on Jun 1, 2010 in
Uncategorized
Number of Views :572

DM's Leak?
This post originally appeared on November 18, 2008
DM’s Leak? Is that what happens when we’re in the middle of the boss encounter, and the multiple liters of Mountain Dew finally catch up with our fearless leader? As tempted as I am to say yes, the answer is that I define the DM’s leak as that one player in a group who the DM entrusts with vital in/formation long before the game ever takes place. This person is often a trustworthy individual, one who has omitted ‘metagame’ from his mental dictionary, and one who oftentimes is a veteran gamer who has some DM experience of his/her own. I wish to argue the importance of this individual to every DM. I would go as far to say that the DM’s leak makes the difference between a mediocre game and a fantastic one.
I’ve played both sides of the fence. My gaming group back home just reached 17th level in a campaign that has been ongoing for nearly 4 years, starting at level 1. Since the first few steps of the campaign, I myself have been the DM’s leak, his confidant, and oftentimes a manager of sorts. He would run ideas by me, ask my opinion on the facets of the game he wished to implement, keeping himself in check (something I know all of you wish your DM’s would try once in a while). In fact most recently, the DM and I conspire on most of the events happening in-game. Some may say this ruins the element of surprise, and the thrill of uncovering the event that splits a plotline wide open. I can honestly say that helping sculpt the adventure in no way took away from the epicity of the combat and roleplaying that ensued. The scene was no less cinematic and exciting for me as a player.
In my DM experience I have also found the leak as a useful tool. The leak is a secret represenative of the party. If an encounter, storyline, or scenario is too ridiculous, difficult, or unrealistic, you can trust your leak to let you know. I, myself, just have the simple issue of not being able to keep my mouth shut. If I come up with an awesome idea, or a thrilling plot device, it is sometimes too much to restrain myself from telling someone. And what better way to vent this excitement than discussing it with a player who you know you can trust?
Well I’d like to hear what you guys think of this concept, I’m hoping I’m not the only one, but if so, then I hope that maybe you will consider the idea for use. Take care, my friends.
Number of Views :376Make it your own. This is the unexpressed tenet of all roleplaying. On an earlier post, my good friend Mark expressed that if you’re not having fun, then what’s the point? I couldn’t agree more; however, there’s another point I’d like to add to that. If there’s something you’d like to accomplish as [...]
Number of Views :361 Who doesn’t want to have a small army at their disposal? Leadership was great in 3.5. It gave you the chance to create another character to work alongside yours, and a few followers to… well… do whatever followers do. 4th Edition, for the most part, does not translate well from 3.5; [...]
on Feb 20, 2009 in
4e D&D,
Game Theory
Number of Views :499 Ah, 4th Edition. I love what 4th Edition has done with the place. New system, new rules, new joys, and new frustrations. However, there is such a thing as fixing what is not broken. And as many would suggest, something you shouldn’t do. Starting wealth in 3.5 was very simple. Read [...]
Number of Views :196 Metamagic feats. Disparagingly absent from 4th Edition, metamagic feats could take those wimpy low-level spells and make them worth using again. Let’s cut right to the chase. I’ve outlined a few ideas for bringing back metamagic, only we’re now going to make it metaPOWER. Let me know what you think. All [...]
on Dec 15, 2008 in
Uncategorized
Number of Views :161I just want to take a moment and allow whatever image you have brewing in your head to come to fruition…ah…delicious. What I’m talking about, of course, is music during game. The right choice of music during combat, or hanging out in a tavern, or trekking across a heavily-forested wilderness, can add [...]
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on Dec 3, 2008 in
4e D&D,
Game Theory
Number of Views :225You know, I have no beef with World Of Warcraft, Guild Wars, or any of these MMOs, but I swear if I have to deal with one more player bringing MMO-style play to my game table, I’ll kick them out faster than they can say “D20″. The roleplaying facet of games is [...]
on Dec 2, 2008 in
Uncategorized
Number of Views :319 Sorry guys, it’s been a while since my last post…I dearly missed all of you. Here we go. So I’m going to be running the Ravenloft game very soon, and if you know anything about Ravenloft, each domain has a different culture level. A domain that a caveman would call home [...]
on Nov 18, 2008 in
4e D&D,
Advice/Tools
Number of Views :258 DM’s Leak? Is that what happens when we’re in the middle of the boss encounter, and the multiple liters of Mountain Dew finally catch up with our fearless leader? As tempted as I am to say yes, the answer is that I define the DM’s leak as that one [...]