Traps

The first area to cover is traps. Traps are generally not too complex a thing in Dungeons and Dragons or in your RPG. In a fantasy setting you have physical and magical traps that players can go into, and since I write these from the point of Dungeons and Dragons, we’ll work with that system.

When using a trap there are a few steps for creating something interesting. Though not every trap needs to be that interesting. It, instead, is able to be used to set expectations if you want. I create a trap in a room at the start of the dungeon, every player is going to check every room for traps. And I think there are good uses for that. But let’s talk about those steps.

• Type of Trap
• Finding Trap
• Disarming Trap
• Setting Off Trap

Type of Trap

Each of these is simple in it’s own right. But you need each of them to be there. Firstly, what type of trap is it goin to be. Physical, magical, and if it’s physical, pit trap, spike trap, poison trap. Or if it is magical, fire, water, changes room, teleport? There are a lot of fun things that you can do. But pick that and that is going to determine some other things as you go down.

Finding Trap

Next is how can the players find the trap. Even if it is arrows being shot off of a floor trigger when they step in a spot, there are signs. Or a magical trap, there might be a glyph that is triggered. But I think there are two worthwhile numbers coming up with. First, what is the difficulty for just passively perceiving the trap? If someone is very good with their passive perception can they just spot it? Or what is the perception check to see it. And then, what is an investigation if they are looking for a specific type of trap.

The second one shows up more if it’s a known trap. If in room one there is a pit trap, in room two they might look for a pit trap again. That is investigating to find something specific. So use both.

Disarming Trap

Next up is disarming a trap. Know kind of how this is going to work. Let players maybe brute force it, if you don’t have a rogue in the party. The Barbarian rips up the pressure plate on the floor, sure. But generally, rogue with thieves tools. Or if it’s a magical trap, do they need to dispel magic?

But this is again about creating that difficulty for the check. It might be a 12 for a rogue with thieves tools and slight of hand to be able to disarm it. It isn’t that complex a trap. But if you don’t have the rogue that day, or the barbarian gets there first, it might be a 18 strength/athletics check to rip it out of the ground. So know what numbers you want. But more so, know the ballpark. If you think they may come up with an alternative way know if you want that to be as easy as a normal way or harder.

Setting Off Trap

Finally, they might just set off the trap. Now, traps can be their own mini little puzzle in a game. What is going to happen if the whole party falls into a pit traps. Now they need to get out. Or maybe it is going to be timed event now for them to get through clouds of poison while taking damage?

Sometimes it is as simple as, a volley of arrows shoot and that is it. Or the player literally gets their foot stuck in a trap (or hand if they were disarming it). But think about how you want to use the trap and the trap affect to advance story or create interesting interactions if you want.

Bonus Dungeon Master Tool – Traps and Expecations

I talked about this a little but I knew I wanted to come back to it. What is the expectation when you create a trap in the first room of a dungeon? Well, the simple answer is, there are going to be more traps. In fact, there are going to be lots of traps. The player is going to check every room for traps.

Change Them Up

Now that the players are checking for traps there are a few things that you can do. Firstly, change up the traps. Not every room should have a trap, but when you set the expectation that there can be traps don’t waste your and the players time by only having one in the first room. But change up the traps, magical and non-magical in nature.

Only One

Or, do only have a single one. But make it so difficult and terrifying that most groups would immediately run in fear. Since a good adventuring party doesn’t have enough fear or brains to know to be afraid, they will just keep checking for traps. If you do that, though, make the rest of the dungeon a cake walk. All the energy was on the start of it, the rest is just empty hallways because no one ever gets through.

Develop History

Another thing, and last one I’ll talk about, is you can develop history. The history of the dungeon could be new traps are being created so it means that someone is still down there taking care of it. Or you might find adventurers who were killed before and the players gather pieces of history from them. Nothing like the first room and the adventurers see someone dead in a sprung trap. Now you immediately plant concern and can give them some history with the adventurers journal as to what they knew of this dungeon.

Puzzles

That is more on traps than I had expected. But I think that doing a great job with traps can make for an interesting campaign. And it is going to give the rogue something to do besides trying to steal everything that isn’t bolted to the ground.

But now we are onto puzzles. And puzzles, I think, offer three different routes to go. Though, the routes can overlap in some ways. But I want to firstly talk about who the puzzle is for, that is two of the routes. And then finally, what if there isn’t an answer.

Determining Who the Puzzle is For

This might sound odd. But there are two groups that the puzzle could be for. When you create a puzzle it is either for the characters in the game. Or it is for the players out of the game. Neither is a wrong way to create a puzzle and doing both can offer a lot of fun in the game for the players. But this is the first thing you want to determine when you create a puzzle, who it is for. Because that is going to change what you do.

Puzzles for the Characters

Puzzles for characters are going to be less of the cryptograms, jumbles, patterns, things like that. Instead, for the characters, a brain teaser or pieces of history and knowledge needed are the type of puzzle that you are going to create.

You go to the temple of the god of death, for example. Well, what is it that your characters know about the god of death? You create a puzzle where they need to know something about it. The players outside of the game don’t know this god of death unless you gave them a document with it all in there (don’t do this it’s a waste of your time). But the characters in the game sure do because it’s the god of death, they’d have heard of it at least.

So think about the checks that you want them to make. It might be an investigation to see if they can tell how someone beat the puzzle before. Or it might be a religion check to determine what they remember about the god of death. Again, it’s the god of death, the characters know of it for sure, but do they know the right detail.

So a puzzle for the characters is all about the checks that they do. And you decide how hard or easy you want it to be. But if you make it too hard, also have a way around it.

Example – The God of Death

So let’s run with this god of death example. There is a dungeon where they need to get down to the lowest level. They know that there is a secret passage called the River Styx that they can use to get down to the bottom. But they get there and it’s locked away behind a riddle.

“Bestow they worship upon me, pay the tolls once, twice, and three. Coins of death marked for their fate. Hours gone don’t tarry late.”

Solution

So, what is the answer to that riddle? The players need to provide the total value of the cost to cross the River Styx either three times or six times. Once, Twice, and Three could be 1+1+1 paying it three times. Or it could be 1+2+3, paying the set each time. I think I’d set this as an intelligence check of 10, pretty simple if they want both options.

But it is also a specific coin. What is a coin marked for death. Well that might be a soul coin from the hells. A soul given up to a devil would be interesting payment to get across the River Styx. This one is more of a religion check, and I think while people know of the god of death, it is taboo to worship them, so it’s less common. Make it a difficulty check of 15 for religion, so tougher.

What If They Fail

So what if in this case they all fail their religion rolls. They don’t know about the soul coins. But after feeding in a bunch of coins and nothing happening are they locked out of the dungeon? No, there is a longer path that is more dangerous for them. But if you need a roll to succeed to progress the story, always gives a different, harder way for them to go forward. If it is just a case of finding some treasure that would be nice. Sure, it is possible that they never figure it out. But if it is for anything related to story, give them that other option.

Puzzles for the Players

Next up, a puzzle can be for the players. This one I think is a bit simpler. Yes, you still might incorporate checks that the characters can do to give the players hints. But it is all about the players for this one. A cryptogram is a great example of this. You give them a little bit of a key and then let them get going on breaking the whole thing. It is something that all the players can take part in, but it isn’t part of the game and it isn’t meant for them to roleplay it out.

I am going to skip an example on this, but it can be a lot of different things. I made a room with gouts of flames that were being shot out. As I describe what the players watch, I kind of expect the players to take notes and solve the path. It isn’t something you do by trial and error but in that case, I also make it simple. And if the players aren’t solving it, I give them an intelligence roll and give some more details that make the puzzle simpler.

Puzzles with no Answer

The final thing is something that I think more Dungeon Masters should do. This is going to be the best Dungeon Master tip overall for traps and puzzles. It is simply, don’t create a solution. This is something that you can do with puzzles but also just with issues that arise. Throw the players a problem and see what happens.

Why wouldn’t you have a solution, though? The simple answer is, the players can come up with one. And this is something that can be done in character as well. You just wait until they try something that you think makes enough sense or is cool enough to work. When they suggest it or they try it, it can work as simple as that. And let’s face it, there is one of you and probably two to eight players, so more brains, more creative solutions.

This also can let you set a time for it. If you think, I want them to sweat a bit on this trap, give them ten minutes to discuss it and try different things, or maybe even longer if it’s supposed to be key and important. Or if it is supposed to be pretty trivial, make it that way, let the first cool or fun idea work.

Example from My Game

This came to be because I actually created one of these, kind of, last night in my game. The players were on a labyrinthian type floor of a tower, the main dungeon in the campaign. Every room was the same except for a few had plaques on the wall. The big thing is that they needed to get to the stairs for the next level. To do that they needed to go into rooms and figure out where to go.

In the rooms, and only a few of them, did I leave clues for the players. But the clues were fairly general. In the first room it said the following.

First Puzzle

“Beware – Zombies
Go this way.”

That was next to one of the four doors in the square room (one per wall). The players had to decide what that meant. But little did they know, and they messed this up in an interesting way, was that every room a character went into had more and stronger zombies. So if they fought, each time the zombies would get tougher and tougher and more and more.

Second Puzzle

So the player went the right direction, eventually, after one had done a loop to see how it would work and ramping up their difficulty. Eventually they got to another room with another plaque and a dead adventurer.

“Two Far
[down arrow]”

This meant head back two rooms and go south. Now going back is going to cause more zombies and harder zombies to appear. At this point, by the way, the zombies had +23 to hit and were dealing 1D6+21 damage.

The Real Puzzle

So the new puzzle was simpler but harder. How do we get through rooms without getting hit by the zombies. They had already spent a fair number of resources on a battle or two with the zombies. And I didn’t give them a solution. If they had gone the ideal route, it wouldn’t have been a major deal. But because they went further and created more zombies, it was way harder for them.

So two flight spells later and the Warforged character being disguised as a zombie the players got to the right room. But they needed to do it in a way where they weren’t taking 3-4 attacks of opportunity each, Because say it was three, all likely hit with a +23 to hit, and that’s a minimum of 66 damage, a lot for even a level 16 bard.

Final Dungeon Master Tools for Traps and Puzzles

This is the reminder that I give at the end of all of these Dungeon Master tools. Or if not at the end, sometime in there. But the point of everything is to create a great experience at the table. And that means progressing characters and stories as you go along. When you create a trap and a puzzle that should be in your mind as well. Because when you do that the most fu n is going to be had at the table for both you and your players.

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Gamefound Fall Feast

Earthborne Games – Hubworld Aidalon

This is going to be a competitive game. It’s still going to be a card game, but very different than Earthborne Rangers. The world setting looks very interesting to me, the artwork is fun and has a sci-fi element to it. They want to create a more thoughtful and complex card game, kind of like how there has been a lot of TCG/CCG’s in that area. So some of that feel but without chasing cards. More like a competitive living card game. Crowdfunding to launch the game and then release more stuff every six months to retail. Some Andoid Netrunner feel to the game from the sounds of it.

Archon Studios – Master of Orion: Ad Astra

It’s an adaptation of a video game. It’s a massive 4X video game so how will it work over to a video game. I think it looks like a standard 4X game, and that’s good because that’ll match the video game. And it looks like it’s going to be a very big game. Interesting to me, mainly because it’s based off of a video game, and it’s making me tempted to try out the game.

It’s not just going to focus on combat, which is kind of expected. And it’s going to be a long game about 120 minutes per player. Some interesting thing because it’s going to be manufactured in Poland at Archon’s own production facility. There is a solo mode as well.

Orange Nebula – Vestige

Orange Nebula always makes some interesting games, so I’m curious on this one. This is going to be a modern Euro set in space. You’re going to be covertly trying to work the underground and find a way to get off the moon. It’s going to be a resource management game. I am interested in this one because it’s Orange Nebula, but from the sound of it, I want to know a lot more about the game before I consider backing it. I like the idea of trying to get off a moon after technology and society has collapsed and everything is this underworld sort of theme. It’s not supposed to be too complex and approachable for Orange Nebula games.

Synergic Games – Rise of Myths: Cthulhu

Another Cthulhu themed game, this is going to be a cooperative rogue-lite deckbuilding game. I love the sound of all of that. And it’s interesting it’s only a max three player game, so it’s fairly specific. And you unlock content that you go, so more stuff that I like. This really sounds like a game for me. The style of play, I love deckbuilding. It is going to have a solo mode but also can be heavily cooperative with how card play interacts. All of this is awesome to me. There is some comic lore for each character which is cool for a follower gift.

CMON – Super Fantasy Brawl Reborn

I love Super Fantasy Brawl. Do I need more of it, I question that, I need to play all my stuff again. This is a fun battler with some great challenge of attack your opponents and more. But this is going to be a brand new game, and it is going to have a challenge system. But there is going to be an upgrade pack to make all the existing champions for the new game. I am a bit bummed about this, but I need to see what this changes.

As to why changes to the game? They want to keep some of the playstyle. And it is going to tweak new challenges for the game. They really didn’t say much more on it. But I think the main elements of the game. Plus TMNT Champion Packs plus more to come.

Skykingdom Games – The Waste of Parts

Skykingdom Games made Isofarian Guard a game that I really enjoy. This however is a one to five player cooperative game. You control a giant mech, I like that, it sounds awesome. You need to make it across the waste and scavenge pieces to keep your mechs going. That sounds very cool to me. I think that it’s pretty awesome in terms of a theme. And each player is in the mech together which is also a cool twist on it as well. This is much smaller game than Isofarian Guard in terms of how much space it’ll take and just the size of the game itself.

Rock Manor Games – Seas of Havoc Reprint and Expansion

I need to play my copy. I’ll leave it at that. Not really, but it’s something that you’ll be able to see reviews and thoughts on. Generally I’ve heard good things about the game. There is going to be an expansion as well. It’s been hard to find thus far and it’s been marked up a ton on the secondary market. So the hope is that it’ll be more available. I plan on getting this one played prior to the campaign to let you know if you find that your thoughts and tastes align with me. The expansion seems to add more variability versus adding in new elements to the game.

Nerdlab Games – Final Titan

This is going to be a drafting game with some auto battling. I want to know how this is going to go because it’s not a theme that immediately jumps out to me. Nerdlab games also put out Mind Bug. This is going to be a free for all battling game. And seems like a lot of die rolling and it could be pretty fun. It reminds me of a Dice Throne, but also they said 3-5 is probably the sweet spot which is interesting. You send in a champion each round, or you skip, and they want that decision making process, so it sounds like a one on one battle but when you go into battle is interesting.

Adam’s Apple Games – Tatsumi

This is going to be a thematic abstract game. I was hoping they’d be talking about Defenders of the Dictionary which I thought was a ton of fun at Gen Con. I’m kind of meh on games that are mainly abstract even with a theme. It’s a 1-4 player game with a solo experience which is interesting for an abstract game. I wonder how much of a puzzle it will be because I do enjoy a good solo puzzle. The artwork is cool on the game for sure.

Dark Horizon Games – Earth Under Siege Flashpoint Reprint and Nemesis Expansion

A stealth dungeon crawler game, so yes, it’s the type of game that I am interested in. The game has a very good score on BGG, which is exciting as well. It makes it one that I don’t need more of that style of game, but it’s also one that I’d probably like to play. It’s going to add in some side missions into a more involved adventure. So that’s an interesting way to add in an expansion as it’s going to take some standalone stuff and adds in a campaign for those. And it’s possible now to just be a boss battler game as well with the expansion.

Boom Studios – The Complete Jim Henson’s LABYRINTH Graphic Novel Collection

This might just actually be a graphic novel. Likely stuff that is tied to a Labyrinth board game, but also, kind of odd for Gamefound. So not something, even with liking Labyrinth that I’m all that interested in.

Archon Studios – Dungeons and Lasers Porthaven

This sounds like a mini which again isn’t really my thing. But a way to set-up a pirate campaign. They also have a supplement for that as well. So interesting, but definitely an easy pass for me. It’s like the Boom Studios one where it just isn’t for me.

Final Thoughts on the Fall Feast from Gamefound

Nothing from Awaken Realms, though they seem to do it once a year. I’m still very interested in the next game that they have coming. What is your favorite from the Gamefound Feast?

For me, I think that Rise of Myths: Cthulhu is really exciting. I’d love to play that one because there are so many things that I like about. The Waste of Parts is probably my second most exciting one from the list. That is just a theme that sounds different and unique. Plus there are a lot of very other interesting things on Gamefound right now as well. I need to play more games, figure out which to keep and maybe back a few more.

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Why I Initially Backed the Cosmere RPG?

Let’s start out with what drew me to this campaign in the first place. Honestly, the biggest thing is the theme. I like the Mistborn series, in fact, with the deckbuilder coming out for it, I’m reading through it again. And I’m enjoying it more the second time through. Plus I love the Stormlight Archive. Those books are amazing and while they are a beast to read, I enjoy the unfolding world and story. I’m working my way through them a second time, on audiobook, as well.

I really like the idea of playing in the worlds as well. Both of them would offer really interesting role playing possibilities. From the spren in Stormlight Archive to the burning of metals in Mistborn, all of that feels like it could provide a lot of unique storytelling and room for adventures.

Finally, I just like RPG’s. I like to sit down and play or run Dungeons and Dragons in particular. But when I could make it to AcadeCon, I loved trying out new systems in a setting where it was all about trying and playing new games. And this is a new system with the other two things going for it, so I was immediately interested in it.

So Why Did I Cancel?

Budget

There are two main reasons why I cancelled. Let’s dive in and talk about them some. The first one being, it’s expensive. I need to make a choice as to what I get and what I don’t. And this is not a choice that I’m always the best at making. And it’s something that I want to get better about. But that’s not the main reason that I cancelled it. But it is part of it and a good reason. Especially because the level I’d have wanted to back would not be that cheap because I want it all, or at least a bunch of it.

How Many Systems Do I Need?

The bigger reason is, I need to determine that I am going to play. When I look at it, I think it looks like fun. Again, I love the setting of the Cosmere RPG. And I think I’d enjoy playing in that world. However, I know from my past experience of owning different RPG’s, I don’t play them. My brain likes to hold one RPG in it, and that one right now D&D 5th Edition. And I already bought the new stuff for 5th Edition. So I need to learn those updates when they come in.

And previously I’ve owned systems like the Dresden Files Fate system. Star Wars from Fantasy Flight also was in my collection. Fiasco and some other smaller ones were on my shelf for ages. What did I find out? I don’t play those systems. I play a single campaign and my campaign of choice is in Dungeons and Dragons. If someone else were to invite me to a game, I’d play for sure. But I don’t need to own it myself. And I still even own the new Marvel system which I need to run a game of as well.

Why Talk About My Choice with the Cosmere RPG?

Let’s wrap up by talking about why I wanted to talk about this. I was really torn on whether or not to keep my pledge. Even now I know late pledging will be an option. But I want to hold my ground on it, because I think that my reasons for not backing are good, for me. And I think that is so much of it.

There is part of me that feels like I am missing out. Why, because I think I truly would enjoy the system. And I think that part will exist as I see people get in the game when it comes out. And it might even be one that I pick-up later. But I need to know and have a plan for playing it. If I don’t, it is going to be another thing where I keep it around because I want to play it, but I don’t get around to playing it.

Did you back this massive crowdfunding campaign? If so, can I play in your game?

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The Amount of Changes in Dungeons and Dragons

Let’s start out by talking about the amount of changes. I’m not going to go into all of them, mainly because I want to talk about notable changes in the next section. But Dungeons and Dragons is getting a face lift, I’d say. And there are a fair number of notable changes out there. Enough that it can mix and match with the old stuff, but the recommendation is, and I think obviously, that people move to the new system. If you buy one book in the new system, migrate the whole way.

I say obviously because from a business perspective, they of course want you to buy the new stuff. It makes them money. But in terms of the content, while it is similar, a character in the 2014 5th Edition core rules, is going to be behind. So I think it is beware of that amount of change. Know that if you dabble you want to go all in.

Notable Changes

But let’s talk about some of the changes. And like I said, there are plenty. But we’ll talk about the biggest change to Dungeons and Dragons first. And I think it’s worth noting that they are moving away from the very loose theater of the mind feel of 5th Edition 2014. You certain might play 5th edition more now with a battle terrain set-up.

Weapon Mastery

This comes down to some things, in particular with melee characters. Almost all weapons have a mastery to them that if you know it, you can manipulate the battlefield. So this is different from your proficiency but it allows you to do even more with weapons that you really know. So some might trip up and an enemy, slow them down or otherwise disrupt them. This, per what they said, is to give the more versatility that was previously mainly found in spellcasting classes.

Subclasses

It is also worth noting that all classes now have four subclasses. And all classes unlock their subclasses at the exact same time. No longer do some get them at first level and others at third. No longer does the bard have two subclasses and the wizard six. All start on an equal playing field that way. And most of the subclasses are getting a lift. Whether that’s a boost from the masteries for weapons or an expanded spell list, that is fairly minimal in terms of what they get.

Ability Modifiers

And there are more things as well. One that I really like is that now when you pick your species you don’t get your stat boosts. You might gather boosts and boons for other things because of your species. But it doesn’t make various species lean various directions. Instead that is with your background. You want to be a dwarven thief, you get stats based off of what you did in your background. That, to me, makes sense because that is what my character has practiced.

Do You Need to Get It?

Obvious this doesn’t make your current books obsolete. But it does render them less useful if you get the new books. Someone who builds a character with the old systems is going to be less effective. But at the same time, Dungeons and Dragons is not changing so fundamentally that your old content is going to be worthless. It might come down to you need to tweak minor things and raise difficulties at times.

But let’s talk about it more from the perspective of you like you to get he new books. Is this 2024 version of 5th Edition worth buying? I think that it is. Mainly as I listen and watch the videos and discussions, I feel like they balance out the character classes. Is the Ranger going to be perfect now, probably not, but it’s going to be on par with the other classes. And overall, I feel like it offers more freedoms, which Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition was already good at. This just adds in more.

Final Thoughts the Updated Dungeons and Dragons

I want to see how this works. I buy basically every book, so I’m excited to get my hands on it. Though, I do wonder about some elements of it though. While I see this mainly as a positive, a couple of things hold me back from being completely excited.

The biggest item is the additional tactical nature of the game. I run theater of the mind, generally. So I expect to continue that. Will the added masteries make it harder to play theater of the mind? I feel for some groups they might generally get skimmed over. Especially for a group very familiar with the current version of 5th Edition. So is that a major add for those combat classes?

At the same time, I like the idea of tactical battles. It is possible to make it more dynamic. A weapon naturally pushes a bad guy, well, that is important. It allows players to push and manipulate the battlefield. Also, it is able to become a cat and mouse game as bad guys try to avoid getting smacked too much and players try and knock them into a hole or off the edge of a tower. So I see it working in either way.

Generally, though, I like what the system is adding. And I want to get my hands on it (coming in September for the Players Handbook). Do you like the sounds of the 2024 version of 5th Edition?

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What Is A Dump Stat?

A dump stat is going to be the thing that you are worst at. In terms of what that looks like on your character sheet, 10 is supposed to be average. If someone were to have a 10 in all their stats, they are the average person in the world.

So it’s not just your lowest stat, it is a stat that is below that average. If you are even one less, at 9, you get a negative one penalty on the roll and you are lower than average with what you can roll. But that is talking about it mechanically, it is also a weakness in how you role play out that below average trait.

Playing A Dump Stat in Dungeons and Dragons

The first question to ask if if your character knows they have a dump stat. If you are just below average wisdom or intelligence you know that you aren’t as smart. If they are a fair bit below, now they start to think that they are smarter. Some of the physical ones, strength or dexterity, you might always know that you aren’t as good at, but is that how you are going to play it.

Let’s go through each stat and come up with a way to play it.

Strength

For strength, I think that there are two common ways that you could play it. First, you could have the character constantly try and get people to help them. Even for a meaningless task, like opening a pickle jar with a loose lit, or pull a small dead branch off a tree, they also have someone else help them.

Or on the other side of things, they could refuse help. They might know they are weak, but they are going to do it themselves. So when the big fighter or barbarian tries to help them, they get upset and refuse the help. It is a matter of pride that they will be able to do it on their own.

Dexterity

Dexterity is going to follow along the lines of strength. They know that anything slightly dexterous is tricky for them, so they never do it. In fact, really easy things, they try and make someone else do it. Or they are going to try no matter what.

Constitution

For constitution you can make it about them getting sick all of the time. If the weather turns, they get a slight cold. They have the sniffles about 90% of the year. When the group goes into the bar, they are a light weight and after a drink they are up on the table and possibly looking to pick a fight or hitting on someone at the bar and getting into trouble that way.

Intelligence

Intelligence is pretty straightforward as well. You just assume knowledge about things. If someone talks on a subject, you assume that you know more than they do. And you don’t really feel a need to look into it further because, again, you know. On the other hand, you know about libraries but wouldn’t think about going to them to find out information.

Wisdom

Wisdom is going to be more about how the world works. You think you know how criminals work on the streets. You think you know how things will play out in a situation, especially social. But you really don’t know how any of that works. If you are down a little, you’re probably worried about messing any situation up. If you are very low on wisdom, you just assume that you know what is going on and are a bit of a bull in a china shop.

Charisma

Charisma is probably the most interesting to have as a low stat mainly because charisma as a high stat is pretty narrow. Or at least how a lot of people play it, it is. But as a low stat, you have a lot of ways to go. You can just assume that everyone likes you, even though you are annoying. Being very quiet is another way to play it. Or try and overcompensate by talking loudly or being too affectionate, or whatever thing your character believes is the normal things people do that is most certainly not normal.

Final Thoughts

Dump stats are fun, mainly because it gives your character a chance not to shine. There are a lot of opportunities to utilize strengths. And a good DM (Dungeon Master) should present opportunities like that to players. But a chance to create a fun or interesting moment with a weakness, that is going to be as memorable as that great thing that you did. A dump stat is also a great way to bring in comedy or intended conflict.

An example would be a low dexterity character trying to sneak around the edge of a group of goblins versus the rogue doing so. They fall into the midst of goblins, now you have a weird combat that is going to start happening. Or a low charisma character getting flustered by some light flirting and accidentally proposing to a princess in front of the king. You will be talking about when those moments happen way more than when the fighter takes out the goblins.

So lean into it and have fun. That is the fun of a role playing game. Dungeons and Dragons, or whatever system you are using, is about that fun at the table versus winning the game. In fact, very few D&D campaigns reach the end, stories get too big or schedules change, but there are always going to be moments that you remember in the game.

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Top 10 Campaign Games

10 – Marvel Champions: The Mad Titan’s Shadow

I had to put one of the campaign boxes onto this list for Marvel Champions. There are a number of them, a Spider-Man one, a Red Skull one, Guardians of the Galaxy, soon to be Mutants as well. But I went with The Mad Titan’s Shadow just because that box feels the most epic. And I can take anyone into that one and it makes sense thematically.

I’ve heard that these are lighter campaigns which is not a bad thing. It means that I could and maybe will, set it up sometime and just play it over a few evenings. And you know I’m going to be running Thor up against them, or maybe Doctor Strange. There are enough characters know that it might actually be a tricky decision.

9 – Massive Darkness 2

I picked this one up because it did have a campaign. And I want to get it to the table, at least for scenarios fairly soon. I like that you level up a lot in this game, and the minis are cool, the classes are cool, the weapons are cool.

Plus, this is also a lighter game. You don’t need to know nearly as much how to play it as some of the other games on the list. That means that even if I don’t play it as a campaign soon, it’s probably one I can sit down and knock out a scenario with some friends easily in an evening.

8 – Reichbusters: Projekt Vril

One that I also need to sort some more, which is why I haven’t played it yet. Reichbusters came out with an errata pack for improved card wording and rules. But because that was coming, I waited on playing it. Now I own it and, well, I need to sort the cards in.

This is going to be a game of sneaking into enemy base and trying to stop their experiments. Think kind of Howling Commandos vs Hydra, if I were to take it over to Marvel. There are crazy experiments going on, and monsters you need to fight. But every mission has an objective and if you’re too noisy, well, things are going to go sideways for you fast and you’ll get swarmed. So it’s not a guns blazing game, which I think sounds interesting.

7 – Betrayal Legacy

I did put a few legacy games on the list. Legacy games are campaign games too, and it surprised me a little bit, but the one at the bottom of that is Betrayal Legacy. I love Betrayal at House on the Hill, even with it’s wonky scenarios and problems with sometimes the traitor being too strong, sometimes the other characters. And I want to see what the legacy one has to offer.

I am really curious about the legacy aspect of it. You play as a family versus a character coming back generation after generation. I want to know how that plays out in the game. I think it could offer some cool game options and ways to progress and tell a bit story.

6 – Descent: Legends of the Dark

Moving back to just a campaign game, we have Descent: Legends of the Dark from Fantasy Flight Games. This is going to be their Descent, but not third edition, game, of exploring tiles, fighting monsters, and interacting on the map.

Like a lot of bigger Fantasy Flight games in recent history, Mansions of Madness, Journeys in Middle-Earth, and Star Wars: Imperial Assault, there is an app piece. I like it for this game, it was a bit much in Journeys in Middle-Earth, but in Descent it offers some fog of war. It is in that category of games like Massive Darkness 2 for me. It looks like a blast to play as a fun dice chucking game.

5 – Folklore: The Affliction

Now moving into another bigger game, and I think the top 5, with the exception of the legacy ones, are the heaviest of the campaign games that I own, at least right now. Of course there are more coming in. But Folklore: The Affliction is going to be a game that borrows a lot from pen and paper RPG’s. You roll more than a standard six sided die. And that is intriguing to me.

Plus, I like that it’s a darker setting. I don’t need all my fantasy to be grim and dark, but sometimes that is what I want. And since I always am the Dungeon Master for D&D, I believe that it’ll give me that RPG feel without me needing to be in charge of everything. Though, if I paly it solo, I will be, but I’ll be doing the same thing as the players.

4 – Aeon’s End: Legacy of Gravehold

Another Legacy game and this one just came in from Indie Boards & Cards. I played through the first Aeon’s End Legacy on stream. And I had a blast with that game. Plus, just in general I really like Aeon’s End, so much so that I keep on backing and tracking down everything for it.

Legacy of Gravehold is going to be another legacy campaign. Where I knew a little bit of the campaign for the original Aeon’s End Legacy, I know nothing about the story this time. I just know that the box is bigger and heavier. That probably means more cards, but I’m hoping for more story as well.

3 – Clank! Legacy

And the other legacy game is Clank! Legacy. This one is higher for me just because I want to play it with some friends. I love the Acquisitions Inc theme on it as their game play is hilarious. And I suspect that the humor in the game will be great as well. Plus, I like the system that it is built upon. I prefer Clank! In! Space! to Clank I think, but the legacy version with the fantasy theme, I’m still there for it.

This is a deck building push your luck game. You are going into it trying to complete missions and get treasures. And it’s competitive in that you are trying to be the best so that you can end up with the franchise within Acquisitions Inc. I have to imagine that the whole of the story is going to be goofy, and it sounds like there is a lot to unlock so that is exciting as well.

2 -Middara: Unintentional Malum

A huge box with two more huge boxes on the way. I give that as my excuse for not getting it to the table sooner, I want Acts II and III to show up as well. But really, it’s just such a table hog and such a big game, I am not sure that I want to play it solo, but I really do want to play it.

Middara has more of an anime style to it’s game look. The artwork, and from what I can tell, the world building and story look fairly anime. It is going to be a leveling up, dice chunking, monster fighting, dungeon crawling game. And I think it’s going to be one that I find to be a lot of fun to get to the table and play. But like I said, I suspect the game would work best with four players, or two players controlling two characters each.

1 – Stars of Akarios

Call me cult of the new if you want, and it’d be fair in this case. But I am excited to plays Stars of Akarios. This is a big space exploration and adventure game. What really intrigues me is how it is split into two parts. There is that space exploration and then you can be down on an planet as well. That is intriguing.

It also looks like it uses a combination of cards for modifying your attacks and things but also uses dice. And just the production quality on the game is great. While it is a big game, compared to some of the others, it looks like it should be easier to play solo. And I want to get it to the table and play it on Malts and Meeples.

Final Thoughts

I say this almost any time I talk about a campaign game. And I feel like I can redo this list in different ways pretty often. But I have a lot of them coming in. 15 more campaign games in fact, which is a lot. Now some can be played as more of a one off situation such as Primal: The Awakening. Otherwise might be smaller sit down and play a campaign of it in a sitting, Spire’s End: Hildegard. But most of them are going to be much much bigger than that.

Just to show everything that is coming, and there is a lot, in alphabetical order, we have:

1. The 7th Citadel
2. Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread
3. Chronicles of Drunagor
4. Divinus
5. Ehterfields
6. Frosthaven
7. HEL: The Last Saga
8. ISS Vanguard
9. Mythwind
10. Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood
11. Primal: The Awakening
12. Sleeping Gods: Distant Skies
13. Spire’s End: Hildegard
14. Valor & Villainy: Lludwik’s Labyrinth
15. Vampire: The Masquerade – Chapters

What campaign games do you own, if any, that you want to get played?

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So what movies are going to make the list, or universes created in cinema do I want to see even more of?

5. Chronicles of Narnia

I enjoy the book series a lot. Chronicles of Narnia is one of those series that I grew up reading or having read to me when I was younger. And it holds a spot in my heart. I thought that the recent adaptation was solid, but it didn’t surprise me when they didn’t get through everything.

And Chronicles of Narnia is kind of a cheat. I know that there is a show coming for it. I forget if it is Amazon or Netflix who is producing it. So I hope that is really good. But for a series that I watched growing up the original films and then the new releases, I’d love to see the whole thing redone again.

4. Star Wars

Another one that is a bit of a cheat. There are obviously going to be more Star Wars movies. And today the Obi Wan show came out on Disney+. And we got our first trailer for Andor yesterday and some other shows announced. But I want more Star Wars movies.

And in particular, I want more Star Wars movies, but ones that don’t have anything to do with Skywalkers. We’ve gotten through the Luke and Leia saga with an entertaining but odd sequel trilogy. And prequels that probably didn’t tell the story that they should have. I’d love something set prior to the events, or well after. Or maybe in a corner of the galaxy that never really had to deal with this situation. But I’m done with the Skywalker Saga and the shows, minus the Mandalorian, thus far, haven’t interested me that much.

3. Mutant Chronicles

This is probably not one that people know about or if they do, they just thought it was okay. But I really enjoy this film with Ron Pearlman and Thomas Jane. It’s an odd world, and I’d love to see it rebooted. And with rebooting it getting a whole series of these films set in the world that is originally a pen and paper RPG.

With it being an RPG that’d give more room for stories and more characters. I would probably want to get Ron Pearlman back just because I like him as an actor, as you’ll see with my next pick, but the movie for me is one. Now that I’m talking about it, I want to watch it again.

2. Hellboy

Speaking or Ron Pearlman, we have Hellboy on the list. Hellboy is going to be based off of a comic book series, and is about a half demon or devil, Hellboy, played by Ron Pearlman. He does a great job in the roll, but this is another one that probably needs a reboot.

The original one is a lot of fun and I like the absurdity of everything in it. But I think it’d make more sense to start again. I hope if and when this happens that they don’t try and make it too dark or gritty and keep the Hellboy style humor in it. But I’d love to see more.

1. Need For Speed

Finally, probably not one that people would guess. But I find dumb car movies generally fun. Especially with a it based off of a game series that I’ve played a lot of. I prefer Need For Speed to Fast and the Furious, but they are obviously going to get compared.

This is one where I don’t need a reboot. I just want more in the series. Aaron Paul is a lot of fun in the lead role for this. And I think that you could create something about street racing, or illegal racing, and come up with some very fun movies about it. Yes, it is basically Fast and the Furious again. But that one has gone so crazy with the series. I’d prefer to see Need For Speed continue and be a bit more grounded.

Final Thoughts

What movies would you want to see rebooted or more in the world of those movies? I think that it’s a harder list to make than television shows because a lot of television shows run for a little while and get cancelled before the story is done. With movies they more often tell complete stories in the movie, so it’s less open ended for wanting more.

For example, I love the movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, but there isn’t really more story for that world. Maybe rebooting some of the 80’s B movie classics, but making a B movie is hard. So it is not something that’s too easy to come up with, at least for me. Hence the few that are most definitely cheating with Star Wars and Chronicles of Narnia.

Let me know your choices down below, on Facebook, or Twitter.

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The $1 Crowdfunding Pledge

Let’s talk about the $1 pledge level. Why do I pledge at that level sometimes, and how often do I get more?

So what is a $1 pledge? It is basically a cheap way to get the updates on a Kickstarter campaign. With Gamefound you can follow along if you subscribe to it. But Kickstarter, is is $1 and often times it gives you access to the pledge manager as well.

The nice thing about a $1 pledge is that you don’t need all the money at once. If both Final Girl and Marvel Zombies run at the same time – they did – then you don’t need to give both of them a couple hundred dollars right at the same time. You back $1 now you can get one now and save up for the other one later.

But how often do I back for $1, once in a while, and I’d say maybe 2 out of the 6-7 that I did that with, I ended up adding in the pledge manager. One, for sure, that I did was The Witcher: Old World. And I believe there was another that I added. I don’t care enough, most of the time, to do $1 and get the updates.

The Drink

A Negroni again. It’s such a good drink, again a warm day and one that is nice to have on a day like that. But a good drink to have stuff around for. It is really one that I like to sip while grilling as well. On a hot summer day it is refreshing and with some ice in there, it doesn’t feel water down when the ice melts.

Upcoming Streams

Tomorrow I’ll be streaming, I think my plan is more Paper Dungeons. So join for some fun to play along. I’m still working my way through that campaign.

I talked about this on the stream, and maybe I’ll talk about it more tomorrow. But I am getting a gaming table with a topper. That will allow for me to leave a bigger campaign game set-up on the lower level and put the top on when I want to play something else. So once that comes, I am going to be getting back to streaming a larger game.

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Now, there is going to be overlap on what you might want to get in a room, so I’ll cover that, but there are other things that will be different. And I think knowing what you want is important because it can determine what you get.

For example, for me, I don’t do much painting, so I don’t need a dedicated space for that. The larger a gaming table I can get, and still get chairs around it, the better for me. But a painter might still want a gaming table. Or an RPG player might want a spot to build terrain, or store terrain.

Common Game Room Things

Storage

Let’s start out with what really is common across everything. You will need storage in your room. If it is just for board games, or painting, you need storage for the games you are painting or the game you own. For RPG’s, unless everything is theater of the mind, you need storage for the terrain and minis that you have.

Seating

Seating is also key. If you don’t have a spot to sit, then it’s more a game waiting area than a game room. So you want seating but not just seating, enough seating for your room. For example, my game room could handle 8 people at a table, even a six person table. Assuming the game isn’t too large. But I want flexible seating.

Lighting

Next up is lighting. This is one that might just come with the room or might be something you can supplement or control as you need. You want to be able to see well. But you don’t want a harsh light pointing down at the table causing glare. I know some people do up lighting or reflected lighting. I think that a fan lighting is solid as well, just as long as it’s not a bare bulb pointing down. Or that it isn’t too dark so you can’t read the cards easily.

Table

Finally, a table of some sort. Now, a gaming table sounds awesome and I am excited to order one. But it isn’t needed. A dining room table from Craiglist or Facebook Marketplace work just fine. There is no reason to be too fancy with it. Just a surface to play games on or painting on is important. If you are a painter we’ll talk about it a bit more.

Streamer

So what else do you need to think about if you are a streamer? I know that I have talked about the equipment that you need, but that is the main thing. However, I won’t go into detail too much on that. Camera(s) and computer are important.

But two things to touch on are lighting and sound. Lighting might seem like we already talked about it, but you want to have a nice lighting set-up. Firstly so viewers can watch you. Secondly so that you can see the game. Not only that, but something that adds in depth, so not just lights pointed at you, but a light filling in behind you as well.

Sound is also exceedingly important. I can deal with decent lighting if the sound is good to great. But if the sound is bad, that’ll get me to click off of a video or a stream faster than anything else. Now, I’m not talking about delivery, I’m talking about sound levels, clipping in and out, or background noise or echoes distorting it. Put up some soft things if need be to dampen the sounds.

Board Game

This will be the area that you need to add the least specific to a room. Storage, table, seating, and lighting basically are what you need. If you want go fancier, or say you use a dining room table, I recommend grabbing a few playmats. Something that’ll cover most of the top of the table. That just makes it much easier to pick cards or pieces off of the table.

I’d also recommend grabbing a few TV trays. Something you can put up or take down easily enough. That means that you don’t need to have food or drinks on the table (as much) and less likely that something spills. Now, maybe you just don’t allow food or drinks at all, but I like TV trays as an easy to pull out or put away option.

Paint or Craft

For this, you probably want a dedicated area where you can paint at in your room. Now, that might be a whole separate room from where you play. But a dedicated painting table that you can get messy would be key for me. Or at least that you don’t mind if it does get messy.

Along with that, lighting is way more important. You want to be able to see what you are painting. That means that you’ll want to either have great lighting all around, or the ability to add lighting in by the painting area. I know that some painters also want something that’ll magnify as well.

Finally, storage for your paints and brushes and whatever else you might use for crafting. I already mentioned storage, but for paints a particular holder that makes it easy to pull them out seems like the right thing to have. It’s kind of why I buy inserts for board games. Something to just make the game easier to play.

Role Playing Game

For an RPG, again not much to add. Just that storage is going to be about your most important thing. And I personally would want some spots to store stuff or hide it away. Now, everything is not always hidden away. So many RPGers make amazing set pieces that you can keep out. But for the more generic items or ones you have a lot of, storage to keep it out of sight is nice.

Also, there is likely overlap here with painting and crafting. Unless you buy all your terrain prefabricated and minis painted, there is that element of the gaming as well to consider. And I know that a lot of Dungeon Masters DIY a lot of things. That probably means you own more random elements, like cardboard and Styrofoam that a painter might not have.

Final Thoughts

There is no right way to create a game room. For some people that might just mean a room with a ton of games, maybe a spot to paint minis and they don’t play games in there. You just enter, grab a game, and leave. That is still a game room.

Others might want to have a room where they can play games, but it also will store a 3D printer, a spot to paint, and other elements for the crafting side of the hobby. Some people will want their games out in a Kallax and others will hide them into a closet. It is whatever works best for your space.

And it always depends on space. Not just what you use it for, but how much you have. You might not be able to fit a game table in. Or it might be a game room where you play your solo games because it isn’t that big. Or you might have two game tables in there and you can have big get togethers where lots of big games are played.

But it is fun to think about and dream about your ideal game space. And hopefully with this article it gives you a few extra things to think about. Tweet me pictures or leave over on Facebook pictures of your game room.

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Pros

• Price Point
• Aesthetic
• Storage

Cons

• Bottom Tier

The Page

This is a nice looking page. It’s kind of nice to not be talking about game play and how they yet again didn’t explain it as well as they should have. Instead here we just to get see tons of amazing looking minis.

And I think that they do a very nice job of laying out what the different pledge levels are, all that you get. I also like how custom the pledge levels are. You can get 10 different sets or 20, you get to pick. You can even go all the way up to 60 sets which would keep you in monsters and heroes for your RPG’s for a long time.

The Product

I can’t really talk too much about the page without getting into the product. Normally, obviously, I cover board games in my Back or Bricks. But sometimes a board game or a gaming related thing catches my attention. And I do think that Skinny Minis should be a board game thing. By that, I wish that board game companies would contract with them to give a Skinny Minis standee option as well as their miniature pledge level, so save me some money.

But right now I’d use them for Dungeons and Dragons. I don’t know why but I kind of want to start making terrain and building out more set pieces for what I do in Dungeons and Dragons. But doing that sounds like a lot of work and then to put on top of that you need to paint minis to go with what you’ve done and that is where Skinny Minis come in.

This product, to me, is a replacement for having to buy and paint minis. Not only that but you need to store miniatures. Skinny Minis can pack flat. That means I don’t need to think about special storage as much. Now, they do have nice storage of their own, which if I get Skinny Minis I might get.

Back or Brick

So let’s get into that. Are Skinny Minis a Back or a Brick? Right now this is a Back for me. I keep on almost talking myself out of the pledge. If the 10 pack one came with stretch goals, I’d probably be locked into it. But the value seems to be at that 20 set point which is reasonable in price but expensive. And even then, it isn’t that bad a price, it’s just a bit spendy because of the amount you are getting.

How about for you, is this a back or a brick?

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