STUFFER SHACK

Please welcome Jonathan Baldwin to the Stuffer Shack Crew…

Sometimes you really need your villains to stand out in the minds of your players. Since role-playing is, at its heart, a verbal exercise, this means spending a little extra time on your dialog.  You can describe the wicked fiend all you want, but unless you have pictures, your players are only going to remember what s/he says.

To get you started with some inspiration, here are a few of the best lines of dialog ever delivered by an antagonist.

“Welcome to my home; enter freely and of your own will.” –Dracula

The hospitable villain is a truly frightening force; if things are played right, the heroes won’t realize that they’re dealing with the Big Bad until they’ve already enjoyed his hospitality for some time.

“This is why only fools are heroes — because you never know when some lunatic will come along with a sadistic choice. Let die the woman you love… or suffer the little children. Make your choice, Spider-Man, and see how a hero is rewarded.” – The Green Goblin, Spider-Man

It’s the oldest move in the playbook, and it’s still as effective now as it was then. Two outcomes, both bad for the PC’s, and supposedly there’s only time to pick one. Of course, there’s always the possibility that the heroes will be properly heroic and come up with an out. Sometimes that’s good – especially when the villain is a monster, rather than an intellectual giant. Sometimes, however . . .

“How very predictable. I anticipated you would try to create a third, more favorable option.” –D.A.V.E., The Batman

It’s hard not to respect a good Xanatos Gambit; any villain smart enough to structure a plan in such a way that every possible outcome including failure works toward his goals is worthy of respect and recognition… or at least undying hatred on the part of the PC’s. Sometimes that’s good enough.

In a long campaign, this might work like pretty much everything Darth Sideous/Palpatine does in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

Conveniently, as the GM, you don’t have to know all the possibilities ahead of time – you only have to be able to improvise if the players do the unexpected, and continue moving the plot forward. If you do it right, you look like a genius – or at least your villain does.

It should be noted, if you can ask, “But what if they do this?” and it would mess everything up, this is a Batman Gambit, which for villains is a plan which relies on the heroic tendency to behave in the most heroic manner, or otherwise assumes and manipulates a certain response based on known facts about the “victims.” Sometimes leaving a flaw in the plan on purpose isn’t a bad move. If the heroes find it, they feel great because they “outsmarted” the GM; if they don’t, you have something for your villain to monologue about during his getaway. Assuming he gets one.

“I can’t think of a morning I haven’t woken up with the thought of strangling you. That sanctimonious image of yours fooled everyone except me. Because I know evil.” –Lex Luthor, Public Enemies

This betrays a hatred that has completely distorted the villain’s perception of morality. To create this effect, operate from the assumption that the majority of antagonists aren’t card carrying villains and will develop some kind of rationalization that explains why they’re right and everyone else is the villain for trying to stop them. Create a villain who believes that he’s the hero of the story, trying to “save the world;” if your PCs are heroic sociopaths this can be easy, but for truly sanctimonious heroes the rationalization might take a little more work. Invariably, this kind of villain is the most interesting.

“No. I am your father.” –Darth Vader, The Empire Strikes Back

…or mother, sister, daughter, cousin, evil goatee sporting clone or alternate universe variation . . . even if the villain is lying (and let’s face it, they probably are), this is a great moment.

“You lose, Tony Stark.” –Whiplash, Iron Man 2

The villain has planned ahead so effectively that his own death is factored into an ideal condition for victory. Maybe the villain’s death is broadcast to the general populace and makes the heroes look like murderers. Maybe death unleashes the villain’s spirit to wreak havoc. Maybe death transforms him into a vampire. Alternatively, the villain’s death might just trigger the bomb and leave the hero with only seconds to evacuate the area.

“I did it thirty-five minutes ago,” –Ozymandias, Watchmen

…or any credible variation on the theme of “You’re far too late for it to make any difference.” This specific example is my all-time favorite – to this day, I can’t read this part of Watchmen without my jaw hitting the floor, even when I know that it’s coming.

There are far too many great lines to count, and these are only a few of my personal favorites. Have a favorite that I missed? Leave it in the comments!

This time, the Gamecraft 25 is going to take a look at plot complications for your adventures.  All of these are designed to add an interesting set of circumstances to challenge your heroes in different ways.  Most of these ideas will make an adventure more difficult, so keep that in mind when using them.

1. The party has a “tag-along.”  This could be a bard looking for epic inspiration, some wanna-be adventurer, a wealthy dilettante, the adventure’s patron, or anyone else that is more of a hindrance than a help and needs to stay alive.
2. Non-lethal combat plays a role in the adventure, perhaps an unarmed brawl.
3. The adventure features an extended chase scene.  The heroes may be either the pursuers or the pursued.  The chase can be run as a series of linked “mini-encounters.”
4. A party member (or the whole party) has been poisoned, and the effects can only be countered with a specific antidote.  The heroes must recover the antidote and complete their adventure.  Maybe the party’s patron is holding the antidote until the heroes complete his mission.
5. The heroes are caught between rivals.  This could be warring tribes, competing guilds, feuding noble houses, or even star-crossed lovers.  This circumstance could simply be background, or the heroes could find themselves trying to serve both factions.
6. The heroes’ adventure has a serious time limitation.  This could be a count-down to disaster (the gate to the Abyss opens at sunset), or just a very limited window of opportunity in which to succeed (the Vault of Baraxis is only open for 24 hours every millennium).
7. Severe weather complicates the adventure.  Think hurricane, blizzard, or typhoon.
8. The general public has turned against the heroes for known or unknown reasons.  This could range from outright hostility (maybe even a bounty on the heroes) to simply refusing them access to local communities and resources.
9. In order to succeed at the adventure, the heroes must act directly against the wishes of those in power.  This could be the government, a religious institution, powerful guilds, or even just the will of the people.
10. The adventure features a case of mistaken identity, either PC or NPC.
11. The heroes find themselves outsiders in a strange land where they do not speak the local language or understand local customs and religion.  The locals are suspicious and the heroes may find it alarmingly easy to violate some unknown law or local taboo.
12. The heroes are faced with mind-controlled “civilians.”  They must rescue those being manipulated without hurting them.  Of course, the civilians are out to kill the heroes.
13. The heroes uncover an item or information that someone powerful needs to cover up or make disappear.  This works even better if the heroes don’t have any idea about the significance of what they have or know.
14. The adventure’s villain turns out to be some sort of good-guy and places the heroes in a difficult position of what to do with him.
15. Turns out that the person the heroes just rescued is due to be executed, a little fact that the party’s patrons failed to mention.
16. An adventure to recover something or rescue someone turns out to be surprisingly easy to get to the target.  The real adventure begins with the heroes’ struggle to escape with the item or person.
17. The heroes need to return to a previous adventure site because their actions created some new situation or made an existing situation worse.
18. The bad guy is the only one who can give the heroes access to the thing they are looking for.  He must be kept alive and protected so that the heroes can succeed.
19. Someone associated with a defeated enemy (family, friends, minions) is looking for revenge.  This could be as simple as just trying to kill the heroes or as complex as an elaborate scheme to ruin their reputations.
20. The arch-villain of the story turns out to be someone close to the heroes.  This could be a friend, a long-time ally, family member, or even a love interest.
21. The heroes are faced with a situation where “adventure success” will destroy something important to them, such as their reputations or causing the death of someone they care about.
22. Another group of adventurers has managed to take the credit for the heroes’ recent successes and are enjoying great fame and respect from the locals.  The heroes are being looked at as second-rate adventurers at best, low-life scoundrels at worse.
23. The party has been sold some ill-prepared rations and are dealing with the effects of a stomach disorder throughout the adventure.  This could play out in two different ways: either as a dangerous plot complication or as a bit of comic relief.
24. The heroes end up in a situation where they are damned-if-they-do, damned-if-they-don’t.  Adventure success means unleashing something worse, preventing something worse will force the heroes to fail at their adventure.  How will they decide?
25. After a series of adventures with plot complications, the latest adventure turns out to be 100% straight forward and goes exactly as planned.

As always, I hope these ideas inspire and fuel your creative juices.

GMs aren’t the only ones with responsibilities. The players are co-creators with the GM and that gives them certain responsibilities.

Below are lists of player do’s and don’ts:

Game Preparation

• Be on time. If possible, try to be a little early. That will give you some time to get settled and ready to play.  If you can’t be on time or have to miss a session entirely, call your GM.
• Be prepared for the game session. Have your character sheet, dice, or whatever else you need to play.
• Try to create a character that will fit in the rest of the group. If everyone else in your group is playing good characters, leave your anti-paladin at home, unless the GM and group say otherwise.
• Recognize that your GM may have to cancel a game session occasionally.  The GM has a real life, too.

During the Game

• Be honest with the GM and other players. Your character doesn’t have to be honest (unless that would severely disrupt the game), but you, as the player, should be completely honest about die results and other game-related information.
• Share the limelight. Don’t hog all the GM’s attention.
• Stay focused on the game. Keep conversations about the latest movies, etc. to before, after and during breaks in the game session. Don’t play on your computer during the session. Even when your character isn’t currently involved in the action, you can be updating your sheet, taking notes, planning strategy, etc.
• Find out your group’s policies on notes to the GM and/or pulling the GM aside for individual conferences. In my games it’s not only allowed, but is actively encouraged as long as they’re kept short; other groups absolutely hate them. Find out your group’s preferences and stick to them.
• Don’t talk about how you could run this game better or how things would be different if you were running this game. You’re there to play, not to GM.
• If you have a suggestion on how the GM could improve the game, bring it up to him outside of the game session. Also, be willing to accept your GM’s decision on the suggestion; he usually has valid reasons for declining your idea.
• Similarly, accept your GM’s ruling. If you disagree with her interpretation of a rule or with an event that happened, discuss it with your GM after the game session.
• Look for ways to involve your character in the game without trying to monopolize it. Don’t leave it completely up to the GM to tell you what to do. However, if you’re lost and don’t know what to do with your character, ask the GM and the other players. They’ll usually be happy to help.
• Keep game events in the game; try not to take them personally.
• Leave personal issues outside the game.
• Don’t look at the GM’s notes/adventure/other game stuff.
• Trust your GM or be willing to leave the game. Often the GM will have reason for something happening in the game, but may not be able to reveal that reason until several game sessions down the road.

As a Guest

• Be a courteous and respectful guest in your host’s home.
• Clean up after yourself.
• Unless your host says otherwise, confine yourself to the game room, the bathroom and (with the host’s okay), the kitchen of your host’s home. Don’t go wandering into other rooms of the house and, above all, try not to disturb non-playing members of the host’s family.
• If a member of your group is violently allergic to something, don’t bring it, unless the individual gives the okay. For example, in my group, our GM has a severe allergy to pork. Even accidental contact with pork grease on his hands can send him to the emergency room. Any pork item is barred from our gaming table. On the other hand, I’m allergic to dairy, but only if I actually eat it.  I don’t mind if other people in the group bring dairy products.
• Asking if anyone in the group has severe allergies and then being careful of them is a great way to make yourself a player who gets invited to many games.
• Don’t hang around the host’s home long after the game session has ended. Unless you’re invited to stay by the host, thank her for hosting and leave when the other players do or when the host asks everyone to.
• Don’t pick up or touch things in your host’s home without his permission.

And Above All:

• Be willing to gracefully leave a gaming group that you don’t fit in with. Don’t flame the GM or other players; recognize that everyone has different play styles. You can be friends with people you don’t like to play with.