Tuesday, June 26, 2012

DM Prep Page [7+8 of 9]

Page 7 comprises a randomized list of the Dungeon Dressing Tables from CotMA.

If you see a Dungeon Dressing entry on Page 6, you flip to the next page to see what the Dungeon Dressing is:


Within the Dungeon Dressing lists, you will sometimes find a Special Appendix IV Random Encounter.

When you do, you flip to Page 8.  I won't say much about these other than that they exist and they look a lot like the random tables above.  :)

I think that the best part of random tables like these are the patterns that emerge "from play".  As a DM, I could plan all this stuff deliberately, but where's the surprise (for me) in that?  When you discover these things at the same time as the players, questions start to percolate in your head.  The answers to these questions expand the game and are very exciting to me as a DM.
  • What WAS that mist?
  • What are all these pipes for?
  • Whose voices were those?
  • Why is there a pigeon in the dungeon?
  • Why are the wall scorched?
  • Where's the right boot?
  • Who is M.B.?
You get the idea...

2 comments:

Matthew Schmeer said...

So. . . you gonna post a PDF of the whole thing?

Jim said...

@Matt -- Well, if I do, my players might see all my trix. Send me an email and I'll send a copy to you. :) wilmanric at the google dot com