The Dungeons and Dragons Meeting: A Guide for Taming Your Players

by Isolo Aranel

for Advanced Composition, ETSU, Spring 2011

 

 

 

Text Box: You follow the trail through the thick woods, the trees creating a canopy of life above you. The night sound strangely absent, however, and the world is silent. At the top of the hill, you and your companions reach your destination. The forest breaks away and opens into a clearing, the few trees dotting the abandoned cemetery black and shriveled. The temple casts its great shadow over the path and you. The large flaming skull and scythe motif emblazoned upon the stone door seems to glow in the blackness of the night, wet paint still dripping down the stone. You know what awaits inside that temple. You can feel the evil in the air. But, you know for the sake of the town at the base of the hill, that you have to enter this forsaken place. With a deep breath and a smile that can only be earned through adventuring on a long road, you and your companions press forward. The real adventure is about to begin. Text Box: J"Isolo Aranel" is a junior at East Tennessee State University and an avid fantasy and role-playing junkie. She was indoctrinated into the world of Dungeons and Dragons at the age of 18 by the man that she now calls her husband and has been playing the game ever since. Jerianne has successfully run seven sessions now as a Dungeon Master. Photo Taken by Gilbrilthor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the Realm of Dungeons and Dragons

            A newcomer to Dungeons and Dragons may view a gaming session as a strange mix of gambling, arguing, and strange ritualistic incantations that sound like complete gibberish. However, it's not quite as ritualistic as people might think. A pen-and-paper role-playing game is like a video game taken out of the constraints of a TV and game console and thrown into your living room or man cave, complete with real people. Dungeons and Dragons lets you use your imagination to it's fullest; it's a completely open world game, meaning that anything, and I do mean anything, goes. You can run across the rooftops of a city to escape the city guards, steal a team of oxen and the attached cart from a drunken merchant because you're low on cash, hunt minotaurs for a high profit and even higher fame, or burn the entire kingdom to the ground because the king didn't pay you enough for saving the princess. You can play an honorable knight that always rushes to the aid of the innocents, an evil assassin in a constant search for riches, or a sorcerer that is somewhere in between. Each time you play a character, you have a chance to become someone else for a few hours and act like you never would allow yourself to act in real life. You take on a new identity and become your character, thinking, talking and acting as he/she would. Dungeons and Dragons, essentially, is all about your imagination and how you use it.

 

The Basics

At first glance, playing Dungeons and Dragons can look complicated, but once you break it down into the basics, it's pretty simple. The game consists of several basic elements, as stated in the basic rulebook for Dungeons and Dragons The Player's Handbook, published by Wizards of the Coast:

u Acting: the role-playing part of the game. Every player has a character that they create before the game begins and these characters have personalities. The player, throughout the game, will act as that character would, often mimicking their character's speech patterns, accents, or physical quirks, such as winking or nervous twitches.

u Social Interaction: Players have to work with each other and the imaginary characters that they encounter within the world, called NPCs. Dungeons and Dragons encourages teamwork and other important social skills, like the art of compromising and bargaining. tactfulness, resourcefulness, creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking skills.

u Combat: Dungeons and Dragons wouldn't be complete without some fantasy violence. The combat of Dungeons and Dragons is turn-based. The order the PCs and NPCs are determined by a statistic called "initiative;" each player and the Dungeon Master roll a twenty-sided dice and add the result to the base initiative score of their character(s). The character or monster with the highest score is the one that has the fastest reaction at the start of combat and will go first, then the next highest score will act, and so on. During combat, players tell the Dungeon Master and their fellow players how they are going to respond to the current threat and then roll a twenty-sided dice to perform a check to see if they succeed at accomplishing that action or not. The Dungeon Master makes all of the combat decisions for monsters, creatures, and NPCs.

u Storytelling: Storytelling is a big part of playing Dungeons and Dragons, especially for the Dungeon Master. Through storytelling, the characters are introduced, the settings are described, and the adventure is set into motion.

u Text Box: Three Types of Characters u The Players and their Characters (PC, or Player Character) - Each player has a character that they will roleplay through the adventure or campaign. This character is created or made before the game begins (See the Character Creation Section). u Non-Player Characters (NPCs) - Non-player characters are the people that populate the world the adventure is set in and are controlled by the Dungeon Master. NPCs can be anyone in the world, from the king of the land to a poor farmer, or even a deity. u The Dungeon Master (DM) - The Dungeon Master is the person that has created the world that the characters are going to play in (See the Adventure Creation Section). It is the DM's job to create a dynamic world, an interesting storyline, memorable NPCs, and fitting rewards for the trials the characters will go through. The DM is the one that role-plays all of the NPCs that the PCs come into contact with throughout the adventure. Dice Rolling: When dealing with combat or performing skills, such as climbing, swimming, balancing, or lock picking, the results of a dice roll will determine success or failure, depending on the statistics the character, NPC, or monster has.

 

 

Creating the Adventure: Setting, Plot, and Character

When a Dungeon Master refers to "creating an adventure," they are referring to making the storyline or game that the players will play. This involves making up a world, complete with geography, city names, roads, distances, cultures, and laws, and then populating that world with NPCs and monsters that the players will encounter throughout the game. The storyline of the adventure is always fun to create; it can be as simple as a monster threatening a small farming community and must be dealt with or as complex as a political scandal, involving assassination attempts, kidnapping, and bribery, that the PCs unknowingly get wrapped up in.

            Some books that will be useful when creating an adventure, though there are many more available:

u The Player's Handbook - This book is the basic manual for character creation and contains a full explanation of how the game is played. This book is essential!

u The Dungeon Master's Guidebook - This book details a lot of the basic and more advanced information that you will need to be a DM, as well as giving statistic blocks and a very large list of magical items that can be given to your players or used against them.

u Cityscape (if you are planning to have an urban adventure)

u Monster Manual I, II, III, IV - These books contain many, if not most, of the monsters that fill the world of Dungeons and Dragons, complete with illustrations, physical descriptions, and statistics blocks for each monster.

u The Arms and Equipment Guide - This book is full of equipment, weapons, and armor that can be found or given to your players.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Materials You Will Need to Play

            Keeping players interested in a single game of Dungeons and Dragons can be extremely difficult at times, especially when  the natural enemies of a DM are sure to raise their ugly head just before a climatic encounter or important meeting: hunger, off-the-wall humor, interlopers, and fatigue.

Text Box: Some Important Vocabulary to Remember Dungeons and Dragons has a great deal of vocabulary that players learn when playing the game. Two of the vocabulary words that you will need when reading this guide as your prepare your gaming session are: u Adventure - An adventure is the storyline that the players will play through; generally, an adventure is about one to three hours long and can be played in a single session. u Campaign - A campaign is a set or series of adventures and can take several sessions to complete.             The DM is usually responsible for setting up the session and making sure that everything is in order before the players sit down to begin the adventure or campaign. Proper preparation can make a huge difference in the levels of success of an adventure, possibly eliminating adventure-ruining setbacks or mood breakers. There are several things that every DM needs before the session begins:

u Appropriate Space

u An adventure

u All required texts/notes

u Junk Food and lots of it!

u Dice

u Props and other things that will help to set the mood for your adventure

 

 

Appropriate Space

            Space is a very important thing to think about when planning a Dungeons and Dragons gaming session and requires a little bit of thought. When choosing a space for a session, you will need to think about the following:

 1.     Number of players

The number of players that you are planning on attending your session is going to greatly influence your choice for space. You want enough space for the DM and the players to spread out their papers and books with plenty of space to roll their dice.

 2.     Flat Surface

You will need a flat surface that will not hinder the rolls of your players' dice. Dice rolls and the results of those rolls are extremely important in Dungeons and Dragons and the scores can make or break an adventure. To lower the chance of your players becoming frustrated (though, sometimes, the dice will just be trying to kill your players, no matter how level your playing surface is), a table or some other type of smooth surface, such as a laminate floor, is necessary.

 3.     Comfort

You and your players will be sitting in the same area for an extended period of time, so planning ahead for comfortable seating is a must. Also, you need to be sure that the temperature of the room will be comfortable to the majority of your gathered group.

 

 4.     Low Traffic 

The space you choose for your gaming session also needs to be out of the way and free from distractions, such as TVs and video games, which can pull you and your players out of the fantasy setting of the adventure. An area with low traffic is preferred, so other people won't be walking back and forth while you are playing your adventure. Interlopers, such as parents, siblings (older or younger), and especially pets, can drag your players out of the mood with their disruptions and can lead to further disruptions.

 

An Adventure/Campaign

            Though it might seem obvious, the DM needs to have a COMPLETED adventure or campaign before the players take their seats at the table. An adventure that is thrown together thirty minutes before the game begins is not going to flow like a finished adventure. Players can tell when a DM spent real time creating a dynamic world and storyline or simply threw random monsters, traps, and treasures their way; if your players feel that you didn't care about making your adventure or campaign, they probably won't care if they burn your whole world -- and your adventure -- to the ground. An interesting adventure designed with the players' characters in mind is much more likely to hold the attention of your players, who will, in turn, be less likely to make stupid or random comments that pull the entire group out of the mood. As the DM, you need to be prepared; the more time you spend flipping through the Dungeon Master's Guide or The Arms and Equipment Guide for a particular magical item because you forgot to write the page number down in your notes , the more likely your players are to get off track and begin running amok, both in your fantasy world and in your gaming area.

 

 

All Required Texts/Notes

Text Box: u Pizza u Soft Drinks u Chips and Dip u Cookies (The more sugary, the better.) u Baked Goods (Doughnuts, honey buns, cinnamon rolls, Little Debbies, etc.) u Candy             Dungeons and Dragons consists of a lot of books published by Wizards of the Coast, full of class ideas, playable races, monsters, magical items, spells, rules and guidelines for the game. The DM will usually be surrounded by several sizable stacks of books that they will refer to throughout the adventure and the players will also have books they will need as they play. It is important to make sure that everyone has the books they will need before the game begins. The DM and the players need to have all of their notes and character sheets completed and with them when the session begins. This ensures that the game will go faster, smoother, and with less confusion.

 

 

Junk Food, Junk Food, and More Junk Food

            Junk food is a staple of Dungeons and Dragons; the more, the better. When a group of teenagers or young adults get together and stay up into the early hours of the morning, junk food is the fuel that keeps them going. The foods you have on hand will, of course, be tailored to fit the group that you have invited to the session. Make sure that everyone likes at least one thing that is provided. A good way to ensure that everyone is pleased with the snacks and meals available is to ask your players to bring their own junk food to supplement what you have on hand. That way, everyone is more likely to be pleased.

 

 

Text Box: Clear Elvish Dice: Who says dice have to be plain black and white? Let your dice say something about your personality. Photo Taken by Gilbrilthor Dice

            Dice are essential to the game of Dungeons and Dragons and a complete set of dice are necessary for the DM and each player before the game begins. The Player's Handbook describes and explains the uses of each type of die in great detail. I suggest that a complete set includes the following:

u At least four 6-sided dice (d6)

u One 4-sided die (d4)

u One 8-sided die (d8)

u Two 10-sided die (d10)

u One 12-sided die (d12)

u One 20-sided die (d20)

            You can easily find a set of dice in hobby stores or at online sites, such as Amazon.com.

Props and Other Items

            This final topic is one that, while not an essential to a Dungeons and Dragons gaming session, I have found to help keep players interested and enthralled with the adventure: props. The props you use in your adventure can be as simple or as elaborate as you have the time, resources, and skill for.

            One example of a good use of props comes from a horror/suspense adventure I created for my husband and his younger brother. They had been playing for years and there was very little I could do or use that would surprise, let alone terrify, them. So, to up the sense of suspense, I gathered as many candles as I could find and placed them around our playing area, then turned out the lights. In the background, I had a Halloween party CD playing from the computer for ambiance sound. The effect was wonderful and received rave reviews, even though we never finished the adventure.

            Some other ideas that I have used to thrill and excite my players in the past:

u An ancient map - Maps are easy to make and even easier to antique. Simply draw out the region on a piece of paper. You can antique or age the paper in several different ways:

▪     Rub it in some dirt.

▪     Rip or burn the edges.

▪     Stain it with tea, coffee, dark soda, or lemon juice.

▪     Crumple it up repeatedly. Make sure you don't tear or rip it when unfolding it.

u Text Box: Miniatures and battle tiles come in all forms, shapes, and sizes. And, if you can't find what kind you want in a store, try making some of your own! Photo Taken by Gilbrilthor  A bag of gold coins - Tossing your players a small bag of gold coins, even if they are only the chocolate kind, can bring great excitement to your players.

u Gems - Plastic and glass gems or polished rocks can be found at most craft stores and are relatively cheap for a bag or two. Incorporate these into the treasure that your players find in a dungeon or receive as payment for their deeds.

u Battle Tiles - Battle tiles can be bought in pre-made sets and can add a whole new level of detail to your gaming sessions. These tiles come in various styles, from dungeons to ice caverns to deserts, and can be mixed, matched, and layered to fit your needs and the adventure you have planned. Battle tiles can also help settle issues and prevent confusion over distance and terrain type, since the tiles have easy to interpret iconography and an overlaying grid pattern.

u Miniatures - Miniatures are small statuettes, usually plastic, that represent the characters and monsters of the game. Miniatures, or "minis," can add more detail to your game. Minis can also help your more gung-ho players fully appreciate just how large that dragon is.

u Goblets or Tankards - Even if your players are only drinking water, provide them with goblets, tankards, or mugs to drink out of, even if the glassware is only plastic. You can buy specialty plastic cups in bulk from the catalog Oriental Trading; if you don't want to have to buy twenty-plus plastic goblets, then shop around at your local thrift store or Goodwill and check at yard sales and auctions to find some unique pieces.

u Costumes - Encourage your players to dress up as their characters. Even if they can only bring a cape, foam sword, or a plastic Viking helmet, it will spice up the game and help your players get into character. The DM might also want to use costumes to help separate the many NPCs they will be representing throughout the adventure.

Finally, Bring Your Imagination and Sense of Humor

            As mentioned earlier in this guide, playing Dungeons and Dragons is ultimately all about your imagination. This guide is far from an all-inclusive or fail-proof guide for the perfect gaming session. Every DM is already equipped with the knowledge and talents needed to run a great adventure or campaign; this guide isn't to save a horrible adventure or session and make it great. It is to help take good adventures and sessions and make them terrific. Only you and your fellow players can really know what will help make each Dungeons and Dragons session better; ask for advice and comments from those you play with regularly and really listen to the answers you're given. But, most importantly, use your imagination and bring your sense of humor along and you will find that running a Dungeons and Dragons gaming session is just as fun as playing a character.