Buried in Novelty

In the world of tabletop gaming, we are under a constant onslaught of new material, and frankly, that is something to be happy about. It isn't often a hobby is as updated as this, other than online games with constant minor tweaks and patches. Therein lies a certain beauty in what we as gamers do. Thanks to our own ingenuity and creativity, and the design talents of others, we can often find new material to add to our games and enhance our play experience. For those of us that play the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons, we're fortunate to have the once monthly, now weekly, Unearthed Arcana articles straight from the desks of Crawford and Mearls. However there are a few inherent problems with new material being added the longer and longer your game goes on. Although novelty in itself is good, for a long running game it can also be quite a handful.

Chaotic New-tral and Lawful "Nah, I'm Good."

This may come as a bit of a surprise to those of you who don't know me personally, but I have the hardest time being satisfied with a character build. I always want more abilities, more of x and less of y; more, more, more! Seeing as I DM this is rarely a problem, but I have a long-running setting called Tylvein that functions like a video game, in that you can approach me and say, "Derek, I'd love to do something in Tylvein." To which I will usually reply quite emphatically, "Fantastic! What do you have in mind?"

Regardless of the response, like a waiter trying to up-sell on a menu, I will usually throw out, an enthusiastic, "Oh! And _____ came out if you'd like to try it!" I love seeing new material in action, I am constantly revising my own house rules and trying to incorporate more. To people who enjoy a greater consistency in what they play, they are less receptive to change regardless of how positive I may view my new "updates" and can often be exasperated by the onslaught of new ideas. This is no problem, in fact, good for them for being more steadfast than I am. Novelty itself is like many abstracts; it is a force. A force that operates on the opposite side of the coin of consistency. In a way, it is almost liken unto the axis of Law and Chaos in D&D. Novelty is fun and exciting. It borders on experimental, but in excess, it is ultimately disruptive. Consistency is tried and true, reliable and safe, but to people who want to expand their horizons just a little, boredom may prevail. People who are in-between in that neutral zone, are usually fine with whatever so long as their is a game to be played. Though ultimately for those seeking something new to try and use, how do we appease them?

Free Samples

In a real world example, you know when you go to the grocery store and they have that little old lady in the just slightly different store uniform handing out free samples? It's eye catching. No, no, not the old lady, the free samples. You've been looking at food for the last half hour and you're starving, you haven't eaten since 11:00 a.m. and it is almost 8:00 p.m. You don't even notice the sample lady. You notice the tray of food. That tray of food was left by an angel, sent to save you from the powers of famine. Without even paying the slightest attention to the spiel, to hell with the facts, you wolf down the free sample, and you are satisfied. Now, it may have just gotten you by, or you may still be hungry. You may suddenly snap back to reality from your ravenous hunger, realize that it was mediocre but will get you by. Alternatively, you might be compelled to have more, sprinting back to aisle 10 because some subliminal message you received while you were blind to your surroundings clued you in to where you could find them. (Hint: It was the sample lady.)

So how does this bizarrely human scenario relate to roleplaying games? Well, as a DM, you get to play the role of the sample lady when it comes to new things. If your game has been going a while, it is perfectly fine to try new things, especially if your players have indicated any boredom or problems with the way that certain aspects of the campaign are going. Maybe you want to implement a combat momentum system or exploding dice into combat to make it faster or more exciting, offer to your players that for that session you will implement a new mechanic to address problems and complaints you have had in the past. If they like the mechanic, they can keep it and continue from that point forward with it, provided the whole table is fine with it.

Narrative Fixes

Maybe there is a new class or archetype that just came out that a player feels suites their character better than the one they chose originally. That has definitely been an issue for me in the past, and for my players at times. Well, you can handle it one of two ways. One is a little more "elegant" than the other but it requires more work. The easy method is a simple changing of the player's character sheet between sessions and the rest is history. The more intricate, elegant method is to incorporate that change into the character's personal story. Perhaps, rather than being a thief, the rogue in the party feels they have always been more of a swashbuckler. For you sticklers out there, a swashbuckler is nothing like a thief. They may be rogue archetypes, but wielding a sword well, and having the stickiest of fingers are two different things. In fact, at one point the thief can hack magical items so he can use what only spellcasters normally can. I now imagine a thief letting out a "Boop!" while attuning to items. (Google Overwatch's Sombra if that is too obscure for you). So what if the thief encounters a swordsman who sees the thief's potential and offers to train him? In previous editions, levels could be retrained, so, why not archetypes? Perhaps certain downtime narrative or quests would retrain the character. If anything, it would make it interesting, and having the other players aid in such a quest would be interesting to see. Maybe the party's champion fighter wants to learn magic from the party's wizard, so rather than taking levels in wizard, he trains with the wizard to become an Eldritch Knight. As long as these changes aren't disruptive or overly frequent, this could add greater depth to your game. Of course, if you are involving other players in these quests, be sure that they are rewarded as well. Maybe there is some really good loot they can walk away with, maybe if one character is teaching the other, he gets a permanent bonus like the Blessings mentioned in the Dungeon Master's guide.

Wrapped Up Neatly With a Bow

Really, these options are gifts to you and your players, and they ought to be handled carefully. Too many gifts too soon will spoil a child, and none might be seem as apathetic. In the end it is comes down to what the game is about, a collective effort of all players. The DM is still a player, don't forget, just a player with a special role to fill.

Speaking of presents. here is a new house rule I have come up with. I may have mentioned this in the past in previous discussions, but here it is.

Two Weapon Fighting rule update : While you wield a non-heavy one-handed weapon, you may wield another weapon with the light property in your other hand as long as you are proficient with that weapon as well and engage in two-weapon fighting.

As a fencer, and general swordplay enthusiast, the style of the rapier is terribly overlooked in these games, sure it is a finesse weapon, but it bothers me that in fifth edition the off hand rule is bound to being a light weapon. Traditionally speaking, it wasn't uncommon to use both a rapier and dagger at the same time, in fact, it isn't that hard. A long sword or side sword and a dagger isn't that difficult either. It requires more strength, but that is what you are getting into when you wield a longsword anyways.

See you Friday!