Deeper Role Playing in the AoM campaign. - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Deeper Role Playing in the AoM campaign.

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Oct 28, 2004 11:08:48 Although I am a fan of the DragonLance setting it seems as if most of the role playing has been done away with in the Age of Mortals module Key of Destiny. I as a DM personally do not like when the players walk from one fight to the other with little to no role playing in the game. Alot of the characters in the module are a bit bland.

Recently I have been preparing my Eberron campaign and researching the setting known as Arcanis, which seems to have some heavy role playing(As a matter of fact that is what they promote in the game rather than video game style hack and slash action.). I was wondering is there a way to increase the role playing and depth of the storylines in the AoM campaign ? It seems kind of stale right now and I, as DM, do not want to lose interest in it.

~~~
#2
Sysane
Oct 28, 2004 12:03:44 I feel it falls to the DM and Players willingness and ability to role play in an adventure. I realize that some adventures are more geared towards role playing than others but role playing can be done even if an encounter doesn't go into great detail or necessarily call for it. Granted, common sense will dictate that parlaying with NPCs will meet with success or not.

In KoD there are many opportunities for the PC's to role play. Encounters with the elves of Pashin, the meeting with the Eagles, and travelling with the Mukku tribe are a few off the top of my head.
#3
zombiegleemax
Oct 28, 2004 12:09:50 Of course the DM has something to do with the role playing, to an extent, but there is only a limited amount of role playing opportunities in the Key of Destiny adventure. It is mainly hack and slash, just look at it(Go to Pashin and fight, go to Khur and fight, go to the Shattered Temple and fight.); they fight most of the time.

Also, Settings such as Arcanis actually gear the game towards role playing(I mean come on D&D is a role playing game.) , to deny that this can be done is ludicrous. One can most certainly get more role playing opportunities out of a climate of political intrigue, and in-depth NPCs, rather than walking through a dungeons cleaving something every 5 minutes. Look at the NPCs in the module(KoD) and then turn and look at the development of the NPCs in Arcanis or Eberron's settings and modules.

~~~
#4
cam_banks
Oct 28, 2004 12:58:19 I've addressed this with you before, LoI. In fact, you said this same thing in another post, I responded with how my own campaign has used the Key of Destiny as a foundation for a great deal of character development and exciting plots with both action and intrigue prevalent, and I don't know that you ever responded back to that.

I agree that there's a lot of conflict and combat in the Key of Destiny module, but it's interspersed with a dozen or more adventure hooks, opportunities for NPC interactions, and suggestions for how to bring your group more fully into the experience. This is the way adventures should work - the combat encounters are the most rules-intensive parts of D&D games, which is why there's so much content in modules centred around them, but that shouldn't be an indicator that the adventure or the campaign is hack and slash. It's what you make it, and I promise you that it's not only possible, it's almost inevitible with an engaged group of players and a DM who's willing to invest some work in it.

By the way, my game runs every other week, and the amount of preparation I do ahead of time is minimal. I make great use of the KoD as written, embellished through the course of the campaign based on the actions and goals of my players. It's not hard - honest.

Cheers,
Cam
#5
Sysane
Oct 28, 2004 13:02:33 Its all in the way the DM develops the NPCs and the PC's intrest in talking with them. You can have an arms length of info an individual NPC but its only useful if the PC's actually engage them in coversation.

I agree that an adventure should be more than just a hack & slash, but I wouldn't want it bogged down with an over abundance of NPC info (like, dislikes, turn ons & offs, etc..). I myself would rather take the time to develope NPCs histories and personalities than take up valuable space in a module better used for maps or more encounters. Thats just IMHO.
#6
frostdawn
Oct 28, 2004 15:34:34 ****Warning- some possible spoilers follow****

My favorite parts of running KoD so far have been primarily in 2 different locations. The first was with the Mikku. I had "the minotaur" (Malat I think was his name?) Take on a warrior camraderie with the fighter types of the group, challenging them to things like arm wrestling, drinking contests, etc. The sly, slick witted wizard thief of the group beguiled one of the dancers, and now has a romantic thing going on. The priest of the group got into talking about theology and religion with the Mikku seer. Each person had interaction with different Mikku people, that they all seemed to enjoy.

The second area was Ak Khurman, after Hurim. The group went back and ripped the cooling rods from the old storage rooms out of the temple. While travelling across the dessert, they leaned the rods against each other, and covered them with blankets to make makeshift air conditioned teepees. Once they got to Ak Khurman, they went from shop keeper to shop keeper trying to find the highest bidder for their medieval refrigeration scheme. Pretty funny all in all. Particularly since the Zoe, the resident wizard was on the verge on sniffing out the group's resident wizard (renegade, and wishes to stay that way), so the tension was a nice thing to play off of as well.

One thing to remember about all the confrontations. They are needed to a certain degree, because all the evidence points to a confrontation with Frost/Gellidus (a guess, but it makes sense). While more entertaining to RP through the campaign, conflict is needed to quickly ramp up the exp lvls of the characters so they don't get whupped as the adventure progresses. You wouldn't want a bunch of character lvl 10s fighting a dragon overlord.
#7
clarkvalentine
Oct 28, 2004 15:53:40 Another thing that Cam has pointed out to me: It's immensely difficult to explicitly write intensive roleplaying into a module or published adventure, as you have no idea what sort of PCs will be attempting to go through it. The best you can do is make sure interesting locales and NPCs are available for the PCs to interact with, and hope the players and GM take it from there.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Oct 28, 2004 11:08:48	Although I am a fan of the DragonLance setting it seems as if most of the role playing has been done away with in the Age of Mortals module Key of Destiny. I as a DM personally do not like when the players walk from one fight to the other with little to no role playing in the game. Alot of the characters in the module are a bit bland. Recently I have been preparing my Eberron campaign and researching the setting known as Arcanis, which seems to have some heavy role playing(As a matter of fact that is what they promote in the game rather than video game style hack and slash action.). I was wondering is there a way to increase the role playing and depth of the storylines in the AoM campaign ? It seems kind of stale right now and I, as DM, do not want to lose interest in it. ~~~
#2 Sysane Oct 28, 2004 12:03:44	I feel it falls to the DM and Players willingness and ability to role play in an adventure. I realize that some adventures are more geared towards role playing than others but role playing can be done even if an encounter doesn't go into great detail or necessarily call for it. Granted, common sense will dictate that parlaying with NPCs will meet with success or not. In KoD there are many opportunities for the PC's to role play. Encounters with the elves of Pashin, the meeting with the Eagles, and travelling with the Mukku tribe are a few off the top of my head.
#3 zombiegleemax Oct 28, 2004 12:09:50	Of course the DM has something to do with the role playing, to an extent, but there is only a limited amount of role playing opportunities in the Key of Destiny adventure. It is mainly hack and slash, just look at it(Go to Pashin and fight, go to Khur and fight, go to the Shattered Temple and fight.); they fight most of the time. Also, Settings such as Arcanis actually gear the game towards role playing(I mean come on D&D is a role playing game.) , to deny that this can be done is ludicrous. One can most certainly get more role playing opportunities out of a climate of political intrigue, and in-depth NPCs, rather than walking through a dungeons cleaving something every 5 minutes. Look at the NPCs in the module(KoD) and then turn and look at the development of the NPCs in Arcanis or Eberron's settings and modules. ~~~
#4 cam_banks Oct 28, 2004 12:58:19	I've addressed this with you before, LoI. In fact, you said this same thing in another post, I responded with how my own campaign has used the Key of Destiny as a foundation for a great deal of character development and exciting plots with both action and intrigue prevalent, and I don't know that you ever responded back to that. I agree that there's a lot of conflict and combat in the Key of Destiny module, but it's interspersed with a dozen or more adventure hooks, opportunities for NPC interactions, and suggestions for how to bring your group more fully into the experience. This is the way adventures should work - the combat encounters are the most rules-intensive parts of D&D games, which is why there's so much content in modules centred around them, but that shouldn't be an indicator that the adventure or the campaign is hack and slash. It's what you make it, and I promise you that it's not only possible, it's almost inevitible with an engaged group of players and a DM who's willing to invest some work in it. By the way, my game runs every other week, and the amount of preparation I do ahead of time is minimal. I make great use of the KoD as written, embellished through the course of the campaign based on the actions and goals of my players. It's not hard - honest. Cheers, Cam
#5 Sysane Oct 28, 2004 13:02:33	Its all in the way the DM develops the NPCs and the PC's intrest in talking with them. You can have an arms length of info an individual NPC but its only useful if the PC's actually engage them in coversation. I agree that an adventure should be more than just a hack & slash, but I wouldn't want it bogged down with an over abundance of NPC info (like, dislikes, turn ons & offs, etc..). I myself would rather take the time to develope NPCs histories and personalities than take up valuable space in a module better used for maps or more encounters. Thats just IMHO.
#6 frostdawn Oct 28, 2004 15:34:34	**Warning- some possible spoilers follow** My favorite parts of running KoD so far have been primarily in 2 different locations. The first was with the Mikku. I had "the minotaur" (Malat I think was his name?) Take on a warrior camraderie with the fighter types of the group, challenging them to things like arm wrestling, drinking contests, etc. The sly, slick witted wizard thief of the group beguiled one of the dancers, and now has a romantic thing going on. The priest of the group got into talking about theology and religion with the Mikku seer. Each person had interaction with different Mikku people, that they all seemed to enjoy. The second area was Ak Khurman, after Hurim. The group went back and ripped the cooling rods from the old storage rooms out of the temple. While travelling across the dessert, they leaned the rods against each other, and covered them with blankets to make makeshift air conditioned teepees. Once they got to Ak Khurman, they went from shop keeper to shop keeper trying to find the highest bidder for their medieval refrigeration scheme. Pretty funny all in all. Particularly since the Zoe, the resident wizard was on the verge on sniffing out the group's resident wizard (renegade, and wishes to stay that way), so the tension was a nice thing to play off of as well. One thing to remember about all the confrontations. They are needed to a certain degree, because all the evidence points to a confrontation with Frost/Gellidus (a guess, but it makes sense). While more entertaining to RP through the campaign, conflict is needed to quickly ramp up the exp lvls of the characters so they don't get whupped as the adventure progresses. You wouldn't want a bunch of character lvl 10s fighting a dragon overlord.
#7 clarkvalentine Oct 28, 2004 15:53:40	Another thing that Cam has pointed out to me: It's immensely difficult to explicitly write intensive roleplaying into a module or published adventure, as you have no idea what sort of PCs will be attempting to go through it. The best you can do is make sure interesting locales and NPCs are available for the PCs to interact with, and hope the players and GM take it from there.