Want To Get Your Character Involved in Plot? Remember Rule 303

One of the biggest issues I've seen around a gaming table is actually getting characters involved in the unfolding plot. Typically once everyone finds a reason to get involved, or a plot hook they're comfortable biting on, the game will be off to the races... but sometimes getting over that early hurdle can be a frustration.

For GMs and players alike.

Ogre raids? Sounds like a whole lot of not my problem.

That's why this week I'd like to introduce a concept that can really help make a game go more smoothly. Some folks might be familiar with it, but for those who aren't the term is Rule 303.

For those looking for another useful term, check out "Force Multiplication" is a Useful Idea For RPGs. And to make sure you don't miss out on any of my releases, consider signing up for my weekly newsletter!

Means, Opportunity, and Responsibility

The short version, according to Beau of The Fifth Column, is that Rule 303 means that if you have the means to hand, and the ability to help, then that implies you have a duty to get yourself involved in a situation. The term sees a lot of use among military contractors, as well as active duty folks, but you can apply it much more broadly than just in the profession of arms. If you see someone choking in a restaurant, and you know the Heimlich maneuver, you go over and help them expel the blockage. If you're a tall person and you see someone shorter struggling to reach a top shelf, you offer to get the thing down for them.

If you're a musclebound barbarian with a greatsword, and you're on-hand when bugbears are raiding the countryside, you unsheathe that beast and go to work.

Something else to remember is that this trait can manifest itself in a variety of different ways. For example, a character might be genuinely altruistic, and their desire to help people means they can't just walk on by if there's a serious problem that they have the means to fix. A character might be getting involved because it's a good excuse to show off, or because they think there could be a reward in it for them. It might coincide with a vow they took, or a core tenet of their faith.

At the end of the day, though, the player should ask themselves the first two questions of the formula. Because if you have the means to help, and you have the ability to help, then that suggests you also have the responsibility to get yourself involved in whatever nonsense is going down. Justification beyond that can't hurt, but if you jump in with both feet it makes the game go a lot smoother for everyone concerned.

And for those who are looking for some inspiration for characters who may have sworn oaths, accepted contracts, or who are simply part of an organization that would make them getting involved in solving problems easier for you to spin as a player, you might find some inspiration in some of my following supplements:

- 100 Random Mercenary Companies: From disciplined ranks of sellswords, to free-wheeling soldiers of fortune, those who want to embody the origins of Rule 303 can find plenty of inspiration in these free companies.

- 100 Knightly Orders: Whether you're a protector of the realm, or you're a wandering knight errant seeking to help the needy and protect the weak, this collection is full of orders you can swear your service to.

- 100 Secret Societies: The world at large doesn't need to know why you're helping out in this matter. And if you want to have a little cloak-and-dagger fun, these secret societies are always a ball to add into your history, and your game.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

DMs, When It Comes To World Building, There's No Such Thing As Wasted Effort

How many times have you slaved over a dungeon layout, a unique monster, or a deeply thought out bit of world lore, only to have your party skate right past it without so much as slowing down? If you've been a dungeon master for any length of time, the answer is probably more times than you can readily count. And there are typically two reactions to this scenario. The first is to contrive some reason that the party is forced to stop and admire all of the hard work that you did, typically by throwing the brakes on to make them ask about the lore, fight the monster, or acquire a macguffin. The second is to sigh, close your notebook, and then when the players go home at the end of the night, to drink and think about what could have happened.

It could have been a great dungeon... but they didn't want to explore it. Why do I bother?

However, for those DMs who get caught up in "wasted" effort, I think you need to be reminded of something. You're the one who makes the world go round... you can always bring that thing back around again somewhere else, if you think creatively about it.

A Great Re-Structuring Is Always Possible

The most obvious example of these situations is when the players miss something you spent a lot of time working on, hoping they would find. Maybe it was this massive dungeon complex hidden behind a wall, or a crumbling temple that your party could see off in the distance, but they decided to nope right past because it wasn't part of their current mission.

That's fine. Because if the players never saw it, they won't realize that you just moved it to a different location later up the road.

And we'll just move you... here. This spot's perfect!

I mentioned this way back in Herd Your Players, Don't Railroad Them, but it bears repeating. If you wanted your party to explore an area you put a lot of time and effort into, but they didn't take the bait, just move the area to another spot, and make it more relevant. If your players didn't see the dungeon, meet the NPC, face off with the monster, etc., then as far as they know it doesn't exist. You are the only one who will know that you're recycling an "old" location/person/fight and connecting it to a different spot. Additionally, you'll look super prepared because you have something ready to go, complete with map notes, diagrams, riddles, etc.

Lore Isn't Wasted (Even If No One Bites The Hook)

Sometimes the thing you want your party to interact with is less tangible. Maybe it's the history of a particular knightly order, or the legends swirling around the royal family, or the rumors on the street about girls who are going missing on the second night of every full moon. It might be interesting background, but the key thing to remember is that unless these lore details are actually part of your party's current adventure, that's all they are; part of the scenery.

Just mentioning these things exist means they're doing their job, even if no one pursues them.

Anyone curious about the Dragon Pikers? Anybody? Come on, guys...

Background lore and details like this set the tone for a place. While you might think it's fascinating that each of the gargoyles perched on major public buildings has a name and a history associated with it in the city of Evernight found at the base of the Obsidian Mount, gushing about it won't endear that fact to your players. Instead, just describe what they see, and let them react appropriately. Work references to the gargoyles into the way people speak, making warding signs and invoking the creatures' names the way others might offer prayers to saints. Have certain, specific gargoyles crouched over doors, or left inside like household altars, to drive home how important they are in this town, and show how people touch the statues as a way to gain good luck, or protection, or how they'll pay one of the statues' heads the way we might knock on wood to avoid ill fate.

Some players might wonder what's going on, and either ask to make checks or talk to your NPCs to find out. Others will simply nod, and take it as part of the atmosphere. And even if the religious import, cultural significance, etc. of this worship is never discussed, its very existence is enough to make the place unique... that means it did its job. The goal is not to inundate your players with a guided tour of this fantasy setting's religion, but rather to use that aspect to make the place feel unusual and different. Mission accomplished.

If your players are overcome with curiosity and ask questions, you know the answers. If they don't ask, they still have the haunting visuals you've described, and the feeling of eyes watching them from above. Either way, it's a win for you as the DM. The lore is a bonus, but force-feeding it to your players is going to bore them, rather than engage them. If they don't ask, don't take time away from their actions to tell them.

Looking For Some Inspiration?

Another option I'd suggest for all the DMs out there is to keep some lists handy so you can just grab names, places, and backstories as you need them. This can save you a lot of work, and a lot of staring off into space as you try to spitball an NPC's name, or layout the rumors about a location or a person. If you're looking for some inspiration, might I suggest some of the following by yours truly?

- A Baker's Dozen of Rumors (And The Truth Behind Them): Each of these rumors can be used to add a little flavor to a game, but they also have enough meat behind them that you could build an entire session out of them. Handy to have on-hand if you need a plot, but can't spitball something in a hurry.

- 100 NPCs You Might Meet At The Tavern: Perhaps my bestseller yet (at Electrum status at time of writing) this one has a bit of everything. So whether you need merchants or scholars, gang lords or private muscle, you can find a little of everything in this collection, ready to go!

- A Baker's Dozen of Noble Families: Every family has a story, and noble families tend to have several. Whether you want shining lords or corrupt patriarchies, there's a bit of everything in this particular collection of the high and the mighty.

- 100 Knightly Orders: That crack about unique knights above wasn't just a crack. Elite troops and stand-out orders with their heraldry and histories can capture the imagination, but coming up with them on the fly isn't easy. So, here's a hundred of them ready for their marching orders!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. Hopefully you enjoyed, and if you've used run these kinds of games before, leave us a comment to let us know what worked for you!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Why Are We So Intent On Screwing With Paladin Alignment?

I've covered all kinds of topics on this blog, and in my work for other gaming sites. In all the topics I've talked about, though, nothing generates page views, comments, and shares like paladins. 5 Tips For Playing Better Paladins remains of my most popular pieces in my InfoBarrel archive, and anytime someone brings up my piece You Don't Have Any Actual Authority Just Because You're A Paladin, there is always a spike in traffic. Love the class or hate it, people always want to talk about it, and I think I've finally figured out why.

Because paladins are superman.

Not sure where you're going with this one, exactly...

Men of Steel, Creeds of Iron

All right, let's back up a second so I can establish some baseline points. In games like Pathfinder, and 3.5, the paladin base class must maintain a lawful good alignment or it loses most of its class features. They can worship good gods, or no gods, but that alignment is ironclad. If they change from lawful good to any other alignment, their powers go bye bye. While games like 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons have removed this alignment restriction, it is still very much a requirement in other games.

But why?

Well, a big part of it is that the paladin is drawing on specific myths and source material. There are several myths in Arthurian lore, for instance, where knights were considered unstoppable until they broke their vows, and lost their strength. Lancelot is perhaps the most famous, because whether his love was or was not true, consummating it betrayed the vows he'd made to his king, and his god. Myths about the lengths Sir Gawain went to keep his word, or about the way Tristan refused to give in to temptation, also play into this theme.

The point of these myths, and which seems to be what the alignment restriction is there to enforce, is that paladins are both good and just. It isn't just that they are trying to do the right thing, but that they must do so according to the vows they've sworn, and the code they follow. Whether it's something like a fantasy version of chivalry, or oaths they've made to the divine like Samson in the Old Testament, paladins have to have both in order to embody this particular archetype.

That's where Superman comes into the picture.

This has got to be some kind of magic armor to never get tattered.

 

Superman, it could be argued, is the most iconic superhero in the genre. There were masked men, vigilantes, and crime fighters before him, but he was something new. It's one reason he's survived so many decades, and remained such a major pop culture figure. However, if you were asked to list the things people know about Superman, you'd likely get super strength, super speed, and flight, before someone mentioned that he was a goody two shoes. He always does the right thing, because he is thematically (one might even argue cosmically) good.

And that bores a lot of people.

Sure, I get that. Some of us don't like heroes who act like heroes. We like hard-edged tough guys, driven antiheroes, or uncompromising hard cases who go their own way to get the job done. That's why characters like Jonah Hex, The Question, Wolverine, and several different versions of Batman still have followings.

But that isn't Superman.

I don't think this is really a contentious statement, because anytime something has happened where writers have tried to make Superman darker, or edgier, or less heroic, even the fans who claimed he was boring raised their voices against those decisions. Because that goes against the grain of the character, and what he was designed to represent. Truth, Justice, and Tolerance (before it was changed to The American Way during our national obsession with communism). And pretty much without fail, the comics always return to his good, heroic roots.

The same thing happens with the paladin. Because that lawful good alignment restriction isn't just a check placed on the class's power (though it could be argued it serves that function, as well, preventing them from using certain abilities, or taking levels in certain classes, which would be deemed too powerful from a game balance standpoint), it is also statement of the class's purpose. Paladins don't have to be knights, they don't have to be nobles, and they can be of any race, age, or ethnicity. But the thing they share is a dedication to a single purpose; righteousness, and adherence to their code.

The Gods Have Nothing To Do With It

One of the most common misconceptions is that paladins are like clerics; they serve a god. So why couldn't, say, a neutral evil paladin serve a neutral evil god, maintaining all their class features as long as they remain within that alignment instead?

Because, as mentioned above, paladins are not expressly servants of a particular god. They are not imbued with the might of a single, divine being whom they represent on the material plane as a kind of avatar. They are forces of good, and of law, which is why they have that particular alignment restriction.

The one on the left, in case you're not sure.

 

If you read the entries for classes like the cleric, or the inquisitor, they are specifically attuned to a god. That's the source from which their powers flow. But while paladins cast divine spells, very little attention is paid to them serving a god. Instead, emphasis is placed on their code, which dictates how they use their strength, and what actions they take to fulfill their oaths and vows. Emphasis is placed on their alignment, rather than on the alignment of the god (if any) that they serve.

That, of course, suggests that for the paladin, what is just and right takes precedence over church and god. It is, in a very real sense, what the class draws its power from. And that is why, if the paladin steps away from that path, she shuts the door on that power, and cannot use it again until she has atoned for the decisions that made her step away from righteousness in the first place.

When it comes to heroes, you might prefer yours operating within shades of gray, if not outright darkness. That's perfectly fine. But a paladin is a force of good, and that is what powers their strength, and grants them their abilities. Taking that away pulls the heart out of what the class is about, and makes it into something else. Especially in a game like Pathfinder, where you have clerics, warpriests, inquisitors, and a dozen other classes that all operate similarly to paladins, but within those darker areas.

Not all heroes have to be shining examples of good. Some of them, though, really do.

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. Hopefully you enjoyed the film, and it provides you all with the same sort of inspiration it did me!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal and Gamers archives, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Critical Perception Check Leads To Hidden Templar Caverns in Shropshire

Have you ever had one of those players who just wants to roll Perception checks every time you finish a description? It doesn't matter how pedestrian the scene you just described is, they want to switch on their detective vision to find every clue they assume is waiting under the inn's rug, or tucked into the knothole of a random tree. Most of the time you can just make up a few details to justify a good roll, such as noticing that the innkeeper is wearing a ring given only to champions of the Iron Legion, or noticing that some trees in the forest bear a certain symbol that seems to mark territory.

But what do people notice if they're just walking across an empty meadow, or a farmer's field? Well, how about a rabbit hole that leads to a forgotten series of underground caverns once used by a famous order of knights? Because that's apparently what happened in a farmer's field out in Shropshire, according to the Metro.

That's what your natural 20 gets, Brent. Happy now?

Wait, What Happened?

You know how, when you're running through a campaign, it always seems ridiculous that there would be ancient ruins from a thousand years ago sitting in some out of the way hamlet? Or an entire underground dungeon that had been lost and forgotten about, perfectly preserved just out of sight? Well, it seems that sometimes art imitates life.

A real-life plot hole.

Since we're all geeks, I'm going to assume we know who the Knights Templar were. The most visible symbol of the crusades, and arguably one of the biggest contributors to the image we have of paladins, the Templar fought for the church, but they answered to no one but the pope. The order was eventually destroyed, with many of the members put to death, and others tortured until they signed confessions of devil worship, as well as other crimes. Ever since the order crumbled, there have been legends of where their huge hoards of treasure wound up.

And, every now and again, we stumble across places the order used for their own purposes. Forgotten strongholds, lost way stations, and sometimes caverns where they hid from the rain... and perhaps stored more than arms.

So what was in these 700-year-old caverns? Well, there weren't any skeletons clad in rusted armor, bearing the rags of stained crusader cloaks. There also wasn't any treasure, at least in the jewel-encrusted-goblets sense. However, the caverns less than a meter below a farmer's field were carved with elegant arches, and they bore testimony to the men that had once used them. So, historically, they provide another piece to the puzzle of what was going on during the reign of the Knights Templar.

Of course, who's to say the caverns would be so benign in your world? Or so empty of threats to those who randomly stumble across them?

EDIT: So, it seems your humble author got caught. Fortunately, someone shot me the Snopes link that clears up the facts. Rather than being from the era of the crusades, the cave pictured above is likely from the Victorian era. It has been documented pretty extensively, and was sealed to the public due to litter and other considerations. Ah well, sometimes things that sound too cool to be true really aren't. Apologies all!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday post. Hopefully you're intrigued, and this plants a seed you could use for your next campaign. If you'd like to help support Improved Initiative so I can keep bringing you fun little plot bunnies like this one, then head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron today. All it takes is $1 a month to help me pay my landlord, and to get yourself some sweet swag. Lastly, if you haven't followed me on Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter yet, today is as good a day as any to get started!

The World's Biggest Walking Robot is a 51-Foot Dragon!

According to Forbes, whom we should trust implicitly in matters of heartless, scaly beasts, there is a dragon that walks among us. This beast is 51 feet look from snout to tail, weighs 11 tons, and it's been terrorizing a town in Germany.

Is there a German word meaning suicidal-stupidity-confused-for-bravery?

What you are looking at is an actual scene from the play Drachenstich, which is part of an annual festival in the town of Furth im Wald. The play is about a dragon invading a town just as the knights are preparing to go off and do battle with another nation, and because Germany doesn't faff about it had this monstrous, radio-controlled dragon built. It is, according to the Guiness Book of World Records, the largest walking robot in the world.

For those of you who want to see it in action (read: everyone who got this far) here's a clip of the beast doing its thing.

You're not imagining things; the ground is trembling. Also, you peed a little.

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What is Chivalry?

Everyone's heard the word chivalry at some point in their lives. Some of us (paladin players, I'm looking at you) probably have delusions that we live our lives in a chivalrous way. We open doors for women, stand until the guests are seated, and we offer a hearty handshake while making eye contact. We don't lie, we don't steal, and we generally turn down monetary gifts offered to us by old women for helping them cross the street.

Generally

Whatever good things it is we do that we think of as part of a code tends to make us feel noble, at least for a moment or two. Knights without their shining armor, we are the errant servants of the realm. Without us the world would surely be a darker, danker place.

Congratulations, you have no idea what chivalry actually is.

All Right Smart Guy, What is Chivalry?

Well since you asked, I'll tell you.

The word chivalry that we know comes from the French word chevalier. The word cheval is French for "horse," and so a chevalier was the warrior who rode him. This word would be corrupted and bastardized until it became the English word cavalier. In short the original idea of chivalry (which came out under Charlemagne in the 700's and was codified in the 900's) was how good you were as a mounted warrior.

Chivalry, motherfucker, do you use it?

The chivalry that the mounted tanks of the Dark Ages knew was very different from the diluted code of noble conduct that many modern folks think of (more on that here). In its barest form it was a measure of bravery, combat skill, and battlefield valor. As time went on and the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries rolled around though the Romance genre was born.

We know what happens then.

So, What Happened?

Chivalry as a code of conduct had been evolving along with the knights of Europe and the culture they fought in. Originally a list of requirements for boosting one's reputation as a mounted warrior, it grew into a system codifying how a knight needed to behave sometime around the Crusades. It was mostly concerned with combat (over half of the rules referred to "warrior codes" as seen here), but there were also huge swaths of the code dedicated to the display of heraldry and what was appropriate to wear and show at what times. There were parts about protecting the weak and downtrodden, as well as refusing monetary rewards for services performed, but by and large they fell into the background. There were also codes in place for how knights should act toward women (noble women, at any rate), but they were generally concerned with making sure that proper titles, compliments, and etiquette were maintained. Because it seems that no matter what era we exist in, men have no fucking clue how to talk to women.

Anyway, what happened with the Romanticists (capital "R" on this one) got hold of it is pretty much what happens when your favorite gritty drama falls into the hands of fan fiction enthusiasts.

Shit

Yep, the same folks who gave us the softer parts of the Arthurian legend, and who whitewashed the 12 Peers along with knights as a whole (sort of like of Game of Thrones was written by David Eddings instead of George R. R. Martin) pretty much shooed away all the bits about dueling etiquette and which insults and offenses were considered worthy of bloodletting. Instead they focused on ideas of "courtly love," paying more attention to balls, dances, and the kinds of praise used by knights to flatter and uphold noblewomen. They also spent an unhealthy amount of time on stories about knights breaking all codes of chivalry to fuck their sworn lieges' wives, and thus was the romance genre as we know it born.

That's It?

Glossing over the finer details, yep, that's pretty much what it's about. So the next time you don't hold a door for someone and you get a roll of the eyes and a comment like, "looks like chivalry is dead," you should jaw jack them for questioning your honor.

Unless they're not Christian. Or of noble birth. I think at that point it is your duty as a chivalrous individual to slay them and carry the head through the streets on the tip of a bared sword to make your point. The French translation is sort of funny though, so check that last to be sure you're not supposed to use a cherry wood pole. That kind of mistake would be embarrassing.

Thanks as usual for stopping by Improved Initiative's Moon Pope Monday feature. If you'd like to keep getting updates toss your email address into the box on the top right to follow, or go to my Facebook and Tumblr pages instead. If you'd like to help this blog going then tell your family, tell your friends, buy a book (my Amazon page is listed on the right hand side), or stop into my store and grab a tee shirt (over on the right as well). If you'd like to leave a tip then click the "Bribe the DM" button, or if you'd like to become a patron today then visit my Patreon account!

Knight Fighting Leagues: A Brutal Dream Come True

Sitting at a roleplaying table and rolling dice is the closest many of us get to strapping on a suit of armor and entering life-threatening combat with medieval weaponry. A lot of gamers will pick up foam weapons and play at being heroes in a LARP setting, and sometimes they pick up a few genuine skills in the endeavor. Some may even get up the cojones to join the SCA or another re-enactment group and compete in armored combat, but by and large these organizations always put fighter safety first. This means that weapons tend to be rattan or some other form of blunted material, the pace is meant to be less than full-speed, and there's a laundry list of maneuvers that simply are not allowed on the field. More often than not modern Western martial arts organizations are interested in history and fantasy, but not in leaving participants bloody and broken on the battlefield.

Then there's these guys.

No this is not a joke, or some illegal thing that only happens in the boondocks; that is a promo video for a Polish Knight Fighting League. It is a place where men put on full plate and helms, pick up blunted swords, axes, and polearms, then proceed to get medieval on each other until there's only one man left standing. Gauntlet punches, elbow and knee strikes, helmeted head butts, shield bashes and full-out bull rushes are all allowed, and judging from the crowd's reaction quite encouraged.

Approacheth me brother!

As with any sporting event combat is judged by referees. Landed blows count to determine the winner based on form, but knock outs are understandably common (there's a beautiful shot or two in the promo that shows what happens when a mace is applied to a helmet at around mach 2). In many ways it's like MMA or boxing... except worlds cooler. These events are understandably popular in Europe, but they have them in America too. There's also international leagues, for those who want to travel to the birthplaces of the knight and try to throw down heavy metal style in places where castles and banners are not that far in the past.

If you want more information these leagues have been featured both on Cracked (in this article here), and on i09 (in this post). To check out one of the American leagues, go to this link.

As always, thanks for stopping by Improved Initiative's Moon Pope Monday feature! If you've got ideas, suggestions, or comments then please feel free to leave them right here! If you'd like to keep up with everything that shows up on Improved Initiative then by all means follow me on Facebook and Tumblr, or just plug your email into the box on your top right. If you'd like to keep the blog going so I can keep bringing you great content then share the posts, come back often, leave a tip in the jar by clicking the "Bribe the DM" button on the upper right, or stop in at my Patreon page to become a patron today!