On The Shoulders Of Dwarves

What do we mean when we say rewards beyond loot? Not just money, treasure or magic items. Let’s give a few examples and it’ll be clear. ## Non loot rewards (01:24) Some examples: - Land  - Titles - Association (part of a guild/group/etc) - House / Place to live - Renown  - Something personal - Narrative power ## GMs - What can we do with non treasure rewards (09:33) Why should we use Rewards in our game? - Used for character development - Flash out the setting - Connect the characters to the setting - Give players a chance to expand on what interest them in the setting - Allow a sense of accomplishment without shifting game balance ## For players (13:04) Important tips: - **Use the reward**: Otherwise it is meaningless - you have a title? Use it. You have land, define it and do something with it. You are part of the stonecutters guild? Send them rock samples, keep a journal of interesting rocks you encou

What is an information dump? When a large amount of information is dumped upon the players. Mostly tedious information. Here are some ways to make dumping information more interesting. Show, don’t tell (00:26) This is the most basic and fundamental principal. Don’t just tell things.  - Effects: Think what will be the result of the information you want to say and present the results. Don’t say “there is a dragon up north”. Let the party discover burned bodies and abandoned villages”. Information as entertainment (07:40) Sometimes the delivery of the information can be entertaining by itself. Jokes, common phrases, old motivational posters, newspapers headlines, bards tales - all over the top about something. Information as background details (09:28) Deliver the important information as minor details of something more important. As background details: If we want to talk about the ruling system of the kingdom, we could provide that as minor details of our heist plot. “So, the best time to break into the vault wo

In today's episode we talk about two very different aspects of information management. I have good news and bad news: the bad news is that most game systems have some really iffy bits that somehow managed to get past the playtest phase or just not suited to your game and that sucks, the good news is that you don’t have to use them. Sometimes a part of the game mechanics does not suit your game. **There are several ways to deal with this issue, you can:** - Remove a mechanic from the system - The GM can obfuscate mechanic from the players - e.g. do all the calculations on their own, like grapple - Saves, to avoid a break in the pacing - Use a simplified version of the rules - Passive perception in D&D - A set amount of damage. - Homebrew your own mechanic for this issue Convention games: intro to system vs running a story-oriented. # Eran’s take (10:45) **Obscuring for clarity** - For reducing cognitive overload - Rules for

What makes a player character compelling? # Uri’s take (01:04) What makes a player character compelling? - They don’t snugly fit into a stereotype. We’ve talked about avoiding stereotypes and cliches in the past ([Episode 2 - avoid character cliche](https://dwarves.podiant.co/e/avoiding-character-cliches-episode-2-35aab600eb0406/)). And it’s fine to build on a stereotype, actually many RPGs railroad us to fit into some stereotype in order to conform with the trope of the genres that they are aiming at. In D&D it’s difficult to create a smart fighter because your class often pigeonholes you to a role. But i’m talking about more than that. If you find that one trope can mostly define your character (“the strong silent type”,”the dumb fighter”), add more. - They have evolved and they will evolve. They have a history behind them and a future in front of them. A character that doesn't have a development is the child-turning into a hero story but they are usually not very interesting

Both Eran and I have been playing a lot of the video game XCOM lately. Even though it is NOT a roleplaying game. Still, even though it is not a roleplaying game - there is a lot we can learn from it. What is XCOM? ------------- A series of computer games. Started in 1994 with X-COM enemy unknown and many sequels. Rebooted in 2012 with XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Would you like to know more? What's interesting about XCOM? ------------------------------ - XCOM knows what it is and what it's trying to do, and goes about it in a direct mannar. - It has a strategic layer and a tactical layer - You always know the odds but need to make hard choices. - Your actions and decisions have harsh repercussions ("[That's XCOM baby](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuP3lQl9HMQ)") Why does XCOM matter to us roleplayers? --------------------------------------- - In XCOM 2 The game continued to surprise you: new enemies, new abilities, new things to worry about. Creating a mounting tension. - Decisions in the st

Disclaimer: this is a comedy episode, any and all advice must be treated as such We are joined with our technical dwarf Aviv Icel Manoch! ## Aviv Or - How do you handle a monster strike? I had a session once where a young black dragon simply refused to fight, just handed us a leaflet about the challenge rating struggle and encouraged us to support some new Random Encounter Union. ## Di - How many kobolds do you think a single adult red dragon could eat in one sitting before it gets indigestion? ## Aviad Tal - What genre we don't see enough of in TTRPGs? - What is the best way to get rid of a mind flayer infestation? - What do you call a really tall dwarf? - Describe the hobby in the worst possible way. ## Paul Hawkins  - What would be the worst lineup for an adventuring party in a campaign in D&D? - Follow-up question: What do you think is the worst race you could pick for each of the core classes? ## Avshalom Guissin  - Tide Brillrock, surfer, sometimes nature cleric

A quick disclaimer: Eran LOVES running published modules, Uri… no so much. Also, we are talking about published adventures, not published campaigns. There are some differences that we won’t get into. ## Picking an adventure (03:57) Use the fact that other people read it: - You can read ratings, reviews and comments. This will help you pick a good adventure. - Some excellent sources might be: [DrivethruRPG.com](https://www.drivethrurpg.com?affiliate_id=29668), [RPG.net](https://www.rpg.net/) or [EN World](https://www.enworld.org/). ## Getting to know the adventure (09:27) - Read the whole thing. Most adventures have a plot summary at the beginning. - Imaging yourself inside the adventure, try to understand the impression it should have on the characters. Uri suggests doing a “[table read](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Read-through)”.  - Before every session read the parts you are expecting to run. Estimate the time it might take to run the adventure, divide it into segm

In this episode we will recommend some GM-less games that are fun to play and easy to play around the table as well as online. ## Microscope (02:29) A world building game by Ben Robbins Easy and fun to play even with just two people. [http://www.lamemage.com/microscope/](http://www.lamemage.com/microscope/) [http://www.lamemage.com/store.html](http://www.lamemage.com/store.html) You might also like to check out: Kingdom: [http://www.lamemage.com/kingdom/](http://www.lamemage.com/kingdom/) Follow: [http://www.lamemage.com/follow/](http://www.lamemage.com/follow/) ## For the Queen (07:30) A card-based story-building game By Alex Roberts. [https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/module/140/for-the-queen](https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/module/140/for-the-queen) ## The Quiet Year (09:30) A community development game by Avery Alder [https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/module/22/the-quiet-year](https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/module/22/the-quiet-year) ## Venture Forth

Today's episode we will be talking about ways that the GM can make their players feel uplifted.  ## How Uri uplift his players spirit (01:05): Every once in a while I do an “uplifting session”. That is a session whose entire purpose is to make the players feel uplifted. When? After the end of an adventure for example, to let the players experience the results of their actions. Another great time for an uplifting session is after gaining new levels, abilities or status, as a way to let the players test out their new powers and abilities.  How to create the sense of an uplifting moment?  - Lower the difficulties - Enhance NPCs reactions to the positive - Failure forward: still rewards the characters with progress of some sort - Continus sense of momentum toward their goals ## What Eran think of uplifting (08:01): - During an epilogue - Throw an obstacle; how did you overcome it? - Using the “How do you want to do this” catchphrase - The I

We got this short and to the point email from Peter: Hello, I'm not saying that my players are not smart, but... How do you make your players feel smart when you're running a game? Good question! Uri’s suggestions (02:46) There is a difference between making players feel smart and making players actually act smarter. This of course is also true for any other emotion that you want your players to experience. Target characters, not players: Use the mechanics. Players don’t need to be smart. The characters may be smart. “Smart” usually have mechanical definitions - use them. NPCs reactions: making the player character looks good by the reactions of NPCs (“15 minutes of glory”). GM praise: some simple guiding actions like saying “oh, that was a good plan”, or “nice one” Describe the results of intelligent actions favorably “thanks to your clever distraction, only four guards stand next to the treasure chest and not the full battle squad that is usually stationed there” Reward intelligent actions: humans react to

In this episode we will speak of the phenomenon of “GMing Anxiety”. DIsclaimer: We are not therapists or psychologists. So, what we will do in this episode is present some issues that we encountered and how we dealt with it. Remember: Anxiety is what we feel, not what is actually happening. It’s an emotional reaction to outside stimuli, but it does not mean it’s a *good reflection* of what’s actually going on. # Uri’s take (01:00) I think that GMing anxiety is a mixture of two dominant issues: **What is Imposter Syndrome? (03:55)** “the persistent inability to believe that one's success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one's own efforts or skills”. There isn’t a bachelor degree in GMing. We don’t have an external reaffirmation for being a good GM. and even if we did it wouldn’t matter.  **How Uri deals with imposter syndrome:** Keep a list of success and failures - At any work I had, I created two folders. One is called Ego and the other is called Hubris. W

# What is Fishing? (in the context of RPGs and this episode) Taking the good stuff, form or content, and remixing/remodelling or re-whatever to use in your game. # Why fishing from the classics? They’re the classics for a reason. Now we will go over some of the elements you can fish from a classic and show how it can be done. Uri will use [Shakespeare](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare)’s [Romeo and Juliet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet) as an example because he’s such a sucker for Shakespeare and Eran will use [Treasure Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Island) because he’s such a sucker for pirates. # Plots & Plot Elements (03:03) Romeo and Juliet : two rival houses, with forbidden love - Doesn’t have to be your main plotline - I did it with a dragon rider and a vampire. Who were the side characters. (there was a bounty on their heads. Treasure Island : Mutiny, back-stabbing. It’s not about finding the treasure, it’s about the competition.

A while back we asked our listeners what topics you want us to talk about and **Sivan Kotek** said “can you talk about new non OSR indie games”? Well, Sivan, yes, yes we can. # Kiss Her Before the World Ends (03:23) by **Alice Grizzle** Alice on Itch.io: [https://itch.io/profile/tafkat](https://itch.io/profile/tafkat) On the cover: *Your world is ending. There's no hope of saving it, and you know that. The others do too. They might pretend otherwise, but they know.* *None of that matters though. What matters is that you can hear her through the wall: crying. All you want to do is hold her in your arms and tell her that she's not alone.* *So do it.* Kiss Her Before the World Ends is a GMless, diceless, single session RPG for 2 to 4 players about the things we desire from relationships, how we negotiate getting those things, and making the most of every second life gives us. What I liked: the game is set up for a quick run, with time estimation for each phase. It’s a GM less game # M

How do you define a “hero” in your game? In [episode 50 - Who is an adventurer](https://dwarves.podiant.co/e/who-is-an-adventurer-episode-50-36e432309ba698/) we discussed Who is an adventurer, but we didn’t talk about what is a hero. ## The word “hero” have several different definitions * Heroes \- famous individuals * Heroes \- individuals doing the right thing * Heroes \- the individuals winning the conflict * Heroes \- the individuals that are doing cool awesome stuff, “an X-movie hero” * Heroes \- the individuals who are the Protagonists of the narrative ## Why does the definition of a hero matter? Like any definition, it matters if it allows us to see our game in a new way that is beneficial in some way. For a GM - this definition helps us to shape the call to action that will have the best effect on the characters. For the players - it helps us as players to decide what it is that our characters are doing. And what sort of arc to expect for them, going forward Are our charact

We have a guest: Di, author of “[The Anatomy of the GM curse](https://gnomestew.com/the-anatomy-of-the-gm-curse)” on the Gnome Stew gaming blog. ## What is a guiding action An action that powerfully affects the game's experience for some or all players. ## What isn’t a guiding action It can be done consciously or reflexively, mostly by a GM, because the other players give the GM authority. ## Examples of guiding actions - Putting on specific music to engage specific emotions (consider Di’s recent article [Moodlists](https://gnomestew.com/moodlists-making-better-playlists/) or T[abletop Audio](https://tabletopaudio.com/)) - Ignore a player, or reduce attention. blocking them. Address the least active player and ask "what do you do?" - Have your character address another player's character, if you want to give them some spotlight (you might want to listen to The Spotlight Episode) - Giving details, obscuring by speaking quickly - Includes social cues - And

A while back Uri came across a twitter post about “Bracket Night”. The idea of a bracket night is that you select 16 items of a specific topic and divide them into brackets, pitting one against the other and have a discussion about “which is the best”. This is determined by a discussion followed by a vote. So Uri immediately gathered 10 veteran GMs and had a bracket night to find the best monster. You can read a [play by play description](https://naimmeod.com/2020/02/02/the-gms-bracket-what-is-the-best-monster/) but that's not what we wanted to talk about. I want to talk about the reason behind having such a night. Unlike a debate club - the reason is not to win the debate. No, the idea is to open a discussion, to hear new and hopefully surprising points of views. Of course, There is no such thing as “The Best Monster”. The whole point of a bracket night, like most thought processes, is not the outcome but the road leading to it. Some of the concepts that emerged during ourthe discussions were inte

Since Uri had several GMs ask him how to create a realistic political landscape in a fantasy setting. However, we are not experts in political relations. So we brought in a professional! Haggai Elkayam Shalem - a political psychologist. ## Intro to Politics (02:20) What is politics? ## How to build a realistic political landscape (04:25) Start with conflicting desires and then move to these basics: - Avoid clear “Good” and “Bad” - Refrain from monoliths and break them into sub-sections (what are monoliths? Good question!) - The internal conflict of politics: ideology vs. self-interest - Grant clear psychological aspect to the political players A good mechanic to represent political issues: Fronts (19:00) ## The main themes for a political game (21:30) - Paranoia (not the game!) - The constant tension between ideology and pragmatism. ## What can players do to support this playstyle? (27:05) Players can help by selecting ideologies for their charac

Each game involved some basic elements such as: - System (the game mechanics) - Setting (the world, the location, the metaphysics etc) - Themes (the subject matter) - Plot structure (episodial, dungeon crawling, overarching plot, sandbox) - Nature of the characters (young, inexperienced, hardened veteren, fish out of water, professionals etc.) Each of these elements can usually be solidified during one of three phases: before the first session, in your session 0, or during the game play. Determining each of these elements during these different phases have it’s advantages and disadvantages. ## Before the Game (04:42) Setting all or most of these elements before the first session, usually in the invite to the game. Advantages: - Full compatibility - You as a GM only get players interested in the game you want to run and the players can opt into a game they wish Disadvantages: - No brainstorming - there isn’t any point where the party can suggest

The other day Uri started a discussion in our [Facebook group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/dwarfpodcast) about suggestions for future episodes. A lot of great ideas came up, and today we’re focusing on a topic suggested by a listener named Tal Shiboli’s: The Spotlight. Defining the Spotlight (01:22) \- When we say The Spotlight in this episode we mean that person around the table who is currently describing what is happening in the game. It’s easy to confuse the spotlight with the GM’s attention or acknowledgment, but they are not the same thing. Everyone loves the spotlight! (well, not everyone, we discussed [passive players](https://dwarves.podiant.co/e/stimulating-passive-players-episode-22-3623c34b0ab084/) in [episode 22](https://dwarves.podiant.co/e/stimulating-passive-players-episode-22-3623c34b0ab084/)). Also, note that sharing the spotlight is not the same as “e[mpowering fellow players](https://dwarves.podiant.co/e/empowering-fellow-players-episode-83-380227415218c6/)” (as we’ve discussed on [e

# What is derailing (01:45) Derailing is the act of going off planned session, basically when the campaign is going off tracks. # Uri’s suggestions: ## Some examples that cause derailing (04:15) - **The Squeaky Goblin** - The NPC that becomes the focus of everyone’s attention - usually a goblin with a squeaky voice that take the focus of the whole session.* “Sure, let's talk with Bananagar about him being a simple uninteresting goblin farmer that came to trade furs and grains because of the harsh winter in the mountains. Yea, Sure, he has a family, his wife Peachgar and kids Berrygar and Applegar”.* - **The “Not MacGuffin”** \- an item or clues that the party is sure is very important even though it isn’t. - **The Misconception** \- the players got it all wrong - **The Paranoid Character** \- the party will not trust nor listen to any source of information. ## Ways of coping (08:22) - ** “Yes and...”** \- My favorite approach, incorporate the derailment into your camp