Ciphers in D&D

ishy · Post by **ishy** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 7:51 pm

nockermensch wrote: - INT 20+ (no, you don't have IQ 200).

So? You don't have 34 int with many things you go through as a wizard.
Or have you found a way to plan battles with your 34 int?

shadzar · Post by **shadzar** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 10:12 pm

@scrolls: also you could use coffee bags since some coffee makers use prebagged amounts of coffee like restaurants do also. this gives a much darker coloration to the scroll.

loose coffee grounds or tea works as well, but it often will get stuff to the paper and dry onto it leaving splotches. you may or may not want this effect.

different teas will also act differently with the paper such as oily ones will leave a sheen on the scroll after drying.

for simplicity i use Lipton tea and Bic pens because the tea doesnt seem to affect the ink for at least 10 years, but again the paper quality, tea/coffee/etc and ink will all have different outcomes.

i even tried tissue paper once, but found it takes drying IN the container that holds the water or some sort of rig to remove it so as not to tear until dry. looked more like a scroll made from skin rather than something like dried papyrus.

props are fun even if it is a normal scroll as they REALLY add flavor to the game. imagine giving out a few scrolls that really ARE the magic scrolls found in the alchemists desk drawer.

also if you can find the Mystara product that has handouts you can copy them and turn them into the scrolls cutting out the design inside to give a tattered look, or just use some paper tattering technique like burning, sanding, etc.

PhoneLobster · Post by **PhoneLobster** » Sat Apr 14, 2012 1:00 am

Someone already mentioned my Riddle Me Not thread. But it seems clear a lot of people need to go an read it because they are spouting bullshit it thoroughly addressed.

Avoraciopoctules not included of course since he has already stared at that thread with glazed uncomprehending eyes and is impervious to all rational discussion of his insanely HORRENDOUS "Enough actual D&D, now you all LITERALLY beat me with wooden paddles for half an hour while reciting cryptic limericks" GMing "style".

No really. Literally. Actually literally. No really. Then he makes you do a cross word and then play an hour or two of an unrelated computer game. Then maybe he lets you play D&D again. Maybe.

So really. People. Go read the riddle me not thread. A bunch of you NEED it's aid before you end up as divorced from sanity as the guy with the actual wooden paddle beatings.

virgil · Post by **virgil** » Sat Apr 14, 2012 1:58 am

Hey, PL, why don't you use this as your avatar or something?

PhoneLobster · Post by **PhoneLobster** » Sat Apr 14, 2012 2:09 am

I'm already named (inaccurately) after it what more do you want?

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Sat Apr 14, 2012 3:45 am

So, in a fairly sandboxey world (yes, this is Exalted again, no I don't care that the setting is shitty), I have players who have picked up NPC followers with interesting backstories that they don't know. So I handed over a character sheet for that character. It included one or two funky things that that character normally couldn't have (in this case he can, and there's a rules-based rationale). IIRC, it was an item and some fluff in the physical description.

One way for my players to discover information about their opponents is to notice that and ask the NPC about it. That's not the only way to get that info (pretty much the only way to get this NPC's backstory is going to be asking him, but he's super friendly with one of the PCs and only needs to be asked, and there will be other hints).

That's kind of like the cypher papers thing. What's everyone think, is this also bad?

Avoraciopoctules · Post by **Avoraciopoctules** » Sat Apr 14, 2012 5:40 pm

fectin wrote:

So, in a fairly sandboxey world (yes, this is Exalted again, no I don't care that the setting is shitty), I have players who have picked up NPC followers with interesting backstories that they don't know. So I handed over a character sheet for that character. It included one or two funky things that that character normally couldn't have (in this case he can, and there's a rules-based rationale). IIRC, it was an item and some fluff in the physical description.

One way for my players to discover information about their opponents is to notice that and ask the NPC about it. That's not the only way to get that info (pretty much the only way to get this NPC's backstory is going to be asking him, but he's super friendly with one of the PCs and only needs to be asked, and there will be other hints).

That's kind of like the cypher papers thing. What's everyone think, is this also bad?

With this kind of thing, I feel it is important to give players multiple opportunities to notice something's up. You've given a written hint, and that's good. After a while, you should also bring up the backstory tangentially in a conversation or 2, and let the PCs pursue that lead if they want.

For instance, maybe this NPC was inexplicably raised by velociraptors, and he has normally dino-exclusive attacks as part of his Paleolithic Fist kung fu. Next time the party crosses a grassy plain he can wax nostalgic about hunting with his family in the tall grass during his youth, and how he always felt a little ashamed that he couldn't disembowel a buffalo with his bare hands. Another occasion, the party is considering dinner at a restaurant, and the NPC mentions that his family were very equal-opportunity carnivores, and whenever he sees an exotic pet animal, he can't help his first thought being about how tasty it might be.