Roleplaying Tips Weekly E-Zine Issue #216

Traps Are People Too

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SENT BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY With Compliments

From: Johnn Four, http://www.roleplayingtips.com
johnn@roleplayingtips.com

CONTENTS:
--> A Brief Word From Johnn

--> This Week's Tips

1. Use Secrets As Traps
2. Alignment Secrets
3. Personality Secrets
4. Class Secrets
5. Secrets From The Past
6. Family Secrets
7. Secrets Of Association
8. Ringing The Changes
9. Alignment Switcheroo

--> Readers' Tips Of The Week:

1. Self-Replicating Coin--With A Twist
From: Jeff Groves
2. World Management With Photoshop
From: Jared Dyche
3. More Time Travel Tips
From: Mike Bourke
4. More Prison Tips
From: David Smith
5. Start Small - Getting Kids Interested In RPGs
From: Sam Chupp

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A BRIEF WORD FROM JOHNN

Easter Break
------------
The ezine took an unannounced break for Easter last weekend.
If I'm going to miss or skip a week I usually try to mention it
beforehand so you aren't left wondering if an issue's been
sent and you missed it or it got filtered. Sorry about that!
Punisher Not Bad
----------------
I saw The Punisher on Friday and quite enjoyed it. My
expectations were very low, which always helps, and I
thought the movie was pretty good overall. I haven't read
the comic books so I can't say how true the characters and
story are to the print version. It's one of those movies
that doesn't leave much to the imagination, I felt, but
there were some good action scenes, some unexpected
situations, and some good humour sprinkled throughout.

Back-Up Time
------------
There must be a new virus out. I've received about 300 so
far this weekend. There's no better time than the present to
update your virus libraries (I use the free AVG software,
which works great) and to back-up your data. When backing
up, don't forget your RPG stuff and email files! Do it now.

Cheers,

Johnn Four
johnn@roleplayingtips.com

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TRAPS ARE PEOPLE TOO

By Ian Winterbottom
i.winterbottom "at" ntlworld.com

The subject of traps is an important, but much overdone one

in fantasy roleplaying. Dungeon crawls, in particular, fall
victim. It can get monotonous, not to say boring, as the
party encounters more and more elaborate mechanical and
magical devices and disasters prepared, it seems, with the
PCs specifically in mind - as, of course, they were!

However, once you get out of the dungeon and your adventures
begin to have a plot or a story rather than being an endless
trek through rooms and passages, it gets harder to prepare
those surprises in advance. Worth bearing in mind then is
one of the first ideas I came up with - NPCs as traps.

The central thing that a scenario or story has that a

dungeon often doesn't is NPCs. What if the NPCs themselves
become traps, snares for the unwary? These would be traps
that couldn't be circumvented by a simple die roll, the
dwarf's underground abilities, or the elf's secret doors
percentage. The PCs can't dodge them on autopilot; the
players have to think!

There are many ways of finding good NPCs, of making them

individual, believable, real and important; but what better
way of making them important to the plot than making them
_the_ plot? Cast, trap, and plot hook in one parcel.

It makes life much easier and more fun if, for instance, you
can arrange for at least one or two members of the party to
be NPCs, belonging to and played by yourself. They're useful
- and not just as cannon-fodder, either. Literally any NPC
can be a plot key given a little thought. And, what's more,
it's fun!

1. Use Secrets As Traps

=======================
The first thing to think about with these booby-trapped NPCs
is secrets. Every home - or rather every NPC - should have
at least one. (Give PCs secrets too, if you can arrange it,
as that gives you an extra "handle" to steer them with.) The
computer user's acronym WYSIWYG, What You See Is What You
Get, is exactly what not to aim for in your choice of
"trapped" NPCs. Think about it; how many of your secrets
would you confide to the first chance acquaintance you
happen to find?

Given a little thought, you can come up with some real

beauties for secrets. Temperament, alignment, past history,
need for money, likes and dislikes; all of these and more
are things you can't see, but still get, from that henchman
(or woman), interpreter, servant, or guide. Appearances
should - must - be deceptive! Not necessarily all the time,
but enough to keep the players on their toes.

Think of that beloved item of the comics: the secret

identity. Superheroes aren't the only ones who need them.
What about the buxom, but untouchable, barmaid of the inn
who can freeze lustful clientele with a glance and who keeps
her bedroom door well barred? This is maybe because, at
night, she doesn't want anyone to find out her room's empty
as she goes roof-running in her secret identity of mid-to-
high-level thief! The valuables of any well-to-do person
staying at the inn are, of course, fair game. Because she
takes care to make her entry from the outside, it's unlikely
anyone will suspect an inside job!

Maybe she just robs the PCs of something they need and they
have to figure out who did it. Maybe they catch her at it
and even recruit her? Later, does she let them down or
betray them or could she be the one who saves their bacon
when they're kidnapped and imprisoned by the villain?

Why is she a thief, by the way? Does she like it, or is it a

reluctant activity? Is she forced into it because she has to
take care of a young or ill relative, or perhaps because
someone has a hostage to guarantee her compliance? Why is
she such a good thief? What's her past, her story? Maybe she
was once a circus acrobat who had to leave when her relative
was hurt in an accident? Perhaps the local thieves' guild
makes her steal for them in return for caring for her
relative? She'd probably be very grateful to someone who
helped her out of this situation.
All this, from just one NPC!

Think about exactly what secrets that NPC could have. The
next few tips explore a some of the possibilities.

2. Alignment Secrets
====================
Is the NPC good, evil, lawful, or chaotic by nature?
Principled or unprincipled? Selfish, greedy, decent, or
kind? Is he one thing disguised as the other for his own
advantage? Has his alignment been changed in some way, such
as by a curse, charm, or other magic? Will he revert to type
at the right, or wrong, moment?

3. Personality Secrets
======================
Is he brave or a cowardly back-shooter? Will he stand up for
himself or not? Cheat or not? Is he bad-tempered, a bully,
or seems so? And if so, why? Maybe he has a reason--someone
knows something about him or has some hold over him? One of
my players had a pair of stalwart fighter henchmen who were
great in a dungeon, but as soon as they were let off the
leash in "civilised" country they went drinking and broke up
the nearest bar. It cost him thousands of gold in repairs,
weregild, fines, and the like to get them out of trouble
when adventure called!

4. Class Secrets
================
Is the NPC classed or does he have an occupation? If he is a
classed character, does anyone know it? Sartor Onehand,
affable and hard-bargaining local merchant, was the local
representative of the capital's Thieves' Guild in one of my
games. He was the "Mafia capo" who could be very useful or
very dangerous depending on how he was encountered and
treated!

The obsequious "butler" of the retired paladin, Sir

Peregrin, was the secret leader and evil cleric of a mixed
band of brigands. That bluff "fighter" might be a ranger, or
even a druid. Magnus Magnifex, originally patron of one of
my parties, ended up as one of its most powerful characters,
a thief-illusionist.

5. Secrets From The Past

========================
Was the NPC always what he is now, or was he once something
different? If so, what caused the change? Is he on the
equivalent of some kind of witness protection program? Has
he a past to hide or one to be proud of? Has he enemies, is
someone looking for him? What's he doing here?

Freelance thief, Capricorn, broke into what seemed an

ordinary house and stole a gold statuette. It turned out the
house was the secret temple of the death god, whose
sacrifices were random murders, and the statue was sacred to
them. Now the cult and the thieves' guild are after him and
he's running for his life! Can you help him contact the
guild and somehow get the cult's statuette back to them
without him getting murdered?!

6. Family Secrets
=================
Has the NPC got a family? If so, who and where are they? As
a twist, her family members could be her hostages, enemies,
or rivals. Perhaps she is seeking revenge for their deaths?
Do the PCs know one or more members, although they might not
realize it?

I once had the Black and White Brothers, identical twins,

one good, one evil. Encountered in turn or on a random
basis, they were a problem for the characters because they
couldn't figure out why this "guy" kept changing his
personality and denying their accusations. He was even able
to supply alibis when the PCs were damned sure he'd done the
dirty!

Another family plot concerned Rosamunda the Fair, abductee

rescued by the party and returned to her wedding. She proved
an embarrassment when the PCs discovered the hard way that
"she" was a doppelganger who had killed the real bride, as
the creature went bananas at the wedding feast. This not
only provided an exhilarating evening as everybody tried to
figure out who was what, but it earned the group some
exceedingly powerful enemies and even put them on the run
since some considered them allies of the monster, others
regarded them as enemies of the bride, groom, or their
families, and still others thought them merely baddies
trying to trick the wedding party in hope of reward. A final
group considered them to simply be dangerous idiots who
should be imprisoned or even terminated to prevent any
further trouble.

7. Secrets Of Association
=========================
Who associates with the NPC? What sort of friends has he got
- and what sort of enemies? What convictions does he have
and how will they affect his interaction with the PCs?

Frater Jerome, heavy-handed lawful good cleric, travels mob-

handed and detests magic of any kind, which he regards as
the province of the devil. Not only will he destroy anything
he suspects of being a magic item, he will "tithe" the owner
a percentage of his wealth, by force if necessary. He is
supported by as many henchmen and lesser clerics as you may
consider necessary.

He has, of course, a power of detect magic, which is always

"on", and therefore will detect any magic used in his
presence, no matter how benevolent. Is he on one side or
another of some local feud? A member of some society, secret
or otherwise? Does he have knowledge somebody wants or would
rather was kept secret? Does he "know too much" or possess
something someone covets, perhaps enough to kill him for? If
he/she does get killed, who or what will he leave as a
legacy? Perhaps an item or knowledge. Perhaps a dependent,
"Little Nell" or the equivalent, alone and friendless in a
hostile world and in need of heroes to protect her (or
him!). Was he a spy or the fantasy equivalent of an
undercover cop and in the middle of a mission?

8. Ringing The Changes

======================
Another trap, the Character Chameleon, is the seeming
friend who is really an enemy. He could also be the
opposite: the enemy who turns out to be a friend.

For example:

* The reluctant werewolf who is trying to fight the curse of

lycanthropy and the need to go "out on the tiles" at full
moon.

* One of the characters in David Eddings' Belgariad is a

reluctant werebear, that way to protect the young Belgarion.

* I've also used a Reluctant Vampire, M. le Baron de

Sanguine (bit of a giveaway, that!), who contracted his
affliction while delving as an amateur archaeologist. After
killing his son during the original onset of the disease, he
is now dwelling in an isolated castle peopled with zombie
servants to keep himself from spreading his "disease".

* A Charmee might also be good. The evil character under a

good spell is a bit old hat, but what about the other way
around? That seemingly evil wizard might be your best ally
if you could only release him!

Another Chameleons is the officially "good" character. The

elf perhaps, who is just a trifle off his rocker on some
subjects. For instance, racism might rear its ugly head.
Elves come across as somewhat superior in many stories.
Perhaps this particular elf is paranoid enough to consider
elvenkind as some sort of master race? Perhaps he practises
a kind of snobbery in that he is willing to put up with
humans, dwarves, and other races, but considers them his
social inferiors and makes that very plain? Maybe he really
detests half-elves, whom he describes as mongrels or half-
breeds.

Consider also a demi-human villain. Not just a traditionally

good type, such as the elf or dwarf, but someone like
Ozymandias, a gnomish illusionist with a chip on his
shoulder. Instead of the well-meaning, bumbling, absent-
minded average gnome, this one is contemptuous of not only
other races but his own - in fact, of everyone who isn't
him! Although he is careful to disguise this fact, of
course, with most people being unwittingly almost
permanently under the effects of spells such as charm or
friends.

None of his intimates - or at least they think they are -

will hear a word said against him. Somewhere in his hidden
past he's managed to upset even his own long-suffering
people and been banished. Now he needs allies and friends.
His loyalty, however, is nonexistent. He'll betray them, let
them down, and stab them in the back just for the practice,
if not from spite.

Oooo, he's so evil! His preferred method of doing business,

however, is to allow the party to dig themselves into the
deepest doodoo possible, then escape with the loot,
preferably informing the enemy of their whereabouts before
leaving. In my story, he did it with the drow closing in!
How the party escaped is another NPC story!

A lone, renegade drow, it occurs to me, would make an

exceedingly good behind-the-scenes villain. His reluctance
to expose himself to light means he would appear only at
night or in deep shadow. His allies and minions might not
even be aware of who and what he is. A further reversal
might be if one of said minions, perhaps a thief or
swashbuckling pirate, suddenly becomes aware of the
villain's true identity as a dark elf and enlists with the
PCs!

It isn't necessary to take this sort of trouble with every

NPC. In fact, that would be overkill. Though you might find
you now need to give each NPC at least a short description
to avoid the players' guessing which one is important! And
not all your plots need be character driven, of course; ring
the changes still more by having some begin as "normal" in
the tavern, or by the dying messenger gasping "Parcel for
Sidney"! And if that isn't giving my antiquity away I don't
know what is! But you'll find it worth putting some thought
into those NPCs; and, as I've said, it can be great fun!

9. Alignment Switcheroo
=======================
One final suggestion. Consider alignment change - if it can
affect PCs, why not NPCs? Either by putting on the wrong
helmet or by story means. The assassin and/or warrior turned
cleric by remorse for killing the wrong man? A half-orc
shaman possessed by the Spirit of the Glade and turned
druid. A thief become possessed by the spirit of a long dead
Wizard? (Which lich is which? [Apologies!]) And last, but
never least, remember you're never alone with schizophrenia!
Get two villains, or even more, for the price of one - even
hero and villain combined!

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READERS' TIPS OF THE WEEK

1. Self-Replicating Coin--With A Twist

From: Jeff Groves
======================================
The ultimate self-replicating magical item would be a coin.
Put it in your pouch, wait a couple days, and you have a
couple dozen more coins! Of course, it would have to be
undetectable, lest all the fun is taken out of it. If you
knew one of your coins was producing more coins, but didn't
know which one, would you spend any of it?

2. World Management With Photoshop

From: Jared Dyche
==================================
I don't know if you have or are familiar with Adobe
Photoshop, but this program (or a similar one, though I
don't know of any that work with layers the same way off the
top of my head) could let you have all sorts of different,
world-level information 'on hand'.

At the base level, you can have your 'World Map' (it could
be the specific region, or whatever you'd like) and then use
different layers to show different sorts of connections.

For example, you could have one layer that shows the
economic info for your world (imports, exports, trade
routes, etc.), another that shows political alliances, and
yet another layer for PC movement (even one for major NPC
movements). If you only want to deal with one layer, all you
need to do is hide the other layers.

This does involve a bit of initial work, setting up your

maps on your computer and putting in the different layers,
but it could make your life easier.

I wouldn't shell out the cash for this program if this is

all you'll use it for, but if you spend any time at all
taking/editing digital pictures then it could well be worth
it, and if you already have the program, then I'd recommend
trying it.

3. More Time Travel Tips

From: Mike Bourke
========================
Hi there,

re: Manual Ebert's time travel tips in Roleplaying tips #215

in which he solicits for other solutions to the issue of
time travel in an RPG:

As someone who has permitted (and used) time travel

extensively within a superhero campaign, and who is
currently running a time-travel based campaign, there are a
number of alternative solutions to consider.

1) Sheaf Theory
---------------
This is a variant on the many-worlds theory of
quantum physics. What appears to be a contiguous time line is
in fact not so; it is actually a large number of virtually-
identical space-times with identical histories, that diverge
and separate at each critical point in history.

In actual fact though, they are not identical, but the fact
that one radioactive atom on the far side of the galaxy did
not decay until one microsecond later than in the reference
time line is not all that distinctive a difference. When
large-scale alternative outcomes are involved however, the
divergences become more noticeable.

Under this theory, any changes that the characters cause are
real and have no impact on their original time line. In fact,
the shift in location of individual photons and quanta, the
gravitational effects of their presence, etc., ensure that
the instant they arrive in the past, they cause the entire
time line in which they are present to diverge from the core
time line. It is possible to construct an entire "physics"
based on this concept, which I have done for the superhero
campaign I mentioned.

2) The Resistant Time Line

--------------------------
Events have a temporal inertia, equivalent to the physical
inertia possessed by moving objects. In order to cause a
change in events, that inertia has to be overcome.

Conservation laws no longer apply in the same way because

they only have impact in a closed system, and the "closed
system" in question stretches from the instant of departure
into the past to the instant of arrival. "Paradoxes" thus
become possible because they oversimplify the situation and
assume that the universe is a closed system at any given
instant, when this is not at all the case.

Once again, a completely plausible "physics" can be worked

out for this alternative. There are also a number of
sub-variations, sometimes with quite interesting
consequences. For example, if the only way to achieve
faster-than-light (FTL) is by leaving the reference space-
time and entering the hyperspace plane of existence through
which time lines propagate, then it can be shown that there
is a finite limit to the propagation rate of temporal
changes.

Considering that an individual must possess a "personal time

line" showing their experiences in the sequence they
experienced them, and can therefore be isolated from the
main time line by virtue of FTL travel, it is possible to
set up a branch of early-warning stations to detect temporal
tampering and set in motion moves to counter it. The result:
Timewar! This is the particular variant used by the time-
travel campaign I mentioned.

I recommend reading "Thrice Apon A Time" by James P. Hogan

for other insights; "The Proteus Operation" (same author)
for an alternative perspective; "Giants' Star" (same author,
part of the "Giants" series) for still more ideas. I also
got some useful ideas from "Timemaster", an RPG game
published by Pacesetter (here's a review link:
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9658.phtml ), and
Robert Heinlein's "The Number Of The Beast".

4. More Prison Tips

From: David Smith
====================
Hello John,

I read your article about prison scenarios in fantasy role-

playing games, and it reminded me of a prison scenario in my
D&D game. Here are the details, followed by lessons I
learned from what happened...

Soldiers captured the four PCs and, later, a judge presented

them with three options:

1) Fight a predetermined number of warriors in combat. If

you win, you are free. (Locals take the win as a sign of
favour from their god, which would [in the natives' minds]
absolve the PCs of guilt).

2) If you lose you will be sent to work in the gold mines as

a slave.

3) Appeal this decision to the Emperor, (but the PCs learned

most appeals result in the immediate execution of the
accused).

Grudgingly, the PCs played along with the authorities and

were incarcerated in a large prison cell within the Great
Temple. They quickly escaped from their rope bonds, of
course. Suddenly, they decided to escape from the whole
temple altogether! ("What!?" I thought. If they get caught,
they'll probably die, but if they fight tomorrow in combat
and win, they'll be celebrated). After various NPC role-
playing/combat interactions, they eventually did escape,
securing new armor and equipment, magical items, and secret
non-magical scrolls providing background about the religious
tenets of the land. In the process, they helped another
prisoner escape too.
I learned a few things from this "prison" set-up:

1) No matter how much you plan, PCs will always do something

that the DM does not expect.

2) Expect the PCs to escape regardless. Therefore, provide

for this possibility to occur in your planning.

3) Since guards do strip PCs of all weapons and gear,

provide additional items they can secure if they manage to
escape.

5. Start Small - Getting Kids Interested In RPGs

From: Sam Chupp, via the kids-rpg Yahoo! Group
http://www.samchupp.com/kids-rpg.html
=================================================
People have asked me how I got my kids interested in RPGs.
Basically, there is no one tried-and-true method, but there
are a few guidelines:

Pre-Literate Children
---------------------
Before a child can read, they can still do imaginative
play...and this is where you get started. Assist the child
in her make-believe; create castles, spaceships, old west
corrals. Do what you can to encourage role-playing activity.
This is the time when you start to instill a sense of
adventure and creative expression. Of course, you're going
to have to get in there and RP, too! Your child will feel
even less inhibited if you're willing to interact and model
good RP.

This might be a good time to model "Rules" as well - at

least, as rough guidelines. Using a modified rock-paper-
scissors challenge system might be good enough to solve the
"I GOT YOU! NO YOU DIDN'T! YES I DID!" arguments. Encourage
character development by asking questions about the
character your child is playing, such as:

"What does she eat for dinner?"

"Who are her favorite people?"
"What does she like to do for fun?"
"Does she have any friends? If so, who?"

This will help the child start to think of the *make

believe* persona as a character, with independent thoughts,
hopes, dreams, and goals...which will also be handy for
differentiating between "magical thinking" and RL.

Post-Literate Children
----------------------
Kids who can read can play your basic everyday tabletop RPG.
The trick is to find one that they like. The trick to
finding one they like is to find character concepts that
excite them. The trick to finding exciting character
concepts is to watch how they react to various characters in
the media or in stories you tell.
For example, Jay, a young man in my kids' gaming group, is
kind of a hipster sort of kid who likes to be cool. He
thinks Keanu Reeves' character Neo in "The Matrix" is pretty
cool. So I gave him a character who looked and acted and
seemed like that character...and I think he really likes it.

Gee, another gamer in my group, likes to play faeries and

such. She enjoys playing a faerie dragon. I had to make up
my very own core character class, the "Faerie Dragon" class,
to allow her to play and advance with the rest of the
players, but so far it has really worked to get and keep her
attention.

The point is, don't quibble with the child. Just create the
character they want, the character of their dreams. Even if
it's a little silly, it will pay off when they catch the
"gaming bug" and start *asking* you to play.

Tweens & Teens

--------------
Tweens (ages 10-12) and Teens (13+) must be approached
differently. My thought is that you would do better to take
a clearly cool "adult" RPG and tone it down in terms of
hard core "mature" content and offer it to the teens and
tweens to play. They'll feel more grown-up, and in the
meantime, you can still share a common language and common
experience gaming with them.

Whatever you do, remember: kids are not tiny adults. But
they do not wish to be looked down upon. They are people who
have very little power and are constantly having to worry
about what they may or may not do. Being someone else for a
while can give them the opportunity to have fun and make
mistakes in a safe way, without causing them lasting harm.

Thanks for listening!

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That's it for this week's issue.

Have more fun at every game!

Johnn Four

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