Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “D&D Tips with James Gifford”
Death is pretty awkward. At least in DnD. I can’t say from personal experience. All that hard-earned experience is gone in an instant. And as if that weren’t bad enough, any personal story the character had is left hanging… It’s like if Frodo took an arrow to the neck after stepping out of Shire… it’s a very sudden awkward …
James Gifford, author and illustrator of Dungeon Diaries, returns to improve your Dungeons and Dragons encounters… Perhaps more than any other part of the game, Non-Playable Clones (NPC)s are especially challenging to bring to life: Testing your skills in improvisation, voices, characterization and acting. Often, it’s difficult to create memorable ones and they seem to all bleed into one generic …
James Gifford, author and illustrator of Dungeon Diaries, returns to improve your Dungeons and Dragons encounters (also applicable to any tabletop roleplaying game PATHFINDER FOR LIFE! – Ed: Robin) ENHANCING YOUR DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ENCOUNTERS Back when I was a baby goblin, I used to play Dungeon Crawler game like Torchlight and Dungeon Siege. I remember thinking they were the …
Magical Loopholes – the Dungeon Master’s Dilemma Magic, by its very definition, is mysterious. And yet in many fantasy tabletop games (including Dungeons & Dragons), it is defined quite clearly in the rulebook – spell duration, components, targets, spell resistance, saving rolls… Game designer gods do this for our own character safety, for every foolish apprentice and player will, WILL, …
My players had finally found the flooded Crypt. They inch down into the dank stone entranceway, fear gripping them as they watch out for the ghost of a blind witch Morvane. As they emerge into the main catacomb, all is still… then they see her, manifesting above the alter, her hair splayed out like white tendrils, milky eyes wide …
Making Treasure Valuable “You find 40 gold pieces. Two level 1 scrolls and a dagger.” A collective yawn ensues. Sound familiar? Making treasure sound ‘valuable’ can be tricky, but there are ways to make it catch your player’s eye without simply throwing more gold or more magic into the pile. Name your items. Treat key objects and weapons like NPCs, …