The Trap of Nested Plot Hooks

Especially with homebrew campaigns, I’ve noticed a tendency to have nested plot hooks. For example: The party is tasked with rescuing a princess. They visit a local wizard to gather information. In return the wizard wants them to retrieve a lost artifact. Finding the artifact requires a map which bandits currently have. Defeating the bandits requires recruiting allies. Each ally has a quest for the party. And so on. 

Six sessions into their campaign, the group has no idea what they’re doing or why they’re doing it. They barely even remember what their original goal is. It’s too complicated. Moreover, as the party completes each step, the rug is pulled out from under them as another obstacle is presented. 

What takeaways can we glean from this example?

1. A complicated plot is not the same as an interesting plot. You shouldn’t add content for the heck of it. Make sure each aspect of your campaign is adding value.
2. Plots shouldn’t be so complicated that your players can’t remember what’s going on. The players are not living in the world all the time like their characters are.
3. Players like making progress toward their goal. It’s fine if the goal takes a while to achieve, but the players should have an idea of the scope and the steps required up front. Otherwise delays and complications can feel deflating.
4. The reward for completing a task should not just be another task to complete. Each success should take the players closer to their goal so that they are incentivized and excited to continue.

Combining ideas to create something even cooler

Recently I’ve been writing down potential ideas for a new campaign to run. The difficult part is deciding which idea I like the most. But why do we have to pick only one idea? We can combine different ideas to make something even more interesting.

Let’s take dungeons as an example. It’s easy to rattle off some typical dungeon locations: mines, caves, temples, crypts, a bandit stronghold, etc. On their own, each of those locations could be interesting, but what happens when we combine them together?

What if we have a temple built into a mountain with a hidden cave system for those brave enough to search? What if an abandoned library has been taken over by bandits and made into a stronghold? What if a foul monster has recently dug its lair in an old mine?

Now these locations have lots of history and hooks to draw on. Because they are multi-faceted they seem more real and dynamic. All together we have a much more memorable and unique location for our party to explore. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

This technique doesn’t only apply to dungeons. Ideas for campaigns, NPCs, cities, magic items, etc. can all be combined to create unique content.

Let me know what you think and what other ways you create interesting ideas!

Handling imposter syndrome

It’s easy to feel a bit disappointed with how a session went. We feel anxious when we forget to mention something or stumble over words or have to pause to check notes. We plan these grand combat or roleplay encounters only for them to be 60% as cool as we thought they would be. 

It happens. Imposter syndrome is normal, no matter how experienced we may be.

Even so, I would like to offer some tips on dealing with imposter syndrome:

• Remember that your players don’t know if something turns out differently than you expected. Unused materials can always be repurposed for later.
• It’s easy to judge a session based on your expectations, but the results are what matters. Your players probably still had a great time and had a lot of fun moments, Even if a session wasn’t perfect, it can still be pretty good.
• If there are areas you felt were lacking, the good news is you can continue to practice and focus on those areas (growth mindset!)
• Gather feedback from your players on how things went. It’s possible you’ve been stressing about things your players don’t mind at all.
• Remember that DMing is a challenging and complex beast. Be gracious to yourself!

Let me know what other ways you combat imposter syndrome!

Visual clues for traps

Recently I've started to incorporate a visual component to the traps I include in dungeons. Previously the trap would only exist in my notes and the PCs would have to make a perception check or ask about traps to notice it.

Visual trap indicators can take on several forms depending on what the trap is:

• Symbols, rules, or other markings on the floor
• A thin tripwire similar in color to the floor
• A slight outline or discoloration of certain tiles to indicate a pressure plate

Including such indicators has several advantages:

• Checking for traps becomes more engaging. Rolling dice is fun, but so is bypassing a challenge with clever / careful play.
• Players pay more attention to the map as they are looking for traps
• Traps feel less punishing as even the players had a fair shake at noticing them.
• They’re super easy to add to any VTT map!

Split image puzzles

I’m a big fan of (good) puzzles in TTRPGs, so I’m always trying to come up with interesting puzzles for my players. Particularly, it can be challenging to create puzzles that work well with VTTs and online play. In this newsletter I’ll share one I made recently. 

This puzzle allows the players to gain some information in a way that feels earned. This information might be a letter, treasure map, clue, piece of lore, or anything else you can think of.

1. Type the information in a word processor and take a screenshot (feel free to use fancy backgrounds / fonts for a more fantasy feel). If the information is already an image (such as a map), you don't need to do anything else.
2. Use a free image splitter tool (such as this one) to split the image in a 4x4 grid (or however many pieces you'd like).
3. Place the images in your VTT, scatter them about randomly, change the orientations, and make sure your players can move the pieces around.
4. Reveal the puzzle at the appropriate time and watch them go!

Final result: 

Let me know what other creative puzzle ideas you've come up with.

Rules for downtime activities

In one of his Running the Game videos, Matt Colville describes allowing his players to use downtime between sessions to pursue various goals their character may have. Matt would run one-on-one sessions where his players would work towards these goals. 

Although I found this idea to be very compelling, I was never able to put it into practice. Planning these downtime sessions seemed like an enormous amount of work with only one player getting to enjoy the content. More importantly, I got the sense that my players didn’t know what would be viable goals to pursue. It was too open ended.

Later on, I came across a reddit post that inspired me to create my own rules for downtime activities. In short, players choose one thing to focus on, and they make the appropriate roll to determine how successful they are. The DM then describes the result, sometimes after taking some time to prep or think about what outcome makes sense.

I’ve noticed several benefits from implementing this system:

• The list of potential downtime activities helps players (especially newer ones) decide what they want to do. Most players engaged with the system and had fun during downtime.
• You can see what’s important to your players by what they spend downtime doing. 
• At the start of each session, each player can have a cool moment describing what their character did since the last session.

List of potential downtime activities (not an exhaustive list):

Can do for free:

• Short / long rest
• Sell any non-magical weapons / armor / equipment (for half the price listed in PHB)
• Purchase any non-magical weapons / armor / equipment
• Check the town notice board
• Check calendar for upcoming events

Full downtime activities:

• Ask around for side quests (persuasion)
• Find a job (investigation / persuasion)
• Earn money performing (performance)
• Listen / ask around for rumors (perception / persuasion)
• Ask around for information on something or someone (persuasion)
• Investigate a question / plot thread (investigation)
• Look around for hidden passages / areas (investigation)
• Find a contact for something (persuasion)
• Research something (history / investigation)
• Look for specific magic / rare items for sale (investigation)
• Find buyer for magic items / valuables (investigation / persuasion)
• Rob / pickpocket (slight of hand / intimidation)
• Repair / craft items (requires specific tools & components) 

Let me know what downtime systems you've implemented and what's worked for you!

Keeping things fresh

Variety is the spice of life, and Dnd is no exception. There are many themes or tropes that our sessions can take on, such as:

• Combat heavy / hack-n-slash
• Dungeon delving
• Political intrigue
• Mystery
• Betrayals
• Dilema (Which lesser of the two evils will the party choose? Or will they forgo a reward to do the right thing?)
• Negotiation / roleplay
• Puzzles
• Travel

The list is endless. The point, however, is that as GMs, we may sometimes default to running the type of sessions we are most comfortable with. But over time, this can cause our game becomes less exciting.