Voting is still open for the ENnies.  Have you cast your vote yet?

In case you hadn’t heard, Critical Hits was nominated in the Best Website category, along with Dungeon-a-Day, Kobold Quarterly, Mad Brew Labs,  and Obsidian Portal.

Polls close at midnight August.  And if you haven’t voted yet, be sure to vote for Critical Hits!

Attack Of The Craw

In my gaming group, I’m “That Guy” – The one who can’t get into 4e. I’m not sure if it’s that I don’t like the new system much, that I’m not playing anywhere near as much as I used to, or something else. Whatever it is, I’ve been having a lot of trouble connecting to any character I’ve been playing, and that sucks all the fun out for me.

I thought at first it was that 4e was too combat-oriented. I ranted endlessly that all the spells were combat spells and the the only spells used for roleplaying (the rituals) took 10 minutes to cast. While I still think the 10 minute rule is ridiculous, I was, at least, introduced to the use of the Cantrip spell as sort of a Swiss Army knife for roleplayers. (Naturally, when I found this out, my wizard character had just died and I had switched to a rogue. Such is life.)

I’m also not particularly happy with how homogenous the classes in 4e are to each other. Playing a fighter feels like playing a wizard feels like playing a rogue. Admittedly this is probably a side effect of me having played D&D since 1e. The powers in 4e leave me feel like I am casting spells with a battleaxe when I play a fighter. But that’s just a little weird. That’s not enough to leave me wishing I was back in 3.5e.

The Craw Is Afoot

After some thought, I believe my problems with 4e are related to my initial gripes with the new system, but in ways I wasn’t expecting.

I got a nice shiny new copy of Divine Power for review last week, and when I cracked the cover I experienced the same problem I usually have: I see the powers, and my eyes glaze over and I don’t care. They’re almost all damage-causing or healing abilities with some shifting/movement in there. They have an attack vs. a defense. It’s all remarkably easy to understand.

And that’s when it hit me: I can see the guts of this thing as I play, and it’s taking me out of the game. It’s a beautifully designed system, probably more balanced than anything we’ve ever had before. But now I have more trouble pretending I’m equipping my character for battle. Now I feel like I’m shuffling numbers around. It feels banal.

4e does have flavor text for each power so you know what it is you’re doing that’s causing this standardized damage to your foe. It seems to me their naming conventions suffer from a similar malady to the abilities in World of Warcraft. “Reaping Strike”? At first level? Really? Unless it causes the black hooded avatar of death to appear and claim your opponent’s soul with his sickle, that seems a bit overkill to me. And that’s my other problem with the powers: they’ve tried to make first level as exciting as 20th. They’ve given everything fancy names and awesome effects and the end effect to me is that now everything is special (which means, of course, that nothing is). Back in ancient times, mages would be stuck casting magic missile forever, maybe some melf’s acid arrow. But when you could start casting Fireball and Lightning Bolt, it was in another league. There didn’t even need to be any awesome effects described in the spell description. It was plain to see what was going to happen to your target, and it was viscerally exciting. Now it’s like eating one of those rainbow chip confetti cakes for kids. It turns your mouth all weird colors and you’re pretty sure it tastes like vanilla.

Not The Craw, The Craw

The good news, (for me anyway), is that WotC seems to be leaning a little more toward fluff than crunch in the last couple books (two of which I’ll be reviewing shortly!), and I’ve been pretty pleased with what I’ve been seeing there. I always liked the roleplaying stuff way more than the combat anyway.

So what’s my point? I’m not sure I have one! I simply have a better understanding now of what it is that’s been stuck in my craw about 4e this past year (and I am painfully aware that my problem is largely rooted in old habits and personal preferences). Hopefully at some point it can be removed. Perhaps my craw can then be refurbished.

This year at Gencon, the Author Guest of Honor is Patrick Rothfuss, who wrote The Name of the Wind. I finished reading it last week, and it is one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time.

Basic Info – No Spoilers!

The first book in the Kingkiller Chronicle series, The Name of the Wind begins the story of Kvothe, a man of mystery who is credited for performing many legendary acts.  Since every good story should begin at the beginning, this story takes us through the early years of Kvothe’s life.

But the book doesn’t actually begin with Kvothe’s childhood story; it begins at an inn in a small town.  The story is told by the innkeeper, with occassional interruptions from his audience.  The book ends with all the open-ended story elements neatly concluded and story elements from the next book foreshadowed, preparing you to move on to the next part of the story.

My Impressions

When I first picked up this book, I was intrigued.  The intro chapter, the back cover description… it all sounded so interesting.  But when I first started to read it, I found myself easily distracted and quickly set it aside for a couple of months.  But like most good books, it sat there on the bookshelf,  patiently waiting for me to come back and try it again.

Second time was the charm for me; once I got through the first couple of short chapters, I found myself drawn into the story very quickly.  I took that book with me everywhere, reading every few minutes I had to spare.  I was well and thoroughly hooked, and I couldn’t wait to read what happened next.  Then, as I got closer and closer to the end of the book, I found myself slowing down, not because I wasn’t interested but because I didn’t want it to end!

The storytelling, for me, was perfect.  There were triumphant moments shared with the hero and tense moments as I waited to see how things would resolve.  Not every dramatic moment ended happily for the hero; sometimes, bad things happened, but there was character growth from those setbacks.

Overall

I truly enjoyed this story, and I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a well-written, immersive story.

Last week, the 2009 ENnie Award Nominees were announced, and while we’re a little behind, everyone at StupidRanger offers congratulations to all the nominees.  You can check out the full list here.

Voting begins July 24, so be sure to mark your calendars and cast your votes for your favorites.

Yesterday, my lovely wife blogged some great advice to @jaredmcfarland‘s tweet, where he asked for advice on how to foster more roleplaying with a hack ‘n slash group.  Today I will look at the DM’s perspective on how to foster roleplaying.

Here are a few really simple steps you can take to provide your players some incentive to think outside the sheath.

Reward Them!

This one is easy: provide some in-game incentives for them to roleplay more.  I have used both experience rewards and items/gold to tantalize my players out from behind the sword and shield, and I have found it best to inform them up front of this potential reward.  Encouraging your players to write backstory, act in character, or explore non-combat options can be immediately rewarded with an experience boost.  I have heard of this done as lump-sum RP rewards, or a multiplier for the rest of the session that will essentially double or triple earned experience.  I tend to lean toward 100 to 150 xp lump sum awards for in-character blog posts, character portraits or art, or other tie-in items.

You can beef this up as you desire.  Once, Vanir actually created a set of audio tracks inspired by an epic battle that he and our other players participated in.  I gave him around 1000 experience and a cool item to enhance his character, because participation outside the battle aspect of the campaign should be rewarded greatly.  For item rewards, I find it best to provide it to the character through an in-between session narrative in an effort not to bore the rest of the group.

Provide Episodes of Non-Battle Content

By learning to create episodic content you can foster more roleplaying within your campaign.  You can choose to have a bad guy defect in the middle of combat, pleading with your players to help him defeat his ex-buddies or have the players run across a damsel in distress in between fights to lead them into some diplomatic intrigue, you can steer your players toward non-combat interactions.  Again, as before, ensure that you dole out equivalent rewards for non-battle participation to provide incentive for your players to interact this way.

If your group truly loves hack ‘n slash and opts to roleplay, reward them with what they love: a unique hack and slash opportunity.  Whether it is competing in a prestigious gladiatorial competition or destroying an evil creature of specific threat to the local townspeople, this can be an effective way to foster roleplaying.  The characters get to fight and win a special prize as a reward in either case.  If they warm to this idea, you can use those established plot hooks to further the story and provide your players with even more roleplaying opportunities.

If your players electively refuse to roleplay, you can take one of two actions: let them continue hack ‘n slashing, or restrict their ability to fight.  You can throw them in jail and take their items, enter a strange magical field that increases the weight of items by 300%, or whatever… if you do this, you must do it sparingly.  This can be seen as railroading your players if not done with the appropriate soft touch.  I would much prefer that you opt for trying to provide abundant opportunities and let your players warm up to the idea than I would force them into it, but it is a technique that can be used effectively.

More advice from the DM’s perspective will come later on this week, so stay tuned!

Dante & I received this tweet Monday from @jaredmcfarland:

@stupidranger @dalcher Hi [= @geeksgreamgirl says you can help hack’n’slash PCs into a bit more of a story driven RP game. Suggestions?

Dante will be sharing ideas to help DMs encourage more roleplaying from their players.  Me, I’m taking a look from the player perspective.  If you’re a player who is mostly hack-n-slash and you want to develop your roleplaying, here’s are a couple of suggestions to get you started.

Develop Your Quirky Side

A great way to ease into roleplaying is to develop a character quirk that you can exercise periodically.  Think of something a little off-the-wall for your character.  Maybe you’ve developed an intense fear of spiders.  If you’re an archer, maybe you like to check the fletching on your arrows before you turn in for the night.  If you’re a sword-swinger, maybe you check the edge of your blade.

A small quirk can give you something small to interject into your game that a) doesn’t take a lot of effort to roleplay and b) doesn’t take a lot of in-game time.

Develop an In-Character Connection

You can roleplay with other characters, familiars or NPCs in-game with a little creativity.  This can be something you work into your backstory: you and the other fighter went through militia training together before moving on to something bigger, giving you something to chat about around the campfire.  If you have a familiar or animal companion, you can spend some in-game time chatting with it.

It’s a little easier to work your way into roleplaying conversations if you have a reason to have a conversation!

Take Your Opportunities When They Arise

When you find a chance to roleplay, take the opportunity.  Sitting around the campfire is a great time because you’re already out of the combat mode.  Or wandering around a new town, as you meet new people or interact with shopkeepers.  I know it’s a little intimidating to start speaking in-character, but remember, this is supposed to be fun.  Take small steps and easy opportunities to flex your roleplaying, and enjoy yourself!

For the DMs out there, stay tuned for Dante’s DM-focused advice on how to help your players roleplay more.

This past weekend, in the flurry of getting things settled for our cross-country trip back to Illinois, there were a few moments that helped settle into my mind some of the finer distinctions of Skills.

In 3.5, we had the Listen, Spot and Search skills as the observation-based skills.  But on Friday night, I actually saw these skills in action as Dante & I were visiting with some friends.  The kids made a point to show us their rooms, including their books.  Dante rolled pretty well on his Spot check, noticing what books were on the bookshelf.

Shortly after that, I saw the Listen Skill in action.  The kids hovered on the periphery of the adults’ conversation, adding in little bits and pieces.  Dante made a very low roll on his Listen check, and he didn’t really “listen” to anything that the kids said although he made appropriate responses at the time.

The final result of these skill checks came to light on Saturday morning as we were driving.  He mentioned that it might be nice to get the kids a little something as they are helping to take care of our dog, Teddy.  He suggested a couple of books that would fit nicely on the bookshelf, but he missed some of the verbal clues that gave me ideas of other small gifts we might give them.

This is really where the insight came to me: a low roll on one of these skills might not necessarily mean that you didn’t see or hear the subject of the check; maybe you just don’t really understand how it might be significant.  A low Spot check may mean that you see a bird in the sky, a higher check may mean that you recognize it, and a really good check may mean that you know it will lead you to safe water.

I have experienced this kind of description a couple of times in my D&D days, but it does really add something to the game play.  The places where I’ve really missed this level of detail are usually in modules or other dungeon-crawl situations, where we’re just there to hack-and-slash our way through the baddies, but that doesn’t mean that this isn’t a valid place to include these little “flavor text” descriptions.

Arcane Power gave us back something our spellcasters were desperately missing: Familiars.  Life as a spellcaster just isn’t the same without a little friend to share it.

The Specifics

If you haven’t checked out the details on Familiars from Arcane Power, here’s a quick run-down.  Any Arcane class can take the “Arcane Familiar” feat to gain a Familiar.  Once you have a Familiar, you can take additional feats to supplement its abilities.

Familiars are either in Passive Mode or Active Mode.  In Passive Mode, your Familiar cannot be targeted or injured; it just sits on your shoulder.  In Active Mode, your Familiar can move around, but it is subject to being attacked, which means it won’t live long with its 1 hit point.  Fortunately, if your Familiar dies, it will reappear after a short rest or extended rest.

Familiars will also grant you bonuses, depending on what kind of Familiar you have.  The list of Familiars is on pages 140 and 141 in Arcane Power, and each Familiar has unique properties, such as bonuses to skill checks and bonus languages.

Familiars Should Be Special

Familiars are fun, but they should also fit your character.  So if the standard list of Familiars just doesn’t have something to strike your interest, work with your DM to find something perfect.  For instance, while looking for a Familiar for Eaerenel, my fiery wizard, the options on the list just didn’t suit her.  Dante & I came up with a great compromise.  We took elements from the Dragonling and the Falcon, added a little twist and suddenly, we had a Phoenix.

Even if you don’t want to develop something different, I still recommend working with your DM to make the introduction of your Familiar something special.  Instead of just suddenly popping into existence, Dante & I worked out that my Phoenix would emerge from the ashes of the campfire in the middle of the night.

You are using a feat to gain a Familiar; it should be something pretty special.  So don’t hesitate to involve your DM in your decision to add that extra something to make your Familiar extra Fabulous.

This is absolutely fantastic!  It’s an early 80’s ad for D&D featuring some nerds in epic 80’s garb, a really weak dragon, and a cartoon version of Dudley Moore sniffing out treasure at the end.  It’s not really Dudley Moore, but that’s what my brain said when he showed up.  Also, I love the “part of a balanced breakfast” style money shot at the end of the commercial with all the dice nicely spaced out to display their dicely goodness.  All of this thanks to Boing Boing!

Also, their group was comprised of three guys, two girls… a pretty good ratio for a D&D game!

Dante & I received a copy of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel for the XBox 360 to review.  We had not played its predecessor, so this was an entirely new experience for us.  Due to his recent travel and heavy work load, Dante hasn’t had a chance to play it yet, but I have put in a couple of hours of game time.

General Information

Sacred 2 is designed to be an open-ended roleplaying game in a seamless world.  There is always someplace to go explore, there are always new quests to take.  You can follow the quests as they come up, or you can completely ignore what’s in your quest log and wander off around the countryside.  It is designed to be whatever kind of game you want it to be.

First Impressions

Sacred 2 is a very visual game, and the graphics are great, making it easy to become immersed in the game.  The other element that helped improve the immersive nature of the game was the fact that there were no loading screens; as you move between regions, there is only a little pause in the game play.  The most delay came in big town centers, but even that wasn’t intolerably long.

Characters & Campaigns

I have played two different characters of the six options.  First, I played a High Elf in a Campaign of Light.  The nature of the spell-caster nature was fun.  I particularly enjoyed the Blazing Tempest spell.  My only complaint with the High Elf was the clothing options; even though she was a female character, I didn’t expect to see such scanty clothing.  The second character I played as a Shadow Warrior in a Campaign of Shadow.  He was more fighter-y based, which was also fun to play; who doesn’t like to take a sword and bash the bad guys.

I didn’t play either campaign long enough to really get into the big Light vs Shadow differences, but there were minor differences throughout the campaigns.  Each starts as you make your way into larger settlements: some of the quests you complete are the same, but are different based on whether you are Light or Shadow.

Overall Thoughts

I found myself pulled into the game very easily, and before I realized it, I had been playing for several hours.  I was easily drawn into the game, and I enjoyed completing the quests; there was enough challenge to be interesting without being overwhelmingly difficult, and as I progressed, I did gain a sense of accomplishment.

However, after I had left the game, I found I wasn’t not particularly compelled to turn the game back on and continue to play.  So while it was fun, it wasn’t enough to make me want to devote entire weeks of my life to the game.

Dante’s Footnotes

I got to watch Stupid Ranger play Sacred 2 quite a bit, and visually it reminds me very much of a third person Diablo II style gameplay.  I thought that some of the visual features were nice, specifically like the in-game map showing the percentage of completed area.  Tasha liked the unobtrusive health and experience meters, but I found them a bit hard to keep track of and the little experience numbers that popped up above dispatched enemies seemed a bit cluttered.

Aside from those minor issues, this game was visually very appealing.  The spells that Stupid Ranger had earned during her time playing the game were increasingly visually interesting, several times she’d call me over to show me the cool effect that she had just gained.  I am looking forward to diving deeper into Sacred 2 myself once my Real Life workload eases up a bit.  The game is certainly worth a look if you enjoy third person fantasy styled excellence!