dhyr's page

don't need to be super complex just some details here and there can make it more interesting. Like take a good look at the first fight in rise of the runelords where the goblins are too busy eating food from the table to even consider the PC a threat to them.

I don't think thats what I'm looking for. Sure giving the monsters an additional goal makes the fight a bit deeper but overall this is just a method to make the fight easier. The PC's wont care for the goblins eating stuff. They will walk to them and then start hacking - resulting in the same static combat I want to avoid

Maybe you are fighting on top of a collapsing tower, where all the borders of the map keep falling off, forcing the players to cluster, great vs a monster/enemy who can take advantage of AOE.

Not a bad one but I guess It does not make a big difference however I can see myself using it.

Hi,
I always fell that fights were kinda boring. You place a few monsters vs your party then they move one or two rounds until they can reach each other and the next few rounds is just throwing dice over and over again until you did enough damage. With my just started campaign I try to make thinks a bit different. What I want are encounters that forces the players to move a bit more and make tactical decisions to make fights more then just rolling dice and maybe a "ok lets gang up on that one".

However I lack some concrete ideas about what could be done. One idea is to have some sort of endless spawing monsters (or undead coming back to life after slain) so the PC's have to move through a field of monsters to get to whatever causes the spawning.

What are your ideas that you used or can think of. How can you integrate the environment into your fights.

dhyr wrote:

The cheap way out would be to have all magic users wear something like a collar that only the guards can remove and that prevents them from using any magic.

1) Do NOT do this. A fighter without a main weapon is still a fighter. Weapons are the accessory. A wizard without spells is a commoner.

2) What Artanthos said.

3) In-game questions: Why are there such restrictions? Who enforces them? Can characters purchase a license exempting them from some or all the restrictions?

EG: In Eberron, in the majority of cities, Fireball would get you branded a mass murderer. But magic Missile was certainly permitted for self-defense. Local authorities could also issue a permit allowing characters to use extreme measures.

1) A fighter without a weapon is still a fighter but he can't do much vs a fully armed person. A wizard is defined by its spells that right but he still has the wits and knowledge to handle situations without his magic.

3) The major of the city enforces them. He's a corrupt guy who wants to enhance his power while the kingdom is at war. He is backed up by the towns guard so not allowing weapons with the city greatly enhances their strength (as they are the only ones still in possession of weapons). To his citizens he explain this law by telling a tale about rebells that should not be able to infiltrate the city armed.

... First of all, if wizards exist in this world, it would make sense for guards to check for a spellbook or familiar.

We play the Golarion Campaign World, so spellcasters are pretty common. Checking for a spellbook is an idea that came into my mind too, but what happens to divine spell casters or bards?

The following addresses the "dont take magic away, just penalize it" issue:
I don't think that quite hits the point. Its the same as allowing weapons and make it a crime to draw it or hurt another person with it. (So basically like every other city does :) ). The purpose to forbid weapons within a town is that you feel that it increases the overall safety. You do not only punish their use you just take away the possibility to do so. The only reason daggers are still allowed is because you'd have one to cut your meat in the inn anyways.

In my next gaming session I plan to introduce the PC's to a new City that has some restrictions on weapon carriage within it walls.
So basically its like "leave everything thats longer then a dagger at the front gate - you get it back when you leave".
However I don't really know how to deal with magic users in this case. It seems to be a bit unfair to take away the fighters Great-sword while the wizard keeps all his "fireball destruction".
The cheap way out would be to have all magic users wear something like a collar that only the guards can remove and that prevents them from using any magic. However, that leads to the question how they would identify magic users in the first place.

How do you handle such cities in your game?

Hey there folks,

I just jump right to my problem: I have absolutely no problems to come up with fun to play adventures, but what I lack is the ability to somehow tie them all together in a big campaign or at least some campaign that is a bit more interesting then "Yeah theres an evil wizard that wants to rule the world and to stop him you need to collect this 4 shard of a fallen star that are spread over the whole world - have fun".

I don't really like pre-defined campaigns like for example Rise of the Runelords. My problem with them is that I feel that they limit your creative potential as a DM and leave me with the duty to read 80 pages and to memories them all so I don't have to look up everything during the game.

What I'd like to have is something like a campaign framework. Something that provides me with a rough overall story maybe with a few plot hooks and recurring characters giving me the freedom to design my own adventures and then weave them into the plot.

So is there something like that out there? Does anyone have an idea for such a framework that he wants to share?