Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Dungeons & Dragons: How To Play Outside And Inside Maps

Dungeon Masters Guide
I guess this is super popular I'm hearing so I'll give you some more tips on playing Dungeons & Dragons. Remember, The Dungeon Master's guide is NOT the main book in Dungeons & Dragons, the main book is the Players Handbook with all the rules in it.

After this the Dungeon Masters Guide is a SUPPLEMENTAL book for designing adventures and managing the rules of the game play like character rewards etc.

Again, I am basing all this on Advanced Dungeons & Dragons One, if you can understand those rules they can be easily transferred to the other version. Also I think that in the newer versions they have included many of the "character adjustments" in the game automatically to make it easier to understand.

For me I like doing the main character weapons adjustments in the old game because it makes it more fun, the newer games just do that for you to make the game easier to understand.

The point to doing that yourself is that it makes the game more "customizable" by doing the manual character adjustments. For example, if you use an expansion module you can update your characters weapon adjustments with the new features from the module while keeping the same character because the weapon adjustments are not "locked" to the characters.

What that means is they can just add weapons and special items in update modules and then you just get the weapon in the game and "tack on" the +/- adjustment leaving the game open to easily add new features so you can just add a sword or shield without changing the entire character.

I'm not sure how far that goes in the old game but that is the principle. I think in the new one everything is just included in the character, I'm not totally sure of all those specific rules and will have to go and read the book which I will later.

To understand how to play Dungeons & Dragons what you have to learn is some "overall principles" first then after that you can just learn the rules for your specific version.

One of the hardest parts to get people tell me is that they don't understand how to play the outside game maps vs the inside game dungeon maps plus use "distance" in the game.

Now this is SUPER IMPORANT because if you follow these rules the Player can help to determine the direction of the game which will then be moderated by the Dungeon Master for "random scenario" events. I guarantee that this will be the most fun the Dungeon Master ever had and will let them use more features in the Dungeon's Masters guide during game play.

I will just post these tips on here occasionally when it comes up when I am doing stuff and include "game scenarios" that you will have to "translate" to your specific version of Dungeons & Dragons.

This is the MAIN TOPIC in the harder rules of Dungeons & Dragons, if you get these rules first the game will be way easier to learn and play.

You are supposed to play Dungeons & Dragons with and Outdoor and Indoor Game Maps at the same time, although you can just play in a dungeon or just play outdoors in a wilderness adventure.

The point to that is the principle of the game is to walk around in the forest FIRST and then find a castle to enter the dungeon. In the outside game you use the outdoor map and on the inside game you use the indoor map, then you are supposed to go back and forth from inside dungeons to outside in the wilderness.

The inside map is played on SQUARE GRAPH PAPER, that is to represent the directions in the game in the dungeon.

The outside map is played on I think it says on HEXAGON GRAPH PAPER, that is to represent the outside directions.

People don't understand this about Dungeons & Dragons, those maps are played EXACTLY THE SAME.

The Hexagon graph paper is exactly the same as the square graph paper except the blocks have "extra sides" on them to represent the "outside directions" so you can move on angles on the graph paper in the outside map.

The Hexagon graph paper represents North West or South West for example for outdoor wilderness adventures. So you travel North on the outdoor hexagon graph paper by moving "up" on the hexagon graph paper, then you say you want to travel "north west" by using the extra angles on the graph paper to use the extra direction movements in the outside map.

When you get to a castle on the outside map and enter the castle and dungeon they switch to "square graph" paper to represent the "inside game map" of just 4 directions - North, South, East and West.

When you go outside the hexagon graph represents the extra directions of outdoors in the wilderness so you can travel in new "angular" directions like north west on the outside map.

Like this in the game...

You travel North for two turns and the travel North West for three turns and find an abandoned castle, then you decide to enter the castle to see if there is treasure in the dungeon.

Then you enter the castle and switch to the inside map and then use the square graph paper for the inside dungeon dimensions.

That is inside versus outside maps, then you have to add DISTANCE into the game.

If you want to play THE REAL GAME of Dungeons & Dragons with the full rules in it you need to use the outside and inside maps together, PLUS use the "distance" rules, and account for "game turns".

This is not difficult.

Distance and Game Turns are DIRECTLY CONNECTED - on the game dungeon map or outdoor wilderness map playing outside or inside you have to use "distance".

What that means is you "travel" in the game so many "squares" on the graph paper (inside or outside) per turn.

That is extremely important in Dungeons & Dragons.

The scale is shown on the game map - for example out doors it will say 10' Feet Per Square...all that means is one block on the graph represents 10 feet in the game.

That means it take 3 turns to travel 30 feet.

In the game every time you move one square it represents a "game turn" so you move north for three blocks, that represents 30 feet in the game - Then you see a monster.

The Dungeon Master will keep track that this took "three turns" in the game, so you head north for three turns that is three blocks and represents 30 feet for example.

That is super important to learn that in Dungeons & Dragons and it is a main rule.

This is why - Weapon and Magic Spell Distance AND Random Events in the game.

When you look at your weapons or spells in the game it may show you a "distance rating" that means you have to be within a certain distance to hit the monster with a weapon or spell.

That also means that the monster CAN'T HIT YOU unless you get to close. For example you can spend your turn "moving back" on the map to avoid getting hit by the monster by moving backwards out of it's striking distance to save hit points or come up with a new strategy.

For example you may want to approach the monster for three squares into striking distance, then hit the monster with a heavy sword to see the effects of the sword PLUS magic item bonuses if you have a magic sword.

If that doesn't work in the game you move back four squares or forty feet which is out of striking distance from the monster and switch to arrows which may have a 40 foot striking distance, by using distance you can switch to arrows and "stand back" and shoot the monster out of it's striking distance so you can hit it but it can't hit you.

I believe that if you decide to move back away from a monster in the game that wastes your turn and you can't use it to fire a weapon or magic spell.

Also important to remember is a spell for a Wizard is the same as a weapon for a fighter - they are attack weapons. That is the same thing.

The second thing about using distance and turns in the game is "random events" , this is EXTREMEMY IMPORTANT in the outside wilderness maps.

When you are travelling on the outdoor map every so many turns, let's say three for example, the Dungeon Master is supposed to "roll" for a "random event". This is to help gain you rewards, build your character experience points and have fun in the game.

That is represented by squares or hexagons on the graph and every three squares of movement the Dungeon Master is supposed to roll the dice to see if a "random event" takes place.

You move three squares and then the Dungeon Master checks to see if anything random happened by rolling the dice, then three square later he rolls again and it says that "you are being attacked by wolves" - the random event generated was the wolf attack after six turns.

Random events are the entire game of Dungeons & Dragons.

These random events "auto generate" game scenarios during the game play to add adventure to the basic quest you are on.

These random events are listed in the Dungeon Master's guide, then he rolls the dice every so many turns or squares of movement on the graphs to see what the extra things are that appear in the game.

That is a main section of Dungeons & Dragons to build your characters experience points, treasures and levels.

So you make the adventure to include "guaranteed events" in the game on the outside and inside map, then you include distance to measure weapon striking distances for you and monsters inside and outside in the game so you can stand in "safe spots".

As you move back and forth or around on the map those are "game turns".

Then you include a "random events" check every three squares (or hexagons) on the map to see if "extra stuff" happens during the game, that is done by the Dungeon Master - if he rolls for a random event then this is "autogenerated" from a list of scenarios in the Dungeons Masters guide to include in your game.

Sometimes a player can also roll for a random event. Every so many turns a player if they have a special skill can roll for a random event, if successful they may generate something like a Magic Carpet and be whisked away in the game in an autogenerated random scenario from the Dungeon Masters guide.

Using that includes an extra section of game events.

If fact you can do this - ask your Dungeon Master if you can play a game to include "Player Random Events".  Then every so many turns in the game the players take turns rolling the dice to generate a random event.

Doing that in the game will AUTOGENERATE game adventures being launching from random scenarios from the back of the books based on player decisions. This is the most fun a Dungeon Master can ever have and you get to use the whole game book.

Like this...

Create a  custom game adventure using an outside map with hexagon graph paper and put castles on it that have dungeons in them, when you get to the dungeon by travelling on the hexagon graph paper then you switch to the inside graph which is square graph paper.

Then load the outside map and dungeon map full of monsters and specific events.

Then use the "distance rule" to track your movement in squares (or hexagons) across the map in turns - like 1 square (or hexagon) per turn.

Then use the "random events" rule so that ever three squares (or hexagons) of distance on the graph paper that you move get the Dungeon Master to roll for random events - this will add to your custom adventure "autogenerated game events" from the random events table in the Dungeon Master's guide.

Then let the Players also roll for "random events" that they want to happen based on their characters every so many turns in the game to let them autogenerate game events from the Dungeon Masters guide to include even more scenarios in the game.

After that your players can sit in the game autogenerating random events from the game looking for treasures and magic items and be whisked away on secret adventures from the back of the book, doing that pretty much makes the game of Dungeons & Dragons Auto Generate itself - if you use the rules to do that.

For example, first start your map normally by making an outdoor map with inside dungeons in it then custom events that you want to have through out the game, things you put there on purpose.

Then include the distance and turns rule to enable "random events".

Then let the Players and Dungeon Master roll for random events to auto generate game scenarios during game play.

It is important to build a custom adventure first to play your random events in so that if you finish playing your random events scenarios then you can go back to the regular map and continue with the normal game.

It is also important to do all that inside a custom game with outdoor and indoor maps because if your character gets super rich in the game you can build your own castle in the game on the map your are using and then everyone in the game can go to your castle to play the game.

Or you and all your friends can build their own castles inside the game and use random events etc. for game play and play the game with everyone owning their own land and castles, then the game is played on your own property within inside the game.

You can also even "buy" a dungeon you have conquered in the game or claim it and turn it into your own castle and play new games inside it.

That is how you use the "overall rules" to play Dungeons & Dragons in the harder versions, after you know all that you just have to learn the specific rules of the version you are using.


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