| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 13 Jul 2006 : 04:47:25
This is just something that came to mind when one of my players recently made a comment about my dungeons and how they are constructed. The characters had explored every room of the dungeon except one, and the dungeon was inhabited by members of the Cult of Orcus, pretty much all human (the antechamber contained demons and undead, but no matter how depraved the cultists were, they needed their alone time).
When asked what the longest running member of my campaign thought was in the last room, he answered definatively, "I'm betting it's the privy. There is always a bathroom in Jared's dungeons."
Sure enough, it was indeed the privy. It always bothered me when "civilized" monsters that likely need "facilities" were placed in dungeons that didn't seem to have any. I also often have kitchens in dungeons that are established as long term home bases.
So I got to thinking about the general statements that other players have made about my campaigns.
1. The bathroom thing.
2. Always worry about fey. They hate fey, and almost always buy cold iron weapons now. They have also had their posteriors handed to them by quicklings and red caps . . . 
3. Faerie is a bad place . . . I used a corrupted segement of a fey crossroads with the haunting rules that came out in Dragon last year or so, and made the section a Primeval haunting, which meant that if anything was left alone and not native to the place, it had to make a save to keep from ceasing to exist (if an adventurer leaves the party in Faerie, and no one sees him, does he exist . . . maybe not). So even though this was only one corrupted place, they are now paranoid about all fey crossroads, even though one of the players has a book detailing where several are.
4. There are about a thousand things going on everywhere they go, and they are only going to be able to latch onto a handful of them. At first they used to try to follow every plot thread, until they realized that the NPCs had plots and plans that were going to happen and move forward with or without them. On top of that, there are few "generic merchants" or "standard town guards."
Last month in Dragon the Zogonia strip had a running joke about all of the named NPCs that party had run into, and the adventurers trying to remember who was who and what their story was, and in the end they decided never to talk to NPCs again. One of my players immediately said that the writer must have played in one of my campaigns.
So what kinds of things to your players say about your campaign that lets you know that you have made your mark on them?
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| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Faraer |
Posted - 19 Jul 2006 : 23:44:20
I just have to say: jakes. |
| Fletcher |
Posted - 19 Jul 2006 : 23:17:17
My players know it is my campaign, because time passes. Travel time, training time, resting. My PC's have spent all but one winter, comfortable at home, studying and training. The PC's have aged 4 years, 2 of them are getting married to NPC's and planning on children
Also every time they end an andventure and have returned to their homes in Fellaren-Krae and environs, they always look forward to the 'news and rumors' that they pick up. It gives them ideas of what they want to do next, and lets them get more in touch with the happenings of the world around them.
And then there are taking the 'easy kill monsters' like kobolds and making them have class levels. Such as having a kobold monk sect. Nothing like having an 11th level monk kobold freak out the PC's. |
| lockdar |
Posted - 18 Jul 2006 : 08:22:08
Background: My players decided one time they were ready to create 5 level 20 character and go wild in the Labyrinth of Madness. With about 15 ressurections and various other insane things they made it to the end (we were more concerned with clearing it then actual roleplaying at that time) and they faced my upgraded Yuan-ti/Lich Titan. After 4 rounds of combat the only one still alive was the fighter who didn't have a single wound and actually teleported out. Ever since then my players have a vicious hatred and fear of time stop and prismatic spells.
Now when we play I sometimes throw in a room with all sorts of small tiles in 7 different colours. My players know that whatever is in/beyond that room is worth the trouble but their fear of prismatic spells usually scares em away :) |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 17 Jul 2006 : 21:29:27
1) If its wearing red robes, kill it
2) Don't ever go in the front door, if its got a roof, bust through
3) A statue can actually be a statue, and might be valuable loot if you can figure out how to get it out.
4) Don't cross the local law enforcement... no matter what level you are. |
| Snotlord |
Posted - 14 Jul 2006 : 18:36:42
Baldur's Gate II style bickering and intrigue within the cohort (always fun and annoying). Combat with hordes of opponents that takes forever (not always fun). |
| Bluenose |
Posted - 14 Jul 2006 : 18:26:29
You know that I'm the DM when the other players start specifying guard patterns, casting warding spells, and setting traps before taking a bath.
Then there's the certainty that in at least one adventure in a campaign you will have intelligent undead allies.
And in the last three campaigns I've DMed there has been a flood which affected the players.
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| Dargoth |
Posted - 14 Jul 2006 : 16:48:45
How Do Your Player's Know its Your Campaign?
Going off my current campaign by the exceedingly high PC body count! |
| Na-Gang |
Posted - 14 Jul 2006 : 13:19:48
I've only been running the current campaign for a few months, after a break of perhaps 10 years from DMing.
I suppose the campaign is built on confusion, plots within plots, puppeteers behind puppeteers and never being quite sure what is going on. They say they enjoy it very much but have come to expect that for every answer they get, two more questions will arise. I'm not shy of having their opponents try and manipulate them against each other or kill their servants or relatives in revenge. The campaign is based around Yuan-Ti who have discovered some of the Illithid secrets of 'genetic' manipulation and creation of Abberrations. As such, nothing is what it seems and poison is everywhere. The players were aware of my love of Illithids and were not surprised at their inclusion, but I think they are expecting them to be the orchestrators of the current nefarious plots of the Yuan-Ti. They're wrong. Give them something they expect but not how they expected.
Therefore, I think it fair to say that this current campaign is characterised by confusion, shock, intrigue, manipulation and hidden threat. |
| Reefy |
Posted - 14 Jul 2006 : 00:52:29
Dire bears.
The unlikely prospect of an elf named Wetherby.
Battling giants and drawing pictures afterwards.
A halfling affectionately known as Tosscobble. |
| Conlon |
Posted - 14 Jul 2006 : 00:12:01
"Polish the wood daily!" Ha! Don't we all.
Anyways, my players always know that they will need to do some serious and creative detective work to get to the meat of my campaigns. Years of police work make me a bit of a pain-in-the-aasimar of a DM.
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| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 13 Jul 2006 : 13:30:54
A DM friend of mine had this odd habit, every campaign, of having "Bill Brannigan's pony" pop up in some really odd location...  |
| Wandering_mage |
Posted - 13 Jul 2006 : 12:30:02
My players know its my campaign because of the planning involved (I am ready for almost anything), and the fact that they can lead me into saying the funniest things.
I once had the players visitng a sage in Waterdeep and I was explaining how the wood of the furniture was well taken care of and so the players asked the butler of the sage how he keeps the furniture so nice. The butler replied immediately, "Well, I polish the wood daily."  I thought what I replied with was harmless but then again it took half an hour to get over that phrase.
I'm pretty awesome with my maps too come to think of it. I have a thing for maps. Always have. My wife drives while I read the map. I hate driving! |
| Mace Hammerhand |
Posted - 13 Jul 2006 : 08:40:38
Voices, my players would have to say voices... I distort my voice to sound different. That went so far that I voice acted an R2-unit and a wookie in my Star Wars session. I also change the word order in some cases.
As for any specific style...well, let's just say that my players should know by now that I am ruthless when it comes to battle, I try to be fair but if any character displays strength (ie wizard) that person really gets it.
Oh, and I am very visual in my descriptions, up to the point of making old things sound new. Best example of that would probably be a Star Wars session where the characters ended up in Mos Eisley during the Obi cuts arm off scene, and after a few days one of the players came to me and said: "You bastard! I just figured out what we were seeing when we were in that cantina!" I had described events from the characters' point of view...and they never knew what they were facing. |
| Ergdusch |
Posted - 13 Jul 2006 : 08:29:50
That would be best answered by my players I guess, but I'll take a shot at it anyways:
I believe I have a tendency to include at least one "funny" character in every game session. I.E. I have used a normal peasent that was constantly arguing with his old toothless horse, a pixie that was trapped in the body of a Nalfeshnee demon, a gnome that hated magic-users, a beholder in love with his mirror image, a quasit and an imp that have been magically summoned to the same room for centuries and build a friendship over the years, and the like. Those moments are always the most fun part because the players gladly take the opportunity to play out the situations. And I think that is the moment that they recognize they are playing "my" campaign. |
| Sanishiver |
Posted - 13 Jul 2006 : 06:31:06
Y'know I tried to think of something my players say along those lines...but I can't recall anything. I do know they really like the campaign, FWIW. ;)
J. Grenemyer |
