Crit Academy interviews one of our good friends, Rontric from over at Game Masters Stash. The GMS is a facebook page that aims to provide a massive collection of free content to help Game Masters in their RPG. They bring original NPCs, Magic Items, Locations and so much more, as well as trying to keep the RPG up to date with new tips and advice we have looted from across the web.
Unearthed Tips and Tricks: New and reusable D&D content for you to bring with you on your next adventure.
Character Concept: For Honor!
For you, honor is everything. If you don’t treat your adversary as fairly as you would treat your own comrade (even while your adversary is trying to kill you), then your existence is pointless. Fear is a disease, and cowardice is a moral failing. You will never stab someone in the back, you will never kill an unarmed foe, and you will never challenge an opponent who is
outnumbered. You want to face your opponents on as equal of footing as possible, and you will follow your code of honor even when your life or the lives of your allies are at risk
While you might expect this type of an archetype to belong to a Fighter or a Paladin, there’s no reason it couldn’t apply to just about any type of character. A Rogue might be a bit tricky, but anything else should work. Maybe your character is a Sorcerer who only uses their magic to facilitate a fair fight. Maybe you’re a Druid who views honor as a part of nature and one
of the laws of the universe. Perhaps you’re a Bard whose honor is their livelihood, and
you enjoy the spectacle of a duel and the consistency of character as it would appeal
to an audience. Honor is a way of life, so go live it!
Monster Variant:
Dragoon
Origin: Knight
The dragoon is a knight who specializes in the hunting and slaying of large flying beasts
(dragons in particular). Their coalition was formed in ancient times when a dragon attacked
their homeland. A lone warrior stood, staggering in her boots. She climbed to the highest point she could find. There, she waited for the dragon to pass below during its next onslaught. Bleeding out, she used the last of her strength and jumped off the highest tower, falling with speed that matched that of a meteor, and crashed into the dragon removing its head with a mighty halberd. In honor of her heroism, the Dragoons were founded. Dragoons carry halberds and specialize in magic-enhanced jumps and dives to generate enough force to penetrate even the thickest dragon hide. New Features:
Innate Spellcasting: 3/day Jump
Dragon Dive. If the Dragoon makes an attack while falling, he can use his training and
momentum to convert the falling damage into bonus damage. Add 1d6 for every 10
feet falling. The dragoon ignores fall damage from up to 20 feet or lower.
Halberd
Encounter:
An Idol Threat
The party is hired by an old sage to go on a quest to retrieve an ancient idol, and he pays
the party half of the bounty up front. The idol is said to belong to a cult of darkness, and stories about it describe the statue as having priceless gems mounted in its eyes. The party goes on its way to find the idol and return it, but on the way they run into a rival historian who also has knowledge of the idol. When he learns the players were sent to retrieve it, he makes a counter offer: when they find it, remove the gems from its eyes and sell them to him. Then return the idol to the original quest giver.
This encounter can create all different kinds of conflict within the party. They’ve already
received payment for the quest, so are they going to go back on their deal? If they don’t
agree to the second deal and try to complete the quest as planned, the rival historian could hire his own band of adventurers to get the gems which would lead to more clashes as the quest goes on. Perhaps the old sage gets the idol in the end, and it turns out he himself is looking to harness dark power from the idol. If the players find out about this before it happens, will they confront the old sage before giving him the idol, or will they just shrug and take his money?
There’s lots of different points in this encounter that can lead to issues between the
players. Play those up, and let the players figure things out for themselves!
Magic Item: Boots of the Brash
Wondrous, Uncommon (requires attunement)
These boots were created by a mage who would read tales of strong heroes and deadly
adventure. Since he was not strong, fast, or brave himself, he made these boots to grant
the wearer the power to perform immensely powerful kicks. The boots have 5 charges, and
they regain 1d4+1 charges at dawn. As an action, the wearer may spend a charge to perform a kick. The kick grants the wearer a +10 bonus on their Strength check to break or move an object, and it adds 3d6 damage to any object damaged by the kick. If used against a creature, treat the kick as an unarmed attack but with an added 3d6 bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be pushed back 10 feet.
It’s said that the mage that created these boots made them to help him become the strong,
brave hero that he always longed to be. However, his first “quest” had him kicking open the door of a bandit’s’ lair, only to be shot down by the ruffians hiding inside.
Submitted by: Game Masters Stash
Dungeon Master Tip: Incidental References
The party is locked in combat with a group of bandits, and the paladin’s turn comes up.
He proudly proclaims, “Do you not see the sigil emblazoned on my armor? It marks me
as a member of the Defenders of Light, the protectors of these lands for centuries!”
Now, in this case, you raise an eyebrow because not only were the Defenders of Light
not a part of the campaign that you had determined ahead of time, but you never even
realized the player was a member of any kind of order (or even that they had a symbol on their armor). Still, what if it was all true?
Whenever a player takes on a bit of worldbuilding while playing their character (making up NPCs, referencing places or organizations, etc.), try incorporating the things they’ve said into the game. In the above mentioned example, maybe the next time the players are in the area a frantic commoner runs up to the players, recognizes the paladin as a Defender of Light, and begs him to save his family! Perhaps members of another faction, the Creators of Darkness, show up in town one day to declare war on the party because they harbor
one of the Defenders of Light in their midst.
Letting players create the world along with you, even if it’s just through off-handed
dialogue, can help the players feel like the world they’re in is a collaboration instead of
just one person’s story. It will help them feel more invested in the world and the people in
that world. If possible, take those incidental references and run with them!
Player Tip: Don't be a Dick! You can avoid dickitude by... Make your Character Stand Out!
Does your character have any particular mannerisms? Any catch phrases? Anything that
they do that might set them apart from the average person?
If not, then create one! Make your character stand out. Give them something that they shout when landing a finishing blow on an enemy, a distinctive suit or armor, or something that they do with their hands while lounging at the tavern. If your character is often fiddling with a deck of cards, bring a deck of cards to the gaming table and incorporate it into your playstyle! Come up with unusual exclamations your character can work into their dialogue, like “By Merlin’s Beard!” whenever something shocking happens.
Your character is yours and yours alone, so you should have something fun to make
them stand out just a little bit more! It’s your character - have some fun with it!
If you have any feedback, unearthed tips and tricks or topics you would like us to discuss, please send them to us. You can email them to us at critacademy@gmail.com or find us on twitter and facebook @critacademy.
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Keep your blades sharp and spells prepared heroes!
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