Run Smoother, More Enjoyable Games (By Removing XP)

DMs are always looking for ways to make their games better. They ask where they can get the right music, which monsters present the best challenge, and whether the plot hooks they have are suitably baited to keep their players interested. One of the biggest challenges DMs have, though, is figuring out how to manage experience points in their games. How do you balance out different levels when some players made game, and others didn't? Do you give XP to those who dealt the killing blow, or to everyone? Do you award XP for alternative solutions to problems? For good roleplay? What's to stop your party from killing everything they see in order to level up?

There's an easy way to nip this problem in the bud; stop giving your players experience points.

You can crunch the numbers of you want, but I'm telling you, this is WAY easier.

XP Causes More Problems Than It Solves

What do experience points do? Well, ideally, their purpose is to represent how much stuff the PCs have accomplished, thereby showing they've come far enough in this campaign that they need access to more class levels in order to continue. It's a gauge that shows how powerful your PCs should be at this stage in the game.

However, because XP can be granted by doing almost anything, it's not long before it becomes a meta concern. Players know they can sneak past an encounter, or solve it diplomatically, but will they be docked XP if they don't kill the bad guys? Sure, they might know that this group of guards is way too low to be a threat to them, but hey, they're almost to the next level and it might be just enough to push them over that peak. What about that town of commoners? Sure they might not be worth much, but that troll-blooded dragon just kicked their asses, and they need all the help they can get.

If we burn down the forest, we'll get XP for EVERYTHING in it!

If you want players to take the decisions that make the most sense for their PCs, or which make the most strategic sense, or which aren't blatantly evil in the pursuit of XP grinding, the obvious answer is to just take away experience points. Once there's no more counter keeping track of who killed who, or who disarmed which trap, you've done away with what can be a problematic motivation.

What Do You Replace It With?

Here's a new term you're going to learn to love as a DM; Milestone Leveling.

Milestone leveling is just what it sounds like; once players reach a certain, pre-determined milestone, they level up. It doesn't matter if they slaughtered the entire cavern of orc warriors, made peace between them and the human town, or hired them all to be personal bodyguards; if the plot has been solved, and the story is progressing, boom, the party levels. Even the players who missed a session or two. Even the ones who maybe didn't do as much damage, or contribute as much. Everyone levels.

I repeat, everyone.

As the DM, you can set whatever milestone you want for the little leveling button. It could be every third session, like you see in Pathfinder Society. It could be whenever players complete a certain plot arc, or just whenever you feel like chucking bigger, badder beasties at them. It might even be as a reward for doing something clever, or unexpected.

The point is that if players know their actions will not lead to the direct reward of more experience points, then they're more likely to do what comes naturally, what suits the story, or what's smart, instead of what will ensure they get another level. Because when you reward a behavior, that behavior continues. Even past the point of logic, sense, or alignment shifts.

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday installment. I hope it was helpful for my fellow DMs out there, and that if you try it you find it helps your games. If you want to keep up-to-date on all my releases, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. And, if you want to do your part to make sure Improved Initiative can keep giving you great content like this, head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page. All I ask is $1 a month, which helps me pay my bills, and which will get you some sweet gaming swag just for becoming a supporter.

The Artistic Wizard

"If I might have your attention, please," the man in the black jacket and tails said. The hooded men turned, frowning at the wild-haired musician who had stepped out the back door of the tavern, and into the mouth of the alley.

"You don't want that, old man," one of them said, brandishing his thick, ugly blade. "Go back to your drink, and leave us to our work."

"I'm afraid I just can't do that," he said, drawing a slender, ebony wand from nowhere. He raised his hands, a maestro ready to conduct an unseen orchestra.

"The bloody hell does he think he's doing?" one of the footpads asked.

"Get down!" the third shouted, rolling behind a hefty stack of crates.

"And now," the conductor said, fire in his eyes as he smiled. "Allow me to play you the Symphony of Destruction!"

A one, and a two, and a...

Magic Is An Art

When we think of wizards, we tend to think of those who have mastered the arcane science of magic. When you say the right words, make the right gestures, and present the right focus or material component, then you get a certain result. However, as I mentioned in both What Do Your Verbal and Somatic Components Look Like? and What Does Your Spell Preparation Look Like?, every spellcaster does things in their own unique way. Some cast in infernal, others in orc, and some prefer classic draconic, for example. Some cast in big, sweeping gestures, others in short, sharp thrusts. Some casters use fresh material components, and others have learned how to work without them (as long as they cost less than a gold piece).

Which proves an important point; magic is an art just as much as it is a science.

Sometimes it's an industrial art, but it's an art nonetheless.

 

Now, you have to have all the necessary components to get the results you want... but the artistic wizard assembles them in a way you might not expect.

For example, the conjurer might sing self-composed hymns to summon celestial creatures. The illusionist might paint on the air with a brush that is also a wand. The abjurer might draw symbols on their skin, or those of their subjects, creating unique brands and images to represent their spells. Or an evoker could conduct the flow of lightning and fire as if it were a concert that only he can hear.

The key to designing an artistic wizard is to ask how they see their magic, and how they use art to empower it. Music, language, painting, poetry slams, rap battles, interpretive dance, and any other form of art that can be done on the fly can work with this concept. And, while you won't technically need ranks in the Perform skill (since not all art is good art, and it's more to focus your magic than to impress the audience), it can't hurt if you have leftover skill points. For some spells it might even be possible to create more permanent pieces of art, such as using a sketchpad as part of a divination spell to ask questions of the gods, or making a pot to shatter when casting a foretelling. The limits are your creativity, and what your DM will let you get away with.

Because we tend to think of wizards as stodgy, set in their ways, and gray with learning and wisdom. But of those who went to college, surely some of them got liberal arts degrees, and used that to launch a career as an adventurer?

If you're looking for more inspiration, check out 5 Tips For Playing Better Wizards!

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned For More!

That's all for this installment of Unusual Character Concepts. Hopefully this one gave you something to chew over, whether you're a player, or a game master.

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 alley cat noir novel Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my most recent collection of short stories 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!

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!

Hygiene in Fantasy RPGs

It's not unusual for a party of adventurers to get some funny looks when they wander into town. The stamp of heavy horse, the jingle of armor, and the rattle of weapons are not common sounds in most towns... or even in most cities. Those wearing the vestments of the divine, or the arcane, are equally unusual sights for most average people. However, it's possible that the reason people are turning up their noses has nothing to do with Balthazar's uncouth language, or Gendrin's holy symbols.

It might be because you all rode for two weeks to get here, and you smell like it.

Seriously, guys, one orb of cleanliness goes a long way.

An Often Overlooked Aspect of Life on The Road

RPG characters spend a lot of time in the great outdoors, away from civilization. After hiking along highways, fighting bandits, butchering game, and slogging through abandoned ruins, they aren't going to smell like a rose garden. They're dirty, bloody, sweaty, and covered in a plethora of fluids they'd likely prefer not to think about. But much like travel time, we often ignore these facts because they can seem inconsequential. We just wave our hands and say they jumped into a stream, or the wizard spent a few minutes to prestidigitate everyone clean.

Except Ivan. Ranger dirt has SR.

While there's nothing inherently wrong with that approach, there's a lot of personal and character detail to be found in someone's hygiene, and the routines they use to preserve it. For instance, does Ezekiel immediately leave the trappings of civilization behind when he's on the road, foregoing bathing so he's harder to detect in the wilderness? Does Retta even notice the dirt that gets on her hands? How many days does Blackstaff wear the same clothes? Is anyone using toilet paper?

Unless you're part of an urban campaign, most of your time in fantasy RPGs is going to be spent camping. So it bears asking how you maintain yourself when you're out in the wilderness.

As a for-instance, what about shaving? Does your PC bring a razor, a strop, and shaving soap in order to keep their hair properly groomed? Do they dry shave with the same dagger they fight with, using their belt as the strop? Or do they forego shaving altogether, seeing it as something to do when they get to town instead of on the road?

What Hygiene Can Say About Your PC

Hygiene, just like traveling, is a routine. So, while it's good to know how you're doing it, it's really not something you need to labor over when it comes to table time. However, it can make a big difference when it comes to your PC, and the roleplaying involved.

It's hard to tell someone's class at the hot spring... so tread lightly.

For example, how important is cleanliness to your character? How do they show that?

As a for instance, do you have a washing hammock (a waterproof sheet of material that can be hung up and filled with water for the purpose of bathing or washing clothes)? Do you wash your clothes every day, hanging them up to dry in the night breeze? Or do you make do with the same clothes for a few days? Do you wash yourself, or just apply perfume or cologne until it's hard to smell the sweat underneath? Is a wash good enough, or do you also take the time to brush out your hair, fluff your beard, and apply oil? Do you use skin cream to moisturize, or do you just deal with blisters, cracks, burns, and dryness until you're back in town again?

There are all kinds of details that can say something about your character in this situation. For instance, does your character cut their hair before going off on a job because long hair is just too much of a pain to care for out on the trail? Or do they put it into an intricate braid, knowing that while it might get dirty or greasy in the coming weeks, they won't have to deal with that problem until after they return from their manhunt, or dungeon delve? Both solutions could reflect a personal or cultural attitude toward pragmatism over beauty, and the latter example might be seen as a warrior's braid, because it eschews the luxury of personal care when there's work to be done.

Different characters, and different cultures, will also have different attitudes about cleanliness.

For example, a character who comes from the frozen steppes might see a traditional bath as a decadent luxury for the soft and spoiled. For him, a sweat tent and a harsh, lye scrub would be enough for a clean feeling. A character who comes from a region where hot springs are common might start to feel filthy after no more than a few days, especially if they're used to having easy access to hot, clean water. Characters from highly segregated societies might see bathing in front of their own gender as normal, but shocking if done in front of those outside their gender. Those from a more communal society may be confused as to why others are blushing or stammering. They've faced monsters and blood without hesitation, after all, surely a simple bath is nothing to fear?

It's All in The Details

Sometimes it's the little habits of characters that say big things about them. The knight who carefully wipes the dust from his armor and pennon every evening, for instance, could have a variety of motivations. Pride in his appearance, duty to the ideals he represents... or he just doesn't want dirt streaks down his skin when he strips it off for the evening. The woodsman who is constantly trimming his nails with his knife, or the wizard who takes pains to brush his teeth every morning and evening, will stick out. Partially because it shows care and thought being put into parts of an adventure that aren't soaring speeches or gritty combat... and partially because it's something a lot of people simply ignore.

That's all for this week's Fluff post. As always, thanks to Kolor Kreations for the photo of the half-destroyed orb of cleanliness, a product of Special Edition Soaps. Hopefully it got you thinking about your character's attitude toward cleanliness, and what kind of routine they go through on a daily basis. If you want to keep up-to-date on my latest releases, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. And, if you really want to support Improved Initiative, head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page. All I ask is $1 a month, and that gets you both my undying gratitude, as well as some sweet gaming swag as a thank you.

The Dehumanization of "Monstrous" Races in RPGs

Have you ever seen propaganda posters from the first World War? Many of them are full of classic art, brimming with patriotism. More than a few, though, were attempts to caricature America's enemies. The goal was to dehumanize them, and to turn them into a clear force of evil that had to be opposed. When combined with the efforts to lionize American servicemen, the effect was to create a clear divide; our heroes, against their villains.

Case in point, this wasn't satire.

While that sort of setup is the kind of story we get about the sequel, the first World War was a lot messier. There were no jackbooted thugs yanking people out of their homes, and putting them on trains to death camps before polishing the silver skulls on their hats. The first World War was a Rube Goldberg device of backroom political agreements that went awry, and it had everyone at everyone else's throats before too long. Hard to find heroes in all that moral gray area.

Of course, you could say the same thing about most RPGs. Which is why a lot of the same dehumanization tends to take place in our games... even if we don't think about it.

If You Cut An Orc, Does It Not Bleed?

Fantasy RPGs inherited a lot of baggage from Tolkien. All you have to do is look at the base races, and how closely they mirror the cast of The Lord of The Rings in both tone and concept, to see the inherited traits. However, we've come a long way since the 1st and 2nd edition of Dungeons and Dragons. These days half-orcs, and even full-blooded orcs, tend to be available as PCs. Goblins, long used as little other than low-level dungeon fodder, have also become fairly common as PC races. If you can name a monstrous race that has a language, and has typically been used for nothing more than XP grinding, you can probably play one in today's games.

Even bugbears... if your DM is particularly trusting.

This has led to a lot of players starting to question the idea that certain fantasy races are inherently evil, and thus can be slain without so much as a blip on the karmic radar. Rather than the old days, where we just knew things like ogres, trolls, kobolds, gnolls, drow, and other monsters were evil, we now question how we're allowed to play them if that's the case. Especially if the PCs we have aren't inherently evil.

And sure, you could argue that the power of being a player character allows you to be different than your base creature type. But it also makes us look at the issue of how we view these other races. After all, if they have a culture, language, and civilization all their own (and we've shown that by being PCs that the race is not inherently wicked, depraved, savage, or evil), then how to we justify mowing them down without a second thought?

Overcoming The Explorer Fallacy

There's a logical fallacy that happens all throughout our history books, and it can be explained in one sentence; Columbus discovered America. Now, ignoring the fact that the Vikings beat him to North America by several hundred years, what was the first thing Columbus said he discovered when he got to the New World? People. People that he described as docile, welcoming, and gentle, and whom he almost immediately enslaved and brought back to Europe to show off to the folks who kickstarted his trip across the open ocean.

Those of us in the Western world see this all the time. Whether it's in the accounts of Lewis and Clark, or in the stories about characters like Allan Quartermain in his adventures throughout Africa, these characters are seen as brave explorers conquering the world's frontiers. But even in fictional accounts, these brave explorers aren't usually wandering empty wilderness; they're poking through ruined cities, and constantly interacting with people who live in these remote areas; proof that the area has been inhabited for hundreds of years.

Terribly sorry, chaps, but it doesn't count till someone speaking the Queen's English arrives.

This is called The Explorer's Fallacy, and a version of it happens in a lot of fantasy RPGs. It's why we see orc tribes, gnoll packs, and kobold clutches as pests to be eliminated, or threats to be dealt with, instead of as cognizant creatures to be treated with respect. Or, at the very least, as hostile nations that could be met with diplomacy before it's time to reach for the swords. It's not until we start drawing PCs from these races that we question whether their place as murder bait is well-earned, or just lazy storytelling.

If you flip the script, the image is pretty stark. You're just living your life, trying to stay safe in your cave, when one day a group of armored thugs smashes in your front door. Your friends and family try to fight them off, but they're slain in front of your eyes. With fire and steel, the invaders handily kill anyone who stands in their way, taking what meager treasure your community hoarded for themselves. All they leave behind is blood, and dismembered corpses.

That's your average adventurer's origin story. But in this case, it's for a kobold, or a goblin who managed to survive a 2nd-level party raid.

It's All About The Game You Want

No one, least of all me, is saying that everyone has to grant traditional monsters citizenship in your world, and your game. If you are perfectly fine using these creatures as low-level threats and XP grinding, and your players have no trouble with it, then shine on you mad bastard!

With that said, though, there are plenty of options that could be used instead of the "savage monstrous humanoid" cardboard cutouts. Undead are an ideal fill-in for enemies who are nothing more than a walking plague of evil that can (and should) be mowed down without any moral compunctions. Given that demons, devils, and wicked fae represent creatures imbued with absolute evil (especially if you agree with the reasoning in Absolute Good, Absolute Evil, and Alignment in RPGs), they are also creatures that can be fought with little moralizing on the part of the PCs. Advanced animals and magical beasts (who lack the self-awareness, intelligence, and culture of the "fodder" monster races I've mentioned throughout the piece) are also perfectly valid targets to use as threats that need to be overcome.

However, with that said, it isn't just swapping one monster for another. If you are the sort of DM who wants to change the tune on this particular trope, you need to show these traditional "monsters" as having culture. Let players see that they have friends, lives, and drives the same as the PCs do. That might make them more likely to talk first, and fight only when it's been made clear they don't have another option.

Or if they kill first and don't bother asking questions, make it clear that kind of aggression can have long-term consequences on social standing, future relationships, and even the character's alignment.

That's all for my thoughts on this week's Moon Pope Monday feature. If you want to make sure you don't miss any of my future thoughts, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you'd like to support Improved Initiative, head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron. As little as $1 a month is all it takes to buy my everlasting gratitude, and to get some sweet gaming swag for yourself.

How To Get The Most Out Of The Surprise Round (In Pathfinder)

Nine times out of ten, the surprise round is something you want to avoid as a player. Commonly thought of as an ambush, page 178 of the Core Rulebook describes the surprise round as something that happens when some, but not all, of the combatants are aware of one another. Those who are aware get to act, taking either a move or a standard action, and those who are not aware get to stand there, staring gormlessly at nothing. If you're not acting, you're also flat-footed, which is why the surprise round is a field day for enemies with sneak attack.

Easier to hit AND 6d6 bonus damage? Oooh... that's gotta hurt!

Now, it's possible to negate some of the pain of the surprise round by making Perception checks, moving stealthily so your ambushers don't know you're coming, and by getting Uncanny Dodge so you can't be caught flat-footed... but that still puts you on the receiving end of the surprise round when it does happen, which is not where you want to be.

But what if you could take control of it? Even when you weren't the one leading the ambush?

Step #1: Act in The Surprise Round

The first step in this process is to choose a class that gives you the ability to always act in the surprise round, even if you normally wouldn't be able to. This is not a common ability, but there are several, notable archetypes that grant it. The diviner wizard is the most common, and you gain it as your 1st-level school power. However, there's also the sohei monk (which gains this power at 1st-level), the fearsome defender barbarian (which gains it at 5th-level, though they always act last in a surprise round), the grand marshal (which gains it at 2nd-level),  and the thronewarden (who can act in the surprise round as long as they have at least 1 grit point starting at level 2), just to name a few.

This is only the first part of the combination, though.

Whichever option you select, it's important to remember this is a multiclass concept. Because acting in the surprise round is fine and dandy, but you need to be able to do more than just take a standard or a move action to really get the most bang for your buck. That's where step two comes into play.

Step #2: Add Four Levels of Rogue

The next thing you need to do is mix-in some rogue. Not just any rogue, though. The bandit archetype gives you the 4th-level ability Ambush. This states that when you can act in the surprise round you can take a standard, move, and swift action, rather than just the normal standard or move action normal characters get.

So, in other words, you turn the surprise round into a full turn.

That's when the mayhem starts.

Ask yourself how many times you just needed one extra action to stop an ambush before it started. How many times did you have just the right spell to block line of effect for those archers, or just the right scroll in your pack, but you couldn't react quickly enough to get them. Alternatively, how many times have you looked at the rogue talent Surprise Attack and thought it was useless? After all, what's the good in enemies being flat-footed to you during the surprise round if you can never act in it?

Now you know.

Step Three: Putting It All Together

Multiclassing always leaves you with some mechanical weaknesses, but it's important to ask how you plan on using these abilities. For instance, are you going to play an arcane trickster whose uncanny reflexes always seem to let them evade danger? Especially if it means adding 2d6 sneak attack onto any spell with an attack roll in the surprise round? Or would you prefer a sohei bodyguard, who makes sure to engage the enemy before they can get close to his charges? Or a reformed bandit that's now a grand marshal, whose guns always seem to be firing before bushwackers can so much as clear their holsters?

There are all sorts of options you have available, but the goal should always be to make the most of the surprise round. If you do it right, your DM might even re-think using ambushes as a tactic.

That's all for this week's Crunch installment. Short and sweet, but it's a simple trick that doesn't take a huge text block to share. If you want to stay up-to-date on all my releases, simply follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. And if you'd like to help me keep my head above water, and keep doing what I'm doing, head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron today. All it takes is $1 a month to buy my everlasting gratitude, and to get yourself some sweet gaming swag.

Time is of The Essence When it Comes to Challenge in RPGs

The gnoll guards hadn't been sleeping at their posts, and they put up a fight. Brevalder nearly lost a hand to one of their axes, and Firan spent several of the spells he'd carefully prepared ensuring the hyena men were kept silent. When the bloodletting was done, and the heroes had healed their wounds, they did the only thing that made sense after they'd kicked in the door of the slaver's stronghold...

They trekked right back into the desert to camp, sleep, and rest so they could come back with full resources tomorrow.

Uh... guys? Are you going to finish this dungeon some time in the next week?

How many times have you seen this scenario happen? The party gets loaded for bear, goes in full-force, and then as soon as an encounter is complete they go recharge all their powers. Sure, out-of-game that's a matter of a few minutes, essentially hitting the reset button on your dungeon delve. In-game, though, it means there's a lot of time between that fight you had yesterday, and the party wading back into the same area looking for trouble.

It's important to remember that time is just one more resource players have to balance, and if they squander it then there should be consequences.

Time Changes Everything

Take one of the most common scenarios in all of fantasy gaming; the party has to go to a certain place, and perform a certain action. Maybe they're heading to the ruins of Rakesh, hoping to locate a legendary sword that vanished beneath the sands. Perhaps they're traveling to Black Pond to sort out the local warlord who's been razing towns and farmland. Or they're just moving along the coast road to the capital of whatever nation they happen to be in right then.

Most of the time, the challenges from travel can be circumvented with relative ease. A few Survival checks, buying enough food, and managing to sidestep bad weather can make journeys little more than 5-minute exposition. Even if you're using random encounters, they can become trivial after a while. But what if your party doesn't have the luxury of walking for a short time, then resting to recuperate?

Brew a pot, boys, we're pulling an all-nighter!

For example, what happens when the ruins only appear once every 25 years, and they're only accessible for three days? What if the warlord is only going to be in Black Pond for a short time, and once he moves off he'll rejoin the rest of his army where he'll be significantly less vulnerable? What if the party has bandits on their tail, and they need to hustle on their way to the capital to stay one step ahead of the deadly outlaws? Well, they might have to force march themselves, making saves and taking penalties for a lack of sleep. Spells, ki points, Rage rounds, bardic music... they all need to last longer. That makes them a more precious resource, not to be used lightly.

This same logic applies to the meat and potatoes of an adventure, as well. Because even if the party can approach a location at their leisure, traveling at a relaxed pace, once they get where they're going they can't really pull back without breaking the suspension of disbelief. Sure, if you're investigating ruins that have been abandoned for a thousand years, and you're dealing with traps along with constructs and undead, you might be able to pull back and regroup since the guardians aren't programmed to leave their posts. But what about in other situations? When you're raiding a goblin cave, fighting through an orc stronghold, or assaulting a frost giant fortress, you can't hack your way through a few encounters, run away, and then expect everything to be just the same a day later.

The creatures you killed will still be dead, sure, but they've been replaced by new guards. Not only that, but those guards are now on high alert, and looking for revenge on the people who killed their friends. The traps have been reset, and it's possible a few more have been added. There might even be mobile units ready to respond to any threats, now that you've given away your presence.That is, of course, assuming the enemies don't send out scout patrols to harass you where you're camping, with orders to kill or capture you.

Time Between Fights Is Just As Important

There's another aspect about time in RPGs you should be paying attention to as a DM: specifically the amount of time it takes the party to buff itself, and how long those buffs last.

Unstoppable, baby!

We've all seen the character builds where, with 5-6 rounds of prep time, a character can become godly in their power and capabilities. It's one reason we often have clerics and wizards who have buffed themselves for several minutes as our big bad guys. However, while players should have the chance to get their buffs in, unless they're setting up an ambush, or they're scouting ahead either physically or magically, they shouldn't be able to predict when they need to be operating at maximum capacity. At that point it's about action economy, a subject I've already talked about in Understanding Action Economy (And Why You Need It).

The other thing you should pay close attention to as a DM is how long those buffs last.

As I mentioned in The 4 Major Flaws of Character Building, it's one thing to have a big gun. But just because you have it, that doesn't mean you have enough bullets in it to shoot your way to the end. Put another way, sure, you can boost your AC into the 40s, your Strength into the 30s, and give yourself a dozen natural attacks... but for how long? Which buffs last rounds per level? Which ones last minutes per level? For the others, do you have a daily cap?

This is important because, as I've said repeatedly, it's easy to hulk out for one fight and wipe the floor with the bad guys. You can probably do it for two fights, also. But can you pull the same trick for a third fight? Or a fourth? How many buffs did you bring? Because even casters with deep spell pouches only have so much they can bring to the table, and it only lasts for so long. Keep track of those rounds, and make sure your players aren't pausing the count downs because it, "doesn't count if you're not in combat."

Plan For The Long Haul

Time is just like any other factor in RPGs; it can be as forgiving, or as punishing, as you want it to be. Just like you can have your fights in broad daylight, and in wide open fields with plenty of lines of fire, you can give your party all the time in the world to achieve their goals. But just like how you can make them fight uphill, in the dark, and in the rain, you can also force them to step up their pace. Often this means they have to get where they're going, and get the job done, with no refreshes, and only their skill, smarts, and luck.

If you feel you've been going too easy on them, add a ticking clock. I guarantee it will make your players sweat.

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday update! Hopefully it helps some folks out there, particularly DMs, who feel it's hard to challenge a party without arbitrarily boosting their monsters' CRs. If you want to stay on top of all my updates, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you'd like to help support me, then head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron today! As little as $1 a month buys you my everlasting gratitude, as well as some sweet gaming swag!