Well you are at your favourite games table.  Be it Dungeons & Dragons, Call of Cthulhu or any other RPG. You reach for that choice of drink. You know the one. That one that hits the special place in your thirst. 
Today it’s just not as epic as the game. Well hang in there, there is help on its way.

The contents of the tin isn’t important but as you can see here I happen to have had a gorgeous Japanese beer.

First I drink the beer. Easy part.
Then using an everyday can opener remove the top. This works very well, giving a nice clean edge.

Maje sure the tin is clean and dry. Hot soapy water which is something easily come by.
I purchased some car spray paints for the next level.

A vase painting using a primer. Its sats you should sand the surface down after each coat but I kind if want that imperfect look later in the process.

Now this is the foundation and the rest just gets easier.
I chose gold for my first time attempt.

Once again you are told to sand diwn after each spray but I didn’t want to be to perfect.

You may not see much change to this one but I have given it a lacquer. So no it shines.  Im going to try patterns next time. Be a little more creative.

This is the four stages.

Now, at your next visit to the game table you and your beverages will look as Epic as the Game you are playing.

This weekend just gone I went to Birmingham and the UK Games Expo.
Been to this event a few times now but this time decided to run Five Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition games. In doing this as a Game Master it granted me free entry to the whole weekend at the expo plus a room for two nights and expenses for food.

Of course I’m going to go for these options. All I had to do now was submit five 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons game ideas and hope all were excepted.
Within a day I had written five short synopsis for each of my game ideas. Within days they were excepted.All I had to do now was right them.

As I had gaming friends on twitter I took the step to ask two people who I knew and thought would like to write a game for me. This wasn’t a ploy to get out of writing it myself but a way to see how other people did it. I asked very nicely and both took the challenge and ran with it. It had to fit a criteria that I had already submitted. It wasn’t a problem and these amazing Game Masters in their own right got straight down to it.
This left me just three games to concentrate on.

So here is a review of each game I ran at the UK Games Expo.
I will not give too much detail of the game’s storyline as the two GM’s may use the games they wrote for their own use. So here we go.

Game one took place on Friday between 15:00 to 19:00

The Mattock of Mandabor.
Written by @DMSamuel.

http://www.acrossatablemadly.com/author/dm-samuel/

Description, Description, Description. That’s what I asked for sand that is what I got. A beautiful piece of writing. Taking the players through a grand Dwarven city with investigation and intrigue. Set locales from temples to town houses.
This was a great start. Leading the players on a merry chase across vast distances and well developed scenes.

Each encounter was a joy to run and enough information was given that even these could be avoided with a little thought on the players part. Monsters were equally equipped to challenge the players be it in a fight or a conversation and as a GM all relevant info was written with ease for me to access.

Travel was covered with a fluid flare for details. Taking the sights and sounds of the word into consideration until bringing the players to a final battle and conclusion.
All together a perfect scenario for 4th Edition D/D.

Game two took place Friday at 20:00 to 00:00

The Ruins of Sarendeth.
Written by @TheAngryDM

.http://angrydm.com/

The ingenuity of this game took me a back at first and I though I would never be able to pull it off with all its complexity and cleverly written challenges I even had an email conversation with @TheAngryDM just to put my mind at rest that I could do this game justice.

A task was set and the players took to it like ducks to water and as the adventure progressed I myself turned up the confidence that this was going to work better than expected.
Never split the party. Isn’t that what has been the words echoing down the hall ever since 4th Edition came out. Well don’t listen to it. If you write a great idea that the players believe is within their power to achieve then who are you as a GM to stop it. This game Does indeed split the party. Not only splitting it but sending each PC in a totally different direction. It works. It just does. Then follow the trail to a well planned and thought out final scene that you come to say. What was all the fuss about.

Great creatures great interactive cast of characters bring this whole story to life. Running this for the first ever time was a true honour to do. So if you get a chance. Don’t hesitate by its complexity. Its bark is worse than its bite. A total enjoyment.

Game three Saturday 10:00 to 14:00

The Shadows of Winterpine Fort.
Written by @symatt.

Its a shame as this was going to be epic but only one player turned up and so this event was cancelled.

Game four Saturday 20:00

The Gathering at Whispering Isle.
Written by @symatt.

Over the top action started this game and the players are straight in the action. Defence was the order of business and the players spent three hours of investigation before a weapon was drawn. Thus wasn’t an issue and the players interacted with Non Player Characters as often as possible. Information was everywhere and they took the time to look,read and talk to everyone. Locations were simple and yet players made every use of them.

The time scale of this story was over only a matter of three days as they rested and ate as often as possible as the fear of undead assault had every possibly. Keeping the tension high and them in the dark was a big part and using it to my advantage whenever I could from dark nights to dark Dungeons. There was very few outcomes to this Adventure but at no time would you feel funnelled or led to this conclusion. On a whole this went well but not as well as I had hoped .
With time being an issue in this game the final moments felt rushed. Not a great way to end a game but all in all still a fun time was had by all.

Game five. Sunday 10:00 to 14:00.

Storm Castle Nero.
Written by @symatt.

I put a lot of thought into this Adventure.
This was my finale and it had Epic written all over it. Could I pull it off. I knew I had the skill. I knew I had the perfect adventure.

Oriental was the theme and drama was my goal. I brought it in cart loads. The opening crash of thunder and an unseen battle the PC’s were already at a disadvantage and this was the plan. It worked a charm. Over the odds battles which ran fast and fluid to skill checks that required Action Points in the likelihood of failure.
This game had it all.
Multiple attacks were the order of the day and the players loved it. I fit 6 encounters into this game and it still took only 4 hours. Battles staying within story never slowing down once. Monsters death came swiftly but it never felt over powered. Creatively was induced in all with exceptional descriptive and inventive fight scenes provided by all.
The player worked as a team to take this story to the biggest climactic end I have ever had the balls to run.

Its hard not to tell you the whole game and give it all away but it ran like a dream come true and never have I run a 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons Game like it before but I honestly think that this is the best way to run a game ever.

Here are a few things my players were kind enough to say.

@PinkBatgirl over on twitter.

Playing in @symatt’s D&D 4e game at UK Games Expo was a real highlight of the whole weekend.  I’d spent a few months before the Expo looking forward to it and it didn’t disappoint. Before the game even started, @symatt produced colour coordinated sleeved copies of all of our powers stats and APs so that we could organise them and use them so much easier and to our own personal liking.  I hadn’t seen this done before and wondered immediately why I hadn’t thought of it myself as it seemed so obvious then and I loved it!He also declared that APs would be awarded for particularly heroic things which was the first hint of how epic the game was to be. @Symatt then began by describing the scene and I have never before started a game and felt like I’d just beaten the boss in the first minute. The game started with us standing in cinematic silhouette in the middle of a battlefield having just won the battle and being one of the few left standing.  His descriptions really put you into the setting and evoke so many emotions, I was swelling with pride at the victory and could almost feel the adrenaline coursing through me, staving off what must also be exhaustion. I felt like this and we hadn’t even done anything yet, it was an incredible opening! The whole thing became more and more epic from there and the group worked together well and added their own imaginations to the mix.  @Symatt always gives a lot of depth to the story with his descriptions but he also invites the group to add their own flavour too.  In this case, the best way he did this was at every monster death asking the hero who dealt the killing blow how they died.  They descriptions from the group got more imaginative and more disgusting as the game progressed, each death being unique to the situation and manner of death so that no two deaths were the same.I always leap at the chance to be DMed by @symatt as I know I’m guaranteed to enjoy his adventures.  He is also very flexible towards the groups as some people want to role-play more than others, some come up with crazy ideas and some just want to bash heads.  He makes everyone feel just as involved and always manages to pull even a group of strangers together to a well-formed team.The only thing I would wish for more is  to be able to be DMed by @symatt for a whole campaign.

Andrew w. Player.

” I would particularly like to thank the GM running Storm Castle Nero on Sunday morning. 4th ed D&D without mat or minis (I was dubious, I ran 4e for 2 years with our lot and we took to the mat like ducks to water having never used them before). The game was delivered with an infectious level of enthusiasm and great skill.”

@laligin over on twitter.

Even though I’d only played a handful of D&D games before, I didn’t often feel out of my depth while Storming Castle Nero. Having the Action Points and Power Cards printed on separate colour-coded cards was a stroke of genius that made it a lot easier to keep track of things – at a higher level than I’d ever played before, with so many options, I’d have been completely lost with just the sheets to look through. I really enjoyed the cinematic style of things, with @symatt handing out occasional bonus Action Points for anything especially dramatic or innovative, which made all the players raise their game and go all out on their descriptions – something @symatt was well ahead of us on. Playing without marked squares gave everybody more room to be inventive, and kept the rounds moving faster, though since it wasn’t a system I was used to, occasionally it did lead to me forgetting to move out of immediate danger! Despite that, I had a lot of fun, and @symatt’s scenario and engaging style of DMing was massively entertaining, making it a brilliant end to the weekend.

@gmcarlplus5 over on twitter

@symatt was running Storm Castle Nero at the next table to me and my group stopped playing at one point to listen to how @symatt’s epic game was going because the energy coming off that table was huge!

I am just dipping my toes into that world of digital art. I love the worlds of Super Heroes, Dungeons and Dragons and Any form of Role-playing games. That is where I have taken my influence for these following pictures.   I like to have a Character drawing for every Character I play.

I still draw and paint as If I was using a pencil and brush. I am sure this will change as I get to know what I am doing.  As you can see I have a long way to go.

Here is an example of what I have been doing over the few days that I have had my tablet (intuos 5).

Feel free to give me feed back or even drop me any useful links that will help me on my way.

A scan of a drawing I did

This first picture as you can see Is my drawing which I did a few weeks ago and scanned It Into the computer. I wasn’t confident to draw straight from Tablet on to the screen yet.

Getting Hands on

This Is as Far as I had gotten before I thought that saving my files would be a good move. remembering to do this at a good increment needs getting used to.

Going at a nice pace

Not knowing how things are done, I just plodded on in the fashion that I was used to with paper. Yet I am very pleased on how this picture is coming along. Learning new skills like layers has been an amazing eye opener. traditional art means if you do It wrong then you Start again or except the mistake. Not any more.

small things

Doing the detail I have found challenging to say the least. Getting In close to the picture you lose the overall look as you change tone and Colour of what the final look Is going to be. Doing everything in sections and then not having the skill or know how was frustrating to say the least.

Moving on

Trying out new features of a computer program and tablet Is so much fun. If there Is something that I am not to sure about there happens to be a YouTube video that will cover it. I have spent a good deal of my time drawing trying to understand what the fantastic artist on the net have done to achieve what they have.

Final

This Is my final. It Is nowhere near the incredible standard that people have got to. This Is my learning time and I would like to think In a few Months, no In a few years time I may have gotten to a standard that I can truly call myself an Artist. A Digital Artist.

What follows is a couple of drawings I did before the main one. Note that the Zombie I drew with the pen tablet. no scanning Involved. I will now take please In the fact that a few of you here on the Inter-webs will take the time to look at these and If so inclined leave me a comment. Tell me straight but not to straight OK.

A Zombie for any Call of Cthulhu game I should think. SAN roll please.

The skull within was a total accident. I like happy accidents

Finished. For now. Catchya soon. See you on Twitter . @symatt

So Dungeon Master, be It for Dungeons and Dragons, 13th Age, Pathfinder or for that matter any Role Playing game (RPG). You want to take charge, be the creator of your own game and possibly your own world.

You have your Players (PCs). You have your Dice. You have your Ideas. This Is just a small part of what goes on behind and In front of the GM’s screen.

Take a look through my Short A to Z of Dungeon Mastering.

A is for Adventures.

You are nothing without that story to take your players on.

B is for Battlefield.

A battle is needed in most all games. Be it a full scale war to a fight with sewer rats.

C is for Combat.

A combat need not be a fight every time. A combat of words maybe. The lords or the lands meet and your players need  to talk them out of war.

D is for Detail.

Don’t forget a good game can come down to the details.  Expect a great deal from your players if you give them the details.

E is for Environments.

Location,  Location and yet more Locations. Castles,   Keeps. Dry bone Deserts. Other worldly vistas. Let your players roam the worlds.

F is For Fire.

A randomly moving element that as a GM you have full control.  Use it to your greatest advantage. It can cage your players or free your players. Kill or even heal.

G is For Grandeur.

You want your players to feel importance in everything they do. Your Game will revolve around them. Make them the most important part.

H is for Hidden.

The world your players are in is a hidden one. Only you know what is happening. Don’t you forget that the game is moving even when your PCs are not there to effect it.

I is for I intrigue

Not all games are powering towards a fight or even a monster. Subterfuge is an ingredient that is an infrequent addition yet can add so much more to your games.

J is for Journey.

Try to give your games time. Time of movement. If the PCs need to travel then make it take time. Days or even weeks. If lost in a mine, be lost for days not hours.

K is for Kingdoms.

This is simple but creative use of Kingdoms brings depths of cultural differences and language barriers.

L is for Life.

Life should be everywhere.  Not everything is dangerous though. Tell the players that birds are singing or insects are chirping. Create a world your players can relate to.

M is for Mapping.

Keep track of where your game is going. World building to caving. All need some form of tracking.  You never know when your players will want to return.

N is for NO.

Don’t let anyone tell you that you can NOT say No to players. This is not a democracy. If you have to say No then say it. It won’t hurt your game.

O is for Overlooking.

The players around you will notice if you miss something.  Make an oversight become your advantage. You didn’t overlook, it was neant to happen like that.

P is for Preparation.

This over time will come to you easier. Preparation is your friend.  Put more into your game and the more comfortable you will be when the game starts.

Q is for Quality.

Characters, be they the villainous assertiveness or the Monsters in the tunnels of doom. You have to breath life into them. Your game will shine if you put in the effort.

R is for Resourcefulness.

you are the creative director of this game. If you use props like miniature figurines and maps. Make your own props. Handouts and pictures to show your players adds a little more depth.

S is for secret.

Don’t give it all away in the first game.  We know you are excited for your players to know what’s going on or who is the bad guy. Hold some back. Make them work for it. Your players will thank you in the end.

T is for Time.

Give yourself time. Don’t rush a game if you are not ready. It will only upset your players and do harm to your confidence.  Time management,  be it length of game or how events play out. These in the end are down to you.

U is for Unbelievable.

You have to have a little truth to your games. Keeping believability keeps your players investment in the game and the world they are playing in.

V is for Visionary.

These are your games, the players are your characters. Take them on the most amazing adventure possible. Every game will just get better. You will learn from mistakes and grow as a GM.

so relax and have fun.

W is for Weapons.

Not just  a sword but a long blade of Dragonborn steel. Not  just a crossbow bolt but a crossbow bolt of dark energy slamming hard into the dwarven plate mail. Sending your hero heavily to the ground.

weapons can be more than an item that kills.

X is for Xenophobic.

Remember the world you create is inhabited by so many useful monsters. Make use of as many as possible. Colour your world. Surprising your players as much as you can and as often as you can.

Y is for You.

You are part of this game.  You have to enjoy it as much as your players.  If this isnt happening you need to take time out or even time away from the table. Let someone else take over for a while.

Z is for Zion.

This is your City. This is your Kingdom.  This is your world. This is your Zion.

I think as Time goes on I shall Add to these make them more of a read. Enjoy what i have .

]]> http://symatt.wordpress.com/2013/04/17/the-a-to-z-of-dungeon-mastering/feed/ 3 symatt The A2Z http://symatt.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/cowboy-robot-superhero/ http://symatt.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/cowboy-robot-superhero/#comments Sat, 06 Apr 2013 21:29:19 +0000 Symatt http://symatt.wordpress.com/?p=1130 Continue reading →]]>

This Is what I have been doing today.

The Drawing was @greywulf’s fault over on twitter. I asked and he said that he would like to see a cowboy Superhero. I thought It was kind of a Joke at first but then I said to myself why not.

Took a little bit of thinking and I came up with that drawing. Now i have coloured It and then placed it on a background, I’m very happy with It. plus I am getting the hang of some aspects of this art program that I have.

I will try and get some more done soon. Although my brother Is waiting for these Superheroes for his book. I was going to keep them secret. Hey I should show you anyway as you are my friends.

This Is just a Quick Post. So quick that there isn’t much to It at all. Just that I have not placed anything here In a long time.

Been doing some drawing and here Is a few of them.  At some point I will paint these and post them again.

Napoli.

Naples could be a fantasy location for your next Dungeons & Dragons game.
I recently came back from a few days in the Italian City of Naples. A thriving Port and hectic city with a mix of every culture.

The idea that a modern city could be transcribed directly into a game #RPG setting isn’t new of course but having now witnessed the city first hand It could make for an interesting location.

From a visual point of view the first thing that strikes you is the graffiti.

Do you remember the scene in the Monty Python film. The Life of Brian. The graffiti was forty feet tall. Well its worse here.
It is adorning every clear surface, building wall, window, sculptures and signs. But no attempt has been made to remove or control its spread also Litter is everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. Then the traffic. In this modern world it is cars but it is so easy to visualise horses and camels drawing wagons of fruits and vegetables. People pushing carts. Shouting, hawking their wares.

Begging has its place wherever you go. Here its on every street. The characters that you see could be straight out of a game #rpg from far-flung locations who have made it here via land or sea and now found themselves without anything. Visually they fit every stereotype.
That NPC that steps so close that you see every cracked tooth. The wayward hair that as a Game Master (GM) you do your best to describe.

Dogs wonder the streets freely. Polite sign-age ask you not to touch or feed these strays and in some cases wild roaming animals. At any moment a pack of dogs could be your next adversary. The one that tests that new steal you bought from that blind beggar.

Animal waste is something you need to be aware of unless you think it lucky. Then in that case you would be classed as very lucky in this city.
Smell can be a very useful tool in your next game. No not the real thing unless you have been unwell or eaten something that didn’t agree with you. The described smell like sounds can be a very useful addition to the mood and feel of your location in your game.

The city is in total disrepair. Decaying buildings are nearly all that greet you. Plaster falling from walls. frescoes and features left to fend for themselves. Pollution and neglect eat away at these once proud and elegant façades.
You would imagine that these buildings were anything but inhabitable yet they still have occupation and life within. Its like the fortitude of the buildings will alone keep the occupants safe. How could this building ever harm anyone.

People live on top of each other. Floor added to floor to the point you think it could not hold anymore but yet another floor is added.
Cracks now give the buildings a new face. An old and tired look. They seem sad. Unloved.

Washing hang from balconies trying to dry from the warm air that drifts through the narrow claustrophobic streets. Yet the buildings seem to try their best to keep warm but it’s just dripping tears of despair.
Yet hidden as if turning its face away from the outside world are hidden gems to delight the eye and fill you with awe.

The populous are forever oblivious to what is around them be it litter about their feet or the concerns of others going on about them.
It seems they put all their effort into their appearance. With quality of cloth and personal standards high on their agendas. Shops sell every kind of over the top quality of clothing. Anything that could in the end take away interest in the state of their city and place your interest squarely on them.
It’s like they say. “yes my city is shit but at least I look good so look at me”.
Everything about them just reinforces this self-image.

With all this activity going on there still seems a relaxed and sedated feel about the whole city. Shop owners relax outside their shops. Smoke, drink and laugh.

Markets are at the end of every ally way. Stalls of every kind will lay for all to see. Shouts and calls to buy from every direction.
Fresh fish, freshly caught that day and landed at the harbour.
Butchered right in front of you. Whatever your order they can fill it. Some squid and octopi and even shell-fish kept alive in water buckets so you can witness how fresh they are.
Raw and cooked meats and even offal is on display.

Be aware this is one of the many locations the city has to offer an opportunity to the pickpocket. He will be that nobody who just brushed past or a gang of thieves. Well oiled in the art of deception.
Bring this place to life with a thought for what seems minor can add even more colour to your vibrant game night..

Vegetables from far and near some you have never seen before and with some happy to never see again.

Then there is the prepared foods. Pizzas and pies. The smells are at times overwhelming yet totally enticing.
Don’t forget the drink. Coffees and teas. Beers and spirits. Yet if you take the invitation to sit will cost you just to sit. You will not find that out until you are presented with the bill.

This now brings me to the largest openly demonstrated gang. They act and seem like a gang. They run the city. This is only a perceived image but its a strong feeling.
The Police. They walk or drive the city. Hang out in groups. Talk and smoke together. Occasionally you will see them set off in a particular direction and all the peddlers and scally wags run and hide but nothing changes.
The city militia are the ever ready force to be there whenever they are not needed or called for. A bribe may see them fight on your side for once. Then again it may see you spend the night or two in a dank cell.

This city works. How it works seems a mystery. All the chaos fixes together like an ever-changing jigsaw puzzle.

The Originals

The Other day we played an Awesome game of #DnDNext with the Number one GM that Is @Greywulf over on the G+ hangout. The usual Dungeons & Dragons characters came out to play. We had elements of at least three other systems thrown In.  Some Call of Cthulhu  monsters.  Some, well I can not really remember what went In to It but what came out was Awesome and well, that Is what has inspired me on my day off to draw these. I played Wel-Mah who was Velma’s twin only because two players wanted to play the same character In this Role-playing extravaganza

When Given the freedom as we have with our Online GM to take a game In the way that an #RPG should go and be played then FUN Is the name of that game. So here for you to consider is The Doo Gang.

Will do anything for a Scooby Snack

here Is what i did.

Here is the original that I did and coloured in Inks .

It was nice to revisit This drawing and to make something new of it. I chose a closer view as this seemed to add a little more drama to the dwarf. I may try this again with an earlier drawing some time. It will appear here if I do.