The Dynamic Dungeon, Burning Dungeon Masters Out Since 1977

For many Dungeon Masters the Dynamic Dungeon represents the best of both worlds. Monsters begin the dungeon's exploration in set positions like in the Static Dungeon but then they begin to react to the players' actions as in the Ideal Dungeon; only instead of having to account for each individual's actions the Dungeon Master only has to concern herself with the creatures in close proximity to the players. 

This type of dungeon exploration represents a vastly more complex style of play for the Dungeon Master than the Static Dungeon as the amount of things she must account for expands exponentially.  As a result a glut of materials have been produced, both officially and by enthusiasts, to help Dungeon Masters account for everything from crowd mechanics to guides for figuring out what sort of sculptures are in the dungeon. Without exaggeration there are products that have been produced for practically any possible situation you could encounter in the dungeon's exploration and that's where the trouble for this style of dungeon comes in to play.

Consider for a moment that as a Dungeon Master you invest a substantial amount of your free time into making your games better. You draw maps and work on situational responses to your players actions, filling countless spreadsheets and notebooks up with possible resolutions. You read blogs and articles that offer advice and then you come to the table having spent a significantly greater portion of your time preparing for the game than actually playing it. Then you begin run the game and you're flipping through your innumerable resources trying to apply the correct solution to your players' actions. Suddenly the game really isn't all that fun anymore because you've burnt yourself out. Dynamic Dungeons are incredibly fun to explore for players and Dungeon Masters alike as they offer a greater challenge for each; however, there is a real danger in preparing too much for the exploration of these dungeons. So how do you guard against over preparing and burning yourself out?

The simplest answer is that you have to know the difference between necessary information and the superfluous glut of information that can easily overwhelm you. Learning the difference between the two is often accomplished through the difficult process of actual play experiences and thankfully there are a lot of actual play reports floating about online (see Dyvers Actual Play Reports for some examples), but if you don't want to go reading through the vast swath of play reports circulation about then the best advice I can give you is be flexible and don't marry yourself to any guideline, rule, or chart when determining how to run a dungeon. Remember, you're playing this for fun too and if any of those makes it harder for you to enjoy the experience get rid of them.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to go take a Sharpie to the grapple rules in my 3.5 Player's Handbook.

Feel like you're missing something?

Part 1: The Ideal Dungeon is a Lie (and Probably Made of People)

Part 2: The Static Dungeon Is the Same, Is the Same, Is the Same . . . 

Part 3: The Dynamic Dungeon, Burning Dungeon Masters Out Since 1977

[NSFW] Friday Artfest: Gurls! Sex! by R. Crumb

Gurls! Sex! by Robert Crumb

R. Crumb is one of those controversial artists that people either love or love to hate. Personally I love his artwork. This piece in particular features a lot of the things that make me such a fan. His line work is incredible and his ability to simulate various fabrics and colors of flesh just amazes me. Then when you look at the outlines of each woman's body they have this amazing strength to them that creates this sexual power that radiates off the page. Yet even in a strong piece such as this you can see the weakness of Crumb's art. The black woman's hand looks like it's malformed. The blonde woman has the stereotypically small head and the black woman speaks with a borderline offensive style of speech.

For Crumb's critics the overt sexuality of his women overcomes any appreciation for his artistic ability. That is a pity, because not only does Crumb have some of the best line work I've ever seen but the ease with which he pulls off satire and social commentary are unparalleled. If you'd like to find more of Crumb's work I highly recommend The Complete Crumb collections. In particular the first three Volumes are outstanding  (with Vol. 3 staring Fritz the Cat) and the ZAP Comics Collection is really worth picking up (even if they're very expensive).

The Static Dungeon Is the Same, Is the Same, Is the Same . . .

In the beginning we all play with Static Dungeons where the orc in 5A is waiting for us with his treasure chest so that we can pick up 20,000 copper pieces and swim in them like the dungeon exploring Scrooge McDucks we all secretly want to be. Then we get a few dungeons under our belt and suddenly the Static Dungeon becomes a problem filled with Quantum Ogres and that derisive shake of the head from the veteran players as the new kids continue to wade in the shallow end of the pool.

We're shamed away from the simplicity of the Static Dungeon and what happens to so many of us is that we trade the simple pleasure of the Static Dungeon for the complexity and added difficulty of the Dynamic Dungeon. As Dungeon Masters we increase our workload by taking into account the way that sound reverberates in the dungeon or the restlessness of 30 orcs who haven't killed, eaten, or screwed anything in the last four hours. Yet this trade-off begs a question: in increasing the difficulty of the game have we increased the amount of fun we're having?

With the Static Dungeon a lot of the more complex problems that a Dungeon Master encounters are eliminated. The dungeon is stocked ahead of time with treasures, traps, and monsters; only unlike the Dynamic Dungeon, they all stay put. You don't have to pull out a compass and determine if the orcs in 6B can hear the players talking as the walk up hallway 6Q, and if so, how do they react. 6B will be a battle because that's where the orcs are.

Essentially the biggest benefit to running a Static Dungeon is that it allows the Dungeon Master to focus her attention on what the players are actually doing and not on trying to juggle the reactions of her monsters and the motivations of the various factions playing for power within the dungeon (which can be a lot of fun if done correctly). Instead her monsters react to the players in predictable patterns often ascribed in the modules she's running and all the Dungeon Master has to do is follow along. By simplifying the Dungeon Master's responsibilities it allows her to focus on the fun aspects of running and not on the bookkeeping and added complexity that often comes along with the Dynamic Dungeon.

I can't honestly tell you that running a Static Dungeon will be more fun than a Dynamic Dungeon, or attempting to run the Ideal Dungeon; but I can tell you that if adding complexity to the game takes you away from the fun aspects then simplifying your game is the answer. Yes being simpler does mean that running the game is easier, but that doesn't mean you aren't having a good time. 

Now if you'll excuse me, there's a ogre in next room guarding a big ass treasure chest and I forgot to take my money bath this morning. 

Feel like you're missing something?

Part 1: The Ideal Dungeon Is a Lie (and Probably Made of People)

Part 2: The Static Dungeon Is the Same, Is the Same, Is the Same . . .

Part 3: The Dynamic Dungeon, Burning Dungeon Masters Out Since 1977

Answering Questions About the Great Blog Roll Call 2015 Edition

Occasionally I get questions about how I write the Great Blog Roll Calls and I wanted to answer some of them out in the open where everyone could see them.

"How many blogs do you actually read 

for the Great Blog Roll Call?"

I haven't added anyone to the list that I haven't read. This year I've got over 400 blogs in the can with nearly fifty of them new to me.

"How many entries of each blog do you read 

before writing their entry?"

In past GBRCs I would read the previous six months of entries in order to make sure that I had a decent grasp on the blog and what the author was attempting to do with it. This year I'm attempting to read the entire year's worth of articles so that I can create more accurate descriptions and provide future readers with good introductions.

"When is the new GBRC going to post?"

I'm shooting for a mid to late January release.

"How do I get added to the list?"

You can either drop me a note here, on one of the older GBRCs, or shoot me an e-mail. If you send an e-mail be sure to title it GREAT BLOG ROLL CALL REQUEST so that I can scoop you out of the junk mail filters.

"When is the cut off to ask to be added?"

The best thing to do is to ask before I publish it so that I can make sure you're on the list. That said, I try to add everyone as quickly as possible though sometimes Blogger is buggy and I think it's updated only to find that it has not (which has happened to me multiple times with the 2014 version).

"Will you be adding buttons and banners for the GBRC 

that we can use for our blogs this year?"

I'm working on them currently.

The Ideal Dungeon is a Lie (and Probably Made of People)

There's an idea in this hobby that comes in and out of vogue every so often that goes like this: the only correct way to run a dungeon is to make it a dynamic environment where the verisimilitude of the world can be maintained. These Ideal Dungeons exist in a world apart from the traditional game. They have markets, food supplies, and all the necessary accouterments that come along with a living, breathing society; essentially existing in a parallel faux-world with our own. The proponents of this ideal dungeon often admit that carrying it through completely can be difficult, but they maintain that it is well within the reach of any Dungeon Master worthy of his title. 

It is my contention that the proponents of Ideal Dungeons haven't successfully put their idea into play as it's complete and total bullshit. Don't get me wrong. I'm not arguing that you can't have markets and the like to help present a hint of reality to your players in the hopes that they'll be more immersed in the illusion of the game. That is not only completely within the realm of possibility but can often be faked with a good chart (see Megadungeon Trades by J.D. Jarvis for more). Yet for the most ardent supporters of the Ideal Dungeon using charts robs the dungeon of its true potential as you've not captured reality and are only presenting a pale and sickly caricature in its place.

Simulating reality is not easy under the best of circumstances and it becomes increasingly difficult when you have to take into account all of the individual variables that come with the Ideal Dungeon. Let me put it to you this way. For the Ideal Dungeon to truly exist each individual creature within the dungeon would have to be named, have a personality, and act according to its needs on their turn; AND the environment would have to adjusted according to the actions of the players and creatures after each acted to reflect the amorphous nature of reality within a living ecosystem.

As a Dungeon Master running the Ideal Dungeon you would have to allow each of the players to act and then have each of the individual creatures within your dungeon act according to their unique wants and desires. Then you would have to adjust the environment accordingly (resources used, grown, and so on). Extending this operation out logically your players would act for one round and then the hundreds (or hundreds of thousands) of creatures populating the dungeon would have to go with each individual acting separately of the whole. In other words your players would have their turn and three months later they would take their next action. 

It's because of the impossibility of the Ideal Dungeon that most Dungeon Masters actually run Dynamic Dungeons, where the creatures react to the players actions, or Static Dungeons, where the creatures are always in their assigned locations. Tomorrow we'll talk more about each of them and their benefits and drawbacks for play.

Feel like you're missing something?

Part 1: The Ideal Dungeon is a Lie (and Probably Made of People)

Part 2: The Static Dungeon Is the Same, Is the Same, Is the Same . . .

Part 3: The Dynamic Dungeon, Burning Dungeon Masters Out Since 1977

New Profile Picture

So I've been screwing about for the last few hours with paint.net and it suddenly became a really great fucking idea for me to change my profile picture. I mean, we all know that I'm not a giant, fuck-off bear reading a book so what does it really matter?

Here's the new picture for the profile. I decided that since I'm dovetailing into a bit of post apocalyptic gaming lately that I wanted to go with something that had that feel - at least for the moment. What do you guys think? Should I keep it or should I go back to the bear?

5 / 439 Down and Other Cryptic Notes

Work on the Super Secret and Incredibly Stupid project continues at a slower pace than I would like but with the sheer volume of things that I'm having to do it's not all that surprising. That said I need a slight break from the monumental project so I'm asking you all to help me out with a much needed distraction.

So tell me what are you guys into right now? What's kicking ass and you're excited to get more of in the coming weeks?

The Blair Witch Project is Bullshit

Nearly fifteen years ago I was sitting in a friend's living room watching the Blair Witch Project. There were ten of us crowded around his big screen tv (his family had the only one that any of us knew of) and the crowd was pretty evenly mixed between the girls and boys. It was supposed to be a scary movie so that crowd should have been a winning combo - except it wasn't. See as the movie starts I'm sitting in between my buddy Phil and this pretty blonde who believes that touching hands is the start down the slippery slope of eternal damnation.

The movie starts and we're greeted with that bullshit introduction proclaiming that this is a "true story." Now at the time we weren't inundated with the concept of false documentaries so this was a major linchpin in building the fear. So the movie is going along and they're in the woods with their gps and trying to find the right direction to go. At this point everything is still in the buildup and we're starting to see those creepy little hanging stick men.

Then one of the boys, I can't remember which, looks right at the sun and says, "We need to go North." And so saying he walks right towards the sun. That was the moment that broke the film for me.

Now I completely understand that there are some people in this world who don't know that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west - hell lots of people flip those two all the time. But there are only two possible answers when looking at the sun for which direction you're heading and north isn't one of them! From that moment on every inconsistency (and there are a lot) popped out like a sore thumb and the movie was about as terrifying as petting a puppy.

Trying to Find the Future by Looking Back at You.

Reliving the previous cycles of edition wars and the associated outrages over race, sex, and all the other moral offenses can allow you to weather the current tempests by providing you with the long view on things. "This too shall pass," is a maxim that will cross your mind time and again as you see the latest controversy flare up and sides are taken; but there's a danger in too frequently living in the past. You become dull and repeat the old standards (Gary said . . .) without consideration for the wider implications. Worse still you stagnate.

I think that most of us would do anything to avoid that stagnation and I think that's why so many of us latch onto the most relevant topics of the day, clinging to them like they were a life raft to relevancy. We want to matter and to have people listen to our words of wisdom. We all want to be the blog that people check first thing in the morning and the last one they check in the evening. We want to be thought of as smart and clever so we use our biggest words when we write and pray that no one realizes that we had to look up their meanings before posting that latest article. 

It's easy to naval gaze once you start seeing success and to constantly remind everyone that you broke this important story or that you've written this article that everyone read on reddit. Doing that though is the first step backwards towards becoming the sort of myopic topic of derision so many people make fun of when it comes to this hobby. So how do you remain relevant when you're holding onto the past?

I don't have all the answers, but sometimes I just want to say these things out loud.

The Hunting Party, Part 4: Recipe for Disaster

Click here to read from the beginning

Five turns came before I was up and each brought with it the death of some nameless non-player character. Clearly we were making the most of our surprise round, and now it was time that I pushed our advantage further and permanently took the night for our side. Neverwas had already begun to rally and was making a big show of rummaging through the miniatures bin and pulling out figure after figure, lining them up alongside the battle mat. "You're up," he absently said to me, "not that it's going to do you a lot of good. Who are you attacking?"

Attacking, I innocently asked. I think you've misunderstood this situation. I moved my figure over to the doors and said, I'm talking.

That got his attention and he stopped pulling from the bin to look at me. "Talking?"

Oh yes, I said with a smile.

People, please forgive the haste with which my companions - all righteous men of faith and honor - did dispatch with these foul agents of dark powers. We were lead to this village by the hand of the One, True God to bring back the light to these blighted lands. It was He who drove our footsteps to these doors and brought recognition to our eyes of the evil that stood amongst you and plotted your downfall into the never ending abyss where the sins of your lives would tear at you for all of eternity.

"The One, True God," Neverwas said with a curious look on his face.

I tilted my head, I hear that some of you have never heard the words of Trithereon, the Blessed Light of Righteousness.

"The fuck is he talking about," Neverwas wondered aloud. "Who the fuck is Trithereon?"

I shook my head and looked at each of the Lively-Roberts Clan in turn. Kinsmen it is seems that the stain of evil has reached deep within these lands turning their hearts and minds away from our Lord. Shall I do them the courtesy or should we offer unto Him that which is His?

Looks of puzzlement met me across the table but Poot caught the look in my eye and with a wave of his hand said, "Courtesy is but part of our Lord's many virtues and far be it for a Son of Trithereon to fail to show it."

A nod of my head in thanks and then I said, Our Lord, the One, True God, Trithereon, is the hammer of righteousness wielded against the sinners and usurpers of this world and the many realms of the heavens above and hells below. It was He who told His faithful to cross the lands of man and bring to bear the fury of their Lord against the invading armies of the humanoids, demi-humans, and savage realms. And it is He who now offers all of you the chance at redemption free of your past sins if you but convert now. 

Neverwas stared at me with a slack jaw and seemed to be lost for what to say next. Too bad, I said, the evil that has choked this land is too strong for them to break. I slid a chair under the door handles to keep it from being opened. Pity us Lord, for we must put them all to the sword. 

"What?" Neverwas practically shouted.

Kill 'em all. No one lives. What came after was an orgy of blood carried out in fifteen minutes. The end result was the death of thirty-six patrons, five guests, and all ten members of the staff. When Little Boy had killed the last living soul we began the grim task of piling the bodies in the basement, looting everything, and preparing for our escape unseen by the forces of evil that so clearly surrounded us.

"Time out," Neverwas called. "I need a minute, so let's call a smoke break. Be back here in fifteen minutes."

We rose out of our chairs and managed to make our way outside where I was able to watch Neverwas call Little E and the World's Greatest Liar over. I could only guess what their animated conversation entailed, but I had no doubts that they would soon have him settled down and moving against us again. Step, I called out, can you do me a favor and go get everyone's character sheets. 

"Why," Step asked as he drew a long drag off his Camel menthol. "Something up?"

I'm not sure, but I have a feeling that we need to share notes. 

He took a look inside and nodded, "Yeah, we might just."

As Step went in I turned to everyone else, We need to come up with a game plan because I don't think he's going to let me run that far again. 

Little Boy laughed, "You think? Jesus Christ, I had no idea where that was going."

Never mind that right now; you guys are going to have to figure out how far you're going to go with me on this fanaticism thing so I know how far I can push Neverwas.

"You were right," Step said as he came outside with the character sheets, "they're in Little E's office trying to figure out how to get back at us for the slaughter. I heard them talking about changing all of our alignments."

"I've got that covered," the Master Planner said as he lit another filterless cigarette. "Everyone just needs to make sure that they've got Trithereon down as their god."

"Why," Icarus asked. "I usually don't pick a god."

"If we're all true believers in the faith then it was a righteous act that can't be viewed as just us killing for the fun of it."

"It's a shield," Little Boy said as he twisted his lip. "fuck why don't we do this more often?"

Because it's hard as fuck all to maintain, I said. I picked Trithereon because I knew there wasn't a lot out there about the guy and that I could mold him to our needs. He's the god of retribution and that's the side of things that I'm playing up. If he tries to call me on it I can always play us off as a splinter church. 

"You've certainly got the crazy down well enough," Poot said with a  laugh.

Had to go dark before he could. 

"Yeah, about that," Icarus said, "how far are you taking this?"

Far as we need it to go, Icarus. 

"Wish we had Biggboy with us," the Master Planner said. "We could really use one more bloody hand to keep him off his game."

Can't help that right now.

"I can push right through anything he throws at us," Step said, "but I'm worried that he's going to try and isolate us."

It's what I would do.

"So how do we keep that from happening," Little Boy asked.

"We've got to ensure that we're always paired up with the right people," the Master Planner answered. "We need to set our marching order so that Icarus is out front, Charlie's in back and Step is in the center. That way our warriors are always near wherever the fucker is going to come at us."

Look, I'm going to multi-class as a cleric when we level. Step do you want to do the same. Two cleric / fighters should be enough to keep the whole group going until we can make him let us bring Biggboy in next session. 

"I'm fine with picking up the extra class," Step said, "but if we're bringing Biggboy in next session do we really need to multi-class?"

"We can't always count on Biggboy showing up," Icarus said. 

"I keep forgetting about that," Step said as we all got quiet thinking about Biggboy. "I'll multi-class too."

"Heads up," Poot said, "Neverwas is coming."

We all turned and watched him push the glass door all the way open. "Enough smoking. Time for you guys to get back at it."

"Bet your ass," Poot said as he threw his cigarette down and led us back in.

Click here to read Part 5: Fire and the Knights

Feeling like you're missing something?
Part 1: Careful What You Wish For

Part 2: The Lines are Drawn

Part 3: Democracy Kills

Part 4: Recipe for Disaster

Part 5: Fire and the Knights