Author Topic: [D&D 3.5 / 4E] Rules for Con Gaming - Chocolates!  (Read 2623 times)

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MilwaukeeJoe

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[D&D 3.5 / 4E] Rules for Con Gaming - Chocolates!
« on: October 13, 2008, 05:57:42 PM »
I'm looking for house rules and/or play styles that are meant to make D&D 3.5/4E convention gaming more fun. I don't run RPGA stuff, just 4-hour events at Gencon. I'd love to hear your ideas, and then steal them.

I'll start with what I call "Chocolate Rules". I'll freely admit I stole this from a woman who ran a 7th Sea game at a local con in Wisconsin.

Every player gets 2 Hershey Kisses at the start of the game.

On ANY d20 roll, if the player is dissatisfied with the result, she can eat a chocolate and add an extra d6 to the roll. She can do this more than once if she likes (on a particular d20 roll) until she gets the result she desires (or she runs out of chocolates). Chocolates can be earned during gameplay, replacing XP since XP is pretty much meaningless in a one-shot game. Also, to encourage players to work as a team, players can voluntarily give their chocolates to another.

The trick - every time a player eats a chocolate, the DM gets one to use on the villains later.

The benefits.
1. Chocolate. Yum!
2. I find that as DM, I can be a bit tougher on the players and not be as worried that they're going to suffer TPK. In the final encounter of the night, I can use my own chocolates to put the hurt on the PCs and give the game a more dangerous feel.
3. The chocolates act as a measurement of how challenging the game is. If the players are breezing through the adventure and not using any chocolates, I can step up the intensity until they start using a few.
4. Either combat goes quicker, or at least there's less "whiffing". I just hate those adventures where everyone's dice is cold and it takes a while to get a hit on anybody.

Drawbacks.
1. The sugar rush from the DM eating way too much chocolate.
2. Players can pool their chocolates together and have one PC do some insane roll. Usually only a problem if the encounter is hinged on one roll. The DM has to make sure that the encounter has multiple levels to it so that no one roll breaks the adventure.

Kuroimaken

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Re: [D&D 3.5 / 4E] Rules for Con Gaming - Chocolates!
« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2008, 08:27:12 PM »
I think we need to implement that houserule in our home games.
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Elennsar

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Re: [D&D 3.5 / 4E] Rules for Con Gaming - Chocolates!
« Reply #2 on: October 13, 2008, 08:54:07 PM »
We do.  :D
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SiggyDevil

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Re: [D&D 3.5 / 4E] Rules for Con Gaming - Chocolates!
« Reply #3 on: October 14, 2008, 03:33:12 AM »
Using food as an already limited resource is a baaaaad idea.

Introduce hungry gamers forced away from their snacks too long and you've effectively called in a disaster waiting to happen.

veekie

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Re: [D&D 3.5 / 4E] Rules for Con Gaming - Chocolates!
« Reply #4 on: October 14, 2008, 04:08:20 AM »
Using food as an already limited resource is a baaaaad idea.

Introduce hungry gamers forced away from their snacks too long and you've effectively called in a disaster waiting to happen.

Use beer. Their rolls go up, they get more drunk.
Win/Win.
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Mister_Sinister

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Re: [D&D 3.5 / 4E] Rules for Con Gaming - Chocolates!
« Reply #5 on: October 14, 2008, 07:45:11 AM »
Using food as an already limited resource is a baaaaad idea.

Introduce hungry gamers forced away from their snacks too long and you've effectively called in a disaster waiting to happen.

Use beer. Their rolls go up, they get more drunk.
Win/Win.

Beer, veekie? That is rather weak-sauce. Teach them a thing about gaming - use vodka. :D

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MilwaukeeJoe

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Re: [D&D 3.5 / 4E] Rules for Con Gaming - Chocolates!
« Reply #6 on: October 14, 2008, 11:11:10 AM »
Quote
Beer, veekie? That is rather weak-sauce. Teach them a thing about gaming - use vodka. :D

I have to admit I'm curious about using shots instead of hershey's kisses. I think my ability to DM would go down fast!
« Last Edit: October 14, 2008, 01:49:14 PM by MilwaukeeJoe »

veekie

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Re: [D&D 3.5 / 4E] Rules for Con Gaming - Chocolates!
« Reply #7 on: October 14, 2008, 03:06:17 PM »
But none of your players would notice if they did the same!
The mind transcends the body.
It's also a little cold because of that.
Please get it a blanket.

I wish I could read your mind,
I can barely read mine.

"Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. At 2:15, it begins rolling up characters."

[spoiler]
"Just what do you think the moon up in the sky is? Everyone sees that big, round shiny thing and thinks there must be something round up there, right? That's just silly. The truth is much more awesome than that. You can almost never see the real Moon, and its appearance is death to humans. You can only see the Moon when it's reflected in things. And the things it reflects in, like water or glass, can all be broken, right? Since the moon you see in the sky is just being reflected in the heavens, if you tear open the heavens it's easy to break it~"
-Ibuki Suika, on overkill

To sumbolaion diakoneto moi, basilisk ouranionon.
Epigenentheto, apoleia keraune hos timeis pteirei.
Hekatonkatis kai khiliakis astrapsato.
Khiliarkhou Astrape!
[/spoiler]

There is no higher price than 'free'.

"I won't die. I've been ordered not to die."

MilwaukeeJoe

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Re: [D&D 3.5 / 4E] Rules for Con Gaming - Chocolates!
« Reply #8 on: October 14, 2008, 03:31:24 PM »
But none of your players would notice if they did the same!

Actually, they would. If I have six players, each doing two shots... that's twelve potential shots I'd be doing....

"Hey, I think the DM's dead!"

 :cheers

veekie

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Re: [D&D 3.5 / 4E] Rules for Con Gaming - Chocolates!
« Reply #9 on: October 14, 2008, 04:36:16 PM »
Well, by the time you got halfway through you'd probably be too drunk to chug the shot and roll the dice, you'd chug the dice and roll the shot.
The mind transcends the body.
It's also a little cold because of that.
Please get it a blanket.

I wish I could read your mind,
I can barely read mine.

"Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. At 2:15, it begins rolling up characters."

[spoiler]
"Just what do you think the moon up in the sky is? Everyone sees that big, round shiny thing and thinks there must be something round up there, right? That's just silly. The truth is much more awesome than that. You can almost never see the real Moon, and its appearance is death to humans. You can only see the Moon when it's reflected in things. And the things it reflects in, like water or glass, can all be broken, right? Since the moon you see in the sky is just being reflected in the heavens, if you tear open the heavens it's easy to break it~"
-Ibuki Suika, on overkill

To sumbolaion diakoneto moi, basilisk ouranionon.
Epigenentheto, apoleia keraune hos timeis pteirei.
Hekatonkatis kai khiliakis astrapsato.
Khiliarkhou Astrape!
[/spoiler]

There is no higher price than 'free'.

"I won't die. I've been ordered not to die."