with these tasks can take a lot of the burden off of the DM.  This in turn will make the game run more quickly and smoothly.  If the DM is not having to worry about whose turn it is she may be able to put more effort into the witty remarks of the NPC noble.

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There are lots of ways to enjoy playing any class, but the rogue (and perhaps the warlock) offers more opportunities to play with the information available to the other characters.

Dungeons and Dragons is a game of many dimensions.  The opportunity to hack through monsters and snag the nifty lootz is always a lot of fun.  Exploring strange new worlds and discovering new creatures is part of what draws us to fantasy.  Interacting with others, however, is what draws us to tabletop gaming.

Choosing a sneaky character (not necessarily a stealthy character) opens up many options for interacting with the other players in interesting ways.  If they do not know for sure what class you are playing they will act differently in different situations.  If they are not sure that they can trust you they will act differently.  If they are not sure what abilities you possess or what the true limits of your powers are they will treat you differently than scout/disarm.

Yes, playing up the personality of your rogue will add time to the game and slow down the pace a bit.  This isn’t for everyone.  However it has a lot of rewards beyond just gold and magic items.  Many DM’s will not reward this style of play with experience points and some may be unfamiliar with it altogether, but the intangible rewards are real and exciting.

Be cautious when interacting with other players.  Understand that creating barriers between characters can undermine the effectiveness of the party in dangerous situations.  Don’t hold back in a crisis just to prove a point.  Letting other characters die or suffer serious setbacks can create very real metagame effects such as getting a drink dumped in your face.

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Sometimes a player finds himself in a party of players that for whatever reason they feel that they are simply carrying the party and that everyone else is just there to leech off of his or her well optimized character and strategy.  Sometimes these same players are leading the party and making decisions and at the end of the night they feel exhausted rather than excited by what happened during the session.

What to do?

First, realize that the game really is about having fun and if you aren’t having fun then you need to change something.  Often this step, as simple as it may sound isn’t usually very easy to take.  The player described here often feels a great deal of pride in their ability to min/max any situation so they are reluctant to be humble enough to admit that perhaps the problem lies not with the other players but with their own play style.

Learning that supporting the party does not mean running the party can be a hard lesson to learn – one usually learned only after being asked politely (or not so politely) to find another group.

Supporting the party is a combination of finding opportunities to step up and take over a situation and sitting back and letting the others work it out.  Most of the time the other players will be able to come up with a solution to nearly any problem.  Letting them work through it will help them learn the game and help them enjoy it more.  If they turn to you for help then so much the better.  If they don’t, no worries.  Focus on the aspects of the game that you enjoy the most and give yourself a break at other times.

One trick that often helps is to focus very carefully on the role-playing aspects of the character.  Focus on the character’s personality.  Would that mage really use the same solution to get through this trap that the fighter you played three characters ago used?  Is this rogue really so altruistic as to care if the cleric gets hurt in a fight she started?

Whatever solution you find, make sure it is one that makes the game fun to play!

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