The (not so) scary Death House

I'm currently running a group through the Curse of Strahd, which I recommend btw, and I found one area particularly bored because it is filled with a bunch of empty rooms. Hardly a description at all, just an empty room...BORING!

So yesterday I crowdsourced ideas to make it better.  Below is the result, click the image and it will load a PDF off Google Drive. Thirty ideas or items to freshen up your rooms, and ten ideas on making the room itself memorable. Two pages, a bucket of blood, and hopefully something to put a little spook into your game.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxNLRuUwmjklck5TbDRUb1JiU0k

Special thanks to the following people on Google+ who contributed to, or inspired, the lists above:  Michael Curtis, John W. Sheldon, Dan Quilty, Mark Hunt, Benjamin Feehan, Luka Rejec, AJ Fritz, Tim Shorts, John Hattan, Goblins Henchman, steve christensen, V.A., and Chris C.

Lady Naerwals Tomb (Maze Rats)

This last week I ran a game using the Maze Rats system and I really enjoyed the game. Mechanics disappeared and the game and story just happened. However, it got me thinking.

"What did a Maze Rats adventure look like?"

I did not know, so I set out to make one. Plus, I needed to make a map as I had not in almost two weeks. Here is the result, a quick little adventure that could probably eat up an evening of gaming. Some of the monsters are deadly, and if they are not, just add another one, or worse, double their Health score. That'll make players think twice before running headlong into combat.

Lady Naerwals Tomb (PDF) is available here (most likely till toss up on RPGNow at some point):
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxNLRuUwmjklR3Y4U0tOVzczMWc

Let me know what you think, and especially if you run a game using it. I am curious how well this translates into an easy to run session of Maze Rats.

EDIT -  Sheesh! I just realized I never described what a Salapus was!
Sala(mander) + (octo)pus  It appears with the body of a salamander with the head being a (entire body) octopus, with long tentacles. Drat! I even drew a terrible picture.

Twelve things I wish I had known before running games

A few other bloggers started this (here and here) I changed it up because I have been running games now for about 33 years now and I can barely remember when I was 12.

In no particular order - and I am not sure these are even good, just the first that came to mind - here is my list. I would say this is what I strive towards, as I bet I rarely follow all these ideas but I would like to.

1. Read all the game systems you can find - you can learn a great many things from reading how others accomplish things.
2. Do not read other games, this will only lead to more tinkering and you will forever be writing and rewriting house rules or, God forbid, your own gaming heartbreaker. You will spend more time tinkering than playing.
3. Listen to the players at the table, let them talk among themselves and never, ever forbid it. They will give you tons of ideas to riff off of that never occurred to you and this will only make your game better. Those four or five folks sitting at your table are just as creative as you, plus, hell, four brains are better than one, they will have great and whimsical ideas that will only add to your game.
4. The game is about problem solving, not combat. Always presents problems for the players to overcome through creative problem solving (not through dice). Especially for younger players this will create a strong pull towards the game. Requiring the player to use their brain instead of dice mechanics to resolve situations and problems is inherently engaging.
5. Do not be afraid to fudge things behind the screen in the name of making the game better, sometimes killing the party's fighter in an amazing bit of sacrifice-to-save-the-world can be the most amazing and memorable thing ever. Also, that nutty, crazy idea the player had that somehow completely destroys Strahd in one round despite what the die mechanics say can really make an outstanding and memorable scene that players will talk about for years.
6. Never map out things in details, think in terms of generalities with only a general outline of what you want to happen. Spending too much time planning and then having it derailed (see #6) will exhaust you and make running a game a chore and no longer fun.
7. Nothing survives contact with the players. Nothing. Be prepared for the unexpected and never be deadset on your idea coming to fruition. 
8. While OSR character death can be interesting, give players a chance to breath life into a character.  Long-played characters can be amazingly fulfilling and make a player want to come back for more.
9. Not everything needs to be explained, let some of the mysteries lie. These are powerful tools to use later, come back to them and the connection will breath life into your game.
10. Treat monsters as NPCs and not cannon fodder. If an interesting thing happens during an encounter, toss in a quick detail - maybe this particular goblin gets a scar across his cheek. Have him come back six sessions later with a large friend, looking for vengeance, when the players least expect it. #MonsterLivesMatter
11. Treat NPCs as characters, give them a few sentences of background, dreams, wishes, etc. Give them a unique quirk (a twitch, accent, a scar, a favorite drink or food, maybe a particularly unique tobacco they smoke) that will help define the character for the players. Obviously, do not do this for all of them, but the ones you want to showcase, perhaps one or two a session.
12. Random Tables can be great but use in moderation, they can add fresh life into a vanilla world but they can also induce chaos. Also, making your own random tables - particular to your gaming world - can really be fun and less chaotic.

Bonus thoughts:

• Describe scenes in generalities and let the players dig for details, this will produce a more interactive game world where the players feel engaging and involved.
• Read published adventures but never run them as is, read them and make them your own. This will make the world yours and unique to you.

The Ziggurat of el-Muqawar

The Ziggurat  of el-Muqawar is a large man-made structure with sides that stretch skyward 100 feet. Long stairs on the north and south side take pilgrims to the top (or at least it did back in the days). Atop the structure is a wide dias with four massive pillars that reach yet another sixty feet upwards. In the middle is a pool of cool holy water meant for pilgrims to cleanse themselves.

Inside the ziggurat is a small burial area with an included false burial chamber, the Everclear Pool of Te'Quiar, the Tree of Neverdeath with it's enchanted sap, and even deeper is the Marinar Yacht and the actual undisturbed burial chamber of el-Muqawar.

- o - 

I've had some people ask why they should back me on Patreon if I share maps here on the blog for free and everyone can access so I thought I should share a few things with you. Probably the biggest reason is that the maps posted to my Patreon page are much higher resolution than you see here on the blog (I shrink them down to fit the blog's width). Here is an example, to see the full effect you will need to click on the image:

On the left is the image I post to the blog at 100%, on the right the image I post to Patreon. Full 300dpi, 3300 × 4200 pixels or 11"x14". It's massive and fit for printing at your local print shop. If you tried to print the smaller image off the website you could but if you blew it up to use with minis or on a VTT it would become pixelated. You could use it but it just would not be as pretty.

The second, I occasionally release additional PDF material, either compilations of maps, or short adventures. My Patreon supporters get these for free while I tend to put them up on RPGNow for a small fee.

Third, well, your patronage keeps me motivated to continue drawing up maps for the RPG world to use in their adventures. I regularly hear from people who have used my maps in their games and it always brings a smile to my face knowing that I helped someone else bring their world to life.