Crime Scene Sunday: Sabotage

This World War II poster illustrates the military connotations of sabotage, but there are other meanings of the word which can also be applied to a D&D game.

One regular feature of this Web log is Crime Scene Sunday, in which the author examines some form of criminal activity, considers how a villain may use that particular crime in a Dungeons & Dragons game, and provides one or more examples of that particular misdeed in a D&D campaign setting. As the name implies, such entries are posted on Sunday.

This week’s crime is sabotage. Beyond he term’s typical usage to describe saboteurs acting on behalf of one side of a military conflict, the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines the term as “an act or process tending to hamper or hurt” with added connotations of ”deliberate subversion.” Wikipedia’s definition focuses still more, calling sabotage “a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction.”

Based upon these definitions, sabotage appears to be a very versatile crime. It can be committed by directly performing a subversive act, or even by failing to act. In some cases, sabotage can be committed without acting outside of one’s vocational responsibilities, simply by the perpetrator opposing an initiative that he knows needs to move forward.

Flesh out your hero with an anecdote or two

Many Dungeons & Dragons players define idiosyncracies for their heroes - quirks that usually have no mechanical impact on the game, but  make characters unique and memorable. But it is the rare player who takes that initiative a step further and actually invents a story, or anecdote, describing how those personal mannerisms came to be. Doing so can lead to a better role-playing experience for everyone around the table, since these character quirks help to enmesh player characters (PCs) with the game setting.

The utility of this practice is directly related to the emphasis on role-playing in a given game. In combat-heavy D&D campaigns with little role-playing, telling everyone that your PC rogue is afraid of the dark or your warlord hates walking east may earn you an annoyed stares, especially if the dungeon master (DM) decides that your self-inflicted quirk has an impact on your PC’s combat ability. In games that are role-playing intensive, though, the anecdotes behind the quirks can add anything from drama to levity to a D&D session.

Chivalry doesn’t have to be dead – use knightly orders in your game

For many people, the Medieval code of chivalry is as much a part of the Middle Ages as dragons, swords and knights in shining armor. As a previous post on the RPG Athenaeum discusses, part of creating a setting for which players are willing to suspend disbelief involves presenting at least some of what players expect to see in the game; based on how familiar players are with the concept of chivalry, a dungeon master (DM) can help meet player expectations for his milieu by including chivalric orders of knights, even if such orders only exist as background detail.

What is chivalry?

Ask 10 historians for a definition of chivalry, and you’ll receive 10 different answers. For game purposes, chivalry can be loosely defined as a knight’s adherence to a set of moral, religious and military standards, across three basic elements:

Warfare. Combat was an inseperable part of knighthood, and the code of chivalry dictated how a knight was to behave in combat, such as prohibiting ‘dishonorable’ attacks from behind, capitalizing on unfair advantages and displaying cowardice in battle, in addition to showing mercy to foes that surrender.

100 Motives for the commoner on the street

Not all commoners in a Dungeon Master's Town need to be as confused as this fellow when questioned by heroes. (The figure is "The Village Idiot" by Hasslefree Miniatures, painted by SaxonAngel and posted on coolminiornot.com.

Many Dungeons & Dragons players make a habit of flagging down non-player character (NPC) townsfolk in urban settings and asking them questions. While a Dungeon Master (DM) can usually fabricate answers relevant to the prepared adventure, when the player asks for more generic or personal information from an NPC, it becomes a bit more difficult to improvise an immediate, believable answer.

Instead of giving a generic, awkward or inconsistent answer - and ruining a perfectly good role-playing opportunity - the DM can roll percentile dice,  (roll two ten-sided dice, reading the first die as the ‘tens’ digit and the second as the ‘ones’ digit; thus a roll of 4, then 3 is 43; a roll of 0, then 6 is 6; a roll of 8, then 0 is 80; and a roll of 0, then 0 is read as 100) compare the result to a number from the following list, and push ahead with the game.

This list has been formatted as a free .pdf download, available on the Free Downloads page.

While he or she may or may not be willing to tell the heroes, the NPC… 

1. Just visited the barber/surgeon - where the bloodletting continued a little too long – and the NPC isn’t sure if he or she feels better or worse after treatment.
2. Needs directions to a local temple or guildhall.
3. Lost a pet, and is out looking for it.
4. Is going to the magistrate to complain about a neighbor’s new roof, which casts a shadow over the NPC’s entire radish garden.
5. Wants everyone to know how proud he or she is about their child, who just joined the town guard.
6. Is going to work or home, after attending the funeral of a close relative.
7. Has been shopping all morning for an iron or tin pot, but hasn’t found the right one yet.
8. Is a parent of six small children, and has stepped out into the street because it is quieter there than it is at home.
9. Is walking about town, dressed in his or her finest clothing, seeking a mate.
10. Is in a hurry to get home.

Let Slip the Dogs of War, Part III

Chinese military theorist Sun Tzu was a leading proponent of today's maxim.

This posting is the third in a three-part series which explores how a Dungeon Master (DM) can apply accepted axioms of war to enhance the structure and mastering of combat encounters in a Dungeons & Dragons game. These axioms, and the historical examples used to illustrate them, are drawn from the writings of military historian Bevin Alexander, such as those found in Rules of War.

If he or she hasn’t done so already, the Gentle Reader may consider reading Part I and Part II.

While not every monster in a D&D game will be familiar with all of the tactics described in this series, those who are intelligent or have intelligent leadership will certainly employ them if the need arises.

Thus far in this series, we’ve examined the tactics of striking at enemy weaknesses, defending, then attacking, and occupying the central position. This installment of the series will focus upon Operating on the Line of Least Expectation and Least Resistance.

Let Slip the Dogs of War, Part II

This posting is the second in a three-part series which explores how a Dungeon Master (DM) can apply accepted axioms of war to enhance the structure and mastering of combat encounters in a Dungeons & Dragons game. These axioms, and the historical examples used to illustrate them, are drawn from the writings of military historian Bevin Alexander, such as those found in Rules of War.

The first post in this series can be found here.

While not every monster in a D&D game will be familiar with all of the tactics described in this series, those who are intelligent or have intelligent leadership will certainly employ them if the need arises.

The first part of this series descibed the tactic of striking at enemy weaknesses; this part will discuss the maxims of defending, then attacking and occupying the central position.

Defend, Then Attack

Typically, attacking forces believe themselves to be stronger than defenders, and defenders generally consider themselves weaker than attackers (if the defenders perceived themselves to be strong enough, they would attack, or so goes conventional wisdom). This maxim surfaces when a commander chooses to defend, even though he is strong enough to attack.

The maxim is employed when a commander is aware that he has a better weapon or tactical system than his foe. The superior weapon or tactic would enable his troops to defend so well that the attack would certainly fail, thereby demoralizing and/or scattering the attacking force and enabling the defending commander to immediately counterattack while the enemy is disorganized.