July 18, 2018

Coin Zombies

July 18, 2018/ Tim Gonzalez

Zombies are slow. How do you make it easier for them to eat the brains of still-moving creatures? You make the prey WANT to come near the zombie!

Taken directly from 13th Age, the coin zombies prey on the greed of other creatures by compelling them to come closer.

Throw these baddies at your players for a fun variation on the zombie. I'll bet they see how much money they can get from them!

If you liked this, be sure to check out 13th Age, it's full of fun ideas like this!

July 11, 2018

The Chessmen

July 11, 2018/ Tim Gonzalez

Chess is a familiar game to many people. Even if you don't know how to play, probably know there are pieces like the knight or the queen.

A group of enemies based around chess pieces make a great group of enemies. You have a group of enemies that all work together as a unit, and their visual appearance and mechanics reinforce their chess-game roles.

You could have a tinkerer or wizard called "The Grandmaster" who has created robotic servants and guardians. These Chessmen work great for a short arc, but watch out for the queen!

Enjoy the Chessmen!

June 27, 2018

Charity Game for Puerto Rico: Arecibo (FATE)

June 27, 2018/ Tim Gonzalez

This Saturday I’ll be participating in a charity game for disaster relief/recover for Puerto Rico, Arecibo! My friend Melissa (@momtoast_mel) will be running the game, and has put together a charity drive for the game.

Arecibo is a FATE core game by @evilhatofficial, centered on the Arecibo municipality of Puerto Rico. You might recognize one of its noticeable features…

It almost looks like a golden eye of sorts...

That is the Arecibo Observatory, which was the world’s largest radio telescope until 2016. And it probably features into the setting, since Arecibo seems to be heavily inspired by Stranger Things. Expect a lot of creepiness!

The cool thing about this game is that it will be live streamed, and YOU have the chance to influence the game.

That’s right, by donating $20 you can join the Secret Council: You’ll gain insider knowledge of the story, and be able to influence the direction of the story!

If you just want to support the cause, you can head over to the link below and support a great cause!

https://www.podpledge.com/project/419/Arecibo-UNIDOS-Disaster-Relief-and-Recovery/home

The game starts this Saturday at 1:00pm EST at our local game store, 7th Dimension Games. Check out the Twitch channel here, and come watch me play a fictional version of my father as interpreted by his childhood stories.

June 20, 2018

Inspiring NPCs

June 20, 2018/ Tim Gonzalez

I’m not talking about Bardic Inspiration, but about NPCs and characters that are actually inspiring.

Most characters in our games can fall into certain archetypes; the villain, the slacker, the loner, and so on. But one figure that I don’t see often is the Inspiring Figure.

When we make connections to NPCs in the games, we tend to look for things like ‘family member’, ‘rival’, or ‘need revenge’. These help us flesh out or characters, but are often set up as goals to overcome (the rival) or potential hooks to provide motivation (my brother was kidnapped!).

The character that made me think of this is All Might from My Hero Academia. In the anime, he is the #1 hero. He’s the strongest hero in the world, but that alone doesn’t make him inspiring. Instead, he has set himself up as the Symbol of Peace in the world. Always smiling, he provides hope to the world.

"It's fine now. Why? Because I am here!"

Everyone knows All Might. The main characters all look up to him for different reasons, but what is most important is that we SEE him doing heroic and inspiring things. His words and actions matter, and he knows it. He is a beacon.

All Might’s presence hovers over everything in the story. That might be a bit much for a tabletop game, but the premise is still interesting. How many NPCs in games would you consider inspiring? Most everyone is there to either support the heroes, or directly oppose them.

If you make an inspiring figure in your game, and want people to FELL like they are inspiring, you need to make them relatable. If your inspiring figure is a god, then they’re not connecting with people on a certain level. Part of the reason that someone is inspiring is because they enable others to think that they too can do these incredible things. Having the inspiring figure be a god or supernatural being just ends up making them separate and better than everyone else.

Adding an Inspiring Figure is easier to do during character creation or when establishing the setting, but all you need to do is ask a player “Who do you look up to”, and “Why do you look up to them”. Your answers may vary, but you’ll find that role playing a truly inspiring, genuine, and relatable person is a difficult but fulfilling challenge.

Remember, go plus ultra!

June 13, 2018

D&D Tip: Let Your Players Award Inspiration

June 13, 2018/ Tim Gonzalez

Business image created by Dashu83 - Freepik.com

Inspiration is a nice new feature in D&D 5e, similar to action points or hero points from other games. The GM can award a character inspiration for good roleplaying, and they can spend it to gain advantage on a roll.

What if I told you there’s a better way to use inspiration?

Here’s the secret:

Let the players give it to each other.

Shocking, I know

Here are some of the problems with the basic rules of inspiration; it’s completely subjective. As a GM, I’ve forgotten to give it out because of all the other things on my plate. And what if I don’t catch something cool that a player did that deserves inspiration?

A much better way of handling inspiration is to allow your players to award it to each other. This takes the burden off of the GM, and allows players to directly reward each other for doing good things. With more people that can give out inspiration, you’re more likely to have it.

I’ll address concerns about players ‘gaming the system’: Inspiration isn’t that great. You can’t stockpile inspiration, and it only gives advantage on a roll, which means that failure is still a very real option. Plus, players tend to hold onto it for a significant roll, so they’re not using it all the time.

Ultimately, having a lot of inspiration at your table is a good thing. It’s a reward for doing something good, so you want people to use it as much as they can. The more that the players use inspiration, the more often they can do things to earn it back, which leads to more character development and roleplaying.

My current D&D game uses this rule, and it works wonderfully. It’s a very each change to implement and your players will love it.

Try it out for a few sessions, and see if you notice any changes!

**Side Note: If you don’t already have coins or tokens for inspiration, consider using them with this rule. Having something the players can hand to each other feels rewarding, and visually reminds you of something that you can cash in for a bonus.

June 01, 2018

1d10 Monster Traits

June 01, 2018/ Tim Gonzalez

Running a combat in D&D can be difficult. Making a group of monsters interesting or unique requires effort planning, especially if there are duplicates of them.

One simple way to make unique, interesting monsters is to give them simple traits. Traits can be added to any monster, and can change the way they traditionally act. Goblins might be cowardly, but a goblin with the tank trait might jump right into battle. A wolf with the avenger trait howls angrily when a member of the pack is killed, and becomes more dangerous.

Below are 10 sample traits that you can quickly add to any monster or NPC. If you want to spice up an encounter, roll a d10 for one of the monsters and describe how they look or act differently with this trait. A suit of animated armor with the assassin trait might be painted black and be made of lighter material.

Enjoy these 10 monster traits!

D10	Trait	Effect
1	Brute	Deal an additional die of damage with all attacks
2	Glass Cannon	Reduce hit points by half. Deal double the amount of damage with attacks
3	Commander	Allied creatures within 60 feet of the commander get a 1d4 bonus to attack rolls and saving throws
4	Tank	Has the maximum number of hit points instead of average
5	Slippery	Can take the Disengage, Dash, or Hide actions as a bonus action
6	Assassin	Gains proficiency in Dexterity (Stealth). Gains Sneak Attack with a number of d6 equal to the monster’s proficiency bonus
7	Coward	When the monster is reduced to half of its hit points or fewer, it flees
8	Avenger	When the creature’s allies die, it gets stronger. It gains a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls for each ally that is defeated
9	Minion	A minion creature has 1 hit point and deals half of its normal damage. If a monster has this trait, there should be 2 identical copies of it.
10	Dervish	Any enemy that starts its turn within 5 feet of this creature takes xd6 damage, where x=the creature’s proficiency modifier

May 18, 2018

7 Ways to Use Good Drama In Your Game

May 18, 2018/ Tim Gonzalez

Drama between the players of your gaming group can be a negative experience. But drama in your game can be a good thing. This week we’re going to talk about 7 ways to embrace “good” drama to enrich your games.

Before we can talk about “good” drama, we need to talk about what counts as “bad” drama. In general, bad drama is any decision in-or-out of character that negatively affects the enjoyment of the rest of the table.

Everyone’s goal is to have fun and enjoy the game you are playing. As a member of the game, you need to make sure that your actions aren’t depriving anyone else of having fun. Justifying your actions as “something that your character would do” doesn’t matter. Your character isn’t a real person. It only does what you decide it does, and if your decision would harm someone’s fun, then it is your responsibility to NOT do that.

Now, let’s talk about ways to create “good” drama.

1. Set Expectations

The most important thing you can do is talk about your expectations, playstyle, and comfort levels before beginning the game. This is at the player level, and should be done before you talk about characters.

Once everyone is on the same page, you can talk about your characters. Build characters that have connections or each other, or establish elements of their backstory that can be woven into confrontations.

2. What Problems Do You Want?

The conflict that a character faces can shape who they are. Are you a person that stays optimistic even in the face of despair? It’s easy to say that, but the character’s actions prove it to be true or false. Sometimes there is an intentional disconnect between what a CHARACTER wants, and what a PLAYER wants.

Masks does a great job of building this into their classes (playbooks). Each playbook has a type of drama or conflict that you will deal with. The Nova, for example, is very powerful but has poor control of their powers, causing collateral damage. The CHARACTER wants to avoid excessive damage, but the PLAYER has indicated they want to deal with these problems by picking the playbook. Occasionally having them cause collateral damage and deal with its repercussions is something that the PLAYER wants to deal with, even if the CHARACTER doesn’t.

3. Interact with Players

The GM is in charge of all the NPCs that you might interact with, but great sources of drama come from two (or more!) players interacting with each other.

In order to add more to the story, you can create drama between two PCs. Maybe you have conflicting ideals. Maybe someone has unreciprocated feelings for another character. Find something that both players are ok with doing, and make drama!

The great thing about player driven drama is that it is often at the forefront of the story. Unlike an NPC, which fades from sight when not involved, the players are always there.

This is really useful for games that are played for an audience like actual play podcasts or livestreams. The audience sees this conflict, and knows that it is always there. A conflict with an NPC is put on hiatus until that NPC comes back into the picture.

4. Act Unreasonably

It’s hard to do sometimes, but your character doesn’t always have to act rationally. Sometimes they’re afraid. Sometimes they’re too angry to think. Have them act in a way that creates drama with another character.

Are you the healer, and you’re angry at another character? Tell the player how you are intentionally prioritizing healing someone else first, or are healing them less than you normally would. The important thing here is that you told the PLAYER what you were doing, and thus what the drama is. If you kept it to yourself, it might have been missed, or maybe the PLAYER thought you were lashing out. And back to our original point, if not healing them would kill their character, then maybe don’t do that. Remember, the point is for everyone to have fun. If having their character die would hurt them, then it is in your power to not use that idea.

On the flip side, maybe your character is acting overly sensitive. Maybe they THINK the healer is healing them less than they should. The character can harbor the resentment, and eventually confront the healer in a dramatic fashion.

5. Support the Narrative

Your drama doesn’t need to always be in the front. When other players have drama, act to support one of their sides. Allow yourself to be a supporting character in their story arc. Don’t make it about yourself, and take actions that either heighten the drama or allow it to continue.

6. Make an Ultimatum

It all boils down to those romance options

“It’s either me or him! Make your choice!”

The ultimatum is a great way of bringing drama to a head. Sometimes unreasonable, an ultimatum forces a decision to be made, or lines to be drawn.

An ultimatum can change the direction of the narrative. Perhaps a character decides to strike out on their own, or change their core beliefs. Embrace the new direction, and try to support it.

7. Apologize and Forgive

If you want the characters to all continue working together, someone will probably need to apologize. Don’t wait for the other party to, because they might be waiting for the same thing. Have the character apologize, and renew their intention to work together with everyone.

On the flip side, don’t hold a grudge for too long. If another character apologizes for something, this is your chance to accept the apology and wrap up the dramatic arc. You can always look for a new source of drama later!

Player driven drama, when done right, can bring a game and its characters to life. Follow these tips, and remember to be open about your intentions to your fellow gamers. Everyone deserves to have a fun gaming experience.

May 03, 2018

4 Ways To Handle Passive Perception

May 03, 2018/ Tim Gonzalez

There has been some talk about the role of Passive Perception in D&D 5e recently. As with all things D&D, there are lots of opinions and preferences based on personal style and interpretation. In addition to chiming in with my thoughts, I wanted to collect some of the different ways I’ve seen Passive Perception handled, and talk about the effects of using these methods.

Before we start, let’s talk about what Passive Perception is.

Passive checks in D&D 5e are a special type of ability check that doesn’t require a roll. It can represent the average result of taking your time on a task (taking 10/20 from earlier editions), or when the GM wants to determine success/failure without having someone roll dice.

Passive Perception is specifically mentioned in regards to hiding, which is an action you can take. It determines if you notice a creature attempting to hide.

Aside from the general rules for passive checks and the specific Passive Perception rules with hiding, there’s not a lot of guidance on how to use it, which can be both a good and bad thing. Passive Perception can speed up certain elements of play, but can also make knowing what information to share with a player difficult.

Here are 4 ways to use Passive Perception, and how they affect your game.

1. Stealth Only

Passive Perception only happens specifically with noticing hidden creatures, it has no effect or use on hidden objects. In order to find a trap, you need to make active checks and rolls. If you don’t actively look for a trap, you won’t find it.

The benefits of this method are tied to the benefits of Passive Perception in general. You don’t need to make extra dice rolls for stealth, and you don’t have to unintentionally put a player on edge by asking them to make a Perception check out of the blue.

This can initially make detecting traps harder, as a player has to be on guard and actively look for something. However, this can slow down the game if the players become worried about the presence of traps. If they need to take action to look for traps, you might run into a situation where they declare they’re looking for traps in every room and encounter.

2. Clues

Clue based Passive Perception turns finding traps and hidden objects into a bit of a skill challenge. Your Passive Perception will tell you a simple fact, or give a simple clue to the true nature of whatever is nearby. For example, a long hallway is filled with flame traps. Your passive perception might tell you that there are scorch marks on the floor. From that point on, you are now active, and are trying to solve it with active rolls and role playing.

This method can get rid of the ‘surprise’ factor of traps, as many Passive Perception scores are high enough to notice something. However, disabling or overcoming traps feels better to players than being surprised by one.

A good way to handle clues from Passive Perception is to roll them into the description of a room or hallway. Mention the long hallway’s stonework, the moss growing on it, and the scorch marks all at the same time. This can help conceal the fact that they were specifically given a clue due to their Passive Perception, and relies on natural response and problem-solving to proceed.

3. Sherlock Sense

This is the most powerful way to handle Passive Perception for a player. Your Passive Perception gives you the most amount of information possible, usually specifying where the trap trigger/pressure plate is. In essence, you are telling your players WHAT the problem is and WHERE the solution is.

With Sherlock sense, most traps are handled quickly and easily. It might still require an ability check to disable or bypass the trap, but the process is streamlined.

Traps are rarely a threat with this mode, unless the DC to spot it is higher than a player’s Passive Perception. Players do not have to worry about searching for traps as much, and might see them as a minor hindrance. This can speed up the exploration phase of the game, giving more time to other elements.

4. Minimum Roll

This isn’t part of the Rules As Written (RAW), but I’ve seen some discussion about using Passive Perception as a minimum for your Perception. If you would roll lower than your Passive Perception, you use it instead.

Keep in mind, this isn’t how Passive Perception was meant to be used. It also steps on the toes of a high level rogue ability, Reliable Talent.

I wouldn’t recommend using this option. I’ve seen it come up when trying to explain how you can achieve a worse result than if you weren’t actively trying.

It’s important to remember that D&D and its mechanics aren’t trying to mirror or mimic reality. Your Passive Perception isn’t the worst that you can do at the task. It’s a useful mechanic for abstracting and getting rid of extra dice rolls at the table.

There are certainly many other ways that you can handle Passive Perception. Remember, rule 0 is having fun, and whatever your table likes best is the right answer. Even if it’s #4.

Do you have another method for handling Passive Perception that doesn’t fall into one of these categories? Let me know!

April 24, 2018

Fully Funded: Archive of Magic Items!

April 24, 2018/ Tim Gonzalez

I'm happy to announce that the Archive of Magic Items has been fully funded!

We have 4 days left to hit our first stretch goal ($5,000). It's going to be close, but it's still a possibility.

I've been posting previews from Archive, here are some fun ones to take a look at.

There are 4 days left, so if you've been thinking about jumping in on this book, now is the time!

After the Kickstarter wraps up, there will be more regularly scheduled posts from Pirate Gonzalez Games!

April 04, 2018

Pokemon D&D 5e: Johto Pokedex

April 04, 2018/ Tim Gonzalez

Johto Pokedex

pokemon-gold-silver-3ds-release.jpg.optimal.jpg

The Johto pokedex for D&D 5e is now here!

I hope you enjoy the all of the pokemon from the Gold and Silver games, which were my favorite!

I applied more of my monster creation knowledge to these pokemon, but beware! They haven't been tested in the field yet. There may be some unintentional imbalances, so just look them over before you use them in your 5th edition D&D game. I also tried to cover a wide variety of CRs for the pokemon, so don't expect them to be as strong or weak as they were in the games!

I also made these stat blocks a different way than the Kanto pokedex, so if you see something wrong, let me know and I can easily fix it! You can give me a shout on twitter @pirategonzalez.

Thanks for checking the pokemon out! If you enjoyed this, please consider checking out my Kickstarter for 5e, the Archive of Magic Items! It's a collection of 350+ unique, interesting items for your 5e game.

Gotta Catch ‘Em All!

(You can download a consolidated PDF of the pokedex here.)