Notable Hack-N-Slash Posts

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Alethan
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Notable Hack-N-Slash Posts

#1 Post by Alethan »

He frequently has some good ideas for DMs running a campaign; figured it might be worth having a thread where some of them are pointed out.

I'll start with his latest one, which discusses how limiting your campaign in the number of races available, number of different creatures your players will face, number of weapons, schools of magic, etc. can make your campaign easier to run and more fun for the players.

http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/201 ... paign.html
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Keehnelf
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Re: Notable Hack-N-Slash Posts

#2 Post by Keehnelf »

That's a good one! With some nice links I hadn't run into before--I'll have to see how to build the modified random encounter tables into my current campaign.

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Norjax
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#3 Post by Norjax »

Interesting concept. Site added to favorites, thanks.

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#4 Post by hedgeknight »

Love this "limited" idea!!
If time ever permits me to run another campaign, I'm definitely going to consider this approach > thanks for sharing!
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#5 Post by Alethan »

Dragon foot. Bamboo pole. Little mouse. Tiny boy.

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#6 Post by Alethan »

Yellow Dingo's Fungus Guide, Part II
http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/201 ... -vi-x.html

Yellow Dingo's Fungus Guide, Part III
http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/201 ... xi-xv.html

Yellow Dingo's Fungus Guide, Part IV
http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/201 ... i-xxi.html
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#7 Post by hedgeknight »

Really like Goilroot and Fireshroom.
Those of us who have been caving, have surely seen roots growing down from the surface; makes for a nasty critter. And the fireshroom would be perfect for guarding a secret underground trove, having been sown by duergar, deep gnomes, or some other creature of the Underdark. Very nice indeed! :)
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#8 Post by ToniXX »

Alethan wrote:Yellow Dingo's Fungus Guide, Part II
The pictures are great too!
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#9 Post by Alethan »

Latest from Hack-n-Slash is a great concept for running an adventure, especially if you are good at doing things semi-on the fly. But you could pre-build the obvious things in the drawing and go from there if you like that security...

http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/201 ... coast.html
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#10 Post by Pulpatoon »

Running with the notion of starting a campaign by defining it with a few limited choices, I made a campaign precís document, which you can find here.

The idea is to define your campaign world and tone with a few classes, standard equipment, and few main monsters, a a few other details. Enough to give everyone a sense of what they're in for without writing a whole world bible.

I find it useful. I hope you do, too.

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#11 Post by Alethan »

Excellent resource, Pulp! Thanks!
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#12 Post by Alethan »

http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/201 ... rness.html

This. This is why I play.

I think this may be one of my favourite Hack & Slash blog posts to-date.
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#13 Post by Zhym »

That touches on one of my peccadilloes: usually not developing much if any back story for my PCs. Sure, there needs to be some idea of what the PC's personality is, but the story that matters is what develops in play. Who cares what he did before then? Just about every PC I have who has been in a game for a while has had more interesting things happen to him than anything I made up beforehand. And because it's a shared story instead of my own little private story, it's that much more fun.

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#14 Post by Scott308 »

The person he quotes extensively in the article, Victor Raymond, is a friend of mine, and the founder of my weekly gaming group. Pretty cool read.
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#15 Post by dmw71 »

Zhym wrote:Sure, there needs to be some idea of what the PC's personality is, but the story that matters is what develops in play. Who cares what he did before then?
I agree with you. That said, having a more fleshed out background on the characters can be really helpful for a DM, especially in a campaign that's meant to be long lasting with lots of role-playing.
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#16 Post by Zhym »

I'd think backgrounds would be less important in long-term games. If a PC has been around for any time at all, his in-game exploits and choices will have become a far better background and indicator of personality than anything made up at character creation.

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#17 Post by Inferno »

dmw71 wrote:...having a more fleshed out background on the characters can be really helpful for a DM, especially in a campaign that's meant to be long lasting with lots of role-playing.
I agree, especially in the early stages of a game.

And as a player, I find it much easier to develop and understand a new PC's personality if I know their history.
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Re: Notable Hack-N-Slash Posts

#18 Post by dmw71 »

Zhym wrote:I'd think backgrounds would be less important in long-term games.
Agree to disagree.

While it is true that what happens during the course of the game itself will stands to be more important, arming the DM with details about about a character that took place before the campaign even began can be extremely helpful... especially, as Inferno noted, in the beginning of a game, and before any significant in-game activity will have taken place.
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#19 Post by Alethan »

I believe it means, "a whale's vagina"...

Or... what were we talking about?

I don't mind writing up a rough background - maybe a paragraph or so - to begin with, but I'd much rather flesh the character out in-game.
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#20 Post by dmw71 »

Alethan wrote: I don't mind writing up a rough background - maybe a paragraph or so - to begin with...
That's all that's really needed. Just a few details that can be used, if needed, to connect the character into the world if role- playing is a big part of the game.
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