Complete Wiki Index

The following is a complete set of links that appear on my wiki to date. A copy of this will be appearing on the wiki, and I expect to update it monthly. I hope this makes it easier to find things on the wiki.  To be honest, Blogger doesn't make it easy to lay this out.  This is the best I can do.


PLAYER’S HANDBOOK

Creating the Player Character ~ character creation ~ player character index

Character Abilities: ability stats ~ charisma ~ constitution ~ dexterity ~ intelligence ~ strength

Character Races: character race limits ~ character race relations ~ dwarf race & physiology ~ elf race & physiology

Character Classes: assassin ~ bard ~ cleric ~ druid ~ fighter ~ illusionist ~ mage ~ monk ~ multi-class characters ~ paladin ~ ranger ~ thief

Alignment & Background: alignment ~ character background generator ~ skill gaining

Character Readiness: assassin combat abilities ~ bard combat abilities ~ cleric combat abilities ~ druid combat abilities ~ fighter combat abilities ~ illusionist combat abilities ~ mage combat abilities ~ player character hit points ~ thief combat abilities ~ weapon proficiencies

Secondary Skills

Inherent Abilities: martial music ~ on guard

Sage Knowledge ~ knowledge points ~ sage field ~ sage study

Class Sage Abilities: assassin sage abilities ~ bard sage abilities ~ cleric sage abilities ~ druid sage abilities ~ fighter sage abilities ~ illusionist sage abilities ~ mage sage abilities ~ monk sage abilities ~ paladin sage abilities ~ ranger sage abilities ~ thief sage abilities

Sage Abilities ~ definition

A-E: acceptance ~ acupuncture ~ affirmation ~ aid rest ~ amputation ~ arboriculture ~ assay ~ assassination ~ audition ~ avian behaviour I ~ avoid encounter ~ balance load ~ bargaining ~ beast forms ~ beast origins ~ beekeeping ~ binding wounds ~ biography ~ birdwatching ~ burial ~ business dealing ~ butchering ~ camouflage ~ carve sigil ~ cave finding ~ caving I ~ celestial navigation ~ choose prognostication ~ climb walls ~ cognitive history ~ comprehend aura ~ concentration ~ conspiracy ~ construct bivouac ~ contrive ~ control golem ~ cultivate ferns & mosses ~ cultivate mushrooms ~ define morality ~ detect land ~ detect mania ~ detect slime ~ detoxification ~ diagnose ailment ~ diagnose & treat farmyard disease ~ distill liquids ~ domesticate horses ~ domestic brewing ~ dowse for water ~ dual attackers ~ endurance running I ~ essence ~ extemporize

F-I: faculty ~ falsifying ~ fame ~ farming ~ firm footwork ~ fishing ~ floriculture ~ foraging ~ free diving ~ free spirit ~ functionary ~ grassroots movement ~ greater history ~ heraldic adoption ~ heraldic code ~ heraldic registration ~ herding ~ history of empire ~ horse breeding ~ horse feeding & diet ~ horse handling I ~ horse handling II ~ horse jumping I ~ horse-mounted combat I ~ horse-mounted combat II ~ horse physiology ~ horseracing ~ horseshoeing ~ hunting ~ identify amphibians & reptiles ~ identify artifact ~ identify bugs & spiders ~ identify clean water ~ identify earths ~ identify mammals ~ identify manifestation ~ identify sea life ~ identify slime ~ immersion ~ insect behaviour I ~ inspiration

J-R: judge belief ~ know bioregion ~ know deity ~ know fungi ~ land suitability ~ leap to feet ~ letters ~ leverage ~ locate self ~ locus infrastructure ~ machinate ~ make a reading ~ make art ~ make fire ~ mammal behaviour I ~ mandragora ~ mariner combat ~ marriage ~ metacognition ~ military studies ~ minor invasive surgery ~ mistletoe I ~ mountain routefinding I ~ mushroom hunt ~ navigation ~ noesis ~ parkour ~ passing through ~ pathfinding I ~ pathfinding II ~ patronage ~ phalanx ~ predict emergence ~ predict meteor events ~ prepare ingestive poisons ~ preach ~ predict beasts ~ primitivism ~ proselytize ~ prospecting ~ protective bracken ~ pruning ~ purgation ~ reading ~ reading tides ~ recognition of signs I ~ recognition of signs II ~ recognition of signs III ~ recognize heavens ~ recognize hero ~ religious history ~ repertoire ~ repose ~ reveal approach ~ ritual slaughter ~ rock foraging ~ running

S-Z: sailing ~ scaly behaviour I ~ schmooze ~ scrambling ~ sea life ~ seek bedstead ~ seek shrines ~ senses I ~ set injury ~ sheltering ~ sight & fire ~ skiing ~ smelt natural metals ~ snatch & grab ~ solicitor ~ sphere of influence ~ stability ~ standard bearer ~ steadfast ~ stealth ~ studied artifacts ~ studied beasts ~ studied heroes ~ swimming ~ sylvics ~ teamstering ~ telescope making I ~ theistic design I ~ theistic design II ~ theistic expression ~ timesense ~ tinkering ~ tracking ~ transmogrification ~ treat disease ~ tree climbing ~ turn undead ~ underground mining ~ validating heraldry ~ vegetable gardening ~ vigor ~ warhorse training ~ water discipline ~ woodcutting ~ woodland foraging

Sage Studies

alchemy ~ amphibians & reptiles ~ animal physiology ~ architecture ~ artifacts ~ astronomy & astrology ~ athletics ~ backstabbing ~ balance ~ beachcomber ~ beasts ~ birds ~ blightlander ~ bugs & spiders ~ bushes & shrubs ~ camelback riding ~ chicanery ~ collaborate ~ concealment ~ conceptualism ~ conducting ~ creativity ~ criticism & composition ~ current affairs ~ demi-gods ~ disciplinarianship ~ divination ~ dog training ~ double-dealing ~ dweomercraft ~ empowerment ~ engineering ~ faith ~ falconry ~ flying mounts ~ flowers & sprigs ~ forester ~ forgery ~ fungi ~ geography ~ geology ~ gods ~ golems ~ grasses & grains ~ guile ~ heightened senses ~ heraldry signs & sigils ~ heroes ~ history ~ horseback riding ~ instruction ~ jack of all trades ~ judgement ~ jungle bushcraft ~ language ~ law & policy ~ lockpicking ~ logic & ethics ~ logistics ~ mahout ~ mammals ~ martial discipline ~ medicine ~ mercantilism ~ morale strengthening ~ mosses & ferns ~ motivation ~ murder ~ natural astronomy ~ occultism ~ oceanography ~ outer planes ~ performance ~ mountaineer ~ physics ~ pickpocketing ~ piety ~ poisoning ~ politics ~ pragmatism ~ publishing ~ puissance ~ religious art & music ~ religious design ~ ritual ~ scouting ~ setting & removing traps ~ setting traps ~ sharp practice ~ slime molds ~ sure-footedness ~ trees ~ tutoring ~ unarmed combat ~ underwater mounts

Spells

Spell Use & Acquisition: bardic spell acquisition ~ cleric spell use & acquisition ~ druid spell acquisition ~ illusionary spell acquisition ~ magical spell acquisition ~ spellcasting

Bard Spell Lists: bard 1st level spells ~ bard 2nd level spells

Cleric Spell Lists: cleric 1st level spells ~ cleric 2nd level spells ~ cleric 3rd level spells ~ cleric 4th level spells ~ cleric 5th level spells ~ cleric 6th level spells ~ cleric 7th level spells ~ clerical spell tables

Druid Spell Lists: druid 1st level spells ~ druid 2nd level spells ~ druid 3rd level spells ~ druid 4th level spells ~ druid 5th level spells ~ druid 6th level spells ~ druid 7th level spells ~ druidic spell tables

Illusionary Spell Lists: illusionist cantrip tables ~ illusionary spell tables ~ illusionist 1st level spells ~ illusionist 2nd level spells ~ illusionist 3rd level spells ~ illusionist 4th level spells

Mage Spell Lists: magical cantrip tables ~ mage 1st level spells ~ mage 2nd level spells ~ mage 3rd level spells ~ mage 4th level spells ~ mage 7th level spells ~ mage 9th level spells

Spells

A-C: abjure ~ accompaniment ~ aerial servant ~ affect normal fires ~ aid ~ air walk ~ alarm ~ alter self ~ animal friendship ~ animal summoning I ~ animate dead ~ animate object ~ animal trance ~ armor ~ atonement ~ audible glamer ~ augury ~ avatar ~ barkskin ~ bind ~ blade barrier ~ bless ~ blindness ~ blink ~ blur ~ burning hands ~ call lightning ~ call woodland beings ~ change self ~ chant ~ charm person ~ charm person & mammal ~ chromatic orb ~ cloak of fear ~ cloudburst ~ color spray ~ combine ~ command ~ commune ~ comprehend languages ~ confusion ~ conjure animals ~ continual light ~ control temperature ~ control weather ~ create wildfire ~ create food & water ~ create water ~ cure blindness ~ cure critical wounds ~ cure disease ~ cure light wounds ~ cure serious wounds

D-G: dancing lights ~ darkness ~ darkness 15 ft. radius ~ deafness ~ death’s door ~ deeppockets ~ delude ~ detect charm ~ detect illusion ~ detect invisibility ~ detect lie ~ detect life ~ detect malevolence ~ detect poison ~ detect snares & pits ~ dispel emotion ~ dispel exhaustion ~ dispel illusion ~ dispel magic ~ dispel malevolence ~ divination ~ dust devil ~ earthquake ~ endure cold & heat ~ enlarge ~ entangle ~ enthrall ~ erase ~ ESP ~ exorcise ~ faerie fire ~ fascinate ~ fear ~ feather fall ~ feign death ~ find familiar ~ find traps ~ fire trap ~ firewater ~ flame blade ~ flame strike ~ flame walk ~ flaming sphere ~ fool’s gold ~ forbiddance ~ find the path ~ fog cloud ~ forget ~ forte ~ friends ~ gate ~ gaze reflection ~ giant insect ~ glyph of warding ~ goodberry ~ grazioso ~ grease

H-O: hallucinatory forest ~ hallucinatory terrain ~ heal ~ heat metal ~ heroes’ feast ~ hold animal ~ hold person ~ hold plant ~ hold portal ~ holy word ~ hypnotic pattern ~ hypnotism ~ identify ~ illusionary script ~ imbue with spell ability ~ improved invisibility ~ insect plague ~ invisibility ~ invisibility 10 ft. radius ~ invisibility to animals ~ invisibility to undead ~ irritation ~ jump ~ knock ~ know intent ~ Leomund’s trap ~ levitation ~ light ~ limited wish ~ locate animals ~ locate object ~ locate plants ~ lower water ~ magical vestment ~ magic missile ~ magic mouth ~ magic stone ~ massmorph ~ material ~ meld into stone ~ Melf’s arrow ~ melt ~ mending ~ message ~ messenger ~ minor creation ~ mirror image ~ misdirection ~ mount ~ murk ~ neutralize poison ~ non-detection ~ Nystul’s magic aura ~ obscurement

P-R: paralyzation ~ part water ~ pass without trace ~ penetrate disguise ~ perception ~ phantasmal bow ~ phantasmal camp ~ phantasmal feature ~ phantasmal figure ~ phantasmal guard ~ phantasmal killer ~ phantom armor ~ phantom steed ~ plane shift ~ plant door ~ plant growth ~ prayer ~ precipitation ~ predict weather ~ preserve ~ produce fire ~ protection from cantrips ~ protection from fire ~ protection from lightning ~ protection from malevolence ~ protection from malevolence 15 ft. radius ~ purify food & drink ~ purify water ~ push ~ pyrotechnics ~ quest ~ raise dead ~ ray of enfeeblement ~ regeneration ~ remove curse ~ remove fear ~ remove paralysis ~ repel insects ~ resist cold ~ resist fire ~ restoration ~ resurrection ~ rope trick ~ run

S-Z: sanctuary ~ scare ~ scrying water ~ serenade ~ shadow monsters ~ shatter ~ shield ~ shocking grasp ~ silence 15 ft. radius ~ shillelagh ~ sleep ~ slow poison ~ snake charm ~ snare ~ span ~ speak with animals ~ speak with dead ~ speak with monsters ~ speak with plants ~ spectral double ~ spectral milieu ~ spell immunity ~ spider climb ~ spike growth ~ spike stones ~ spiritual hammer ~ spook ~ starshine ~ sticks to snakes ~ stinking cloud ~ stone shape ~ stoneskin ~ stone tell ~ succor ~ suggestion ~ summon insects ~ symbol ~ Tasha’s hideous laughter ~ taunt ~ Tenser’s floating disc ~ tongues ~ tree ~ trip ~ true seeing ~ ultravision ~ unseen servant ~ vanity ~ ventriloquism ~ wall of fog ~ warp wood ~ water breathing ~ water walk ~ whispering wind ~ wind passage ~ wish ~ withdraw ~ wizard lock ~ wizard mark ~ word of recall ~ wraithform ~ wyvern watch

Cantrip Tables: haunting sound cantrips ~ illusionary cantrips ~ legerdemain cantrips ~ person-affecting cantrips ~ personal cantrips ~ reversed cantrips ~ useful cantrips

Cantrips: bee ~ belch ~ blink ~ bluelight ~ break ~ bug ~ chill ~ clean ~ close wound ~ color ~ colored lights ~ cough ~ crack ~ creak ~ cricket ~ croak ~ curdle ~ dampen ~ dim ~ dirty ~ distract ~ drip ~ dry ~ dust ~ dusty ~ exterminate ~ firefinger ~ flavor ~ footfall ~ freshen ~ furnish ~ gadfly ~ gather ~ giggle ~ groan ~ hairy ~ haze ~ hide ~ knocking ~ mask ~ mirage ~ moan ~ mouse ~ nod ~ noise ~ palm ~ polish ~ pottery ~ present ~ rainbow ~ rattle ~ ravel ~ salt ~ scratch ~ smokepuff ~ snap ~ sneeze ~ sour ~ spider ~ spill ~ sprout ~ stitch ~ tangle ~ tie ~ thingamagig ~ thump ~ twitch ~ two d’ilusion ~ unlock ~ warm ~ wheeze ~ whistle ~ wilt ~ woodcraft ~ wrap ~ yawn


DUNGEON MASTER’S GUIDE

Combat ~ combat index

Armor & Weapons: armor list ~ banded mail ~ chain mail ~ crossbow ~ holy water sprinkler ~ javelin ~ leather armor ~ padded armor ~ ring mail ~ scale mail ~ shield (armor) ~ spear ~ splint mail ~ studded leather ~ using found objects as weapons ~ weapons list

Melee: attacking in combat ~ attacks with two weapons ~ combat rounds ~ critical hits & fumbles ~ damage ~ entangled & snarled weapons ~ grappling ~ helpless defenders ~ hit dice ~ hit points ~ hit points per die ~ incidental damage ~ initiative ~ melee ~ multiple defenders in one hex ~ near hit ~ necrotic damage ~ negative hit points ~ overbearing ~ precise hit ~ pummelling ~ rear & flank attacks ~ roll to hit ~ saving throws ~ saving throws for items ~ stun lock ~ surprise ~ THAC0 ~ using poisoned weapons ~ wounds

Movement: action points ~ charging on foot ~ charging while mounted ~ combat hex ~ crashes & collisions ~ drawing a weapon while moving ~ fight while unsteady ~ movement in combat ~ normal pace ~ running ~ sprinting ~ submerged combat ~ triple-speed ~ tumbling

Range Combat: ballista ~ catapult ~ grenade missiles ~ line of sight ~ mangonel ~ shrapnel ~ skipping

Further Actions: ability checks ~ fight while immersed

Naval Combat ~ index ~ anchor ~ arc of fire ~ backing sail ~ barge ~ bireme ~ caravel ~ carrack ~ coaster ~ cog ~ collisions (naval) ~ crew quality (errata) ~ damage to hull & rigging ~ dekares ~ dogger ~ drifting ~ fouling & unfouling ships ~ grappling & ungrappling ships ~ hardpoints ~ holk ~ junk ~ ketch ~ knarr ~ line of sight ~ logging movement ~ movement allowance ~ movement execution ~ movement notation ~ naval sequence of play ~ ship hexes ~ ship’s attitude ~ ship’s weapons ~ ship types ~ simultaneous movement ~ sinking ~ transparency in logging movement ~ turning ~ wind (combat) ~ wind change ~ wind effects on movement ~ yawl

Campaign ~ index

Trade & Equipment ~ overview ~ coins ~ equipment notes

Animals: working animals

Apothecary: amaranth ~ betel nut ~ bloodletting ~ blue mass ~ boric serum ~ camphor oil ~ citronella oil ~ faerie oil ~ gripcolle ~ healing salve ~ mandrake root ~ monk’s head ~ poison ~ quicksilver ~ wood alcohol

Trade System: fish fins ~ fish (freshwater) ~ fish (saltwater) ~ locating references ~ manufactured goods ~ pricing equipment ~ quantity of goods ~ references ~ resources (trade commodities) ~ sea ivory ~ seaweed ~ shellfish ~ sources ~ sponges ~ trade system ~ transport ~ turtles ~ undeveloped goods prices

Travel: assisted riding ~ freight ~ horse gaits ~ interplaner relationships ~ locality ~ locus ~ mountain climbing ~ overland travel ~ riding animals & mounts ~ slope line table ~ travel & movement

Adventure ~ overview ~ addiction ~ aging ~ clothing insulation ~ clothing insulation calculator ~ death ~ dehydration ~ disease ~ encumbrance ~ experience ~ falling ~ food ~ forced activity checks ~ gaining levels ~ illumination ~ injury ~ intoxication ~ malady checks ~ mild afflictions ~ pleasant weather ~ severe afflictions ~ sleeping for rest ~ temperature grades ~ terminal afflictions ~ throwing a grapple ~ torch ~ warm weather ~ water sources

Non-Player Characters: aristocrats ~ artisans ~ bands ~ bandits ~ clans ~ crews ~ drovers ~ enlistment of hirelings ~ followers ~ functionaries ~ henchmen ~ heroes ~ hirelings ~ mercenary hirelings ~ morale ~ standard morale ~ traders ~ tribes ~ village leader

Encounters: common language ~ encounters ~ rouse sleeping creatures

Animal Friends: animal friends ~ desert animal friends ~ jungle animal friends ~ ocean-going animal friends ~ savanna animal friends ~ steppe animal friends ~ tundra animal friends ~ woodland animal friends

Magic: artifacts ~ Ardebil Carpet ~ astrological chart ~ bone throwing ~ demonic possession ~ Holy Crown of the Hungarian kings ~ numerology ~ tarot ~ Tauroblic Altar of Lugdenum ~ tea leaf reading ~ Theotokos of Kazan ~ wild magic ~ wishes

Politics & Culture: abaddon ~ agitate ~ anachronism ~ animism ~ art vs. product ~ cabal ~ civil disobedience ~ college (bardic) ~ congregations ~ conspiracy theories ~ disperse (speech) ~ European world ~ feeding the poor ~ incompetence (political) ~ influence ~ Islamic world ~ mantraism ~ modern history ~ music (art form) ~ mythology ~ Oriental world ~ pogroms ~ prehistoric world ~ rabble-rousing ~ rally ~ religious philosophy ~ religion ~ shamanism ~ sukha (philosophy) ~ upeksa ~ vegetable patch ~ war in heaven

Waterborne Adventures: diving ~ swimming combat ~ wind speed

Astral Adventures: Abyss ~ Crann Bethadh ~ demonic culture & origins ~ devilish culture ~ Eden ~ Elysium ~ ether ~ four elements ~ Gehenna ~ Pandemonium ~ Prime Material ~ Tartarus

World ~ overview

Design: 2015 weather generator ~ 20-mile hex ~ all cities ~ development level 5 ~ development level 6 ~ development level 7 ~ development level 8 ~ development levels ~ fishing ~ hex groups chooser ~ map key ~ mapmaking ~ original United Nations statistics ~ six-mile map ~ two-mile map ~ technologies ~ weather tables

Dungeons: Ternketh keep

Kingdoms & Provinces: Archangel ~ Astrakhan ~ Bjarmaland ~ Brinyu ~ Burgenland ~ Croatia ~ Cumana (het) ~ Cumana (sanjak) ~ Donbass ~ Guns ~ Harn ~ Harnia ~ Hungary ~ Itossia ~ Khlynov ~ Kiyev ~ Kostroma ~ Kursk ~ Little Ruthenia ~ Moscovy ~ Moskva ~ Nissi An ~ Nizhne-Novgorod ~ Novgorod ~ Nyatria ~ Ruthenia ~ Ryazan ~ Seraphina ~ Sumi ~ Tatarstan ~ Tula ~ Upper Hungary ~ Voronezh ~ West Border

Peoples: tribes of Cumana

Biomes: Balkan forest ~ mixed forest

Maps ~ sheet maps

A: A01 Greenland Sea ~ A02 East Svalbard ~ A03 Jotunheim ~ A04 Kara Sea ~ A05 Laptev Sea ~ A06 Laokkoy

B: B01 Lofoten ~ B02 Lapland ~ B03 Yak’Margug ~ B04 Ob Gulf ~ B05 Lower Yenisey ~ B06 Tunguska ~ B17 Denmark Strait ~ B18 Iceland

C: C01 North Sea ~ C02 Baltic Sea ~ C03 Lithuania & Poland ~ C04 Upper Volta ~ C05 Ural Mountains ~ C06 Ob & Irtysh Rivers ~ C07 Lungos ~ C08 Angara ~ C09 Lena ~ C24 Connaught

D: D01 Germania ~ D02 Carpathians ~ D03 Danube Mouth ~ D04 Don & Volga Rivers ~ D05 Buzachistan ~ D06 Qanda ~ D07 Balkhash ~ D08 Altai ~ D09 Khangai ~ D10 Yablon ~ D30 Brittania

E: E01 Spain ~ E02 Italy ~ E03 Greece ~ E04 Anatolia ~ E05 Asia Minor ~ E06 South Caspian ~ E07 Khorezm ~ E08 Turkestan ~ E09 Tarim Basin ~ E36 Portugal

F: F01 Gaetulia ~ F02 West Libya ~ F03 Cyrenaica ~ F04 Lower Egypt ~ F05 Palestine ~ F06 Babylon ~ F07 Persia ~ F08 Registan ~ F09 Punjab ~ F10 Himalayas ~ F11 Tibet ~ F12 Namkin ~ F41 Canary Islands ~ F42 Morocco

G: G06 Nubia ~ G07 Arabia ~ G08 Empty Quarter ~ G09 Oman ~ G10 Gujarat ~ G11 Maharashtra ~ G12 Orissa ~ G13 Bengal ~ G14 Irrawaddy ~ G15 Laos

H: H08 Ethiopia ~ H09 Horn of Africa ~ H10 Socotra ~ H12 Ladshadweep ~ H13 Madurai ~ H14 East Ceylon ~ H16 Andaman Sea ~ H17 Gulf of Siam

L: L32 Paraguay ~ L33 Parana


MONSTER MANUAL

Taxonomy: beasts ~ demon ~ devil ~ dragon ~ dragon’s lifespan ~ mammals ~ monster ~ monster & animal species ~ monster behaviour ~ number appearing & distribution ~ range (habitats) ~ slime molds

Bestiary ~ index

A-D: alpaca ~ ankheg ~ ant (giant black) ~ ant (giant bull) ~ ant (giant carpenter) ~ antelope (sable) ~ ape (carnivorous) ~ ape (gorilla) ~ axe beak ~ baboon (mandrill) ~ badger ~ baluchitherium ~ barracuda ~ basilisk ~ bat (giant) ~ bear (black) ~ bear (brown) ~ bear (cave) ~ beaver ~ beetle (giant bombadier) ~ beetle (giant fire) ~ beetle (giant rhinocerous) ~ beetle (giant stag) ~ beetle (giant water) ~ beholder ~ boar (warthog) ~ boar (wild common & hylochloerus) ~ bonesnapper ~ brownie ~ buffalo ~ bugbear ~ bulette ~ camel (wild) ~ carrion crawler ~ catoblepas ~ cattle (domestic) ~ cattle (wild) ~ centaur ~ centipede (giant) ~ cheetah ~ chimera ~ cockatrice ~ couatl ~ crab (giant) ~ crayfish (giant) ~ crocodile ~ demon (manes) ~ devil (lemure) ~ displacer beast ~ djinni ~ dog (blink) ~ dragon (huakinthos) ~ dragon (malignans)

F-Z: firenewt ~ frog (giant) ~ frog (huge) ~ frog (large) ~ frog (large poisonous) ~ frogling ~ fungus (violet) ~ gargoyle ~ gelatinous cube ~ giant strider ~ hippogriff ~ hyena ~ lurker above ~ mite ~ moa ~ naga ~ ostrich ~ pudding (black) ~ rhea ~ snake (boa constrictor) ~ treant ~ troll ~ worm (giant blood)

The Devil in the Details

When I went to bed last night, I feared that today I'd be writing a post encouraging readers to be brave about the workshop, and willing to put their ideas out into the world.  But several people essayed to create a description, so that post can go hang.

It falls upon me to examine the content that was proposed ~ and to say first that I have very little criticism to offer.  There is a small point to be made about Ozymandias' statement, "As you move through the room," that technically violates the player's agency; more correctly a description should read, "When someone moves," but this is a small point.

this post will be about what we have to consider.  Allow me to produce a list of the highlights, as I see them:

Ozymandias describes a series of impressions that appear upon four of the room's doors, that apparently change as the doors are approached.  The impressions are a large sword, an hourglass, a balance scales and a flask.

Kees describes a large fountain, with streams that run from the fountain across the floor and under each door.  The fountain has five demonic visages ~ thoughtful, wizened, zealous, aggressive and lewd.  The room includes two corroded bronze slabs.  As these are "hanging," as a player I want to know by what, how heavy the slabs are, how corroded, etc., because that's potentially value there.  In email, Kees confirmed with me that the fountain is more or less in the center of the room.

Haggis emphasizes emptiness, to potentially fine benches and barred holes that are bound to be taken for potential murder slots.  But it is deathly silent.

Danielle describes an inch of water, decaying barrels, and a moldy writing desk and a chair.  She presumes we have torches [likely these are attempts to predict the party, but do try to resist the compulsion].

Shelby places a stone block in the center of the room, similar to a font.  He changes up one of the doors from the others, to give it special value.  Again, as a player I'm looking at the bands, wanting to know if I can strip them, particularly if they're brass.  Shelby also assumes we have torches, and predicts that our hearts are thumping.

All of these are just fine.  The descriptions are promising and comprehensive.

I encourage the use of sound, smell, light, surfaces and the like in your descriptions, to create interest and draw the players in.  But you give your game away when you tell me my heart is thumping.  It is strictly panto, it foils the rule of show, don't tell, it's awfully cliched and it is bound to create an emotional break at your game table, as some players says mockingly, "Oooo, my heart, my poor heart," followed by laughter and other jocularity.  If they can feel any tension at the start of the dungeon, let them feel it; don't tell them they feel it.  Relax.  The description is working.  Don't pound the drum for it.

Beware of the dangers of overthinking here.  Oz could watch half an hour of game time vanish as the players uselessly draw out theories regarding each of the impressions.  Kees is less likely to get this with the faces, but that danger is still there.  Since I did say there were no monsters here, Haggis' bared holes in the ceiling, so long as they're large enough for an arrow, could tie up a distrustful party for a long time.

I'd want to know if Danielle's water is moving; what is, or was, in the barrels; the material of the writing desk, and the chair.  Since this is at the front of the dungeon, it's a strange place for it.  Did someone sit here and keep accounts of materials coming in or going out of the dungeon?  That would be my guess.

In each case of the above, the DM has given themselves a very definite problem.  What is this thing, or these things, doing here?  Sometimes, as in the case of Shelby's font or Haggis' benches, it can be very simple.  This was a waiting room.  People blessed themselves (or some religious equivalent) as they entered or left.  The water table rose, drowning the room.

I always want to know.  If a torch burns for only 20 minutes, who is
coming around three times an hour to make sure this crumbling,
smashed hallway is well lit?  Torches do cost money, you know.

Kees and Ozymandias, however, have given themselves more difficult troubles.  The fountain is working.  So is the magic behind the four doors.  We might manage the logical arrangement for either of these things, but I'm going to be rolling this dungeon randomly.  [*hah*].  That's going to make quite a challenge, when the sword door opens and I roll something behind it that makes no sense in that regard.

I did suggest water as an option, but as this is the top level of this dungeon, always remember that once you add water, you're stuck with it for awhile.  The water has to go somewhere.  And it has to come from somewhere.  It's easy enough to use magic to explain these things away ... but I have to tell you, I've never had players find it particularly intriguing when I've handwaved stuff like this.  I've been stuck having to do it now and then, but it never works out.

Even if we describe things as corroded, irregular, moldy, dull, sturdy, musty, hard-packed and rotted, those adjectives can make the difference between the thing's legitimacy in this place.  Before saying something is rotted or irregular, or whatever, know why you're describing it that way, ahead of time.  Trust me.  It matters.

This absolutely should sound positive.  I only want to stress that when the players do find out what this stuff means, and where it comes from, the response isn't a bland, "oh."  We want a long, profound, "Ahhh ... cool."

A Workshop in Basic Worldbuilding

If I might come back to Stuart Dreyfuss' breakdown of skill levels, without this being part of a "class," I'd like to address a comment that Martin R. Thomas made a few days ago.  Let me start with Martin's words first, which I believe reveals something helpful.  Martin explains his willingness to commit himself to research, then adds,

"I found all of this so fascinating that I very often fall into a research hole from which it's hard to escape. I love reading about all of these topics, but as a consequence I've spent way more time doing that than I have spending time becoming a DM who is good at applying that research."

In my book How to Run, I gave time to discussing pattern recognition, that was in turn based on research that I'd done that related to numerous professions, particularly emergency situations where there isn't enough time to hem and haw about what is the right thing to do.  And I find that exact same ideal advanced by Dreyfuss, at the bottom of page 179, related to proficiency:

"The proficient chess player, who is classed a master, can recognize almost immediately a large repertoire of types of positions. He or she then deliberates to determine the move that will best achieve his or her goal. One may know, for example, that he or she should attack, but he or she must calculate how best to do so."

 Time is the key factor.  The firefighter inside a building during a full-on fire has to recognize, without puzzling it out, what is probably happening.  The chessplayer hasn't the time to cognitively rummage through all the possible responses, and ever less so as the opening has expanded into the middle game.  They succeed because they trust the many patterns of events and plays to produce an emergent answer.

But Martin, and many others, haven't spent enough time accumulating those events, in actual situations.  Research is important, but practice and rehearsal are also important; so we do need to spend time participating in actual game to unlock our comfort level with the game's manifestation.

That's not really helpful.  We've only arrived at the obvious.  We need to play more.  Unfortunately, opportunities aren't always there.  Sometimes, it is pulling teeth to get players together once a month; that's only 12 times a year of playing and only 40-50 hours.  That's as much as we're bound to learn after one week at a new job.

More time is needed.  Suppose we try a workshop.

I began my online campaign in 2009 because, after talking bunches about how to DM and what to do, I felt pressure to provide evidence of my ability to run a game.  I had an existing world already; I needed only to plonk down a group of characters into that world and produce the same sort of momentum that I would in any other campaign that I would run.  Being in text, and played in comments, there were bound to be issues that arose ... and there was a learning curve involved, for both the players and me.  As any time when I sit down to DM, I felt confident, ready and very excited to get started.

With this idea, I am much less certain.  I've done as much as I can think of to demonstrate DMing through example, through the online campaign, through my writings here and through the deconstruction posts made available on the MasterClass blog.  The better step at this point would be to make the reader the DM, while providing a context within which to do that DMing.  The goal is still to produce a classroom.  Individuals who only want to showcase their style of DMing, who have no interest in learning anything or expanding their DMing skills, wouldn't be welcome.

I'm often surprised that this isn't obvious.  Why would I enter a creative writing class if I believed it had nothing to say to me as a writer?  But there are also persons in such classes with a chip on their shoulder ... just as there are people who go to baseball camps and then gripe about fielding grounders or taking advice on their swing.  They just want to play baseball, they say; but in fact, they're in a place with people who want more than to just play baseball.  Some people want to be better at it.

Up front, of course, that's very discouraging.  I am sincerely sorry about that.  I would prefer any position at this moment than to dishearten any reader from taking part in what's presented below.  I encourage you to trust me.  My agenda here is not to prove I'm great, or better than others; it's to demonstrate that you can be better than you are.  I'm going to make mistakes.  This is also a learning curve.  But if we can agree on our motives, we can make this workshop work.

Here's how it works.  The image shown is an elaboration on an image from the original DM's Guide, from page 169, relating to the random dungeon generator.  This is a simple worldbuilding exercise, the sort of thing to cut your teeth on.

This is the first room of the dungeon.  The hexes are 5 feet across (sorry, I can't bring myself to depict this in 10 foot squares, I just despise that design), so the room is 50 feet by 30 feet.  There are five doors in the room.  Five players (let's not worry about details) have just discovered this room at the bottom of the stairs.

Your Assignment:  Fill the room.  Have a concept in mind, but don't go off into long discussions of why the room exists or what it means, because those are things the players will not be able to know.  You can put objects into the room.  You can provide exposition with those objects.  But you can't add a monster of any type.

You can define if the doors work or not.  You can add atmosphere, you can fill it with water, whatever works.  You can add a puzzle, or a trap.  BUT ... I strongly suggest that you keep it simple.  It is more important that you have some idea of what ought to be on the other side of those doors, rather than building up a complicated room that will take the players an hour of game time to decipher.

Write your description in the comments, as though you are presenting it to me, the player.  You are not limited to one comment, but you ARE limited to one concept.  Feel free to delete comments you've written if you want to try another concept.  Others, I hope, will also be writing their versions.  Come Friday, we'll vote.  Then I'll create the room according to the best choice, and then I'll make a random roll on the random dungeon generator and we'll open a door next Monday.

If this doesn't work, no great loss.  Anyone can take part at any time.  Please ask questions. Brainstorm the idea if you like; you can delete your question comments when you're ready to finalize your concept.  Everyone who asks for notifications to the comments will get a full record through their email, if that matters to them.

This is fundamental worldbuilding.  Take something with zero information and provide enough that it can then be expanded.  I will be making comments, as an instructor, relating specifically to overused cliches and practicality.  I will make my comments short initially; after each vote, I may try to explain why certain plans failed and why the preferred one succeeded.  I may also discuss issues with the preferred one, but only if I see them.

Shall we try it?