Role Initiative Archives - Tribality https://www.tribality.com/columns/role-initiative/ D&D / Role Playing Mon, 31 Jul 2017 04:24:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://www.tribality.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/cropped-logo-2020-icon@2x-32x32.jpg Role Initiative Archives - Tribality https://www.tribality.com/columns/role-initiative/ 32 32 Five Essential Lessons for New DMs in D&D https://www.tribality.com/2016/03/08/five-essential-lessons-for-new-dms-in-dd/ Tue, 08 Mar 2016 11:28:03 +0000 http://tribality.com/?p=15469 Since the release of 5th Edition, I’ve run into many DMs trying their hand at D&D for the very first time. Some of these folks are coming to the table with previous experience in Pathfinder, Star Wars, Gurps, etc., but others are as green as it gets. With that in mind, I’d like to welcome the new DMs to the wonderful world created and maintained by Gygax, Greenwood, Salvatore, Elmore, Hickman, Weis, Easley, Perkins, and many, many more. I’d also […]

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]]> Dealing with Difficult Players – A DM’s Guide https://www.tribality.com/2016/02/23/dealing-with-difficult-players-a-dms-guide/ Tue, 23 Feb 2016 12:36:20 +0000 http://tribality.com/?p=15153 If you spend enough time roleplaying, either as a player or as a DM, you will eventually encounter a player that can be best described as difficult. (There are also a few other select words that could be used, but I’m taking the high road.) These players might be bullies, they might be bigots, they might be whiners, they might be overly emotional, and so forth. As a result they create situations that are supremely awkward, frustrating, infuriating, insulting, or […]

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]]> 4 Weird And Wonderful Homebrew Campaigns https://www.tribality.com/2016/02/16/4-weird-and-wonderful-homebrew-campaigns/ https://www.tribality.com/2016/02/16/4-weird-and-wonderful-homebrew-campaigns/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2016 12:17:28 +0000 http://tribality.com/?p=15003 It shouldn’t come as any surprise to anyone that reads my stuff that I’m a huge fan of homebrew. Except for most of the things in the Players Handbook, I homebrew until the cows come home. The adventures, the campaign, the dungeons, the magic items, the cities and towns, and sometimes even the campaign world itself are all my own creations. Over the past twenty years I can count the number of pre-fab adventures I’ve run on two hands and […]

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]]> https://www.tribality.com/2016/02/16/4-weird-and-wonderful-homebrew-campaigns/feed/ 1 5 Fantasy Series You Should Read If You Play D&D https://www.tribality.com/2016/02/09/5-fantasy-series-you-should-read-if-you-play-dd/ https://www.tribality.com/2016/02/09/5-fantasy-series-you-should-read-if-you-play-dd/#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2016 12:30:20 +0000 http://tribality.com/?p=14923 Movies, television, and theatre are wonderful places to get ideas, concepts, and even plot-lines for great D&D campaigns. However, for true inspiration and a real feel for how adventures/characters should play out, nothing beats a good series of novels. When you have several volumes to work with and each one is hundreds of pages long, authors can really immerse you into their character’s world. This is exactly what DMs should do with their players and a really good fantasy series […]

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]]> https://www.tribality.com/2016/02/09/5-fantasy-series-you-should-read-if-you-play-dd/feed/ 1 The Art of the Apocalypse – 5 Ways to Destroy Your Roleplaying World https://www.tribality.com/2016/02/02/the-art-of-the-apocalypse-5-ways-to-destroy-your-roleplaying-world/ Tue, 02 Feb 2016 12:37:19 +0000 http://tribality.com/?p=14761 One of my guilty pleasures is a love for the end of the world movies/television shows. I’m not sure why these have always fascinated me but I suppose they are a grim reminder that this world we’ve built is always just a few events away from total chaos. This genre must also hit a chord with thousands of others, as more and more of these types of shows are being produced. I grew up with shows like Night of the […]

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]]> Five 2nd Edition D&D Boxed Sets That Deserve 5th Edition Makeovers https://www.tribality.com/2016/01/26/five-2nd-edition-dd-boxed-sets-that-deserve-5th-edition-makeovers/ Tue, 26 Jan 2016 12:50:52 +0000 http://tribality.com/?p=14578 Back in the eighties and early nineties, TSR decided to release 2nd Edition material in boxed sets. In my opinion, these sets were top notch and provided exactly what most DMs needed: playgrounds. They provided just enough information to get an adventure or a campaign started and left more than enough blank spaces for the DM and players to fill in with their own ideas and material. There was usually a fully developed pre-fab adventure to introduce the PCs to […]

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]]> Home Console RPGs – The First Ten Years (Part 2) https://www.tribality.com/2016/01/19/home-console-rpgs-the-first-ten-years-part-2/ Tue, 19 Jan 2016 12:27:47 +0000 http://tribality.com/?p=14421 Welcome to Part II of my examination of the first ten years of Home Video Game Console Role Playing Games, or HVGCRPGs. If you missed the first part, click here. We looked at the first five years of HVGCRPGs from the very humble beginnings of RPGs on the Atari 2600 in the early 80’s, up to The Legend of Zelda and Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986. Now, in Part II, we move on into years […]

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]]> Home Console RPGs – The First Ten Years (Part 1) https://www.tribality.com/2016/01/12/home-console-rpgs-the-first-ten-years-part-1/ Tue, 12 Jan 2016 12:40:28 +0000 http://tribality.com/?p=14260 Up until today, almost all of my studies and articles in roleplaying have focused on Tabletop RPGs such as D&D, Pathfinder, Star Wars, and so forth. But I believe that the time has come to branch out a bit further and so begins my two-part series on the early days of Home Video Game RPGs or HVGRPGs. It’s interesting to note that the worlds of Tabletop RPGs and HVGRPGs developed at practically the same time. While Tabletop RPGs came out […]

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]]> 6 Real World Locations To Inspire Your Roleplaying https://www.tribality.com/2016/01/05/6-real-world-locations-to-inspire-your-roleplaying/ https://www.tribality.com/2016/01/05/6-real-world-locations-to-inspire-your-roleplaying/#respond Tue, 05 Jan 2016 12:30:35 +0000 http://tribality.com/?p=14138 Every so often I get captivated by a beautiful piece of fantasy art work and some of my favorites are the ones that just show a massive landscape of epic proportions with usually a few characters or creatures in the foreground. There have also been dozens of movies in recent years that have provided inspiring backdrops and breathtaking locations including The Lord of The Rings Trilogy, Avatar, and The Harry Potter Series to name three. And every time I see […]

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]]> https://www.tribality.com/2016/01/05/6-real-world-locations-to-inspire-your-roleplaying/feed/ 0 5 D&D Campaigns Inspired By Reality Television https://www.tribality.com/2015/12/22/5-dd-campaigns-inspired-by-reality-television/ https://www.tribality.com/2015/12/22/5-dd-campaigns-inspired-by-reality-television/#respond Tue, 22 Dec 2015 12:24:57 +0000 http://tribality.com/?p=13953 I’m thinking about the Bachelor, Hell’s Kitchen, and So You Think You Can Dance! Okay, I’m really not but I must admit that there’s something about the idea of combining dancing with arcane spells that makes me a bit curious. (Haste, Blur, and Mirror Image come to mind.) However, being a bit more serious, I have conjured up five reality shows currently on television that would make excellent foundations for some very interesting D&D campaigns. These shows, with some obvious […]

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