F.

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 Acknowledgements
ln anticipation
of the lovingmemoryof GrandMasterFrank

ForJeffGrubb,Dave'Zeb'Cook,MarkAcres,DougNiles,Allen Hammack, Troy

Denning,EdGreenwood, AndriaHayday,BruceNesmith,BruceHeard,Haroldlohnson,
MerleRasmussen, Tim Kilpin,AnneMcCready, Kim Mohan,RogerMoore,Jim Lowder,Jon
Pickens,MikePrice,lamesWard,SkipWilliams,SteveWinter,Mary Kirchoff,ClydeCaldwell,
leff Easley,
LarryElmore, lim HollowanKeithParkinson*,
andDaveSutherland."
And especiallyto E. GaryGygax*andDaveArneson*
And for alltheothercreative pioneers
at TSR,Incfrom | 982 through| 985. I am
gratefuleachdaythatyou let meworknextto you, playgames with you andwasgiven
by you.
friendship --TracyHickman andCurtisHickman

ForMikeSylvesterandHarryWigley,whoplayedDelDwith me whenI wastwelve.For

andRandyandBillTaylerfor playingDerDwith me whenI waseighteen.
Matt Christensen,
ForDaveBrady,Sandra Tayler,andRossandTeresaBenedict who playedRifu with me when
I wastwenty-six.
And for TimothyBurgess, Rebecca Wilson,JaredDavis,Tim Longwell,Drew
Olds,andlanciOldswho dragged me into the lron KingdomswhenI wasthirty-eight.
Oh,
andfor BobDefendi,whomI knewto be anXDM beforeI reallyknewwhatan XDM was.
.-HowardTayler

*Gonefromusbutnever
forgotten.

Credits
WrittenBy Editing
TracyHickman StacyL. Whitman CoverColors LogoDesign
Sandra Tayler lndlgoKelleiglr
CurtisHickman Peltier JimZubkavich
losh
ChartsgTables Playtesting
Illustrated
By Interiorl-ayout
MelisaMayhew RobertJ. Defendi
HowardTayler Sandra Tayler

X-TremeDungeon
Masterytext copyrightTracyHickmanandCurtisHickman2009
X-TremeDungeon
Masteryillustrations
copyrightHowardTayler2009

No partof thisbookmaybe usedor reproduced withoutwrittenpermission

in anymanner exceptin thecaseof reprintsin
the contextof reviews.For fuftherinformationseewww.xtremedungeonmastery.com

fsBN978-0-977907 4-6-5
FirstPrinting,
August2009
Printedin China

10987654321
 fAnmoFfoNrENrs
Introduction ...............
6 Puttinglt All Together:
TheSecretHistoryof XDMs TheAdventure Text ......55
Pu b l iV
c e rsi o n ..... ..........9 Organization: Timevs.Space 55
Tricksof AdventureWriting 56
GettingStarted asanXDM .........15
Chapter One: Being
theXDM....... ....59
ls BeinganXdmRightfor You?.... l6 ChapterEighftAll theGame'sa Stage.........60
X D MC o m p a ti b i lTi ty
e st.............................
I6 Gameplay, theXDMWay!.................... 60
XDM:TheModernBard .......60
Chapter
Two:Welcome to theCult..........18 KeepRolling in theRole......... ...............61
Do-it-yourselfSecretInitiation Rituals ... l8 Smellof the GreasePaint,
XDM Levels:WhyYou Can Roarof theOrcs ...........
65
a n dP l a ye C
rsa n 't........................
20 Ethics,
or "Try Telling
THATto anAngryMob!" ............. 66
T h eT h e o rof
y XDM .................23
Chapter Three:lt's aboutthePlayers ...... 24 Chapter
Nine:
Player Types .... 24 Livingthrough
theRevolution...........
68
FulfillingElemens of GameDesign ...... 25 TheJackBauer Rule......... ....68
Puttinglt AII on the Page ... 26 TheAustralian
Rule .............
69
Executing lt All in theGame: There's
ALWAYSAnotherRule,Rule.... 69
P o ll i nagn dJu g g l i n.............
g ........27 TheXD20Rule......... ..........7O

Chapter
Four:Storyis Everythinel
...........29 Ultim ate
XDM....... .....71
TheCampbellian Monomyth ..............
30 Chapter Ten:Atmosphere .........72
Mystery andSurprise..........................
34 Sound ................72
Hickman andSon'sCheapTrick Lights ................73
for Surprise
in Storytelling
............36 Lasers ................73
Random StoryGenerator.....................
38 Hologr ams ..........74
Fog.......... ..........76
ChapterFive:Designing for Story.............42
HandmeyourNoseRing Chapter
Eleven:
Devil's
Touch ...77
(Linear Design) ...........42 Flash
Paper .........78
Like,Whatever! (OpenMatrix)...........43 Flash
Pots! ..........79
NarrativeBumperPool A GiantIncr edible
Fir eball!!
..................
80
( C l o seMa
d tri x)..... ......44 TheArmageddon Hellstorm..................
I 1

Chapter Six:Selddir ...............46 Chapter

Twelve: Wonders of theGods........83
PhysicalPuzzles . 48 , ContactJuggling ..... .............83
It'sa Trap! .......49 Appear ances............ ...........86
T o oM ucho r N o t E n o u g h.................50
? CardsAren'tOnlyCollectables ..............
8I
DieTricks
Chapter Seven: ThouShaltPrepare! .........51 andOtherPointless Miracles ...........95
T h eM a pi sth eT e rri to ry
....................
5l
Chapter Thirteen: KillerBreakfast to Go .... | 0l AdvancedXD20 Character
A BriefHistoryof KillerBreakfast.........l0l Generation ..125
KiflerBasics .......1O2 Stuff:Skills,Weapons,
DeathTakesPlanning: Supplies, Ar mor ...... .....126
Themes, Props, andStunts ............
103 DoingStuff:Movement andActions.....127
K i l l eB
r e ats ........105 HittingStuff:CombatResolution ..........l28
R u n n i nt g
h eGa u n tl e..........................
t l 08 ThinkingStuff:
SureYouThinkYou'reSmart........129
CastingSpells andMystical Stuff...........
l30
K e n n yBa keGa
r me............................
I l0 Character lmprovement:
Murderin theDarkGame ... I l0 Gaining Levels....... .......131
Conversion fromOtherSystems ...........132
XDM:the Player's Section ..........l I l
ChapterFourteen: ChapterSeventeen:XD20
H o wY o uP l a yth eGa me..............l l2 Dungeon MasteryHandbook.......... l 34
TheDeadly Dungeon Session
...............
l l4 Introduction
to XD2Ofor XDMs..........134
TheBoringLongLifeCharacter ...........I l4 Theoryof GameRelativiry ...134
ThingsWhichYouCanDo Adventure Design .............. 135
to MakeYourGameBetter........... I l5 Adventure Translation ........136
BeCreative .......l 16 TargetDiffrculty
Determination ............ 136
C o n c l u si o.............
ns ..........1l7 Dealing
withDoingStuff......... ............138
Dealing
withHittingStuff....................l38
XD20RolePlaying System ..........119 withMagic(or not)................
Dealing 139
Chapter Fifteen: TheXD2OBasic Game....l20 Resolving
thelmpossible.....................l 39
Introduction to RolePlaying................
120
Aboutthe XD20 RolePlaying System ...l2l ChapterEighteen:
XD20Creature
Codex.....l 4l
WhatYouNeedto Play(Setting Up) ....l2l
O b i e cot f th eGa me ...........l2l Appendices ..............
149
P l a y i nt g
h eGa me ...............122 Offrcially
SanctionedXDM Merchandise ....... l50
XD 2 0En g i n e ....122 XDMCompatibility TestScoring
..................
l5l
Creating YourCharacter .........
............| 22 Answers to Riddles ....152
Glossar y ...l 54
ChapterSixteen:
TheXD20 XD20Resuls Table....... ............
156
Advanced Player's
Guide..............
125 Waitingfor Gygax ..... l58
 Thisain'tyour mama'ssorry,saggy the restof us. Takingthe performance craft
oldadventuresupplement We'retalking of runninganentertaining dungeon to the
thedifferencebetween'bad' DMsand veryedge!
'wickedbad'DMs.We'retalkingabout Whywouldanyonewritea book
ukingyour sleepy-eyed,hit-point-countin', likethis?Because whenwe seea poorkid sit-
players,
wait-it-out-in-the-middle-of-the-party tingnextto a gamingtablewith a half-painted
grabbingthemby the front of theirstained miniature in hishand,we thinkwhatyouthink.
T-shinandshakin' theirworld'til theirdicefall Thisroomneedslasers. Biglasers,andpos-
siblyfrre.In fact,the nexttimewe hear
XDM goesbeyondthe rule somethirty-something guywith a plastic
book-way beyond-withadvice,tips, slipcover character sheettry andtell
techniques,
andideasdesigned to take usthatgamingisall about"level-
anycomplacent, sounds-like-a-stock- ingup," we mayjuststringhimup
roleplayingadventure
holders-meeting by hisVelcroshoelaces. We livein
groupandbusttheirgamewideopen. anagewherepyrotechnics, anima-
Thetextcoverseverything from radical tronics,andthe greatest illusions in
theatrical
techniques to sleightof hand historyarereadyto orderfrom our
andhowto downrightcheatif necessary in homecomputers-and we sayit's time
thequestof extremefun. Sometimes practical, to usethem.Thisis the GameMaster's
sometimesinsanelyridiculous,andalwaysenter- Guidefor the restof us. And sinceyou
uining,XDM is the GameMaster'sGuidefor didn'twriteit, we did.
 lNrnonucrroNr
ReadThis EvenThoughYou Don't Want To

BeinganXDM is muchmorethanjustanotherkindof gamereferee. (Wescoffwith hearryderision at

theveryidea!)lt is a calling,
a discipline,
a mission,
anda metaphor for life.lt is not a pathfor everyone.
Only the heartiestmasters games-wefew,we happyfew,we bandof XDMs.Gamerselse-
of roleplaying
wherewhoshunthiscallingshallthinkthemselves accursedtheywerenot countedamongus,andholdtheir
manhood cheapwhilstanywhisper thenameof XDM.
You mayverywellask"whatqualifications thesethreehaveto teachme howto be an XDM?" Theshort
answerislots.lf that'sgoodenoughfor you, skipto the nextfewparagraphs.

TracyHickmania a worldrenowned, best-selling

fantasyauthorwith hundreds of thousandsof worksto
hisname,rHe isthe adventure gamedesigner of such
cfassics
asRavenloft andDragonlance2 whichwerecre-
atedin collaborationwith hisgorgeous,talented-and
XDM in herownright-wife,LauraHickman. His
awardwinningeffortsin the gamingcommunityhave
caused manyto admirehimbothfor hisskillandhis
hygiene. He hassuccessfullyhunteddragons in lava,is
anaward-winning sailplanepilot,anda conductor of the
DallasCowboys Cheerleaders.3Hisamazing talentfor
dungeonmastering hasshaped the worldaswe know
it.aAnyway,whatit comesdownto is he haswritten
severalbooks-including thisone.He is alsoa 496th
levelXDM (a GrandPaladin-lord HornedDragons).
Laurais a 99th levelXDM (a GrandLadyPegasus) for
reasonswhich,we wouldthink,areobvious.

I lf you count indlvidualwords.

2 Thesetitlesare copyrightedand trademarked by Wlzardsof the Coastiust like almosteverythingelsein roleplayinggames,or so they tell us. They are
usedhere without permissionsinceit is a "statementof fact" rather than an "lnfringement." The truth is that we don't haveto put this footnote down
hereat all with this disclalmerexceptthat we're enioyingusingthesethlngswithoutthe permission of Wizardsof the Coastand want to callattentionto
the fact.
3 No, it's true! Tracy actuallyfound and sawwith hls own eyesa Komodo dragonin the SurabayaZoo in easternJava;won the ,flour-bombingcontest,
at the ageof seventeen in Heber,Utah whilein a traininggliderand-belng scaredstiff at flyingwith the backwindowopen-panickedand droppedthe
sackof flower, hitting the target out of sheerdumb luck; and once, asa stagehand at the Osmond Studiosin Orem, Utah, lead the entire DallasCowboys
cheerleading squadfrom the rehearsal hall to the soundstage,promptlyembarrassing himselfby gettingstuckin a backdropcurtain.
4 lf by "world" you takeit to meanfive or more membersof your localroleplaying gaminggroup,
5 All XDMs havea numericLevelof Masterywhichindicatestheir proficiencyin XDM craft. Eachlevelis accompanied by a descriptivenameusually
takenfrom an mythicanimaland often, at higherlevels,combinedwith titles.You'll frndthe XDM levelingsystem on page21.)
 CurtisHickmanis a respectedmagician(if sucha
thingexists)andsonof TracyHickman.You mayknow
him by hisprofessionalname,the AmazingCurtis.You
mayalsoseean illusionhe helpedinnovatein the Mac
Kingshowat Harrah's in LasVegas.rHisothermagical
inventionshavebeenseenin actsaroundthe world
includingan effectrecentlyperformedby CrissAngel
for hisinternational
television "Mind Freak."He
series
wasa reviewerfor a nationalmagicmagazine,andhis
writingshaveappeared in numerouspublications.2Curtis
is a reknowned 378th LevelXDM (a GrandMega-lord
TalonedGriffin)whohasspentthe lastfouryearstraining
for 379th level.s

HowardTaylerhasdrawnover | 5,0004picturesin
the lastnineyears.Othercartoonistss eyehisunbroken
streakof dailyupdates at schlockmercenary.com with a
mixtureof iealousy andawe.He hasbeencartooning since
lune of 2000, and latelysen/esup over of
a terabyte data
to voraciousreaders eachmonth.He is onlya I lOth-level
XDM, but hiscross-training in webtoonist andpublisher
hasgivenhim anothertwo hundredandthreeeffective
levelsbringinghistotalto 3l 3th level. . . oncethisbook
hasbeenillustrated, published,andhasearnedsufficient
moneyto convince GrandMasterFrankthat thoselevels
shouldcount.

Whenyou combinefifteenyearsof magical studyandinvention, with thirtyyearsof fantasygamedesign

with nineyearsof cartooning
andstorytelling, experience, you'reboundto endup with something asspectacular
asXtremeDungeon Mastery.
Sothereyou haveit. Threeguyswho lovegames andwhoaretryingto givebackin the bestwaythey
knowhow,by bringingforththe secrets of XDM gaming.In the followingpages you'll frnda seaof awesome
thatcouldmakeyour nextroleplayingadventure
things a hugesuccess. Youwill alsofindthingsthatyou would
haveto becompletely to attempt.In fact,the publisher
certifrable told usthatthe onlywaywe couldavoid
beingsuedwasto issuea greatdealof warnings throughout the book.6
I And really,there is no greaterglory for a magicianthan to seehis belovedwork vlolently slaughterednight after night before a drunkenaudienceof
gambling seniorcitizens.
2 Althougfrin somecasesthe librarywasn'ttoo happyaboutit sincehe wrote in them in ink.
3 Cunlsnotes:I blameGrandChancellorFrankfor my slowprogress to level379.
4 Countingindlvldualpanels.
5 Theyknow who they are. We shan't embarrassthem.
6 Waming!Readingcan causeeye fatigueand over many, many yearsmay evenslightlyaffect your vision.Papercuts and bruisescould resultfrom
the improperhandllngof this book. Never read XDM materialsif the book ls on frre or you yourselfare on fire. Also, neverread this text while you are
pflotingan alrcraft,disarminga nuclearmissile,or are at a bonfire party with the Archbishopof Granada.This book cannotbe usedas a flotation deviceor
asan altematesourceof food.
 FOROOT TO "QE7ZLTETZL'S
AOO lN fHE +2 TAN6LIN6VINE'I@NORES
FOR -NI,VIBLE SKILLENHANCEilIENTS,

JHE$rcnrr flrsronvoFXDMsPusrrc{rnsroN
TheSecresof the SociCtC de I'UItimel4ai- Early Foundationsof XDMs
treshavebeencloselyguardedfor centuries-and Thefrrstrudimentary roleplayinggameshave
withgoodreason!Theirprinciples shattermanyof beenshrouded in the mistsof ancientSumeria and
themostcommonassumptions aboutroleplaying Babylon, stemming fromthe 24th centuryB.C.
games, howtheyshouldbe played,andevencalls Fragmens of writingsfoundfrom thosetimes-most
intoquestion the entireconceptof leveling-up. prominently the DM Shield of Kish.'SomeSocidtd
Manyconsider suchconcepts heretical. researchers believethatthe Codeof Hammurabi
Suchknowledge wouldbe devastating were wasoriginally a failedattemptto codifythe firstrole
it to fallinto the wronghands(see"Rosenbergs" playing game.
below).Forthisreason, the true historyof Xrreme It is believed thatsometime duringthe l2th
Dungeon Masteryhasbeenguardedby XDM Masters century8.C.,a younggamerby the nameof Trakasi
downthroughthe centuries andremains carefully stofethe DM Shield of Kshfromthe palaceof the king
maintained to thisday. andmadechanges to the rulesoriginallylaiddown
Whatcanbe told, howeversparsely, paintsa by Hammurabi-thus is the foundationof Xtreme
vividandtantalizing pictureof the movement from Dungeon Mastery.
itsfoundations in ancientSumeria andBabylon,
throughis classical Greekrevivalperiod,its ruthless ClassicalXtreme TragediesGt Comedies
oppression underRomanlaw,its adaptation of Otto- Bythe sixthCentuUB.C.,roleplayinggames
manEmpireandMing Dynasty philosophies, its near (backward astheywereby today'sstandards)
had
extinction with the KnightsTemplarandexileamong * Thisfamoussetof threestonetablets,whiledamagedand partial,
theAztecstates, the adventof roleplayinggames showsrudimentary"to hit" tablesand a weaponslist consistingof the ltems
ttsroner" t'speaf,"and
in the I 97Os,andXfremeDungeonl4astery's resur- "fist", "stick," "hand-heldrock flinger," This last
item is consideredto havebeena fancifullyimaginedobiect rather than a
gencein morerecenttimesin the Utahdesert. weaponthat existed.

9
l[sronv
foundtheirwayonto the Greekmainland. Kurkisof gameeverproduced, asit wasoriginally writtenon
lcaria,youngerbrotherto Thespis, broughtthe concept boundbambooslas.Thethirteenchapters of the
of theatricsinto rudimentaryXtremeDungeon Mastery bookoriginallydealtlargelywith miniatures and
games. No dicewereinvolvedin conflictresolution; simulationgaming but two of the lastthreechapters
rather,it is believed
that a form of "Rock,Papyrus, of the work-"TheNineSituations"- and"The Useof
Knife"wasutilizedto determine results.lf surviving Intelligence"tbroughtin moreroleplayingelements.
illustrationsarecredible,thoseholdingthe knifealways Quotationsfrom SunTzu'sworkareat the
won. philosophical
heartof all XDM philosophies andthe
sourceof constantstudyto plumbthe depthsof their
meaning. Forexample:

Thereforeonehundredvictoriesin one
hundredbattlesis not the mostskillful.
Seizingthe enemywithoutfightingis the most
skillful.

And theXDM mantra:

AIIwarfareis basedon deception.

Bythe fourthCenturyB.C.,Socrates, andlater
Plato-bothinvolvedin whatwasbecoming the proto- Confucius, a populargamerafterSunTzu,
XDM movement-introduced anunconventional chronicles hisownexperiences in roleplayingin his
approach to roleplayingoriginally calledthe"Socratic Analects of Confucius.Manyhaveconsidered this
Method." Thenamewaslatermisinterpreted asap- workto be Confucius'attempt to establish a more
plyingto anotherphilosophy. With thisnewapproach, free-formdialogue basedroleplayingsystem.
players arguedfor or against fatesfrom the gods. Aboutthissametime-considered
Thesegames couldlastfor months. the GoldenAge of Eastern role
8AT]! THE "6REEK'
ln thethirdCentury8.C.,Euclid QrcIAL SUSTyPEaQANTS playing-Siddhartha Gautama
providedthesolution:the first tAE +5 TO ?ol9Otl RESfSTANCE, palace
AN? fiy W)SOOtt ff@lOtFtER. left his at the ageof
polyhedral dice,whichXDMsquickly twenty-nine to attendoneof
adoptedasbeingfarsuperior to the the frrstgamingconventions.His
'knife'method. encounters with pooranddecaying
gamers depressed him so muchthat
heabandoned hisprevious
EasternRolePlay:Birth of the lifeto embarkon a iourney
towardenlightenment. In
Campaign
so doing, he producedthe
WhileWesterngamers were
strugglingwith the fundamentals of firstcampaign setting.
roleplaying,greatadvances in the art
werealsobeingmadein the Eastwhich
wouldprofoundlyaffectthe foundations of
developmental X-treme Dungeon Mastery.
Theeasternphilosophies, whichwould
laterbe unifiedinto the globalXDM movement,
r Thls chapterls consideredthe first adventuremodule.
foundan earlyproponentin SunTzuduringthesixth
t Thlschapterin partlculardealswith the role of the'lntelligence'or
centuryB.C.Ihe Art of Waris considered by all Sociltf 'Wlsdom' sutistic in gamlngalthough is usewasso bound up in eastern
research scholarsto be the firsthardcoverroleplaying philosophythat generalgamersstill do not undentand it's proper usages.

10
 l[sronv
The Colloseumof Rome: Early LARPs The XDMs Templar
Theriseof the prominence of the RomanRepub- After the collapse of the RomanEmpireandthe
licmeantthat the centerof roleplayingwasremoved ruleof Constantine the Great,the centerof all Western
fromits philosophical rootsin Greece-specificallythe power shiftedto the CatholicChurch,whoseinfluence
Thracian Socieryof Roleplaying-and re-establishedas overthe courtsof Europewasoftenabsolute.
theWarriorsof the Codexwestward in Rome. It wasnot untilabout1132 A.D. thata splinter
As the Empiregrew,someregions accepted group fromthe KnightsTemplarestablished themselves
RPGs morereadilythanothers..Thisledto the as- as the "HumbleGamers Extraordinaire
Who Dungeoned in
similation of otherculturaltraditionsintothegames Mindin the Shadow of theTemple"or, moresimply,the
of the Empire.Sooneveryone wasplayinglarge-scale XDMSTemplar. lnitiallysanctioned
by the Churchwith
Live-Action Role playing
games (the frrstLARPs). anopen gaming license, by l3O5 A.D. PopeClem-
These generated suchinterestamongthe generalpop- entV decided to rescind allopengaminglicenses and
ulace that grand andmagnificent arenas andcoliseumsto consolidate all gamerulesbackunderthe personal
wereerectedthroughoutthe Republic to containthe system. On Friday,the | 3'hof October,1307 A.D.,
spectators of theseLARPs.Unfortunately, whilestillin allXDMSTemplar werearrested andtheiropengaming
theirprimitiveform,the gameshadsomeearlyissues licenses revoked.
withconflictresolution anddetermining justhowreal
Disenfranchised, thosefewXDMsremaining for-
to makethe combatresults. Thiswasespecially dif-
sooktheirTemplarnames andwentintohiding.They
frcultin the "Christians8r Lions"LARP,whereearly
playtess failedto resolvesomeinherentgamebalance traveledto the FarEastwheretheyadoptedthe East-
problems. ernX-fremeDungeon Mastery philosophies
of SunTzu.
Theyhid in Tibet,largelyforgotten,untilwellinto the
l700s. OtherXDMsTemplarfilteredthemselves in
amongthe MasonicOrderswhosesecretgatherings had
longbeensuspected asmerelya faqade for miniature
VAMPIRES, SKELET ONS,tAUttt/tt99,,, gamingrole-playing, andcards.
WE'LLgE FINE, WEHAVEN'TFOUNO
ANYTHINoTHISOOESN'T WORKON,
The Aztecs
Littleis knownaboutearlyroleplayinggames
in the NewWorld.Thosefewexamples of RPGsthat
havesurvived the conquistadors (who, it mustbe
understood, systematically destroyed all Mesoamerican
RPGbooksandmaterials for beingheretical)giveonly
tantalizingglimpses of the possibilities
presented by a
fewcaruings on the wallsof theirabandoned temples.lt
seems clear,however,thatthe Aztec,Toltec,andMa-
yanculturespracticed a form of roleplayingbut with-
out a clearunderstanding of theconcept.lt appears
* TheRomanmotto atop manyof its battlestandards thatcharacter deathwasoftenconfused with player
read"S,P.Q.R."
whichhasbeenhistoricallymisinterpretedto mean "SenatusPopulusQue deathin these games. TrueXDMswouldneyerallow
RomanuJ" or "The Senateand the Peopleof Rome."XDM scholars have suchconfusion in theirgames andthuswe seethat
recently
discovered that this inscriptionfoundon the Arch of Titusjust
southeast
of the Colloseumof Romeactuallywasinterpretedas "Simulo theseearlyMesoAmericans cannotbeconsidered part
QuaRegu/ae."Sirnu/o(to makellke) Personae
Personae (role of an actor) of the X-tremeDungeon Masterymovement's progress
Qua(by wayof) Regulae (a rule, patternor model).Thus,the new and
rendering
secret of S.P.Q.R.knownonly to XDM insiderslike you is better
throughhistory.
renderedin Englishas'We role playby our own rules!"
[[sronv

The FoundingXDMs "Maitre'd"t andweresystematically excluded from

Thefounding of thecoloniesin theNewWorld thecourtsandtheirexcessive andextravagant gaming
parties.TheSocietyof UltimateMasters of the Game
by GreatBritainwasa naturaloutgrowthof numerous
thenretreated from the public stageduringthe French
gaminggroupswhocameto theAmerican continentin
Revolution.
searchof lessrestrictive gamerules.TheBritish,how-
ever,wereintenton maintaining the rulesestablished
in England and imposing themon thegamers in the
colonies. Riseof the Cons
Thisallcameto a dramatic headin 1773A.D. Thesecrethistoryof X-tremeDungeon Mastery
whenthe BritishParliament passedtheTeaAct. A becomes cloudedwith mysteryat thispoint.We do
little-readprovisionof thatact,asit waspassed, called knowthat persecutions drovethe movement into hiding
for the imposition of a tax on polyhedraldiceimported afterbecoming implicated in a titanic sea disaster on
from the Orientby the EastIndiaTradingCompany. April | zth,1914.+Otherunfortunate andunrelated
As polyhedral dicewereonlyavailable throughthe East events kepttheXDMshiddenthroughthe l940ssand
lndiaTradingCompany," thiswasa grievousburdento intothe l950s1.Onlyon rareoccasions did theSocidtC
colonialgamers. Theirbattlecry of "Taxationwithout or the X-treme Dungeon Mastery movement becomea
representation? No dice!"wasunfortunately too longto matterof publicinterest. Theinfamous Rosenberg Trials
catchon withthe general populace andwassummarily of l95 | alsoinvolved theselling of thesecretadven-
shortened into a morecatchyphrase. turemastering techniques catalogued by the SocidtC to
No lessprominent an XDM thanSamuel Adams the Soviet Union but was overshadowed by the larger
himself stoodup in Old SouthChurchandsaid,"This issuesof nuclearsecrets."Thisleadto an XDM-gap
meeting cando nothingmoreto savethecountry!" between the Soviets andthe Westthatwasnot resolved
Thiswasa secretcodeto the Sonsof Liberty-hislocal untillatein the l97O's
gaminggroup-togo downto theharborin theirgaming TheXDM underground movement,ii havingbeen
costumes andaddress the problemdirectly.Theship- oppressed for decades, decidedto stageprotestsagainst
mentof polyhedral dicehadbeencleverly hiddenby the government andthe other"powersthat be" in
CaptainRoachof the Daftmouth insidebalesof tea.The 1969.Themostnotedeffortwasarranging the "anti-
XtremeDungeon Masterygamers threwthe diceover- war against XDMs" march in Washington that | 5trof
boardand,for the sakeof expedience, theteaalong
with it. f Gamestoresbeingdlffrcultto run and makea profrt (asalways),the
XDMsof the Societyof UltimateMastenof the Gameoften ran their
gamingenterprisesin coniunctionwlth taverns,restaurants,and hostelries.
Soci6td de I'UItime Maitres de leu (Maitre d') Thisnot only led to laterconfuslonof the meaningof maitred but alsomay
help us understand why so manyadventuregamesbeginIn tavems.
TheFrenchMonarchists oftenindulged in role lt wasreponed that the Titanic'senglneroom crew thought First Offrcer
f
playinggames-mostly LARPsthat wererun on vast Murdochwasjust "playingthat barmygame"whenhe ordered"all back
full" from the bridgethus resultingin a delayin their response.lt would
countryestates. However,XDMsof theirdaywere havemadeno differenceto the outcome.Still,rumorsthat both Fredrick
Fleetand ReginaldLeewere playingan RPGin the crow'snestpersistedlong
excluded fromthe courtof Louisthe XVI asbeing, after the coun of inquiry.
"radicals."ThisgaverisetheSocidtide
by defrnition, $ Somesaidthat Adolf Hitler losta five-daykiegspielin | 938 and, in
a purple rage,vowed to "prove the gamewasbadly designed"by actually
I'UltimeMaitres de Jeu(the Societyof the Ultimate conqueringthe world. In a terriblemiscalculation, the Wehrmachttook him
up on it and plungedthe world into caustrophicwar.
Masters of the Game).XDMswerethenknownasthe
!f lt wasan ultra-classifiedsecretthat loseph McCarthy wasactually
lookingfor XDMs.
* * According to AlexandreFeklisov,the former Sovietagentwho wasthe
Rosenberg's cont:rct,he had not provided Russiawith any usefulmaterial
* Anecdotalevidencesuggests
that thesediceacquiredby the EastIndia aboutthe SociCtd or any X-tremeDungeonMasterysecres,"[He] didn't
TradingCompanywereactuallymanufactured by XDMS Templarin exilein understand anythingaboutRPGsand couldn't help us."
the Far East, ++ Two guysnamedLarryand a taco namedHal.

12
 l[sronv
November. Thisunfortunately coincided withanother
protesttakingplacethatday.'Unbelievable asit may
LEYEL@! sound,no oneamongthe hundreds of thousands of
T'I' TT]EK'N6 OF peoplethereremember the two guysin the backyelling
TTIEUORLO! "Hell no,wewon'troll."
Meanwhile, in China,the CulturalRevolution pro-
ducedthe Quotafions from Chairman Mao-alittleread
bookthatwasa blatantattemptby the government to
stampout wide-spread rulesvariants andself-published
gamesupplements. Thebookimposed a specific
official
setof rules,fromwhichno onewasallowedto deviate.
Mainland Chinese XDMswereheavilypersecuted at the
timebecause of theirradicalapproach to roleplaying
games whichcontradicted the dictates of the Cultural
Revolution andthe wayMao preferredto playRPGs.
Thiscontinues today.r
TheXDM underground continued is unheralded
work, publishing theirradicalmanifestos andmanuals
on mimeograph machines andXeroxsheesuntilGary
GygaxledanAmerican-based teamto establish the first
economically viableRPGto landon storeshelves. The
popularity of role playing games renewed the urgent
callfor XDMsto emerge fromtheirhidingplaces andto
champion greatgaming onceagain.
Butit wasnot to be:by the 1980sandintothe
1990splayers became increasingly obsessed withmore
complicated rulessets,leveling up theircharacters
andacquiring unprecedented itemsto overpower and
unbalance theirgames. Regular on-the-linegameref-
ereeswereincreasingly besieged by playerswhotook
overtheirgames whilestillplayingpoorly,andby rules
setswhoseconstantrevisions andeditionssappedtheir
abilityto runtheirgames witha single, coherent setof
rules.
It wasnot until2005, whenTracyandCurtis
Hickman-the secretleaders of the Sociitd-determined
to comeforward,that the XDM movement beganto
emerge fromtheshadows. Then,in 2009, the Hick-
manssoldthe print righaof the Sociitd'smostsecret
* You can imaginetheir excitementas half a millionpeopleturnedout...
followedquicklyby gravedisappointment and angerat Hal for choosingthe
date.
f lf you haveread the ENTIREhistoryof the SociCtd de I'Ultime
Maitresde Jeu,you haveunwittinglybecomean unofficiallevelrwo XDM.
Congratulations, you are now at the levelof "FesteringNewt." We will make
thisoffrciallateron.
QrrrrNc$rnnrEDASAr{XDM
 o

\'-*]-- c

ri::/
RtCHrFOR]OUr
f,HarrERoNE,[S$uNGAr.rXDM
ls beingan XDM for you?| knowyou'veasked l. Howmanysidesareon a dodecahedron?
yourself thisquestion dozens-if not hundreds-of times. A. Two
Perhaps you sawan XDM recruitment posterandfelt B. Four
thestirrings of dutyat thesightof theuniform.Perhaps C. Six
you knewanXDM personally andthrilledto their D. Twelve
heroictales.Perhaps you sawa movieaboutXDMs E. Doesit matter?
andhowtheyplayeda vitalrolein savingWestern
civilizationduringthe Second WorldWar.Perhaps you
wereevenluckyenoughto haveanXDM run a game 2. Mostof the players in yourgamearehaving
for you-andiustknewthat oneday,you wouldbeiust a goodtimebut oneyoungplayerat the endof the
likethem! tableis lookingdistracted. Youreactto thisby:
Well,it isn'tthat easy,friend!Not everyone is A. Makingfunof himandhumiliating him
cut out to become an XDM. Sure,it &rkes trainingand in frontof the otherplayersin orderto
practice andlotsof plain,hardworkbut it alsotakesa teachhim character andbackbone, the
lessdefrnable quality-the soulof anXDM. littlewuss!
lf you wantto knowif you havethat inner B. Lettinghim playyour computer/video
"something"thatseparates an XDM fromthe mun- games sothat the restof you more
dane,drone-voiced DM of a commonRPG.Thenyou seriousgamers canstopdragging hisdead
cantakethissimpletestto determine if you arecut out weightalongin thegame.
to wearthe proud,blackt-shirtof anXDM. C. Stopping the gameandconducting a
meaningful sessionwith all the players
XDM CompatibilityTest abouttheirfeelings andwillingness to
Answereachquestion by selecting themultiple includeall members of society.
choiceresponse thatyou believemostcloselyreflecs D. Attackinghischaracter in the game,having
yourown.In the caseof essay questions, answer as hisenemyengage himin parleyanddrop
completely aspossible in thespaceallotted.Scoring hins aboutthe nextstepin the game.
resultsarefoundon page| 5l . Do nof referto the E. Turningup the fogmachine, lasers,sound
scoringpagebeforecompleting your responses to the effects,andpyrotechnics.
test.
 XDMRtcurron{our
ls $rnrcAr.r

3. Two trainsleaveChicago andNewYorkat 5. A playerin yourgamerollsa natural20 on

thesametime in oppositedirections on the same histo-hitdiceandyou mistakenly rulethat he misses.
trackwhichpasses throughIndianapolis, Indiana.The Theplayeriumpsup fromthetable,quotingyouthe
toul disunceof the trip is 828 miles.lt is | 69 miles pageandparagraph of the rulethat saysthat he his the
fromChicago Thetrainfrom Chicago monster.
to Indianapolis. Youanswer himby...
isgoingeastat an average speedof twelveanda half A. Telling him to sit downandshutup.
milesper hour.Thetrainfrom NewYorktravelswest B. Apologizing for the oversightand
atanaverage speedof sixry-three milesper hour. immediately correctingthe problem.
Assuming you areon the Chicago train,will you be C. Tellinghimyou'rea beta-tester for the
ableto getoff the trainto attendthe GenconGame upcoming rules versionX+ 2 - which negates
Convention beforeyour fierydeathin a head-on train the ruleheiustquoted.
collision? D. Tellinghimhischaracter hasiustdiscovered
A. Yes,the trainswill collideafterI getto a SECRET from the game.
Gencon. E. Turn up the fogmachine, lasers,
sound
B. No, the trainswill collidebeforel getto effecgandpyrotechnics.
Gencon.
C. Neither,thetrainswill collideAT Gencon.
D. l'll be frnesinceI always driveto Gencon
to savemoneyto buyXDM-sanctioned
merchandise. 6. Didyou lookat the answers beforetakingthis
E. What'sa Gencon? test?
A. No! Youtold me not to at the beginning of
the test!
4. Haveyou everbeena memberof the B. I looked-butI didn'tread.
Communist Party? C. In orderto breakthe rules,you haveto
A. Never!Whywouldyou evenasksucha knowwhytheyexistin the firstplace.l'll
question? iusttakethe test,readthe answers andthen
B. I neverstoppeddoubting,comrade! take the test again.
C. I don't remember anythingfrom my D. HowelsewasI goingto getall the answers I
college years... needed?
D. Do theyplayclassic ADETD or Second E.Thiswasa TEST?
Edition?
E.Whatis a communist?

17
 rHECurx
WsrcoMETo
fHenrEnJWo,
on youracceptance
Congratulations into our guardians between the mundaneplayersandthe
exclusive andsecretsociety!Now thatyou've past realmsof powerandmagicinhabitedby the XDMs.r
our rigorousexaminations-andhavebeenrecom- (See"Threshold Crossing" on page31.) Soit isthat
mendedby a fellowXDM of no Iessthat 20'hlevelt, the secrecy of theserituals,handshakes andsalutes-
you arenowreadyto be officiallyinductedinto our the verysymbols that identifyXDMsto oneanother
cult+(eventhough,beingsecretive, we neverreferto out of themundane rabble-have beeniealously kept
ourselves asa cults). from the knowledge of the worldand passed down
E. GaryGygaxtookwhatexistedin miniatures fromXDM to XDM in privateceremonies down
gamingin the 1970s-andturnedit intoa bigdeal. throughthe agesof time.
Sincethosewonderfulearlydaysof roleplaying Butsinceyou boughtthe book,andin the inter-
games,however,it all seems to havegonestale,wait- estof timeandpersonal convenience, we areprovid-
ingfor someone to comealongandstirthingsup a ingyou with the new,updateddo-it-yourself secret
bit. That'sexactlywhatbeinganXDM is allabout. ritualsandceremonies that you can perform in the
convenience of yourown home,hotelroom,or even
Do-it-yourself SecretInitiation Rituals a largepublicspacefilledwithincredulous people!
Everysecretorganization worthanythinghas Step1: Completethe initiationfee New mem-
theirown initiationrituals.Theseritualsstandas bersarerequiredto submitan initiationfeeof twenty
dollars($201in UnitedStatescurrencypayable
' Or, in other words, havefinally frguredout how to get the bestscore
on the XDM CompatibllityTeston page16.
directlyto eitherTracyHickman,CurtisHickman,or
f This recommendation requirementis alsofulftlledby purchasing thls HowardTaylerdirectlyandin person.Special Cir-
book. cumsfances: However,thisinitiationfeelS WAIVED
f A "cult" in this case,takesthe commonusageascoinedfrom 1920
onward referringto a cohesivesocialgroup and their beliefsor practices, COMPLETELY whenever you purchase a copyof this
whichthe surroundingpopulatlon-orin this casegamingcommunity- bookfrom anauthorized retailer'.OR by purchas-
considersto be ouside the mainstream.Yeah,baby, that's us.
$ You neverrefer to XDMs as"a cult" becauseit soundstoo much like inganyofherXDM merchandisert toulingmorethan
"occr.rlt"and most peoplecan't tell the differenceevenif you explain
it to them until you are blue in the face.They will instantlyinslstthat
you're tellingthem you're somesort of demonicworshipers, whichis how f Sometimesreferredto as"the Denny'soff Exit38."
Dungeons8[ Dragonsfrgot into that whole sorry nonsensein the frrst
* * Or outof thetrunkof theauthor'scar.
place, t+ Availablethroughourwebsite at www,xtremedungeonmastery,co

18
 Wsrcovrro rHEf,urr

twenty ($201in UnitedStates

dollars currency.lf you or gamestoresfar from the pryingeyes
conventions
have notalreadypurchased thisbookthen pleasedo of an unsuspecting
andunsympathetic public.
sobeforeproceeding.Completing the do-it-yourself
initiation
withouthavingfulfilledthisrequirement Thisis completed by simplystandingupright,
willdoyounogoodandwill not makeyou an official feetslightlyapart,performingthe XDM SecretSalute
XDM-. (seeabove)andthenrepeating aloudthe following:

Step2: Learnthe XDM SecretSaluteYougive l, (sayyour nameheres)vowin a non-

andreplyto the XDM saluteby performing the fol- bindingway
lowing:(a) FacingtheotherXDM (eitherwalking or To exemplify theidealsof the Societe
of
sunding),bringbothhandsin frontof yourchestat XDMs,
about thelevelof yourheart.(b) OpenyourRIGHT To runmy games with extraordinary
palmandstrikeit withyourLEFTfrstlevelwithand strengl,h,courage,imagination andflair,
infrontof yourheart.(c) Thenimmediately open To mike makethe gamefun andexcit-
yourLEFTpalmandstrikeit withyourRIGHTfrstin ingfor everyone.
approximately thesamelocationWHILEnodding your To tossout theruleswhentheyarein
head sharplyforward,your chinpointeddowntoward thewayof a goodtime.
yourhands at yourchest. Io tossout dicewhentheyarein the
Youwill performthissaluteat all secretmeetings wayof a goodtime.
ofXDMstand in thehallsof sci-fr/fantasyor gaming Io fossout players whentheyarein the
conventions,wherepeoplewill not consider it strange. wayof a goodtime.
Andto useONLYofficiallysanctioned
XDMgamemerchandise
wheneyer suchmerchandise is available.

IMMEDIATELY at the endof theoath,you

mustperformthe nextstep!

Step4: Performthe secretXDM Ceremonial

Dance:Thisisactually not a dancepersesomuchas
a secondsalute.lt is alsousedto conclude meetings
of XDM tribes.
Step5: Takethe XDM Oath Havingfulfrlled Theceremonial danceis performed by stand-
therequirements of membership+, it is timefor you ingwithyourfeetslightly apart,headup, andhands
totaketheXDMoath.Thisancient oath,originally at yoursides.(a) Youthenraisebothhandsat the
found ona scrolldatingfromthetimeof Hammurabi, sametime,crossing your forearms across your chest
hasbeencarefully preserved by XDMSdownthrough (leftarmovertherightarm),forminganX withboth
theages. Whiletheversionof the oaththatwe know handsin fists,at theopposite shoulder whileshout-
todayhasbeenretranslated into morecompatible ing"Xl" (b) lmmediately pushyourleftarmstraight
modern terms,it hasnevertheless beenunchanged downto yourside,keeping the left fistabouta foot
initsessential sentiment sinceit wasfirstperformed fromyourlefthip,andshout,"D!" (c) Do thesame
anciently. Today,it is performedat the beginof all withyour rightarm,pushing the rightfrststraight
XDMTribemeetings or officialfunctions-usually at down until it is aboutonefoot fromthe righthip as
iGliJ-*v .rro r..",r, in curseddice rottsfor an unspecifredperiod of time
youshoutout "M!" (d) Finish the moveby once
in thefuture.You'vebeenwarned! againraising both handsin frontof yourchestand
t lfyou don't knowwherethe secretmeetingsare heldlook in the
programbookofyour conventionor fanusy/sci-fievent for a big picture
andmapto its location.Can't missit. $ lf you actuallyspokethe words"sayyour namehere" ratherthan
f In otherwords,havingfrnallyboughtsomething. your own actualname,you gainone levelasan XDM immediately.
QerrrNc$renrEDASANTXDM
performing the secretXDM Saluteasdescribed above Thismaystrikesomepeopleashypocritical
but,at the nod,alsoiumpingup in theairsothat considering theXDM'sadamant standagainst players
both feethit the groundat the sametime. levelingat all.(See"Character lmprovement: Gaining
Levels" on page| 31.) Thedifference isthatleveling
Step5: Congratulationst Youarenowofficially characters levelingXDMs,that'sreal!
is artifrcial;
an XDM!Youmaynowclaimasyourstheproud All XDMshavetwo secretnameswhichdesig-
traditionof XDMsdownthroughthe agesandknow natetheirlevel.Youcandetermine whatyoursecret
thatyou areoneof the elitegamemasters whoarea levelnameis by referringto the followingtables.To
cut abovethe rest. determine your levelname,findyour level'sAspect
firstandthentype.Any XDM belowlevell0 uses
XDM Levels:Why you can and the'00'type. Menandwomenhavedifferent(but
players can't equal)tables.
Unless instructed
otherwise,. all newXDMsbe- In additiontherearecertaintitlesthat arere-
ginat levelone.Thismeansthatyou haveiustbegun servedfor the differentleaders of the SociitC;Crand
on your path towardXDM enlightenment andhave Masterfor exampleis reserved for thosewho are
manyglorious yearsof earningadditional levels
based at the highestlevelsof leadership in the Socidtdand
on yourexperience andamountof moneyyouhave thusarecurrently onlyin useby TracyHickman and
spenton XDM merchandise. Curtis Hickman.+ Other titlesinclude Chief,General,
XDM levels area means of eitherestablishing NumberOne,Emeritus, NumberTwo,anda few
yoursuperiority XDMsor of gloat- others,someof which
overlesser-level may alsobe preceded by the
ingaboutyourpureandhumblestatus beneath word grand or used in combination. Howard Tayler
the
prouder,jadedhigher-level XDMs.lt's howwe keep for example is known asa "GrandChief Number One
ArchdukeFanged Titan."
score,establishingthe irrefutable
socialorderamong
Sinceit isup to the abovethreeGrandXDMsto
our fellowX-tremeDungeon Masters andmaintaining
determine anyoneoverlevelI O0 sutusin the orga-
our hierarchal leadershipworldwide. Leveling
XDMs nization,it's a safebet that theywill remainthe only
keepsthe world'schaosat bay. GrandlevelXDMsfor quitesometimeto come.r

+ Thiswill probablyneverchange.
* Meaningthat evenasa beginningXDM you may haveinadvertently f Frankis alsotechnicallya Grandlevelalthoughno one seemsto
leveledup. rememberwhy.

20
 til/slcoh/E To THEf,Ur

. l{undrrds Tltle Tenr Dpa Oncs Aspcct

000 00 Newt Wet
100 Duchess 10 Pixie Nub
200 Lady 20 Fae Festering
300 Mega-Lady 30 Dwarf Lurching
400 Paladin-Lady 40 Selkie Flashing
500 * 50 Etf Shining
600 * 60 Dryad Horned
700 * 70 Siren Fanged
800 * 80 Unicorn Taloned
900 tf 90 Pegasus Flaming

, Hundreds Tltle Tenr Typc Ones trepcct

000 00 Newt 0 Wet
100 Archduke t0 Kobold 1 Nub
200 Lord 20 Gargoyle 2 Festering
300 Mega-Lord 30 Dwarf 3 Lurching
400 Paladin-Lord 40 Manticore 4 Flashing
500 * 50 Elf 5 Shining
600 * 60 Griffon 6 Horned
700 * 70 Sphinx 7 Fanged
800 80 Titan 8 Taloned
900 90 Dragon 9 Flaming

Levelsabove40O are secretand the exact progressionof theselevels,the criteria for advancement,and the namesof eachof the levelsis a closely
guardedsecretof XDMs and may only be knownor discussed by thoseXDMs who attainGrandMasterstatus.It's that or we haven'tmadeup our
mlndsaboutit yet ... but YOU'LL neverknow!

21
QernNcgrenrEDASANTXDM

An XDM...
. Makes an effort to make the game fun and exciting for everyone.
. Tossesout the rules when they are in the way of a good time.
. Tossesout the dice when they are in the way of a good time.
. Tossesout the players when they are in the way of a good time.
. Paints the picture with style! (Show,don't tell.)
. Never cheats the players!
. Makes up the rules when necassary.
. Listensto his/her audience!
. Knows that the better the prep, the better the game.
o Always knows where the exit is,and keeps it handy.
. Uses stagecraft, pyrotechnics, sleight-of-hand, AND lasers!
. Playsout ALL consequences.
. Plays out ethics until the players squeal!
. Knows the difference between a good story and a bad joke.
. And ... uses ONLYofficially sanctioned XDM black t-shirts,jeans,
dice, and protective gear.

An XDM NEVER...
o Caves in to ANY rules-lawyering.
. Backsdown from a call: the'No, pigs can actually fly here'rule.
. Reads aloud from the adventure description text.
. Refersto the rules book ... EVER!
o Makes up the adventure as it goes.
o Starts a fire they cannot put out.
o Saws anyone in half they cannot put back together.
o Allows players to make simulated damage real.
. Listensto the voices ... the terrible voices in your head . ..
. And ... uses ANYTHINGbut officially sanctioned XDM black t-shirts,
jeans, dice, and protective gear.

22
llTJHToRYoFXDM
 TSTHAT NO CHEETOS INKEEP'HASTTHOU
BROCCOLT? UNTIL1 HEAR.SOME MOREOF THATELVEN
ACTUALROLE-PUY AftN-PUFFEOCHEOOAR?
FROII THEPARTY, ANP aEWOF THE

lr's ABourrHEp,nvrns
f,HmTERTHREE:
EveryXDM knowsin theirheartof hearuthat master,you mustfirstattaina zenstatewhilemedi-
roleplayingis aboutthe players.lf you'reoneof those tatingon your players.
Youwill cometo discover, as
adventure gamemasters whobelieves that runninga haveso manyXDMsbeforeyou, that therearebasi-
gamefor your friendsis an exercise in demonstrating callythreetypesof players
you will encounter during
howverymuchsmarteryou arethanall of them,how the runningof yourgame.Thesearethethree"Spir-
powerfulyou areasa gamereferee,andthe smugsatis- is of the Player"andfamiliarity
with themis the key
factionthattheyhaveto do whatyou say.. . in short, to achievingtheXDM experience in yourgame.'
if beinga gamerefereeis all aboutyou,thenyou'rejust
the kindof guyor galwe wantasa playerin anXDM Warrior Player @8
game.On the otherhand,if we catchyou actuallytry- "lf it moves,
ingto run a game,we feelperfectlyjustifred in taking kill it. lf it doesn't
you downsomebackalleysomewhere andbeatingyou move,kickit'til
senselesswith a rubberdodecahedron. icmoyes.Iakeits
Putmoresimplystill,gamemasters whothinkthat stuff. Bry bigger
runninga gameis allaboutthemselves arescumthat weapons.Kiilbig-
shouldbe banished to whateverdarkplaneof existence gerthings."
theyhavecreatedfor the suffering tormentof their Thewarrior
hapless players. playerisallabout
Powertrips,selfaggrandizement, nerdrevenge ... combat.Theylove
a trueXDM caresnot for suchthinp. to pit theircharac-
Whata trueXDM thinksaboutis howto givethe ter andhisarsenal
biggest,killerperformanceof a dungeon the worldhas
* Perhaps you obiectphllosophicallyto the gros generalization
everseen! of all
playen into three typesasa kind of gamerprofiling. Well, if you do,
then you iust losta level!We workedhard on thls pan of the text, under
Player Types an extremedeadlineof our own. And theseare the types of players
you're goingto find in games,so iust get over it, And loseanother level
the typical,dreadfulgame
In orderto transcend whileyou're at it.

2+
 It's RnoutrHEp,evrns

of deathagainst anyandall monsters thatcometheir weapons. Adventurers

way.lf yourentirepartyof adventurers weremade of thistypedo not
upof thistypeof gamer,all you wouldneedis to put justneeda perceivable
themin the Interplane Arenaof DeathMatchesand goalto win, they
pushat thema never-ending succession
of creatures demand it. These
to bash.Logicneednot applyoutsideof the combat gamers oftenthink
rules.
Settingis irrelevant unless
it meansmorecom- of themselves as
bat.Dicerolling,cheering, andtestosteronearethe "true gamers"and
primary elements for thistypeof game. seemobsessed with
"gettingon" with the
adventure. Theyhate
campaign games that
SocialPlayer havea setting no but
"lf it moves, talkto it. lf it doesn'tmove,talk definable goal.
ABOUT it. Stayin characterandspeak withan affected Givingsuchplayers a clearobjective is not enough.
voice,"
Theymustconstantly be reassured, duringthe game,
Theso-
thattheyaremakingprogress. Theyarealwaysvoted
cialplayeris all
MostLikelyto Ask"What'sNext?"lf you havean
about puttingthe
entiregroupof theseplayers, you needto providethem
"role"into role with a clearobjective, puzzles, andobstacles alongthe
playing. They
way. You haveto findsomewayto makethemthink
sometimes attend
theyareextremely cleverregardless of the intelligence
games in costume
of eitherthe player or the character theyareplaying.
andmayhavean
extensive ward-
robededicated
FulfrllingElementsof GameDesign
lf therewereonlyonetypeof playeror another
totheirplayer
formingyour gaminggroup,thendesigning your adven-
characters. lf you
turewouldbesomuchsimpler.But,asyourmother
happen to have probablytold you, "life isn'tfair. Evenif your games
anentireparty
haveto be balanced."' Yourgaminggroupisn'tgoing
ofthese socialadventurers, your bestmoveis to set
to bemadeup of anyoneparticular typeof player.
themin a colorfultavern,getthemall crlkingto each
You'regoingto havea coupleof warriortypes,two
otherin character andthengo out for pizza.Odds
or threesocialplayers, anda fewthinkingplayersall
arethattheywill stillbe ulkingto eachotherentirely jumbled
togetherin your gamegroup,eachof them-to
incharacter whenyou getback.Campaign settings
onedegree or another-wanting something entirely
aretheirdream.Badversions of old English and
different out of theirgaming experience. Complicating
unrecognizable (andfrequently shifting)accentsare
thisfurtheris the factthat no singleplayeractuallyfits
hallmarks of the socialplayer. into anyoneof thesetypescompletely.Eachgamer
will probablybea composite of allthreein varying
degrees.t
ThinkingPlayer: In a practical sense, anyadventure gameneedsto
"lf it moves,howcanI usethatto helpmewin?If address all threeelements: combat,roleplaying,and
it doesn't move,howcanI usethatto helpme win?The problem solving,bothin the designandin the execu-
worldis fullof obstacles between me andwinning,and tion of play. lt alsomeansthat all threeelements need
I'll usewhatever strategyI needto overcome them."
* lf your motherdidn't tell you this,then you obvlouslyweremissing
Thethinkingplayeris all aboutwinning.
somethingin your upbringing.Maybesheiust shortenedit for you.
Thinktype-A,drivenpersonality armedwith lethal f There... are you'profiler'peoplehappynow?Loseanotherlevel.

25
JHrJHeonvoFXDM
duringthegameat anygiventime.Let's SOMETHING
to beavailable nearbyon whichyourplayerscanvent
takea lookat eachof thesein turn. theirphysical
frustrations
insidethe game.

Putting lt All on the Page Whatherewill saysomethingto me?

Whenwe'retalkingaboutgamedesign here, Thisisa lot trickierthanit sounds. lt isn'tlimited
we'reactually talkingaboutthe design of the adven- to creatures
thatwill engage your players in dialogue
ture itself-notthe rulesby whichyou areplayingthe (althoughthat certainlyfrllsthe bill) but canalsobe
game.All decentRPGgameshaverulesabouthowto someaspectof storythat appeals to the romanceof
hit stuff,howto damage stuff,howto talkto stuff,and yourplayers.
howto thinkthroughstuff.And, what'smore,all
of thatis included in our veryownXD20 RPC
systemat the backof thisverybook,soyou're
alreadycoveredon that score.
And we'renot talkingyet abouthowto
organize
structural
your entireadventure; that'sadvanced
theorywhichyouwill not be mentally
i',i41",.1;
7" v'tA!
prepared to receiveuntilat leasttwo chapters
from now.Let'sjuststartwith the basiccontent
of encounters in youradventure.
Therealtrick is designing an adventure
with encounters thatmakeproperuseof allof
thoseelements andprovides the XDM with the
ammo-l mean,tools-thattheyneedto create
killeradventure encounters that engage all types
of players. Not everyencounter needsto haveall
threeelements (although it's greatif theydo).
Butallthreeelements needto beavailable within ----:-
reasonable proximity. --
-:
Everyencounter areain the gameneedsto
providean answerto the followingquestions:
Thinkalsoin termsof somepatronof thearu
What canI bashor breakhere? standing in anart galleryandmusing overwhatthis
ls theresomething herethatI cansmackdown painting "says"to them.lf thereisn'tanyonein the
with my biggest weapon? Youneedto providesome- roomworthtalkingto, thenthereneedsto be some-
thingthatthe players canbeatup on, or likelyasnot, thingin the areaworthtalkingabout.Consider, for
be beatenup by. Thisdoesnot haveto be presentin example, whatwouldhappenif the group foundlying
everyparticular encounter,but the opportunityfor it on the groundin a room,a pagetorn from a logbook.
doesneedto exist-either througha randomencoun- Thepageis barelylegible,but it tellsof a former
ter or wandering monstertable;or perhaps a nearby adventurer whosepartyhadcomethiswayandnearly
locationfrom whichcreatures canbe attractedby the mettheirdoom.Thegrouplooksaroundandfrnds
sounds of the blunderinganticsof yourplayers. the bonesandrustedequipment of whatlooksto be
AIso,don'tforgetthe imporUnce of suspense ... themembers of a long-dead
adventure party.Then,in
sometimes the anticipation
of combatmakes anylater a succession of roomsafterward, you frndan occa-
combatall that muchbetter.Players needto feelthe sionaladditional page,eachonehastilywritten,torn
threatof doomallaroundthem,evenif thatdoomis andtossedto the ground.
iustin thewayyou describe theadventure location. Theromanticideaof thisprevious adventurer-
Whatever you do, however,be sureto include hispastandhisfate-cannot onlysatisffthe needsof

25
 It's erotrrrHEp,evrns

asocial player,but will oftenresultin trainingyour ture:Thethinkingplayers allwantto feelliketheyare

players to followthe breadcrumbs of thesepiecesof makingprogress thattheycanput on a chart.
paper rightinto someextremely elaboratetrap.
Whichreminds methat you alsohaveto learn
theromantic powerof nottellingyour characters ev- Executingit all in the game3Polling
erything. Youhaveto leavethemwith somemystery and luggling
inorderto keepthemcomingbackfor more.(See All wellandgoodto havethesethingsin your
"Romancing the Castle on the DistantHill" on page gamedesign butwhatdo youdo withthemin the"real
34.) world" of playing thegame?
Well,we recommend iuggling..
Whatherebringsus closerto winning? In this case, we also call thisthe "flyingemphasis"
Something in eachencounter needs to whichis anX-tremeDungeon Mastery wayof saying
$vetheplayers the feelingthattheyhave "Change what's going on in the game to keepthe
accomplished something thatmovesthem players interested." Here,by wayof example, is how
closerto theendof thegame.lt's likethose it works:
longbackandforthqueues at amusement
parks.Theygiveyou the illusionthat l. You silentlypoll your playersby lookingat
youaremakingprogress in a linethat eachof themasthoughtheywereanaudience at
"isn'tthatlong"because youcanseethe your standup comedy act. Don't ask them what
endof it just a fewdozenfeetaway. Nev- theythinkof thegame-that wouldbecrass and
ermindthatit will takeyou forty-frveminutes get you banned for several months from the
toactualfy arriveat that magical spot.Players, Societfde I'UItimeMairres-butlookat themand
too,needto feelliketheyhavemadesomesort try to divinewithyourinestimable XDM pow-
ofprogress in the game. ersof observation howtheyfeelaboutwhatis
Thisfeelingof progress canbe evokedby going on in the game rightnow.
many different kindsof things.Overcoming ob-
sacles isone. Players alwaysfeelthattheyhave 2. Determinewhat kind of event(warrior,
made progress whentheygetpastanykind social,thinker)will benefityour players
ofobstruction betweenthemandwinning the most. Youdetermine thatyour
thegame.(Whatever theybelievethaf players who mostliketo grabtheir
toentail.) Puzzles, riddles,andtraps weapons andattacksomething are
areallgoodanswers to thisques- feeling a bit listless,
so ...
tionbecause theyareobvious
obstacles thatmustbe solvedto 3. Executethe type of
continue on to thegoal. eventthat your players
Sometimes thiscan need. Suddenly, theyare
bethephysical
theadventure
nearly
layoutof
iself ("We're
a mileunderground. We
\\ffirxAu,rbA 'A attacked
pirates!
the sounds
by

of
marauding
Sabers clashand
battle frllthe
must begetting close!")Or some- air ...
timestheenvironment cangiveyoutheseclues("lt's
getting hotterin here.We mustbegettingclose!"). 4. Repeatthe process ad infinitum.Yourwarrior
Adventure structures designed for story(see"Narra- players arepretty happy with the outcomeof the
tiveBumper Pool"on page44) cannaturally givethe furiousbattlebut nowyour socialplayersaren't
players thesense of movement throughthe medium * No, notthatkindof juggling... although we DO
of plot arc. recommend on page 83, but that'snot thekindof
iuggling
Keepthisin mindasyouconstruct youradven- iuggling we'retalking abouthere.
 lookingasinterested in what'sgoingon, so . . .one
of the vanquished piratesis only mostlydead!He
is gasping for air,cursing the dayhe became a
pirate,andthat darkdaywhenhewascaptured
whilesailing backto visithissickmother.Now
the social players all areexcitedto hearthistragic
tale,but thethinkingplayers arewondering what
all of thishas to do with their mission
to rescue
the princess from the seaside tower. Sonowthe
mostlydead pirate gasps. "l alonewasentrusted
with knowledge of thesecretentrance to the sea-
sidetower." Suddenly, the thinkingplayersarein
the gameagain.

Thepointhereis to haveall theseelements at

handandthenemphasize whicheverelement of the
gamethe playersaremostlackingat anygiventime.By
havingall threeelements andbeingwillingto
available,
emphasis eachof themasnecessary,you will haveplay-
ersat your tablewho arealwaysengaged,excited,and
pafticipating.

28
 (\
\./

t__

f HemERFouR $ronv rs EVERYTHTNG

r
Tracy'sfrrstencounter with adventures wasback Theonefunctionof our mindthathelpsusthe
inthedawnof role playing games. In thosedays, mostin makingsense of thisworldof chaoticexperi-
adventure settingswerelargelyunderground ruins, encesis narrative context.
whose architecture wasverywideandnot particularly Narrativecontextis a process wherebyour mind
verticali
something of a ranch-styledesignin ancient encodes andorganizes the information in theworld
architecture.And, again,in thosedaysyou didn't aroundusinto a formthat bringsmeaning to the chaos
haveto delveparticularly deepbeforeyou encoun- aroundus.NasibTalebin hischallenging andexcellent
tereda monster thatmadeabsolutely no sense being book,Ihe BlackSwan, callsthisthe "narrativefallacy."
there. He believes thatwe,ashumanbeings,mistake the self-
It wasduringthoseprimaldaysthatLauraHick- warpingandPlatonifying narrative we constructfor our-
mansuggested that a gameshouldbe builtthat made selves for the truth. He is partiallyright thisnarrative
sense-iftherewasa vampirein thedungeon, then mapwe constructfor ourselves is not the trueterritory
$ereshouldbe a prettygoodreason whytherewas of our experience. However,storyis the only meanswe
avampire in thatdungeon.' Morethanthat,there haveof making sense of the chaosaroundus.
should bea storythat underscored the adventure. Here'sa littlethoughtexperiment: You'redriving
Whatwe did not knowat thetime-andhave downthe interstate. Someone in anothercarspeeds
learned
since asoneof the centralsecrets of the XDM aroundyou, cuttingyou off in the flowof traffic.
movement-is that reason andstoryareinextricably, Suddenly, you becomethe valiantmotorist,besetby
naturally,
andunalterably linkedin the foundations of theevildriverof theothercarwhohasjustviciously
thehumanexperience. blockedyour path.Everyrandomeventin your life is
givenmeaning because everything thathappens to usis
Narrative:How We Make Senseof the Chaos put into the contextof story.
Welivein a worldof chaos.Moreandmore
Thisis a wonderfulandconvenient shorthand for
complexity
entersinto our liveseveryday.Noiseand
us,but at the sametime,if we'reunaware of it, story
information
bombardusandconflicting datasur- is oftenusedagainst us.In the old days,newspaper
rounds
usat everyturn in our lives. reportswentout to getthe "facts."Todaytheygo out
r Thedirectresultof this particularconversation
wasthe adventure to getthe "story." Everynewsstoryhasa slant,which
module
now knownas'Ravenloft.'

29
JHTJHEonvoFXDM
is anotherwayof sayingthatthe reportingis framedas
a storyreflecting the particular viewpointor iudgment The CampbellianMonomyth
of the reporter.Sincethe reporterframesthestoryfor Storyis importantis because thisis the key
meaning, that is the only interpretation that is given to to connecting with the rootsof your players.Story
us.In a way,framingthe newsprethinks the eventfor is structure, asWilliamGoldmansays,andthisstruc-
us because the reporter has already sorted through the tureisonethatwill bringlifeandmeaning intoyour
facts,discarded whatshethinksis irrelevant andonly games. We'regoingto showyou howto incorporate
presents relevantinformation. storytelling intoyour adventure designsin chapter
Thisis equallytrueof currentpoliticsin the frve"Designing for Story,"but for nowit is important
UnitedStates.Whilewe livein a freesociety,whatwe thatyou keepin mindthe basicstructurefor the epic
thinkandhowwe thinkaboutit is largely shaped by storyasquantified by JosephCampbell in hisseminal
the information that we get. We all want to make an booklhe Herowitha Thousand Faces.We'vemadea
informeddecision, but howinformed canwe bewhen fewlittlemodifrcations hererbut essentially it remains
all of our information comes from a limited number theCampbell model:
of newssources.Particularly if they
allshareinformation witheachother
andeachof themis morefocused on
profitthaninformation?We areall
freeto makeour owndecisions-but JHnrsHoro
f,nossrttc floturcol,trNc
JirnrsHorn
if the information on whichwe base RFTURN
thosedecisions is carefullyselected and BROTHER_BAITI"E RESCUEFROI\4
presented to usin the "pre-thought for WITHOUT
DMGON.BATTLE Tns lhREsHoLD
you" form of a story,thenhowmuch
ROADOF RESURRECTION
of an informeddecision canwe make? CRUCIFIXION
TRIALS
The pointhereis thatstoryis a WHALE'SBELLY
THRESHOLD

powerful framework whichcommuni- flrreEns STRUGGT-E

catesmeaning. A properlypresented
story,evenif it's onlya myth,canbe
far morepersuasive thananypileof
factsno matterhowcarefullychecked. NTATNTNG JHEpruze
We will believethe storyis the truth SACREDMARfuAGE FATHERATONEMENT
much quicker thanany pile of data. APOTHEOSIS ELIXIRTHEFT
Thatis why politicians avoidfactsas
muchaspossible andtry to sellyou a
story,a dream,a vision,or anythingresembling mythol-
Call to Adventure
ogy.More people believe Oliver Stone's movie JFKto Thishappens
FirstcomestheCallto Adventure.
be the true historyof the Kennedyassassination than to the heroat home-aplaceof comfortandfamiliar-
thosewho haveanyunderstanding of thetrue history ity. Thisis,perhaps, whysomanyadventures beginin
of the event..Whoevercontrolsthestory,controlsthe a tavern,andl'll makeno furthercommenton what
people.
thissaysaboutgamers.
Or, in our case,thegame. Thisplacemaybe a Kansas farmhouse, or a
Hereisyour crashcoursein the structureof the pleasant residence in the Shire,or your Uncleand
epicstory.Useit wisely. Aunt'sVaporatorfarmon Tatooine.
* Historyis full of falsestoriestold to simplifureality.CaptainKidd wasnt Theherois in a placeof homeostasis-reason-
an infamouspirate.Einsteinwasalways a goodstudent(especially in math). ably content-but thensomething comesalongthat
Ben Franklin'skite wasneverstruck by lightning.GeorgeWashing[onnever
had woodenteethand nevercut down a cherrytree. The greatpyramids changes allof this.
of Egyptwere built by Egyptiancitizenswho were well treated and paid
(seriously).
And so on... f Our versionwill makepoint five pastlight speed.

30
 $ronv rs EVERYTHTNG

TheMentor
Nexttheheromeetsomeone whochanges
everything andbringsa catalystfor changeinto his
otherwise humdrumlife.Thispersonis usuallysome-
whatpowerfulbut not omnipotent-they haveto be
limitedin theirabilitiesto some extentor theywould
'.4 justgooff andfix whateverproblemwasat hand
i{ allbythemselves andnot botherwith lookingfor a
hero.
Thispersoncanbe someguynamedProfes-
sorMaruelroasting hot dogsout of the backof his
or
wagon; some grey-robed wizardknownmostlyas
atroubfemaker with greatfireworksdisplaysior crazy
oldBenKenobilivingin a mudhutwhooping at the Roadof Trials
Sand People likean old guytellingkidsto getoff As the herotravelstowardhisgoalor destiny,
hislawn.Thesecharacters becomementorsin some he is facedwith trialsalongthe way.Thesetestscan
cases,but in all casestheyprovidethe bootin the comein a numberof differentforms:manvs.man,
pants (usually figuratively)that motivatesthe heroof manvs.machine, manvs.self,manvs.nature,andthe
ourstoryto getout the front doorandon the path like.Thesetestsaredesigned to keepthe herofrom
ofadventure. achieving hisgoaleitherthroughdissuading himfrom
ThresholdCrossing hispurpose, discouraging him,or barringthat,flat out
Thismentorthenbringsour heroto the thresh- killinghim.
old.Thisisa boundary (realor imagined) that Thesaying"Thatwhichdoesnot kill usmakesus
separates the mundane worldof commonlife from stronger" applieshere.Thisroadof trialsthat our hero
therealms of magicandpower.Thisis usuallypro- walkscanbe asevidentasa yellowbrickroador as
tected by guardians who preventthe commonfolk obscure asthe paththroughCirithUngolinto Mordor.
fromwandering into the realmsof magicandpower. It canevenrequiremakingthe Kessel run in lessthat
(lf anyold fool couldwanderacross the threshold twelve parsecsand flyingright down some trenchto
whenever theywantedto, whatwouldbethe point dropa bombdowna thermalexhaust port. Whatever
inneeding a hero?) the challengesor obstacles,these trialsforge the hero's
Crossing thisthreshold from the commonworld metalor breakit.
intothemagical andpowerful,canbe extremely
violent; asin ridinga twisterup into the sky,or hop-
ingintoa 'pieceof iunk' andhurtlingskywardfrom
Tatooine. Or it canbe extremely subtle.ln Peter
lackson's The Fellowship of the Ringmovie,it is an
yet
important subtlemoment.
SamandFrodoarewalkingthrougha fieldwhen
Samstopsandsays,"lf I takeonemorestep,l'll
havegonefurtherthanl've evergonebefore."
It is soimportantthat Frodocomesbackand
helps Samtakethat nextstep.Togethertheycross
fromtheirprevious livesinto theirnewlives.
Whetherit is calmor violent,thisThreshold/
Boundary is an importantonethatseparates the life
beforefromwhateverhappens afterward.

31
 JHrJHronvoFXDM
HelpersAlong the Road a phrase as"There'sno placelikehome."Luke
Heroeson thispathdo not walkit alone,for there Skywalker dealswith classic FatherAtonementwhen
arealwayshelpersaswellaschallenges. Thesehelpers at lasthe says,"l am a ledi, likemy fatherbefore
arenot particularly
powerful in andof themselves but me." Frodoultimatelyfailshisapotheosis at the very
theyprovidethat extranecessarysomething for the lastmoment-although Samdoesnot.
herojustwhentheyneedit most. Now, a wordof warninghereto you all: in
Helpersarealsodiverseandsometimes hardto recentyearsa dreadfultrendhasdeveloped in movies
recognize.
Theymayevenappearasenemies at first. andon television to iustendthe storyat thispoint.
Theycanbe tin woodsmen, scarecrows, or cowardly I mean,the prizehasbeenwonandsowhy bother
lions.Theycanevenbe littledogsnamedToto.Some- shooting anymorefrlm?Thecarchaseisover,the big
timestheytakethe form of droidsor scruffy-look- effectsshotshaveall blownup the sets,andall the
ingnerfherders.Theycanbe asregalaskingsof the excitingstuffhasjusthappened. Let'siustpackit in
Rohirrimor ashumbleashobbis.Theycanevenbe andgo hometo waitfor the boxofficereceipts.
namedSmdagol. Butthe storyis onlyhalffrnished!
Consider whatis otherwise a prettygoodstory:
Attaining the Prize the 1997 Wolfgang Petersen frlmAir ForceOne. This
Assuming thatthetrialsareallovercome andthe frlmhaddramaandswings in the balance of power
helpersareeffectivein theirassistance,thenthe hero between the terrorisrandthe beleaguered president
attainsthe prize. Butthisprizecanbe manydifferent HarrisonFord.Theonly problemfor mostof the frlm
things. wasthat the arguements of GaryOldman'sterrorist
character mademoresense thanthoseof the presi-
l. SacredMarriageBe- dent. Thenthe heartof the movieevolved.A consti-
1l comingonewithGodandthe tutionalcrisiseruptedoverwhetheror not the Presi-
,et knowledge of God.Thisrepre- dentshouldbe relieved
sentsmasterof life. wasunderpersonal
possible
of hisauthoritybecause
duress.Ultimatelyfacedwith the
deathof hiswifeandchildrightin front of
he

2. FatherAtonementRecogni- him,our stalwart, otherwise kick-butt,HarrisonFord

tion by Cod or forgiveness.The doescavein to terroristdemands. ThePresident's vow
heroreconciles thetyrantand neverto negotiate with terroristsevaporates andthe
mercifulaspects of a father-like wholepointof the 25tramendment to the United
authorityfigureandin sodoing States Constitution is broughtinto question.
comesto knowhimself. Fortunately, at the lastmoment,our heroicPresi-
dent(let'sremember thisis a fantasy)killsthe terror-
3. Apotheosis Achievingthe ist;takesbackthe plane; andsaves hisfamilyandmost
divineselfor perfection.The of the crewbeforethe planecrashes in a dramatic
hero'sideaof himselfis changed; hisegolostin visualeffectcompletewith poetic justice asthe traitor
something greater.Thisallowshimto seethe is the only personleft aboard.
worldfrom a largerpointof view,allowinghimto Our heroicPresident HarrisonFordis savedand
himselfto a greatercause.
sacrifice achieves the prize.
Themovieends.
4. Obtainingthe PrizeKnowledge or powerof the What?lust likethat?Whataboutthe factthat he
Godseithergivenor taken.He is readyto receive didcavein to the terroristdemands? Whataboutthe
an obiector evenan ideaor newawareness that 25'hAmendment andtheConstitutional Crisis?Won't
he setout to achieve andtakeit backto hiscom- therebe consequences for the factthat the President
munityto bettertheirlives. failedin hisdutyto protecthiscountryandthe world
whentheyneededhim most?
Theseprizesarequitefamiliarto usif often Thepointis thatstoriesdo not andmusfnof end
diverse.Dorothyachieves apotheosis
in sosimple with attainingthe prize. Thisis an incomplete story;a

32
 storywithoutconsequences. Because it is an incom- ThresholdReturn
pleteargument, it is a lie. lt teachesthatthereareno Havinggoneto the realmsof powerandmagic,
largerconsequences for characters, actions. the heromustnowcrossbackoverthe thresholdin
Newsreportsof carchases alwaysseems to orderto returnto the mundane worldandthe life they
endthesameway. The (usually young)perperra- onceleft behind.
Dorothyclicksher healstogether,
torsitsin the backof a policecar.Thelookon his
Frodoreturnsto the shire,andLukecomesbackto the
faceisnot oneof anger,rage,or evendefiance-itis
Ewoks-adifferenthomefor him.
always of shocked surprise. Why?Because the movie Butcominghomeisn,teyerwhatwe expectit to
didn'tendandthe credigdidn,troll.He issurprised
be in theepiccycle.
because thestorykeptgoing.Howdid he thinkit was
going to end? With a glorious,somehow liberating,
moment freeof consequences? WEL'KENAIURE,ANOWE
Therearethreemorestepsin a completehero,s oo ftla Bt6,HoMECOM\N6' YA) FOR601
journey.Whentheyareignored,theyrob the SCENESAT THE ENOOF "HAICIFEET,'
participans n1g EPIC,FACE IT,
of something essential in completing the WE'RETHESAIIE,
cycleandmakingrhestorywhole.XDMsknowthat
YUS-YUB.
thejourneyis not completeuntilthe circleis ctosed.

ReturnFlight
Oncetheherohasachieved (or failedto
i achieve) whateverit is he setout to do, thenhe
ir hasto frnda way back.lt,snot enoughjustto tossa
bucket of wateron the witch,Dorothyhasto drag
herbroomstick backto OZ, andthenshestillhas
to figureout a waybackto Kansas. Sure,the ring
isfrnally disposedof despitea littlesetback at the
endandlosinga finger,but now Frodoissittingon
thesideof an erupting volcanoandit,sa longwalk
backto the Shire.Lukefiguredout hisissues with his
black-armored dad,but the Deathstar mark2 is com-
ingdownaroundhim so,nowwhat?
It isn'tenoughto achieve the goal,you haveto
getbackwith the prize.Thisjourneycanbe a long
Homecoming
one(ponyridesfrom Rohanto the Shiretakea long Sothe circleis completeandthe heroreturns
time)or a shortone ("Thoserubyslippers canhave home.. .or doeshe?
youhomein two seconds,,), but it mustbemade. Theold adagethatyou can,tgo homeagain
There's anold saying amongpeoplewhoclimb maywellbe ruer thanwe know.Theherois often
Mt. Everest. The goal changed in the courseof hisjourney,and,because
isnotgettingto the of
thischange, findsit impossible
to go home.Therearea
top.People whohave numberof possible outcomes in the hero,sjourney:
thegoalof gettingto
thetop usuallydie 1. Refusalof the R.eturnTheherohasfoundthat
andremainup there. he reallyfikesit herein the realmsof powerand
Therealgoalis to ger doesn'treallyconnectwith hisformerlifeanylon-
backfromthe top. ger.In the movieStargate for example,the Egyp-
tologistDaniellacksonstaysbehindat the endof
thefrlm.
 2. Rescue from Wthout Theheroin thiscaseneeds Mysteryand Surprise
to be rescued by forcesfromthe ordinaryworld-
eitherbecause the herohasrefused to returnon Romancingthe Castleon the Distant Hill
hisown,or because hisis beingblockedfrom Therearea fewmorepointsthat needto be
returningwith the boon. madeaboutstory. Oneof themis the ideathat dis-
tanceis compelling.
3. Crossingof the ReturnThresholdHerethe hero XDMsknowthatyou needto havesomething on
doesmanage hisreturnto the everyday worldand the other side of the wall, something beyond the ho-
mustacceptthatworldasreal.sammanages to do rizon,something on a distanthill barelyseenthrough
thisbut Frododoesnot. the misu and the fog.That'sbecause something far
away-andunreachable-is romantic. No, not thatkind
4. Masterof Two WorldsIn thiscase,the hero of romantic. I mean the kind of romantic that is com-
returnswith an understanding andappreciation for pelling,evocative, andmysterious.
boththe realmsof power andthe mundane. Luke Consider the following: Youandyour wizard
Skywalker perhaps frs thisbill. companion areridinghorses across the hillson your
wayto the king'scity.You bothcresta hill andstop.
5. Freedomto Liveksentiallythe heroreturnswith At the far endof a broadvalleyyou canseea single
the prizeandpresents it to the betterment of the toweratopa distanthillwhosewallsappearcastin
community. Dorothydoesthisin herpronounce- continual shadow. Yourcompanion turnsto youand
ment. says,"That is the Towerof Sorrows. A greattragedy
took placetherelongago,andis gatesareforever
JosephCampbell poins out onemostinteresting sealed. Wewill honorthe memoryof thosewho
fact:Theherois oftenso personally changed by his foughtto keepis peace.Nonego therenow."
experience thathe (l ) losesall interest in or hopefor Now, don't you wantto go there?Hey,who
thesorrows of themundane world,(2) sounbalances wouldn't?Butconsider thisnext:Let'ssaywe do go
the powers that onceexistedthattheyreactsharplyand there,desecrate the honored memoryof, like,who-
destroyhim,or (3) returnsto a communitythat meets ever,andopenthe gates.We go inside,mapout the
himwithsuchblankmisunderstanding anddisregard brokenwalls,checkout the collapsed roof and
from thosewhomhe hascometo helpthat hiscareer takea coupleof stonesfor souvenirs.
collapses. Maybewriteour nameon thewall
At the endof the Peterlacksonversionof The for someone whocomeslater.
Returnof theKing,thehobbishavereturnedto the Aside from beingcomplete
Shireandonceagainsit in thetaverndrinking ale.A jerks, just
we've lostsomething.
farmercomesin andthereisa great commotion about We lost thatverysamecompelling
a pumpkin.Frodo,Sam,Merry,andPippinallstareat desirethat broughtushere.The f-
eachother. Thefour of themhavesavedthe worldand romance of distance hasbecome I
\
all theirfellowcitizens areexcitedaboutis thisoversizedfactandin thatwe havebeen I
vegetable? diminished.
Thisrealization turnssomberfor Frodountil In the UnitedStates we often
eventually he hasto leavefor the GrayHavens. As he harp about our "right to know."
explains, "We savedthe Shire,Sam.. .butnot for me." Well,tough,because thereare i'l
And...what'syourpoint? thingsI reallydon'fwantto know. l l
That'sit: Thegreatmythiccycleand,yes,it's To knowsomething is to lose l' 1- 1
importantevenin the adventures that you design.lt is part of is compelling natureand
the overallstructurefor the storyyou aregoingto be itsappeal. Justdon'teven
tellingwith your game. ask about how to make
sausage.

3+
 $ronvrs EVERYTHTNG

Thepointhereisthatdistant,unattainable things unlikemagic,thesecretmustbemoreentertaining (or

arecompelling andbringmysteryintotheworldof interesting) than the falsehood it protects. lt's inter-
yourstory.Yourplayersdo not havethe rightto estingthatBruceWillishelpsa kidthatcanseedead
explore everynookandcrannyof yourworld,and people.lt's waymoreinteresting that BruceWillisis one
itt betterfor themif theydon't. Theremustbe unat- of thosedeadpeople.
uinable horizons andcompelling vistasin the distance
tomakethembelievethatthereis moreto thisworld It StartsWith a Lie
thanwhatison the page. Thefoundation of surprise is deception. In order
to createa startlingrevelation in your gameyou will
Twistingin the Wind: the Nature of Surprise haveto lie to your players. Thisis nothingnewto a true
Anotheringredient in thedark,beautiful elixirof XDM.However, instead of fudgingdicerolls,we are
theXDMgameissurprise. Thatbreath-stealing mo- attempting to artfullyveilreality.
mentof revelation canturn an average adventure into Thereareonlytwo typesof deception:
aroaring infernoof shockandawe.. . or, at least,a l. ActiveDeception
"neato" experience. 2. Passive Deception.
Firstwe haveto understand whatsurprise really
is.Let'sboilit downto is simplest form: Surprise is Generally speaking, the bestdeception when
thesudden revelation of an unknown or unanticipatedrelatedto surprise is passive deception. Thisis because
truth.Therefore, ironically,deception is the founda- thelieof omission by is verynaturelacksevidence by
tionuponwhichsurprise is built.Thisis because the whichto condemn it. Thetelevision showLostisswim-
truthmustbe hiddento somedegreein orderfor mingin bothsoruof deception but especially passive
astonishment to cometo pass. Afterall,if thecorrect deception. lf you don'tknowwhysomething crazy
natures of all eventsat handareproperlyportrayed, is happening it is because theyhaveomittedthekey
thennorevelation of unanticipated factsmayoccur. information you needto understand it. And if they
Onemightthinkthat a greatwayto studysur- aredoingtheiriobsthatkeybit of information is super
prise isto studythe craftof the magician.Theyseem interesting.
likesimilar flelds.In manywaystheyare,exceptthat Whencreating our foundation out of the above
thebestmagicis foundedin theunseen, or unimag- deceptions, thereisonerulethatmustbeobeyedat all
ined principle, in
while storythesecretmustbe imag- times. Don't cheat youraudience.
inable. lt hasto besomething thatyouraudience feels In orderto providecredence andpreventthe par-
isa natural part of the storyandis totallylogical. ticipant from feeling cheated the best recourse is to pro-
Thegoalof surprise in magicis to entertainby videthe truth withinthe frameof the story.In magic,
of
means deception. thereareonlythreewaysto makesomething disappear.
Thegoalof surprise in storyis to entertainby Youcanhidethe object,you canmovethe obiect,or it
means of revelation. was neverthereto beginwith. Interestingly enoughthis
It'sfunny:Somemagicis sodevilishly clever. not onlytrueof objects,but evenof something asethe-
Socleverin fact,thatthe secretis moreentertaining real as truth. Three ways to "vanish" truth in a story:
thantheeffectitself.However,mosttricks(like990/o
ofthem)release a waveof disappointment whenthey 1. Movethe truth.
arediscovered. o Literallymovekeyfacs of an eventto another
"Oh you meanthat it's a trickknife?"Either partof thestory,placing themnon-linearly in the
way,it isof littleimportance. Whenit comesto mag- timeline.
the
ic, secret be
can brilliantor it canbemoronic.lt o Displace keyfactsby ascribing themto truthsnot
really doesn'tmatter,because the audience is never associated withthe matterat hand.
supposed to know. o Use time-shifting techniques to alterthetimeat
Ontheotherhand,thepurpose of surprise in whichkeyfacshappened.
storyisfor thesecretbe madeknown.Therefore,
 2. Hidethe truth. morning. No, asit turnsout the manhadno hidden
o Camouflage keyfactswith otherunimportant fortuneandin factwasa lot of moneyin debt. When
facts,red herrings,
or othermeans. thingsdidn'tgo asplanned,a fightbetween the two
o Misrepresent keyfactsasunimportant. plottersensued andshotsrangout. Butwe couldn't
o Ascribekeyfactsasbelongingtoother leavetheold manasa witness. No, something
eventS. hadto bedone."
Thefrrstassumption thattheaudience
3.The Truth WasNeverThereto Begin makes isthatthe butlerdidn'tdo it-afterall
wirh. there wouldn't be muchof a storyhereif he
o Thetruth alludedto is laterrevealed did. Sowe playoff thatassumption. Then
to neverhaveexisted. we alter the truth by saying that the
deadmanon the floorof the kitchen
To understand this,let'slookat a is Jerry(whichwewill laterlearnhe is
typicalmurdermysteryplot. not).Finally, we includetheideathat
A wealthyold manis killedin the gun used creates a certaingunpow-
the kitchenby hisyoungbutlerJerry derstainon the fingerswhenfrred.
aftera scufflewith a gun. Jerrythen Thisisthe unknown truth.Other
alsoshootshimself.Our detective, Sir assumptions andalterations are
WallySmokepipe, is investigatingthe made: policemen are good, the
scenedespite theinsistence of the police old manwasshotfor the money,
that the caseis closed.After a series andthereis onlyonemanthat
of events,eachof whichreveals several wasin on it.
clues,we arereadyto beshocked by the finalrevela- I grantyou that it isn'tthe
tion. beststory,but it doesillustrate the
"The murderer isJerrythe Butler!"Eacheye point. And if you didn't likeit, that's
turnsto SirWallyasif theyweregoingto say,"You're finewithme.Oddsareyoualready
jokingright?" boughtthisbookanyway.
"Howeverr"Smokepipe continues,"thisman Theaboveisall frnein theory.
isnot Jerry!No! TherealJerryhasn'tlivedherefor But nowyou'resaying "How is all
weekshashe?"Theinspector looksdownat thebutler. going
thatnonsense to helpme
Thecorpsedenies nothing. withthegamel'm runningin like
"Wellhowdo you knowthathe didn'tjustshoot ten minutes."Foryou,my lucky
theblokehimselP"A womansays,kickingthecold procrastinator, I presentthe fol-
bodyon the kitchenfloor. lowing.Useit wisely.
"His hands. Yousee,thisparticular pistolwould
haveleft a distinctive stainof gunpowder on hisfingers. Hickman and Son's CheapTricks for
"But inspector," a bearded policeman in the Surprisein Storytelling.
crowdinterrupted , "Why wouldanyoneagreeto pre- l.Leadthemdownthe gardenpath.
t e n d . ". . Deliberately leavecluesintendedto causethe
"Theywouldn't.Unless, theyknewthatsomeone spectator to followa thinly-veiled andincorrect
on the police forcecouldhelpthemescape, perhaps line of logic. We learnthat the killerleftlipstick
promising thempartof theold man'shiddenfortune. on the goblet. We alsolearnthatthekillerwas
It wouldhaveto be someone newto the forcethough, wearing a polka-dotted blouse.However,in the
wouldn'tit?" Smokepipe turnsto Cadetlohnny endwe learnthatthe killerwasnot a woman,
Goodguy,andrepeats, "Wouldn'tit?" Goodguystaru but wasinstead BinkyManlydude, a traveling
to perspire heavily."However,nothingwentaccording circusclown.
to plan. Thekitchenlooksasif therewasa fight, It's importantto remember theremustbe
but the old mancouldhardlygetout of bedin the previous evidence to supportyour revela-

36
 $ronv rs EvERYTHTNc

toryclaim.If in theaboveexampleI saidthat

thekillerwasthe ghostof Timmythe dolphin PRINNN@fiI9 IN
trainer.
l'm suremy audience wouldfeelcheated SLACKANOWHffE,YOU
xot s ARE60tNo To
to saythe least. HAVE10 PREIENO
6REYIS REO,
2.leadthemoff the gardenpath.
Modernreaders areveryfamiliarwith the
garden pathandmostwill not wantto stayon
it. Onewayaroundthisis to makethe firstand
obvious revelation a completefalsehood. Thisis
likesetting thehusband up asthekiller,andthen
revealing that it's actuallyhisbrother-presenting
thatrevelation asthe wist. However,in the final
hour,we learnthatthe brothercouldn'thave
doneit because he diedtwo weeksbeforethe
murder. Perhaps it wasthe husband afterall,or
another keyfigurein the story(or if you wanted
to takeit evenfurther,maybewe thenlearn
thatthebrotherdidn't actuallydieandwasnow
readyto kill again). 4. Usetheir knowledge againstthem.
Leadingpeopletoo far off the pathwill even- The other great thing aboutthe movieScream
tuallyconfuse andcheatthemunless the reason is howWesCravenusedcommonhorrormovie
for doingso is amazingly cleaver. knowledge against the viewer.Our heroinewould
backintoa doorwayandthe audience would
3.lf youwantto hidesomething paintit red. cringe at what would be coming next.
Sometimes the bestwayto hidesomething is Andthen...nothing.
to makepeopledismiss it asbeingwaytoo obvi- Nothingwouldhappen, thatis untilyou re-
ous.Againyou haveto be a bit carefulhereas laxed.Then-BAM.Youshoulddo thisto your
youraudience will feelcheatedout of a mystery player'sconstantly. Keepthemguessing. Butagain,
if therewasn'toneto beginwith.A greatex- do soartfully.Youdon't wantto frustratethem,
ampleis from the movieScream. Thevillainof you wantto entertainthem.
thestoryis introducedrightaway,andhe is so
overthetop thatyou tell yourselfhe obviously 5.Timedisplacement.
didn'tdo it. Well,hedid.Whatmakes it accept- A favoritegimmickof television showsand
ableisthatit wasn'tiusthim.Theaudience was mystery novels is to use time displacement to
lookingfor onekiller.In fact,thereweretwo. movekeyfactsto differenttimesin the narrative
Thesecondguywasalsodiscredited at the start structure. Magicians do thistoo. A lot. Theideais
of thefilm for beingtoo obvious. simpleyet cantakea momentto understand.
A wayto usethisin a roleplayingsituationis A mangoesto the policestationto report
to havethe biggrandentrance intothe Labyrinth somethreatening phonecallsheandhiswifehave
of Mayhem,andthena littlewaysoff a small been getting. While he is there,a callis madeto
secret entrance-an entrance thatyour adventur- 9l I . lt's hiswifesaying thatsomeone is in the
ersfindto be loadedwith boobytrapsandother house and is trying to kill her.She screams. Then,
sortsof peril.lt turnsout thatthe bestwayin is nothing.
bythegiantgate.Of courseyou needa logical Theyrushovertherebut it's too late.What
reason to do that,otherthanjustto messwith happened? Well,we learnoverthe courseof the
them.Anywaythisleadsusto our nexttrick. story that the familyusesan internetphoneservice

37
 likeSkype.Thehusband goesoff to workthat
morningandcomesbacklaterwearing a skimask. 1. Slowdown.Whereis the frre?Milk the mo-
Beinga techguy,he previously riggedthephone ment.Letit dawnon them.Civethemthatone
go
sothatanycallsto 9 | 1 wouldn't through,but lastclue,andthenaftera shortbeat,someone
wouldgetanswered andrecorded on hiscomputer (or allof them)willsay,"Holy crap!"And then
instead.It wouldrespond to hiswife's pleas com- theywill startto recitethe evidence for you.
pletewitha fake"91 I what'syouremergency?" Youcaniustsit backandknowthatit all played
andrecordeverything. out according to yourplan.
After the deedis done,he setshiscomputer
(withan hourauto-delay)to autodial9l I andplay RandomStory Generator
backherhalfof therecording. Hethengoesto the
policestation.Presto! Youhavea murderer that Heyfolks,steprightup andhearthewonders of
seems to havecommitted thecrimeat an impos- theamazing, tantalizing, invigorating, hypothesizing, phi-
siblemoment.Thepolicearehisalibi.Hesimply losophizing Random StoryGenerator!.Guaranteed to
shiftedtheapparent timethattheeventtook put thedancein your dice,thesizzlein your story,and
place. themojoin your module!Readyto cureallyour writer's
blockwoes!Why,Dragonlance itselfwascreatedwith
thehelpof thislittlewondertlNowyou, too,canform
The Revelation amazing storieswith this+!
lust asthereis a rightwayanda wrongwayto Whatwe havehereis a systemfor creating
hidethetruth,thereis alsoa rightandwrongwayto adventure/story ideasin a matterof moments.lt's
revealit. However, thisoneis easy:"Don't blurtit out, a helpfultoolandfunbesides. lf you areeverstuck
dummy.Youjustspenta lot of timeandenergiy on for adventure ideasor needsomething to do on a
this-don'tkill it now."Thisis the payoff.Soyouneed Tuesday night,turn here.
to do two things:
How it works:
1. Proveit. lf everyone hasforgottenthat Kanako Pickoneof thesentences in the "Storythings"
the bloodmysticis left-handed andhatesdwarves. section below.Any onewill do-or if you must-roll
Thenit won'tmeanmuchif yourrevelation is for one.Youwill frllin the blanks by randomly choos-
foundedon thesetwo poins.At theendof a inga wordon thecorresponding numbered chart.
good(andI stress good)M. Night.Shyamalan
filmyouwillseea flashback, a rapidreviewof Forexample a sentence will looklikethis:
evidence, thatsupports where thetwistis coming
from. A 2 I is 6 inga lor 3 witha 5
lf you knowthattheyremember it, or other 3 in a/the 5 4 .s
wisefeelthat sucha reviewis unnecessary, then
don't worryaboutit. However,for thosesurprises Which,frlledout mightlooklikethis:
thatarea littlemoreout there(soyou'resaying A power-hungry Gnomeis trickinga witchwith a
that all our characters arein reality,princess pix- floatinghourglass in a mystical cave.
ies?)youwill needto showby practical evidence
* Perhaps you do not feelyou needa storygenerator.You instinctively
howthe revelation is possible.Howdo you do know how to craft brilliant and epic storiesthat will live through the ages,
thisin a game?Theeasiest wayI knowof is to tell Well, we'll seeaboutthat later,but if you everget stuck,then thissystem
themsomething like, may be all you needto iump-startyour stalledimagination.Remember:
randomlygenerated conceptsare only dotson the page.You are the one
"...immediately yourmindsarefloodedwith who must connectthem into a solidlystructuredstory.
the memoryof recentevents,howthe Bartender f No, it wasn't.
f No, you can't. Well. . , we haven'tseenthis happenyet. But you
calledyou "miss,"howyoucan'tstandanything could be the frrst.
but thetasteof nectar.etc."]usttellthemwhat 5 Justreadingthe numbersthis way can sounda bit dirty. Try to keepit
together.Besides, it couldbe worse.We originallyusedlettersinsteadof
theyremember andtheywill remember it. numbers.

38
 Or herland. Or perhaps sheis on thevergeof losingher
Animmortal princess a giantwithan
is freeing placein immortality andsheneeds the giantto do her
invisible
swordin thefrozenvalley. dirty work.Sheusesa swordto freehim. Butit,snot
There!Two perfectlygoodjumping-off placesfor invisible-noit's madefromsoulslonglostto her evil
evenbetterideasto sparkfrom. Someof thesentenc- ways.And on andon it goes.Manytimesyour final
eswon'tquiteworkthe firsttime.Feelfreeto re-pick storyor adventure plot will not resemble the onegiven
anyblankyouwish.Thereareno offrcialruleshere. you by the storygenerator-and thatrsgreat.In fact,
Afteryou haveyour storyline,the firststepis that'showit's supposed to work.
tothinkwhywouldthesethingsbe happening? The Finally,takethatconceptyou formedandusethe
secondisto thenchangethe ideathe generator gave manytoolsin thisbook;andyou havegot yourselfan
youto fit your"why" better. adventure betterthanmostyou paygoodmoneyfor.
go
Soif I withthesecond sentence.Whyisthe Thebestpartis: lt's yours.
princessfreeinga giant?Maybesheneedshim to save

The Storythings

A 2 l is 6 inga lor3 witha 4

TT SAYSHERET'M SUPPOSEO
5 ina/the 4 3.
.5lxfN6A FIVE,'1 WANTTHAI 70 8E
TO ffiEAN
"EATINO A PIE,'

Thelongforgotten 5
6 bya 2 |

Thelegendof the 5 and the

The 4 5 of the I 3 hasbeen 6

bya groupof I s.

The 4 I 5 hasbeen
3.

Of course,feelfreeto makeyour ownblank

to usewith the ubles.
"Storythings"
JHTJHEonvoFXDM

l. Ranger 16. Void 31. Serpent 46. Sheriff 61. Fairy (Nymph,
DryadSylvan)
2. Rogue 17. Kingdom 32. Queen 47. Gnome
3. Knight 18. Hunter 33. Warlock 48. Dwarf 62. Barbarlan
4. Druid 19. Shaman 34. Witch 49. Crone 63. Prophet
5. Wlzard 20. Troll 35. Banshee 50. Gypsy 64. Cripple
5. Priest 21, Ghost 36. lmp 51. Wanderer 65. Orc
7. Magician 22. Thief t7. Monk 52. Alchemist 66. Messenger
8. Warrior 23. Creature 38. Traveller 53. Glant 67. Evil
9. God 24. Devil 39. Stranger 54. Halfling 68. Plague
1O. Spirlt 25. Angel 40. Hero 55. Historlan 69. Emperor
11. Phantom 26. Demon 41. Monster 56. Beggar 70. Judge
12. Vampire 27, Dragon 42. Zombie 57. Easillsk
13. King 28. Gryphon 43. Maiden 58. Satyr
14. Prince 29. Princess 44. Paladln 59. Cleric
15. Peasant 30. Etf 45. Mist 60. ConJuror

1. Unknown 77. Ancient 33. Angelic 49. Possessed 65. Small

2, Forgotten 18. Horrible 34. Dying 50. Haunted 66. Dishonorable
3. Lost 19. Terrible 35. Noble 51. Secret 67. Traitorous
4, Wandering 20. Magnificent t6. Eloodthirsty 52. Melancholy 68. Thieving
5. Cursed 21. Escaped 37. Alien 53. Mischievous 69. Bleeding
6. Diseased 22. Winged 38. Missing 54. False 70. Scholarly
7. lntan€ 23. Apocalyptic 39. Invisible 55, lmaginary 71. Enchanted
8. Powerful 24. Silent 40. Mystic 56. Deceptive 72. Silver
9. Divine 25. Ghostly 41. Courageous 57. Cannibalistic 73. Golden
1O. Fallen 26. Evil 42. Valiant 58. Shadowy 74. Legendary
1 1. Eeautiful 27. Demonic 43. Weak-minded 59. Ethereal 75. Exiled
12. Dark 28. Undead 44. lmmortal 60. Rich 76. lmmoral
13. Clockwork 29. Cowardly 45. Giant 61. Lying
14. Wicked 30. Dead 46. Mighty 62. Hideous
15. Power-Hungry 31. Weeping 47. Malignant 63, Magic
16. Heroic 32. Damned 48. Deadly 64. Foreign

1. Hell 8. Faraway Land 15, Desert 22. Ruin 29. Clouds

2. Heaven 9. Sky 16. Cave 23. lnn 30. Plalns
3. Crypt 1O. Grotto 17, Mountains 24. Purgatory 31. Oasis
4. Abyss 1 1. Forest 16, Swamp 25. Valley 32. World
5. Dungeon 12. Ocean 19. Lake 26. Cllffs 33. Nation
6. Castle 13. River 20. City 27. Labyrinth 34. Country
7. Village 14. lsland 21. Tavern 28, Graveyard 35. Continent

40
 $ronv rs EVERYTHTNG

1. Shining 16. Burning 31, Redeemed 46. Decaying 61. lmaginary

2. Buried 17. Plagued 32. Massive 47. Dark 62. Putrid
3. Lost 18, Destroyed 33. Small 48. Evil 63. Exotic
4. Forgotten 19. Magical 34. Living 49. Sinking 64. Distant
5. Submerged 20. Lurh 35. Hostile 50. Forbidden 65. Wicked
6. Cursed 21. Damned 36. Charmed 51. Quarantined 66. Ancient
7. Enchanted 22. Uncovered ?7. thadowy 52. Surreal 67. Magnificent
L Dead 23. Desolate 38. Veiled 53. Dismal 68. Fo?eign
9. Ghostly 24. Blessed 39. lnvisible 54. Righteous 69. Beautiful
lO. Haunted 25. Consecrated 40. Dissapearing 55. Distant 70. Demonic
11. Windy 26. Chosen 41. Changing 56. Overrun 77. Misty
12. Abandoned 27. Captured 42. Malevolent 57, Conquered 72. Glass
13. Frozen 28. Perilous 43. Mystical 58. Heavenly 73. Golden
14. Ruined 29. Wealthy 44. Legendary 59. Slumbering 74. Silver
15. Floating 30. Flooded 45. Besieged 60. Enslaved

1. Skull 1s. Ship 29. Tome 43. Tablet 57. Parchment

2. Vial 16. Bomb 30. Orb 44. Coffin 5a. Scroll
3. Potion 17. Sword 31. Tower 45. Storm 59. Fruit
4. Ring 18, Axe 32, Dust 46. F€ather 60. Song
5. Hourglass 19. Spear 33. Spell 47. Rope 61. Key
6. Runestones 20. Dagger 34, Heart 48, Banner 62. Doorway
7. Jewel 21. Meteorite 35. Raven 49. Claw 63. Trinket
8. Crystal Eall 22. Compass 36. Robe 50. Relic 64, Herb
9. Beast 23. Goblet 37. Poison 51. Recipe 65. Wine
f0, Dragon 24. Map 38. Water 52. Ancestor 66, Blood
f 1, Armies 25. Chest 39. lce 53. Glover 67. Quest
12. Fire 26. Necklace 40. 8ow 54. Flower 68. Riddle
13. Treasure 27, Crown 41. Wind 55, Vine 69. Portal
14. Land 28. Wand 42. Lightning 56. Secret

l. Attack lO. Abuse 19. Escapefrom 27. Discredit, 34. Blind,

2, Destroy 11. Bewitch Besmirch Desolate
20. Love
3. Find 12. Control 27. Purify 2A. Deceive 35. Eradicate,
4. Burn,Scorch 13. Condemn Eliminate
22. Enchant 29. Challenge
5. Freeze 14. Trick 23. Summon 30. Exploit 36. Undermine
6. Curce 15. Casta spell on 24, Free 31. Plunder 37. Necrofy
)' 7. Enslave 16. Damn 25. Ransom 32. Flood, Drown 38. vilify
8. Capture 17. Punish 26, Torture 33. Entangle, 39. Disenchant
9. Steal Takerevenge Stupefy
18. 40. Hide from
a ;.
i

s
'*
+1
 THI
ftIAT lHE AWENTUREUPO4IJ
EI,ECTRIC- WIICH WESHALLgE EilBARKINa
HASITSBE@INNINaS IN A
SI,IDING
EOHIPPUS
,.)
')-
)1

f HerrERFrvE,[EsrcmNcFoR$ronv
In the previous chapter, you learned allabout
the structureof storyandits importance
communicating withthe restof thosehumans
That'sall wellandgoodfor novelists
asa tool for

you maysay,but howdoesthat haveanythingto do

with games? How doesstoryapplyto adventures?
out there.
andfolksingers, o-@=O-m-
Leading playersaroundby the noseringcomes
And youcallyourself anXDM! to mind.
Theprevious chapterwasn'tcalled"Storyis In termsof story,thisis the easiestto control:
Everything!" for nothing. . . €r, something likethat.
Yousimplyplugin yourplot poinsat various loca-
The pointis thatyou caneffectively tell a storyin a role
tionsdownthe line,andtheplayers haveno choice
playingadventure if you havethe righttools. but to followyour iron-cladscriptfrom predictable
Let'sstartby takinga lookat the differentkindsofbeginning to entirelyalltoo predictableendwithout
basicadventure designforms. everhavingto worryaboutthosebothersome ideasof
freechoice,play,gaming,or roleplaying.
Hand me your Nose Ring (Linear Thisstructureis idealfor games whereyou want
Design) to evaluate the progress of differentgroups-likea
Thefirstkindof designis linear,whichmeans "in tournament, for example. Yousimplydetermine who
a line."Thisis the mostcontrolled (andcontrolling)
de- got furtheralongdownthe linethananyoneelseand
signconcept.Players enterthe gameat pointA. They declare thewinner.lt's not unlikea ]apanese game
haveno choicebut to advance to pointB. There,they show-Ninja Warriorcomesto mind.
beatup a monster,takeis stuffand-guess what?-get Theothergoodthingaboutthisgamestructure
to advanceto pointC withno otheroptionsavailable. is that it hasultimateeconomy.The
designerof the
Thisproceeds for anexcruciatingperiodof timeuntil gameknowsthat everysinglelocationin the game
the players
reachthe predictable (andfate-demanded)
thathedesigns andvisitedat onepoint
will be utilized
pointE wherethe gamecomesto a predictable (and or another. No partof yourdesign will bewasted.
same)endingeverytime. As if thatwasimportant!

+2
 pesrcllxcron$ronv

Thedownside-and it is a hugedownside-is that keepsexpanding outwardthe furtherthe playersgo in

youhaveto stripall the fun thingsaboutroleplaying the campaign, constantly expanding the boundaries of
outof the game in orderto forcethe players down theirknowledge andpushing backthe frontiers of the
thestoryline. Sure,theymayhavea greatdealof world.
freedom insfdethe individualnodesof the adventure, Thisseems likea dandyfrnedesign,so far asthe
buttheresultis alwaysthe same:there'sonlyone players areconcerned. lt givesthe players the ultimate
exitto the restof the adventure. Forgetaboutthink- in freewill; theycan,with veryfewlimits,go pretty
ingoutside the box;no boxcanexistin a straight muchwherever theywantto go andkeepexploring
line. newplaces.
Yes,it's a greatplacefor players. . . anda liv-
Like,Whatever! (Open Matrix) ingnightmare for adventure creators.Let'ssay,for
Thesecond kindof design is at theopposite end example, thatyou're designing a campaign worldfor
ofthespectrum, theopenmatrixdesign. Youmight your players-the Realmof Subar-and you haveiust
knowthisby is morecommonnamein roleplaying spentthe lastsixweeks creating an incredibly detailed
circles,thecampaign. andpoignantly storiedunderground Kingdomof Lost
It'seasyto showthe branching for a campaign Wishes. lt's enormous! lt's epic!lt's thebestdesign for
setting.Youstartessentially at the centralpointA. anadventure gameevercreated andallyourplayers
Usuallythisis a tavernin a townbecause, aswe haveto do is follow your clevertrailof cluesto its gates
already know,all adventures beginin a familiarplace to makethisdreama realityfor everyone.
thatwethinkof ashome..Thenthecharacters can I canguarantee you thatyour players, fllledwith
wander outsideof the tavernto the streetat B, or theirownfreewill andchoice,will eitherstayput in the
to thebakerat C, or to the cooperat D, or to the tavernandtalkendlessly to eachotherin character, or
stableat E, or to the blacksmith at F. We haven't theywill neverpickup thetrailyou havesocarefully
travelled morethantwentyfeetso far, andwe're laidfor them,or theywill getthe cluesandgo in any
already up to fiveadditional branching locations. But directionexcept wherethe cluesleadthem.
whathappens if we go a fewfeetfurtherout, past
thestreetor the bakeror the cooperor the stable?
Well,wait!There'smore!Thiscampaign matrixjust
WECANOO
AITYU']ERE?7 NEEOA UTTLE

\ t )c\, II1ORE OIQECIION 1HANIHAT, OO gACK 10 THE

V)LLA6EANO OPEN

\ /o\-P/* I

F:6d
r \
={V-} I
-e/-:ril*
l*ff
. I dorr,tevenwant to beginanalyzing
why gameplayersall think of a
tavernashome.

43
 Whilecampaign design hasanappealing ap-
pearance, the realityis not verysatisfactory
for most
players. Campaigns do not makefor goodstorytelling
because theyhaveno realstructureon whichto hang
the plot. Soif you werewondering if the wonderful
campaign thatyour playershavebeenslogging through
for the lasttwentyyearswill makea greatbook,l'm
afraidtheanswer is no. Campaigns arenotstories.
Worstof all, campaigns requiretheircreatorsto
designexponentially morewith everypassing day.You
haveto fightto keepthe designaheadof the play-
ers,andultimatelyyou sfillhaveno story,justevents
withoutstructure.

Narrative Bumper Pool (Closed

Matrix)
Thethird typeof designgivesthe illusion of free
will foundin the openmatrixcreation whileproviding
the structureandflowof the lineardesign.lt wasfirst
quantifiedduringthe earlyyearsof designing the Drag-
onlanceseriesandhaslargelybecomea lostart today.
We callthistheclosedmatrix.
Thetruth is thatyou haveprobablyalready
workedsomewhat in thiskindof designalready.Any
"dungeoncrawl"is essentially a closedmatrixdesign
sinceyou'reprettymuchlimitedto thehalls,rooms,
the playersaremotivatedto movein the directionof
shafu,doors,andstairs.Thisformof designbecomes
thesolution.Traveling awayfromthesolution will
moreimportant,however,onceyou moveout of the
wasteprecious time.Anotherchoiceisthe "option
dungeon andintotheopenair.
lock"wherethe optionsavailable to the characters
Theclosedmatrixconceptlooksa gooddealmore
getmoreandmorenarrowoverthe passage of time.
complicated thanit actuallyis in practice.Players start
Thirdisthephysical lockwherethe physical bound-
at thebeginning of theadventure A (yes,it is probably
ariesof the gameiself preventthe playersfrom leav-
a tavern).Theyhavethe choices essentiallyof goingto
inguntilthesolutionis foundor timerunsout.
B or C or D. That'sa significant numberof choices, but
Forexample: Yourplayers arein a tavern(sigh)
theyarechoices that havedirection. Theyarechoices
andtheyhearthatto the eastthereis a castlewhere
that movetowardthe endof the adventure andshow
thebeautiful princess
Mirandahasbeencruellyim-
advancement towardthe obiective.
prisoned by theWizardof the BlueBeardandthathis
Otherchoices the playersmightmakeallencoun-
armiesaremarauding overthe countryside. Everyone
ter eitherhardor soft"edges."Theseedgesactlike
knowsthatthe Wizardof the BlueBeardis never
rubberbumpers, redirecting,or "bouncing" theplay-
goodnewsfor anyprincess. lf onlytherewassome-
ersbacktowardthe centerof the designmatrix.These
oneto freeher!
bumpers canbeanyof a numberof differentkinds
Soyour playersnaturallygo wesc. Whiletravel- 4
of thingsto motivate(soft)or force(hard)playerto
lingwestdownthe road,theyencounter a courier
remaininsidethe limis of thegamedesign. Forex-
whohasbeenwounded in battle.He slipsfromhis
ample,thesebumpers mightbewhatwe calla "time-
horseiustasyour playersarrive.Gasping for breath,
lock."Thisisthe equivalent of a tickingbombcount
hehandsyourplayers a message thatmustbedeliv-
down.lf doomis goingto fallat a certaintimethen

+4
eredto theprincess to the easfor all is lost.(He is a of course,the playersarefreeto go anddo asthey
softbumper,tryingto motivatethe players to take please andmakeasmanyof theirownfreewill choices
go
thehintand east.) astheywish. Butnoticethat regardless of the choices
Soyourplayersnaturallycontinuewesf.There made,the closedmatrixhasa naturalandorganicflow
theyencounter forcesof the kingwhoarefleeing fromthe top to the bottom.Theplayersalwayshave
earffromthe battlefront.TheWizardof the Blue a sense thattheyaremakingprogress, andthe later
Beard'sforcesareoverwhelming. Unlessthe powers encounters canmovethe storyforwardbecause the
of theprincesscanbe freedfrom her imprisonment general matrixiself is flowingin the directionof the
to theEASI,thenthe kingdomwill be lost.(Thisis a plot.
second,moreemphatic, softbumper.) As theendof thegamenears, theoptionswill nar-
The players,asonemightexpect,continue row untilthe conclusion of the gamemerges with the
to thewest.Theyactuallyftndthe battlefrontand climaxof thestory.Youmighthaveonlyoneconclu-
discoverfor themselves that the armiesof the Blue sionin your designX or you mighthavetwo or three
Beard Wizardare,indeed,ovenvhelmingly powerful Y g. Z but it is important thatyou havea finitenumber
andtheirlinesimpassable. At thispoint,the players of endings to dealwith sothatthe restof the storycan
have encountered a hardboundary. lf theyinsist flowtowardthem.
oncontinuing west,well,theydeserye to die in Closedmatrixdesignis a lostart. Butif you mas-
whatever wayseems the mostignominious. Natural ter it, thenyou'll be a trueXDM!
selection
reallyshouldapplyto heroes.
Withinthedesigned playingfleldof thegame,

F'NE! VIE'LL
60 EAgr!

+5
 .THI YEAH?
Rry-FVE INl ELLIaENCE, ROLE-PUYIT,

f,Hamrn$rx'$ErnorR
ScrewYouIntelligence to Bewitch
check:Puzzles the Senses the Stupid.
andConfound

Thingsthatmakeyour players actuallyhaveto because therecan'tbejustonerightanswer.

thinkin a game arepriceless.Thereasons whyareap- ln magician termsthisis knownas"multiple
parent,anythingthat ges you awayfrom the diceand outs."Yourjob is to interpretthe answers given
talky-talkyfor a minuteor two is worthwhile. Puzzles youaccording to theknownintelligence, wisdom,
forceplayersto changegearsandthinkwith a different or streetsmarts eachplayer's characterhas.lt is the
partof theirbrain. responsibilityof the playerto comeup withandjus-
Mostimportantly, theyallowa deeperconnection tify answers to riddles-whatever thoseanswers may
between player andcharacter thatis not onlyhealthy be.As anXDM,feelfreeto helpor punishthemas
but doesn'tinvolvea life-sizeThunderdome in your needed.
backyard. Fora moment,theplayeris actually think- A quickexample:Thepartyreaches theThree
ingin placeof theircharacter. No intelligence checks Doorsof MegaDoomandareconfronted with riddle
(at leastnot usually).Justthemanda puzzle. I could //R-l,, (seenextpage).
go on aboutthedualityimbedded in a player-character Go aroundyourgroupasking, "Whatdo you
relationship,andtheboundsof thatrelationship, but think?"lf theyarenewto thisidea,perhaps speciff
youwouldn'treadiq youwouldjustskipdownto the by saying,"Tell your partywhatyour character
puzzles.lf you haven'talready. Oh, andby theway thinksyoushoulddo." Thepointhereisto force
Selddirissimply"riddles"spelled backwards. themto roleplay.Not to talkamongSt themselves
whilstoneguygetson hisiPhone to lookup thean-
Riddles swer-nothisis an RPG-iftheydon'tlikeit theyneed
Riddleslikethe onesbelowhavebeenusedbefore, to go playa regularold G. Anyway,Princess the
many,manytimesbefore,in RPGs aroundtheglobe. Barbarian says,"We shouldgo in a differentway-me
Theproblemis that usuallytheyarepresented wrong. hatepuzzles." WilikerstheWizardsays,"We should
Thepoint,asmentioned, is to getyour playerthinking go in the third gate."Therestof the groupis lostin
in placeof theircharacter. Nevertheless, you aren'task- variousdegrees of stupor.
ingyour buddyEdwhatthe answeris,you areasking Finally theyallagreeto do whattheWizard
hischaracter. Ed mustanswerfor "Princess the Barbar- says.Sonow,askthe wizardwhyhercharacter thinks
ian" not for Ed.Thismakes it interestingfor the DM

+6
that.lf shesays,"mehit'sjusta hunch."Fine,let changeyourmind,you canstillgo into gateone,two,
themgotowardthe third door.Theywill hearanevil or three.Whichgateshouldyou choose?
sound comefrom oneof the othertwo doors.Ask
themif theywantto continue or change theirmind. R-2: Twentydoorsarelinedup oneafterthe
lf Wilikers theWizardsayssomething like"Let's otheralonga largewall.Abovethe doors,scratched
keepgoing.I wantto kill stuff"Well,thatwasn'ta into the stoneareancientsymbols that,whentrans-
veryintellectual response wasit? Wizards shouldbe lated,say:
intellectual. Punish Wilikers. "Thepathyou desire,the onethatis right,
lf theplayersayssomething like,"Well,threeis will leadyou to gold,glory, andlight,
anoddnumber, andthe riddlesays..."(stillnot the 19 sonsof evilweretrappedherefirst;
rightanswer) Fine,awesome, rewardher."Wilikers" to freeoneof themisa dark,dreadcurse."
issmart,andif the playeris creativeenoughto give Whichdoordo you choose?
asmart-sounding answer thenWilikers shouldbe
rewarded or punished according to hercreativity. R.-3:A crazyold manin the streetstopsyou and
Thkalsomeans thatwhilea playerwithgreat sayssomething abouta bet. Pullingout a goldcoin,he
intelligence cangivea relatively wronganswerand tosses it in theairandcatchesit deftlyin hishand.He
stillberight,an idiot character canbe righton the thenlooksat it secretlyanddoesthesamethingagain.
money andstillbetotallywrong-alldepending on He nowlooksat you andsays,"One of my
thereasons givenfor the character comingup with flipslandedheads up.Whataretheodds
thatanswer. that it landedheadsup
Thisis a greatsystemwhenyou havecreative the other time?"
people in your group.A partyfull of creativepeople,
however, is a rarity.So,if presented with a problem R.-4:Thatsame
thatyourgroupcan'tfigureout but theircharacters crazyold manthen
defrnitely could...it'stimeto roll thedice.Thereisa handsyoua pieceof
system for thisin the XD20 sectionof thisbook. paperthat hasbeen
Whatfollowsarea numberof riddlesthatwe foldedup andtells
have enjoyedpresenting overthe years.Someof you to hold on to
these arelateralthinkingproblems, andothersare it. He saysthat
purelogic,stillothersarejuststupid.Thediffrculty he haswritten
levelof the puzzles is varied,but everyone a prediction
is different
soyoushoulddecidehowhardor easysomething in thepaper
is.
Someof themarecommonandothersnot andhewill
socommon.Remember: eventhe morecommon giveyou 2-
puzzles havea place.Naturally youshouldchange
I oddsthat
thecircumstances of eachriddleto fit your particular
you can'tguess whether
situation. (Youmayfrndthe answers in the Appedi-
or not it will cometrue.
cesat theendof the book.) "lf youthinkit will
cometruewrite'Yes'on it.
R.-1:Threelargegatesarebeforeyou. Eachgate lf youthinkit won't,write
looksthesamein everydetail.On an old signstand- 'No'." He hands youa pen.
ingbeforethe gates,a message reads, Whatdo you write,yesor
"Behind
lust
two liesevil. Only onethe suregate
choose with the odds,and not by fate."
no?
\r,
Afteryourselection is made(let'sassume you chose R-5:Your
thefirstgate)the secondgatestartsto rattleanddark partyentersa
mistpoursfrom betweenthe bars.lt's not too lateto secretroomwith threechests, eachof

47
whichbearsan inscription. In thecornerof the room desperate needof helpfrom the elvesthat livethere.
standsa childwith dark,soulless eyes.Shesaysthat in Theyagreeto helpyou on onecondition,that you
onechestis a rubyof greatvalue.Anotherchestholds answera questionabouttheirforest."Our treesgrow
a disease,anothera curse.Thechestwith the disease doubletheirheighteachdayuntilafter 1OOdays
hasa trueinscription, the chestwiththecursea false theyhavereached theirfull height.After howmany
one,andthechestwiththerubyhasan inscription that dayswouldtheybe at onlyhalfof theirheight?"
couldbeeithertrueor false.Youmayonlyopenone.
Theinscriptions read: R-11: Onceagainthatsamecrazyold man
Chestl: Thischestcontains theruby comesup to you,andthistimehe flipstwo coinsin
thufr2,I'trt'inscirpi.ronon chestoneis true. theair (a coppercoinanda
Chest3: Thesecond chestholdsthecurse. silvercointhateachweighthe
Whichchestdo youopen? same)andcatches them.You
don'tseewhichhandcaught
R-6: After walkingfor sometime,your party whichcoin.Thenhetellsyou
comesto a garden, at thecenterof whichstands a thatthesilvercoinlandsheads
statue.In the righthandof thatstatueisa swordof up andasks,"Whatarethe
greatpower.ln thelefthandis a bell.Legend hasit that oddsthat bothlandedheads
the swordcoulddestroyanyfoewith oneblow.How- up?" (TheXDM maywishto
ever,no onehasbeenableto takeit, for the statue's remember the answerto R'3
grip uponit is greaterthananyforceknownbeneath andaskhimself if thecolorof the
the heavens. You mayaskthe statueoneyesor no coinsmakes anydifference.)
question.lt will ringthe belloncefor yesandtwicefor
no. Thestatuemustgivea true answer. Couldyou ask R-12:A crazyold man-let'ssaythatit'sthe
it a questionthat wouldforceit to release its gripon sameonefor consistency reasons-stops you in the
the sword? woodsand,pointingto a fallentree,asks,"The tree
was25 feethighandfour feetaroundbeforeit fell,
R-7:Yourpartyis in an inn (wow,there'sa new but wascut a foot abovethe base.lf the treehad
idea)anda drunken sailorputsa rarecoinin a bottle, threefeetremovedfrom its top sixyearsago...how
whichhe thencorks.He challenges you to getthe coin highwouldit be now?"
out. Youcan'ttakethecorkout,youcan'tbreakthe
bottle,andyou can'tgetsomeone elseto do it for you. Physical Puzzles
Whatdo you do? Riddles likethe onesmentioned abovearefrne
asan exarnple of howto changethingsup everynow
R-8:Thecrazyold manfindsyouagainandshows andthen,but theyareprobablythe weakest sortof
youa holein theground.Hestarurantingabouthow puzzle.In fact,theyareto be usedsparingly. Also,
hismathskillsaregreater thanyours.Hisquestion is don't everlet your group taketoo longto figureone
this,"How muchdirt is in a holethatis l5 feetin of thesethingsout. As in goodcooking,if you add
diameter, but a merefourfeetin depth?" too muchof oneingredient, you will poisonyour
guests.Okaythat'snot usuallytrue,but you getthe
R-9: A stranger in an inn tellsyou thisstory:"A point.
fatheraskedhissonto go into an inn andbuyhim some Thereis a muchbetterwayto forceyour play-
ale.Whenthe boy entered,the bartender told the boy ersto think:the puzzle.Puzzles aren'thardto make.
to leave.Defeated, the boy Ieftthe inn andreturned lf you thinkaboutit, mostpuzzles arenothingmore
homeemptyhanded. Thebartender plus
turnedto me and thana handfulof chaos a cluehowto orderit.
said,'Did you knowthatwasmy son?'" Thestranger Theycanbe simple-likethreepoolsof water,eacha
thenasksyou, "How is that possible?" differentcolor,andthreeorbselsewhere that match
R-10:Youentera magicforestwhereyouarein thosecolors.Or theycanbe a bit moreinvolved,

48
 $mnoln

suchasfiguringout whichvillagerstolethe sacred adoptthemasa physical puzzlein your game.

diamond by askingquestions. Thegoalis to provide Thebestkindsof puzzles arethosethat existfor a
theplayers with somesomof problem,a bit of chaos, purpose. go
Peopledon't to the troubleandenormous
anda cluefor themto solveandorderthatchaos. expense of buildinga teleportmazecoveringan entire
Entireadventure environments canbe a puzzle. floorof theircastlewithoutgoodreason.lf thereis
Of course, anymysteryis essentially a puzzle.Tracy someelaborate mechanism for placingcertaincolored
oncewrotean adventure calledTheAnvilof Timefor stonesin certaincoloredbraziers in orderto determine
theDragonlance sett:ngwherean entireunderground a sequence of doorsopeninglikea safecombination
complex turnedout to beoneenormous mechanism thenthosedoorshadbetterbe guarding something
fortimetravelthat requiredthe characters to move reasonably valuable.
fromroomto roomandlevelto levelto setup the
device andgetit to work.Thegenius.in thisdesign It's a Trap!
wasin making the mechanism so bigthatthecharac-
terscouldn'tseethewholethingat onceandcould
onlyunderstand is purposeaftermovingovermul-
tiplelevelsandthrougha varietyof rooms. NO, OEl SOMEBOOY
Likemagic,puzzles canalsoinvolvea consid- ELSETO SAYIT.
erable amountof misdirection. ln theold Pharaoh
adventure by TracyEr LauraHickman,the designers
wanted to put in a maze.Theproblemwith a maze
ina traditional role playinggameis that the players
aremaking a mapon theirgraphpaper.Howpuz-
zlingcanthe mazebe if the mapis therein front of
them? Theirbrillianttsolutioncamein theformof
ateleport maze.Theentiremazewascomprised of
tenfootwideby thirty foot longidenticalpassages
withmagical mist-frlled archesat bothends,andtwo
morefacingeachotheron eitherside.Stepthrough
themistandfrndyourself in whatlookslikethesame
roomyou iustleft.
TracyandLaurareasoned, however,thatover
theyearsadventurers passing into the mazewould
leave behindsomedifferences (liketheirdecaying Trapsarelikepuzzles, onlydeadlier.Puzzles
bodies, for example), whichallowed subsequent ad- canbe benignwaysof makingyou scratchyour head,
venturers someadvantage in workingout the maze. but trapsaremeantto stopyourcharacter cold-or
Youcanfindinspiration for physical puzzles in kill your character dead.Traps,by theirverynature,
anykindof process or mechanism. An old family aresupposed to be a surprise, something to catch
game from 1962 called"HighGear"wouldhave you completely unaware whileyou aretrespassing on
madea reallygreatpuzzlearoundwhichyou could someone else'sturf. Therehavebeenentiredungeons
buildanentireadventure.+ A goodsourcefor the existence of whichwasiustan excuse for onedeadly
inspiration mightalsocomefrom TheWayThings surprise afteranother.s
Workby DavidMacaulay, whereyou canseehow Here'sthe problemwith traps:Theyaremost
anynumberof mechanisms actually workandthen oftenemployed asa weaponby badgamereferees in
theirsupposed struggle to asserttheirsuperiorityover
' The word 'genius'herewasactuallywrittenby Tracyabouthimself. players.Unless theyareproperlyhandled, theyare
It isthissort of honestyand integritythat is the hallmarkof XDMs.
primarily punitive to players.
t Again,Tracy'sinsertedword reflectingan XDMs aversionto false
modesty.
5 Gary Gygax's'Tombof Horrors'comesto mind.
* Why did I iust givethat away!

49
 I

XDMsalwayssettrapsproperlyusingtheseguide- Youalsoneedto remember that if yourtrap is

lines: in theway of an essential
element in yourgame,then
Trapsmustbe foreshadowed. Theheroiccharacters you musfhavean alternate routeby whichthe play-
slogging through your dungeondesignmusthave ers can get to that element. Youdo not wantyour
at leastsomekindof warningthat theyareenter- foolishplayers'characters all tossing themselves like
inga minefreld.Thiscanbe asobvious asa sign lemmings onto the same trap for hours on end just
carvedinto the wallsaying"Beware!No Living because you didn'tgivethemanyotherchoice.
Personnel AllowedBeyond ThisPoint!"or as
subtteasan unseenbreezebrushing up the hairson Too much or not enough?
the backof the character's neck,but theyhaveto With riddles,puzzles, or traps,you will always
havesomecluethatthereissomething badahead endup withthesamequestion: Howmuchdo I tell
of them. my Players?
Thisis a balancing act,andyes,it involves the
Trapsmustmakesense.Like puzzles, the locationof whole difference between what players know and
trapsmusthavea purpose. Architecsof EvilLairs whattheircharacters know.However,the mostim-
do not iust put expensive andelaborate trapswilly- portant thing is that players getthe mostsatisfaction
nillyin the kitchenhallwayout of artisticlicense. lf out of solvingthe riddlesin the gamethemselves.r
the trap is there,it hasto havea purpose. However,it is oftendiffrcultto iudgehowmany
or howblatantthe cluesyour stalwartplayerswill
Therehasto be anotherway. All trapshavea requireto figurethingsout.
mechanism for disarming -
them andwe'renot Thebestwayto dealwith thisproblemis inside
talkingabouta thiefcharacter named 'Stinky.' the game design. Foreverymind-bending riddle,
Thereis alwaysan actualphysical meansof shut- complexpuzzle,or fearsome trap,you needto seed
tingoff the trapand, yes, it will be locatedsome- the clues and solutions elsewhere in the design.As
wherethat makessense. Theexception to this a rule,threewill usuallycoverit: the firstclueonly
wouldbe anadventure dealing witha treasure a subtlenudge,thesecond a bit moreblatant,and
housewhoseowneraccidently secured hisgoldtoo the third a whoppingsmackacross the headsaying,
wellandnowhashired your adventurers to break "try THIS dummy!"* By seeding these insidethe
into hisowntreasure housefor him.. designitself,it allowsyou to providethe players what
theyneedto solvethe riddlewithoutresorting to
callinganyonenamesat the uble. Betterstill,since
- theytheyobtainedthe cluesthrough
+ theirownefforts,the players will
universallyfeelincredibly clever
no matterhowblatantthe clue
required.
-::^-:
-ff/

------;
-----\),-

c ___

f Or at leastfeelingasthoughthey did.
-
+ We are speakingentirely metaphoricallyhere, of course,referring
to the degreesof blatantcyin the cluesor hints provided.We do not
advocateactuallysmackingyour playeruacrossthe headregardless of
* Oh, no! | iust gaveawayanothergreat adventureidea! your personalfeelingon the matter,

s0
 f, HarrrngrvrN,JFlouSHerrpnrlenrr
Soyouhavethe basicstructureof the adventure ls it possible
to takethispreparation too far?One
inmind.You'vestructured it aroundtheCampbelliancanspeculate thattherearegamereferees who have
Monomyth. You'vefittedit with mysteryandriddles. spententirelytoo muchtimeworkingon a campaign
Youarea creativedynamo. worldwhichno oneelsewill eversee,thosewhoare
Guess what?Creativepeopleareamazingly "foreverdesigning but nevercomingto a performance
commonplace amonggameplayers.lf you,replaying of thegame.".Therecomesa timewhenyoujusthave
aroleplayinggameyou had betterbe creative! We, to movepastthe designandplayit. A gamethat is not
despiteour being448,hLevelXDMs,certainlydo playedis unfulfrlled.
notquestion yourcreativity.Butit isn,tthe ceative
peoplewhomakethe grade!Creativityis easy,disci-
plinedcreativity
is a rareandbeautifulthing.lt isn,t The Map is the Territoly
enough to comeup with the coolestadventure of all Themosteasilyrecognized organizational tool you
time.Youhaveto be ableto execufe the designin a canhavefor youradventure design is a solidmap.Be-
waythatis useful,organized, andcoherent. causeyouradventure will takeplacealmostexclusively
in yourmindandthemindsof yourplayers, thismap
Preparation Time and When to Know How Far
thatyou createactuallywill bethe territoryof your
b Too Far game.
Theruleis prettystraightforward: Thesuccess of Yourmapis morethanjusta representation
youradventure of the
is directlyproportional to the amount worldfor yourgame.lt is the playingfreldon whichall
ofpreparation you put into it. If you justslapto- activities happen. Elemeng of thismaprepresent some
gethera map,iot downsomenotes,anddetermine to of the hardandsoftbordersof your overallgamein a
justmakeup the restof it whenyou getthere,we,re closedmatrixdesign.lt is alsoa graphic
representation
goingto tearyour XDM patches off your pajamas of the variousencounters of your gamedesignandtheir
attheverynextregionalmeeting!No XDM worth physical interrelationships.A goodmapcanmakeyour
hisdicewouldapproach a game withsucha casual, work as an XDM ever so much easier.
sloppyapproachl . Ap"$rpt"l 3""k of the XDM, 6t122
 Takeinto consideration
all of the followingele-
the mapfor yourgame:
mentswhendesigning
l. Themapneedsto makesense. Youshouldhave
somebasicconceptof howcartography functions.
Cartographersaroundthe worldhavebeenmak-
ingmapsaslongaspeoplehavebeenwalking.
Thesystems whichtheyhavedeveloped overthe
millenniahaveevolvedinto theircurrentform for
a reason.Adopttheirtools.
2. The locationsneedto makesense.Thinkabout
anystructures (likecastles,
villages,
or dungeons)
in termsof theiruse.Picturepeople(or monsters)
actually
livingthere.ls thisa defensive
structure
(asmostcastles are)?lf so,thenwhereareallof
thoseguards goingto be housed? Theywill all
needto be fedandtheirmesshallswill needto be
nearboththe barracks andthe kitchenfacilities.
Theroyaltytheyareprotectin&however,most
SAY?THOSEWON'TgE A
PROgLEilFOR.OLO "SPOT|EO
52
likelywill not wantto seethe servants,
but will
certainlywantthemhandy.Howdo the servants
enterthe areasof the royalty?Howarethey
keptseparate? Howdoestrafficof individuals
andtheirpurposes flowthroughthe structure?
Thisalsoappliesto the layoutof towns.A
studyof medieval citiesshowsthat theirstreets
areterriblyconvoluted becauseit wasa defensive
strategyto confuseinvading armies.Are your
confusingor did you iust
streetsintentionally
drawa badmap?
3. Considerrenderinga profileview of any major
building.Mostadventure dungeons, werethey
actuallyconstructed,
wouldhavesomething of
a ranchstyleappearancewith a sprawlingfloor
planspread out verywidelyovera singlelevel.
Thereis no reasonwhy anyonewouldactually
buildsucha ridiculous
structure.
 pnrraner
THou$Harr

CastleRavenloft-from the classicTSR"lnc. run. (Duh!)Moreimportantly, follow

civilizations
adventure moduleRavenloft-was actually the courseof riversin theirestablishment (because
reverse engineered by studyingthe layoutsof riversarethe mostefficientwayof travelinglong
FrenchandGermancastles, notingthevarious distances,naturalroads).Usethosesameriversas
required spacesandtheirrelationships, andthen a guidefor the classicalspreadof your civilization.
drawing the exferiorof whatthe castlelooked Speaking beforeyou go plant-
of civilizations,
likefirstandthensegmenting it into levelsand ingruinsall overyour map,consider someof
drawing floorplansfor eachlevel.lt istruethat
the followingquestions: Whobuiltthesethings
therewasconsiderable iterationgoingon in the
process; here?Whendid theybuildthemandwhy?What
the elevation drawingwouldbe modi-
fredasthe requiredinteriorspaces wereput in happened thatcaused whoeverbuiltthesethings
placeor the interiorspaces wouldbe modifled hereto abandon them?(Comeon! Nobodybuilds
to suita betterlookto the elevation drawing. "ruins.")Doessomeof thestufftheyoriginally
Theresultwasa buildingthat actuallylooked builtherestillwork?Why?lf monsters nowinhabit
likea castlethatsomeone wouldwantto build. theseruins,whatcaused themto movein here?
It alsoresultedin a uniquemapdesign (thanks Howhavetheyadaptedthisplaceto theirown liv-
to thebrillianceof DaveSutherland) with,as ingrequiremens?
befrts an actualcastle,a lot of goingup the stairs
andcomingdownthemaswell.This,in turn, 5. lf you eversay"becauseit's magic"again,I
hada tendency to getthe playerscompletely $ rear.. . You haveexactlyfiveseconds to launch
lostinsidethe castle,a wonderfulsidebenefit. into an extensive discourseon howmagicworks
lf yourdungeon or building wouldlooksquat in yourworld,whythismagicstillworksafterall
andsquashed wereit actually to be built,then thistime,andwhythisparticular pieceof magic
youshouldconsider takingthe structurevertical, just
isn't someweak,milkquetoast, pansy-sissy DM
ratherthanhorizontal.
whiningto excuse hiswayout of a baddesign. lf at
4 Weknowthis is supposedto be fantast but anypointin yourexplanation anyXDM withinthe
getreal. Yourwildestimagination onlyworks soundof yourvoiceget'seventhe slightest feeling
whenit is grounded in something familiaror that thatyouaresomehow channeling DougHenning
'lt's you
sayin& Magic!'then losetwo levelsasan
at leastmakessense.Beforeyou startdrawing
a mapof yourworldthat lookslesslikesome- XDM andmustimmediately makea saving throw
thingfromTolkienandmoreIikesomething for your designor startall over!
from"How I SpentMy Summer Vacation,"yotJ Magichadbetterbe a reason andnot an excuse.
mightconsider waysto makeit morereal. Fartoo manyfantasy andscience fictionstoriesor
Forexample, startwith thesebasicconcepts games fallbackon thistiredwimp-out."Hey, why
aboutgeology, geography, andgeopolitics: is it that a pairof rubyslippers cangetyou home
Geography hasa hugeimpacton civilizations. in two seconds?" "Because it's magicl"Nuc! You
Startby slamming a fewlandmasses together. hadbetterbe prepared to explainwhy it is that
Prevailingwinds,mountain rangeplacement, thecrystalline structureof rubycombined with
andthelocations of largebodiesof waterlargely
the chromiumthat givesthe gemstone its color
determine rainfall.(Rainfallson thewindward
interacts to mergethe etherealfieldsurrounding
sideandlandtendsto bedrieron the leeward
the planet to producea space-time fold between
side.Howfertileis the ground?Howoftendoes
it rain?Theanswers to thesequestions, plusits parallel worlds-one of whichis in Technicolor and
elevationabovesealeveldetermine the typesof theotherin a sepiatonebrownandwhite..
vegetation foundthere.Rainfallson the moun- * This fold effect had better alsobe known to causeextremeweather
uinsandtheirslopedetermines wherethe rivers conditionson both sidesof the paralleluniverseoften resultingin an
atmosphericphenomenonknownas"a Twista!"
 lf anyof usevercatchyou plastering overa plot to solving suchproblems in yourdesign. When
hole,badcharacter motivationor poorly designed Laura+ andTracywereworkingon thesecond
structurewith the words"because it's magic,"we bookfor theirBronzeCanticles series,Mystic
will huntyou down. Quesf,Tracywasfacedwith a problemof an
Creatingsolutions to plot problems that arenot ancient underground empirewhichconnected
iustdismissed by waving your not-so-magical wand the northernandsouthernsections of a conti-
is partof the challenge andfun of creating worlds nent.Therewassomething on the map called
andtheadventure thatreflectthem.WhenMar-
"the Dwarven Road" that was supposed to be
garet.andTracywereworkingon the Dearhgate
a bigdealtransportation systemthat hadlong
Cyclethe firstof the worldsfeaturedfloatingland
masses in a seemingly endless sky. sincebeenabandoned from use.lt didn't make
Now, asidefrom thisbeingapparently inspired sense thattherewouldbe theseenormously long
by a traumatictrip to the recordstorewhenTracy tunnelsunderground. Surethe mountains were
wasa youngteenager, why did thesemassive difficultto getthrough,but howcouldforging
islands floatin thissky?Wasit magic?NOI Tracy a windingpaththroughthe mountainpasses be
considered howit wouldbethathugelandmasses moredifficultor expensive thandigginga tunnel
wouldactuallyfloatin the slqf.Eithertheywere throughsolidrockfor hundreds of miles?More-
in a regionwithoutgravity-which wouldreally over,whowouldwantto bestuckin a tunnel
complicate the storysincehe reallyneededgravity hundreds of mileslongon theirox cart?Where
to workhere-ortherewassomething aboutthe wouldyou camp?Wherewouldyou feedyour
islands themselves that floatedthemin the sky. ox andyourselPAnd whowouldwantto stay
Whatelsefloats?Wood?Very smallrocks?A for week underground iusttryingto getto the
duck?tHowaboutzeppelins anddirigibles? They lightat the endof the DwaryenRoad?
floatbecause theydisplace moreairthantheir
It justdidn'tmakesense andfor the longest
totalweight,the samereasonironshipsfloat.
So,howis it that theseislands weighso littleand timeTracycouldn'tfigureout howto dealwith
displace somuchspace? Perhapstheyaremostly it. Thena differentapproach occurredto him.
hollow-like volcanic rockmixedwithairwhenit "Hey, I don't haveto figureout howto do it.
cools-and thentherewouldbesomething that Thedwarves who livedherealready did that.All
frlledthosevoidswith a gaswith lessdensitythan I haveto figureout is howthe dwarves would
the surrounding atmosphere. Whatif therewere havedoneit." Theresultwasthe discovery that
fungus growing insidethosespaces whichcreated the DwarvenRoadwasn'ta roadat all. lt wasa
suchliftinggases aspartof theirexistence. Of setof directedunderground rivers,with oc-
course,thiswouldmeanthatthe islands in the sky casional cuts,conduits,andviaducts thatlinked
weremostlyporousandthereforewouldn'thold underground lakes.Youdidn'ttakea cart.You
waterverywell... whichmeantthatmy inhabit- rodethe river.
antswouldhaveto workprettyhardto keepany lf you havea problemin the structureof
waterthat cametheirway.Waterwouldtherefore yourstory game,or adventure neyerpatchit
be prettyvaluable asa commodity,whichmeant overwith magic.Rollup your sleeves, put your
that perhaps waterwastheirmediumof exchange. thinkingcapon andlookat thewholeprocess as
Suddenly the problemhadledusto a really a challenge. Nevergiveup! Neversurrender to
interestingworldfrlledwith newpossibilities. magic!5
Sometimes it helpsto takea differentapproach
{ Once againimpressing you with the peoplewe know,we mention
* MargaretWeis,world-renownfantasynovelistwhosenamewe are LauraHickman,the beautifuland talentedwife of Tracy Hickmanand
casuallydroppingherebecause we want you to know how cool we are being his writing partner aswell. Pleasetell her that this footnote is in the book
ableto iust referto suchan excellentpersonby her frrstnamealone. next time you seeher.
f You knew that there would needto be at leastone referenceto Monty $ You knew there would haveto be a GalaxyQuesfreference
Wthon and the Holy Grailsomewherein this book. somewhere aswell, didn't you?

54
 rt TLlou$HetrPnrpanrr

tientwhilethe restof the classcatches up. Textis one

lHE PLANSLOOK 6000, dimensional information.. Youhaveto readit in a line
gul wERE60tNO 10 HAVE10 andin sequence for anymeaning to comeout of the
gUYSOAISFROMTHEELVES, words.Youcannotreada wordon pageten, flip back
to pageonefor anotherwordandthento pagesixand
expectthe randomlychosenwordsfor form a cohesive
sentence. Charuarealsoessentially one-dimensional
aswell.tTables andmapsmakea fineshowof step-
pingthingsup intothesecond dimension (heightand
breadth).Thesetogetherarethe completed design,the
"map" to the game experience, which in realityis four
dimensional-a imagined stateof existence, whichnot
onlyhasthethreeclassical dimensions of width,depth,
andheight,but all of whichareforevermovingforward
throughthefourthdimension of time.
It's a realchallenge to figureout howto do that
effectively.
It istheseverylimis in dimension thatposes the
heartof anyapproach to writingdowna gamedesign.
Thefirstthingyou needto decidein your adventure,
theniswhichisthemoreimportant dimension in your
game:space or time?"

Organization:Time vs. Space

As for makinga prettymap, therearea num-
berof reallyfabulous
mapping programs available
to
creators
of adventuregames. Tracy prefersProfan-
tasy's
Campaign CartographerandFractileTerrain
softwarepackages.Althoughby the timeyou actually
getaroundto readingthispartof the bookthey've
probablydeveloped an entirelynewsetof software
toolsandpossiblythreemoreoperating systems.
Puttingit all together: the adventure
text
You'vegot the tools,you'veevengot all the
parts.Nowyou haveto put the wholethingtogether
intoa working, well-oiled,andfunctional machine. lt
helpsif youhavea planandan instruction manual.
Thefirstthingyou shouldconsider is that a writ-
tenadventure is a one-dimensional stringof informa-
tion(text)usedto transforma two-dimensional map
intoa four dimensionaldynamicstate.
Fine,we'llexplain thisfor the lowerlevelXDMs
iustreading thisbook for the firsttime. lf you already
knowwhatwe'resayin& you'll iusthaveto be pa-
Therearetwo basicguidingoptionswhenyou
try to writedownyour adventure whichyou caneasily
choose by
between asking your thisquestion:
self
ls the primarymotivating
forceon the characters
limitedoptionsor limitedtime?
Thefirstiscalledanoptionlockwhilethesecond
iscalleda timelock.
l. OptionlockThismeans thattheoptionsavail-
ableto the players
will diminishoverthe course of
theadventure untiltheyliterallyrunout of op-
tions.Playerswhoaremakingtheirwaythrough
an underground dungeon areprimarilyfacedwith
anoptionlock;thereareonlyso manyplaces that
* OK, whineyphysicspeople,we knowthat the text exiss in the third
dimensionphysically. The ink, no matter how thin, hasits own three
dimensional spaceand the pageceruinly hasa thickness beyondis width
and height.We're not talkingaboutthe physicalpropertiesof the page,
we're talkingabout the dimensionsof the informationitself, Feedthat to
Schrddinger's cat . . . who may or may not be aroundto chewon it.
t For you gamedesignchallenged, new XDMs, a "chart" comparesone
set of numbersto a matchedpair of results.A "tdble" crossreferencestwo
fields(acrossthe top and down the side)to find the resultat the intersection
of the two fields.Now you can refer to charu and tablescorrectly and
not havepeoplesnickerbehindyour backany longerat gamedesign
conferences.

t)'

s trtr
lt

f;
 theycango andeventhoughtheyarefreeto wan- certainlya lot of creativeelements in an adventure
der aroundall theywant,no onewantsto go back module,it's all aboutthe performance in the end.
to an empty room. Sotheykeepexploringuntil When you write your adventure, it is more
the limitof theiroptionsis reached andtheyfrnally importantthat it is organized properlythanhow
arriveat the endof the adventure. floweryyour purpleproseflowson the page.Orga-
Optionlock dealmorewithspace andchoices nizationandeaseof reference arethe watchwords.
thanwithtime.Classic dungeons andoutdoor It's your performance fromthesenotesthat matters
adventures in a closedmatrixwithwelldefined moreandthe moreorganized your scriptthe better
boundaries arebothexamples of optionlockenvi- your performance.
ronments. No matterhowlongthe players wander
around,eventually theywill runout of options Cut Scenes
for placesto visit.In thistypeof adventure the You'rean XDM, a masterof the game!Why
bestapproachis to makeyour text referprimarily overburden yourselfwith mundane deuilssuchas,
to mapsandlocations independent fromtimed say,doingthe exposition for your adventure? Why
events. you
should do all the workwhileyour playersiust
sit aroundthe tablepretending that theyhearwhat
2. TimelockThismeans thattheclockis tickingon you aresay,but all the whilearesecretly wishingyou
the bombandthattheamountof timeavailable wouldstopreadingthat longdescription text andget
for the characters to solvethe problemwill dimin- on with bashing in the headsof a fewmonsters?
ishwith everypassing second.Thisis,obviously, a Hey,why is thatyourproblem?
bit moreurgenton timeconstraints for the play- We humblysuggest thatyou usescriptsand
ers.lf yourplayers suddenly wakeup anddiscover cut scenes to getyou throughthoseawkwardmo-
theyarestanding nextto a thermonuclear device ments.
in the 100 kilotonyieldrangein the middleof A cut sceneis a videogameterm for a se-
the New Mexicodesertwith a loudvoicecount- quence insidethegameoverwhichthe playerhaslit-
ingdownfromthetenminutemark,andnothing tle or no control.Theyareprimarilyusedto advance
for transportation but the RedBallJetsneakers on character, plot,or background issues insidethe game.
theirfeet. . . that'sa time lockfor you that no Theyalsoprovidetexture,flavor,andatmosphere for
amountof runningawaywillsolve. the game.Youmightthinkof theselittlescenes as
Timelockrelatesmoreto timethanto spaceor thosesamelong,boringdescriptions thatyou'vebeen
options.Youwill needlocations and,no doubt, givingin everygame.Until now.
maps,but the primaryconcernof the adventure- We suggest that you scriptthesecut scenes
the veryheartof your organizationof the text-will andhaveyour players performthem.Youcaneven
needto centeraroundsequences of eventsand producetheseascut sheets-copies of the script
theirrelationship to choices. whichonlyhavethe spokenlinesfor eachof the play-
Now thatyou'vefrguredout the general approach erson them.
to your adventure (linear,open,or closedmatrix)and
is primaryconcern(optionor timelocked)it's timeget lmplied Story
thewholethingorganized. Actorson a stageareoftenencouraged to look
not justoverthe audience but to gazeto the left or
Tricks of AdventureWriting rightof the proscenium. Thiseffectively extends the
The Script stagebecause the audience, followingthe sightlines of
All XDMsknowthat the textof your adventure is the performer's eyes,believes that thereis morein
a script.lt's a reference workthat isn'tmeantto beread the character's worldthat is contained on the stage
but a guide to performance. Thismeansthatwriting iself.
a goodadventure hasmoreto do with technical writ- Thisis alsotrue in the descriptions thatyou
ingthanit doeswith creativewriting.Whilethereare writefor the variousencounter locations in your
adventure. Mostof the writingin encounter locations Whowerethesepeople?Whyaretheyhere?What
isdullanddry stuff,but the description text isyour happened?
oneopportunity to imbuethe encounter with sights, Remember that it is the natureof humanityto
sounds, smells, all the emotionandsense that brings completestories-especially wherenoneis given.Every
aplaceto life in your players'minds.lt is helpful, timeplayers areconfronted with whatlookslikea story
then,whenconsidering whatto put in thesepieces theywill complete it in theirminds,makingup whatev-
ofdescriptive text,to look"beyondthe proscenium" er pleases themto fill in the gapsandmakeit complete.
andextendthe encounter throughthe useof implied Thewonderfulthingaboutthisis that it involves the
story. players morecompletely because it engagestheirimagi-
lmpliedstorymeans placingdescriptions in- nation,allowingthemto actuallycontributesomething
sidethetextthat hint at greatereventsthat havehap- of theirowncreativityto the adventure.
pened herein the past.Try the followingexamples:
Foundation
As you openthedoor,you seethat the back A goodmysterystoryincludes a surprise
endingat
of it is charred.Theroombeyondappears to be whichyou canlookbackandsaythatall the clueswere
the remains of a library.Thebookshereareall thereallalong.
charred,standing on shelyesthat skewawayfrom In storytelling,
we callthat foundation. You laythe
theblackcraterin the centerof theroom. foundation for the workthat comeslaterin the telling.
Thesameis truein designing roleplayingadventures;
Whathappened here?Whodid this?Are they you cannothavea monsterthat no onehas
anywhere aroundor is thissomething seenbeforeandhasneverbeenmentioned
thathappened longago? jumpout of nowhere and
Whataboutthisde-
scription:

Themummified
remains of a woman 7 BETIHERE'S
Iayatopan altar.On A STOWBEHINP
rhesfairsbelowit, two THISSrffiuq,
skeletalfigureslayfrozenin
thegripof combat,theirrust-
ingarmorall that remains
of theirclothing.One's
bonyhandgripswisps
of hairon hisoppo-
nent'sskullwhile
theother'shand
wrapsaroundhis
enemy's throat,Both
holdshortswords
in theirremain-
hands, plunged
throughoneanoth-
er'sribcages.

57
expectthat creatureto makesense. Soif you have asRayenlofr does.Two examples: In oneof the early
an ultimatebadguy at the endof your adventure, encountered hallways is a suitof armor.Thisis de-
somebody betterbe talkingabouthim verynearthe scribedin detail,andit is notedfor the playersthat,
beginning. whilethe restof the hallis frlledwith cobwebs and
dust,thisarmorisshining andclean.This,of course,
Misleading freaks out players because it is soout of place.But
Detailcallsattentionto itselfin a roleplaying the truth is thatthereis nothingwrongwith the ar-
game.Themoredetailyou givesomething, the more mor. lt's justthereto freakplayersout.
certainthe playersarethat thereis something important lust asquarterbacks in Americanfootballalways
aboutwhat you aredescribin& you
otherwise wouldn't try to use at least one running playearlyin a setof
be describingit! Theotherpartof that axiomis that downs,toneof thetechniques youshoulduseasan
detailslowsdownthe game, but thisis something you XDM is to occasionally-not always but occasionally-
canuseto your advantage by purposefully misleading picksomething in theadventure andthendescribe it
the playerswith detail. in intricate detail.Then, as players ask you questions
Forexample,in the classic adventure Ravenloft by aboutit, always secretlyroll somemeaningless dice
Tracy8t LauraHickman,' the prevailing overburdened and then look at the ceiling for a moment before
descriptions,whicharepervasive throughout the text, answering with something like,"No, you don't see
lendan airof impending doom.Detailcallsattention to anything unusual after inspecting the thirty-foottall
iself. Thismeansthat if you t:tkethe timeto describe claystatueof the grimmanwhoseeyesstaredownat
something, thenit mustbe importantto the players. you with hollowcoldness despitethe oppressive heat
Players,of course,pickup on thisearlyin theirgam- in the room.. . at leastfor now!"
ing-whichmeans thatyou canuseit against them,iust That'scalled"keeping themhonest."

t lf you are unfamiliarwith AmericanFootballthen you are eitherfrom

* 496s and 349'hlevelXDMs who, asyou might haveguessed,
are the somenationotherthan the United Statesor havebeenlivingtoo long in
two premiereadventuregamedesignersalivetoday. the basement.

58
$rrNcrHEXDM
rl r
lt I
\ ____------.1

1---1

A
,r.il
t/l\l
(:,

[_r
ll I I't_rQ (_

l_

il,il
 ANAC(?/|CKYOUR"
C\IEEKS!
RAaE!BIOU!

{LL THEQevn'sA $rncr

IHnrTERBGHT:
It isn't whetherthey live or die, it's how you PLAYtheir game.

Gameplay,the XDM tlfay! story(see"Narrative:HowWe MakeSense of the

Thereis nothinglikea game, nothingin theworld! Chaos" on page 29). As early humans struggled to
Whenyou'replaying anXDM-rungame,thatis.We're understand the worldaroundthem,theyhadsto-
ulkinga no-holds-barred, pedal-to-the-metal,full- rytellerswho wouldpassdownthe storiesof their
throttleadventure that grabsplayercharacters by their ancestors andpeople,defrning theirheritage andpast
bent-armor chestplateanddragstheminto the heartof and instructing their future generations on the their
excitement. How do you getto thisplace?Youneeda society's socialnorms.Thismayfirsthavehappened
committed XDM. around the communal frreor insidea protectivecave.
An XDM gameis morethana game-it'sa perfor- Storytelling is at the heartof the humanexperience.
mance,a fully-orchestrated improvisational theaterwith Down through the millennia, the technologies for
you asthe combination directorandmainactor.Your tellingstorieshavechanged greatly,but the needfor
playersin the gameonlyhaveto worryaboutportray- tellingstories hasremained thesame.Bardsandstory-
ingonecharacter; you haveto takeallthe otherpartsas tellerswandering across the faceof the worldbrought
wellasfabricate the setting(through your descriptions). news and philisopies from far awayand,with them,
You alsosetthe paceof the gameandstory;keepa pic- the firstinstances of cognitivedissonance-challenging
ture in your mindof the interactionsof allthe perform- thoughs and behaviors locally.Magicians, too, began
ers;andinterpretthe resultsof physical, social,emo- touringthe worldwith theiracts,bringingwonderand
tional,andethicalconsequences of character all spectacle
actions; to storytelling. TheGreeksformalized story-
whilesimultaneously adiudicatinggamerules. tellinginto dramatics and plays.Theseformseventu-
That'swhatbeinga trueXDM is all about! ally ledto Shakespeare, Gilbert and Sullivan, Rogers
andHammerstein, andAndrewLloydWebber.
XDM: The Modern Bard Radio allowed thesoundof storytelling to be
Fromour verybeginnings ashumanbeings, we broadcast overlargedistances to massaudiences and
havebeenstorytellers. As we have pointed out previ- the radio play was born. Movies similarlyallowed the
ously,storyis hard-wired into usashumans. We per- visualsceneof storytelling to be conveyed to large
ceivethe worldthroughthe lensandframework of audiences as prins would be sent across the country.
Quicklybothweremeldedtogetherinto the "talkies"

60
 AurHE Qevr'sa $rncr

(motionpictures withsound)andonecouldbothsee to novellas, to epicpoemsso lengthyasto put Homer

andhearthe storybeingconveyed in the flickering to sleep.
lightof a darkened localtheater.Thentelevision took Oftenduringthe courseof the gameyou will have
upthe cause,broadcasting sightandsoundrightinto otherexpositional momentsaswell,wherethe play-
homes.Thegreatstoryteller became available with ersmayhaveuncovered a newpieceof information,
theflickof a switchandthe turn of a dial. or triggered someevent,whichtheywill thenneed
We havea universe frlledwith peopletryingto to observe or understand moreexposition in orderto
sellusstoriesconstantly. Commercials arelittlestories forwardthe game'splot.
interrupting biggerstories.Theinternetis frlledwith Theproblemwith exposition is that it bringsplayer
people, all speaking at thesametime,witha relativelyactionto a standstill. All the characters in the game
veryfew peoplebothering to listen.We arebom- haveto iustsortof standaroundwhileyou dumpinfor-
bardedincessantly with noisetryingto pullour atten- mationon top of them.
tionto someone else'sstory.We are,in short,being Unless theinformation youareconveying is an
divertedto death. absolutely jaw-dropping revelation that electrifies their
Butthe XDM issomething special,a modern-dayinterest(oddsareagainst it) thenyou needto finda
bardwho hasthe opportunitynot onlyto entertain, morecreative wayof conveying thisinformation.
butenlighten, inspire,andconnect withotherson a Cut Scenes Onewaywe havealready mentioned is
personal level.Youaren't performing for a massive throughthe useof cutscenes (see"cut scenes" on
audience;. a roleplayinggameis a socialconnec- page56). Lettheplayers actout the exposition
tion betweena fewplayersgathered to createa story whileyousitbackandwatch.lf you havea really
together withthe helpof somecommonrulesand goodgroupof players, you mightgivethemeach
dicerolls. a pieceof the criticalinformation that everyone
Regardless of howwellor poorlytheyplay,the needsto knowandthenchallenge themto create
actualsuccess of the gamedepends largelyon you, theirown"improv"cut scene. Theymustwork
themodernBard. intotheirconversation the information thatthey
haveon theircard.Tellthemthey'llgetextra
Keep Rolling in the Role pointsfor doinga reallygoodiob.
Knowinghowto best perform your roleasthe
XDMin yourgameis perhaps themostdifficult,de- Expositional PropsYoucancrowbar
manding andrewarding partof yourcalling. Youhave a tremendous amountof exposi-
prepared for thismoment,considered your players, tion into a prop.Prepare lettersin
andchosen or craftedyouradventure to suittheir advance containing the expositional
needs. Youhaveeverything at hand. information thatyou wishthe
Thecurtainis aboutto go up. Success rests players to discover, put them
entirelyon yourshoulders. lt's showtime! Hereare on parchment andusecool,
sometechniques to helpyourgameexperience beas mystic-looking fontswhen
X-tremeasyouwish. you printthemout.t Don't
tellyour players aboutthe
ExpositionYourself! fragment of the maptheyjust
Mostadventure games startout with a setup. discovered, giveit to themso
Thisis an expositional piecewherethesettingand that theycanpawanddrool
storyof the gameareall laidout for the players so alloverit on theirowntime.
thattheyhavesomereference framework in which Go to yourlocalcuriosity
theircharacter's actions makesense. Thisis calledex- shop,antiquestore,TaiPan
positionandit canrangefrom something assimpleas
"Youareallsittingarounda tableat the localtavern"
* Unless, you'rerunning
of course, event.(Seepage
a KillerBreakfast * You couldactuallyresortto handletteredcalligraphy whichwould be
r0t.) evencooler,but that'sentirelyup to you and ygur calligraphic
skills.

51
 TradingCompany,.or importstoreandfindsome in the nextsection)but we aretalkingabouthowyou
odditythatyou canworkinto your
inexpensive sayit.
game.Thenput the secretmessage
insidethatob- thatyou will com-
Let'sstartwith somebasics
iect. monly encounterin roleplaying
games:

Go MultimediaIn an agewhereeveryone seems DungeonCrawlingWhenyour playersarejust

to haveaccess to a videocamera,editingequipment, movingthroughenclosed spaces andyou have
andtheflrm beliefthattheirvideo(unliketheresfof you
somedescription needto give them,con-
YouTube) is actually good... well,thisleadsto all kinds siderloweringthe volumeof your voiceslightly
of possibilities for producing your ownexposition video andspeaking in slower,hushed tones.Not only
whichyou canshowto your players throughthe "magic willyourquietvoicehavea tendency to bring
window"or whatever you decideto callyour television downthe volume of the player's voices but the
or computer monitor. slowerpacewill serveyou shortly.
Howeveryou decideto handleexposition, remem-
berthatit shouldalways be brokenup whenever possible Foreshadowing andAnticipationWhensomething
soasnot to slowdowna game. bigis aboutto happento your players-whether
it is goodor bad-youshouldgiveyour players
Dramatic Pause:Pacein the Game a dramatic heads up for the hairon theback
Yourmasteryof storytelling canmakeor breaka of theirnecks.Lowerthevolumeof yourvoice
game,andyour masteryoveryourvoicewill makeor andslowdownthe paceperceptibly. Speak your
breakyour storytelling. wordswith emphasis, asthougheachonewere
Picture yourself stuckin a seatin themiddleof vital.AlfredHitchcock, the masterof suspense,
a largevenuefull of people.An expertor authorityis sowiselysaid,"Thereis no terrorin the bang,
sundingat a podiumin frontof youspeaking on a sub- onlyin theanticipation of it." lf you aregoing
iectthat is absolutely fascinating-to them.Youmightbe to giveyour playersa reallygoodscare,then
interested in the topic,but the speaker hasa voicewith you haveto allowthemto anticipate it, and
onlyonelevelof pitch,onetoneof delivery andone thenrelieye themof it for a splitsecondbefore
cadence in theirvoice.+ Theygo on, andon, andon. . . you hit themfrom behind.
the samevoice,the samepitch,thesamerelentless pace ThemotionpictureAlienfor examplemakes
betweentheirwords. surethatyou areafraidlongbeforeyou geta
It's likewatertorture. chanceto seethe monster.Musicandmoody
Eachday,unfeeling gamereferees aresubiecting settings, allowyou to be steeped in anticipation
thousands of innocent gameplayers to theseinhumane beforethe monstereverevenappears. Yourad-
experiences for hourson end.Thereis no respiteor ventures needto makeuseof the sameanticipa-
relieffor thesegamers, manyof whomknowof no other tion.Theuseof longandelaborate descriptions
gamingexistence. at such points will heighten anticipation while
Butthereis something you cando to help. automatically slowingdownthe game.
No, you do not needto sendusmoneymonthly
to adoptoneof theseunfortunate gamers,t but you do And ... Action Whenthe players suddenly frnd
needto be awareof the power of varying pace andvocal themselves you
in diredistress, mustmakeit
deliveryin performing your game. dire!Thepaceabsolutely mustincrease tremen-
We'renot talkingabout whatyouaresaying(that's douslyat this point andthe pitch of your voice
rise in the excitement. You cannotexpectyour
* Thismentionof the Tai PanTradingCompanywasmadewithout
promotionalconsideration
players to be excitedif you do not conveyit
... but we're not abovetakingit, shouldthey offer
us compensationfor it. withyourvoice.Everything musthappenfast.
You might considerthinkingof BenSteinplayingthe teacherin 'Ferris problem:
f
Bueller'sDay Off' at this point for inspiration.
Here'sthe real combatin roleplay-
+ Although we are consideringsettingup a mostly not for profit foundation inggames-the onemomentin the gamethat
to assisttheseunfortunates.

52
 An rHEQRirne's
e $rncr

absolutely requires speed-isinvariably the most Manyadventures, including yours,will probably

complicated, overburdened, andsystem-laden includedescriptive text.Thisis important because while
partof the rules.Thesystemasksyou to slow the restof the encounter descriptionwill probably
downprecisely at the momentyou mustspeed involverules-intensive (andratherdry) materials related
thingsup. Thisis the dilemma of theages.But to the mechanics of running theencounter, the descrip-
we'regoingto address thisin "off-loading"on tivetext is the onechanceyou haveto conveyall the
page64. ambiance, nuance andcolorthatthisparticular encoun-
Whatyou mustachieve duringanyaction ter involves.
sequence is a highdegreeof energyin your Theproblemis that mostgamereferees iustread
portrayalandasmuchcolorin your descriptionsthistextverbatimfrom the words printed on the page,
asyou canmanage at that levelof speed.Rather whichusually makes themasdry andlifeless asthe rules
thansimplyinterpreting players'success or text.
failurein combatas"a hit" or "a missr"do your Descriptive text,eventhe mostprosaic, should
bestto describe the resultsin graphictermssuch neverbe readverbatimby an XDM. Instead, the XDM
as"your cutlass slicesinto the sideof the Orc shouldreadthe text beforehand to geta sense of the
whohowlsin agony!"or "Your cutlass stroke overall picture that it is tryingto conveyandthen,in
goeswide,slamming against thetablewith herownwordsdescribe the areato the players. By do-
enoughforceto sloshaleout of the mugs." ingso,theXDM hasthe pictureof theareain hermind
andcanaddress withherdescription anyquestions that
PurpleProse:How Not to ReadDescriptions the players mayhave.Thisis importantsothat you can
Oneof yourresponsibilities asanXDM isto maintainthe effect,tone,mood,andambience of the
"paintthescene."Thismeans thatyouareresponsi- encounter longafteryou haverun out of the descriptive
blefor givingthe descriptions that makethe universe texton the page.And speaking of the "picture".. .
come alivein the imagination of theplayers. While
youcando a numberof thingsto helpyou in this Keepingthe Picture
osk(suchascreatingexactminiaturerepresentations Any XDM worthhislevelshouldpracticemain-
oftheareas your players'characters areexploring), uining the"picture"at alltimes.Thisis a flightschool
themost-used andbasictool in the XDM'sarsenal is termwherepilos areaskedto keepa mentalpictureof
expositional just
description: conveying to the play- thespace aroundtheiraircraftin mindat alltimes.In
erswhattheircharacters seethroughyourwordsand roleplayinggames, the relativepositions of the players
gestures. andtheirsurrounding environment canbeof greathelp

tNfTtATtye,
ANo
IHENLEI'STAKE
A BIO-BREAK,

lHE NEXTIHIRW
OF TIiE AWENTURE
SECONOS
ts oorNo To IAKEAgoul

53
to theXDM in maintaining a consistentandbelievable then)do you describe the combatin full, takinginto
experiencefor the players. Thisis especially
truewhen account thefactthatsomepeoplelaunching their
the mechanics of a gamestartinterfering with the verisi- bowsfrom the backof the partymightbe interfered
militude'of theexperience. with by thosein front of them,thata completely
Forexample, if the combatmechanics of your fumbledblowby the knightin the front of the
gamerequirethat all combatants taketurnsbashing groupmightwellaffectthe two companions whoare
eachother,it canbeginto soundridiculously tedious standing on eithersideof him.Thepicturewill be
ratherthanexciting.Foran example, a quotefrom constantly changing-with the pacethat matches your
Stephen Leacock'sr Nonsense Novels,GuidotheGimlet game.
of Ghent:A Romance of Chivalryz
Pollingand Shifting Emphasis
FirstGuido,raisinghismacehighin the air We'vealsomentioned thisbefore("Executing lt
withboth hands,broughtit downwith terribleforce All in the Game:PollingandJuggling" on page27)
on Tancred'smailedhead.ThenGuidostoodstill, but it is so importantthatwe neededto mentionit
andTancredraisinghismacein the airbroughtit againhere.Youhavemanydifferenttypesof players
downuponGuido'shead.ThenTancred stoodstill in yourgameandeachof themhavedifferentneeds
andturnedhisback,andGuido,swinging hrsmace theyarelookingto be fulfrlled.Whethertheyare
sideways,gavehima terrificblowfrom behind, warrior,social,or thinkingplayers, eachonewill be
midway,rightcentre.Tancredreturnedtheblow. Iookingfor somedifferentaspectin the gameplay
ThenTancred kneltdownon hishands andknees and thatwill satisfythem.
Guidobroughtthe macedownon hisback.lt wasa Youshouldconstantly be pollingthe playersas
sheercontestof skillandagility.Fora timetheissue to whethertheirneedsarebeingmet.Thisis always
wasdoubtful.ThenTancred's armourbeganto bend, donesilentlyandwill requireyou to developsome
hisblowsweakened, he fell prone.Guidopressed his observational skillsregarding your players.Are they
advantage andhammered himout asflatasa sardine gettingbored?Whatworksfor them?As an XDM,
can.Thenplacinghisfoot on Tancred's chest,he you mustbe prepared constantlyto shiftthe empha-
Ioweredhisvizorandlookedaroundabouthim. sisin your gameto that whichwill bringyour play-
ersalongwithyou. lt's a balancing actnot unlikea
Combatin mostroleplayinggames comesacross stand-up comedian tryingto figureout whichjokes
verymuchthiswaybecause everyone takesturnsbash- areworkingwith that particular crowdon that par-
ingeachother. ticularnight.
However, asanXDM, if you canmaintain the pic-
Offloading
ture of allof the characters
andcreatures in the combat
As anXDM,youhavea lot on yourplate.
andtakeinto accounttheiractionsasa wholethenthe
You'reresponsible for keeping the gamepaceup,
description of the combat(andtheresults) canbecome
far moredramatic.Ratherthandolingout damage one iudgingwhichcharacters liveor die,weavinga tapes-
try of the experience by creatinganddescribingset-
slugat a time,haveallyourplayers makealltheirat-
tings,andplayingthe paru of all those"extras"that
tacks-inturn if you like-andallof thecreatures they
areattacking
keepappearing aroundthe player's characters.
maketheirownattacks.Keeptrackof the
Sowhyshouldyou do all the work?
damages donein sequence andgetthesemechanics all
Any gamemechanics or busywork choresthat
out of the wayasquicklyaspossible. Then(andonly youcanoffloadontoyour players you shouldoffload
* Verisimilitudeis the appearance andrightfrom the verybeginning. Whyshouldyou
of beingtrue or real;likenessor
resemblance of the truth or reality. lt is a very big word to be usedin role performall the heavycalculations becauseyour
playinggames,but sincethe levelof realismin gamesis of almostobsessive playerhasa plus-this swordandis minus-that when
concernto gamers,you shouldspringthis word on them now and then
wheneverthey sun quotingrulesat you. frghtingcanaries?lt's theircomplexcharacter;let
t StephenLeacock(1869-1944) wasCanada'spremierelecturer, yourplayersdo the heavylifting. Havethemtell you
humorist,and author. His NonsenseNove/sremain fun to read today. He is
the favoriteauthor of Tracy Hickman- go frgure.
whatyou needto know:whatnumbertheyhaveto

54

rollin orderto succeed. Theyshouldtell you how
muchdamage theythinktheydid. Youcanalways
correct that if necessary.
Players shouldbe in chargeof theirownmap
(especiallyif theygetit wrong)andtheyshouldkeep
trackof theirowntreasure(whatthe XDM giveth,
theXDMcantakethaway).
Whenyou areworkingwith players whoarenew
to roleplayinggaming,thenyou'll needto helpthem
outandtell themwhichdiceto roll. Butsoonenough
you'lltrainthemrightandthey'llbewhitewashing
thefence.for you in everygame.Neverdo anymore
workasan XDM thanyou must.
Smellof the GreasePaint, Roar of
the Orcs
z'zz
\l
\il
-a'-
( means understanding whatthe correctreaction
o NPC,environment,
Showmanship duringgameplayis oneof the
mostimportantthingsyou canlearn.lf you wantthe
quickest wayto improveyour game,learnhowto
present the gamebetter.lf you learnonlyonegreat
andimportanttruth aboutgamingfromthisbooklet
it bethis:
' Asin TomSawyer gettingall theotherchildrento whitewashhis
AuntPolly'sfencein MarkTwain'snovel,Iom Sanyer.lf you stilldon't
undentandthisreferencethenI havea fun fenceI'd liketo showyou.
n $rncr
{nrHE Qevm's
An XDM is an actor playingthe part of an
XDMi.
Thismeansthat all the rulesof rhetoricandthes-
pianism+ applyto you. To makethisaspainless aspos-
siblewe haveconstructed a listof somethingsto work
on andkeepin mind.
| . "Umm" Don'tsay"ummmt'. lt's a badhabit
that everyonefallsinto. Youareperforming here.
Whenyou say"Ummm" it soundslike(andprob-
ablymeans)thatyou don't knowwhatyou are
talkingabout.Eliminate thisword (andsimilar
verbalcrutches)fromyourspeech asmuchaspos-
sible.s
2. Speakclearlyandwith emphasis.No onewants
to playa gamewith a mumblingfool. To entertain
you haveto be understood.
3.Actingis not so muchactingasit is reacting.
Trueactingisn'treallyactingat all. lt's reacting
to the elements that affectit. Peoplearethisway.
Something happens andyou reactto it. Your
reactionmakesotherpeoplereact.Howthey
reactmakesyou react.And on andon it goes.
Don'tthinkthismeans losingcontrol.lt doesn't.lt
an
or you personally shouldhave
to a situation.Dida playerdo something funny?
Laugh-loud.Makehim feelgoodfor contribut-
ingto the entertaining experience of the game.Do
all drunksin tavernsreactthe samewhentheyare
pushed. No! And don'talways let somedietell
you whattheydo either.You knowthisNPC,act
for him.
Thisideabringsusto a veryimportantplace.
Didyourplayers justblowup a silo?Whatis the
reaction of the NPCsin thearea?Whatdid the
explosion do?Whataboutthe smoke?Someone
musthaveseenit. Howyouasan XDM reactto
thisis key.To be honestthisis the mostimportant
thingin the book.And we will discuss it ad
nauseam furtherbelow.lt's thatessential.
f The realquote is "A
Thk is actuallya slightlyalteredbit of plagiarism.
magicianis an actorplayingthe part of a magician."lt is accreditedto Jean
EugdneRobert-Houdin, the fatherof modem maglc.But that doesn'tmake
it any lesstrue for XDMs.
* Insertold and tasteless ioke here.
5 lf you ever catch one of us saying"Ummm," we dld it on purposeand
areallowedto'causewe makethe rules.
55
SeTNcTHEXDM
4.Acting is not makingfaces.Whenplayingthe role
of an NPC,don't fall into the old trapthat acting
sadmeansmakinga sadface.Depression means
not eating,not sleeping well,andprobablyanat-
temptto hideit. Again,if the NPCis sad,howwill
he reactto that sadness? Everything isa reaction.A
goodXDM will showan emotion,not iustsaythat
the character is cryingandthenspeakfor him in
a weepyvoice.He will understand whythe NPC
feelsthatwayandact (react)accordingly.
Ethics,os "Try telling THAT to an
Angry Mob!"
One lastthingto consider asyou iudgeyour
games asanXDM:the ethicsin yourgamemustbe
consistent,functional, dynamic,andhaveconsequences.
Hereis an examplefrom a typicalroleplaying
game.The nameshavebeenchanged to protectthe
peoplewho mayyet purchase thisbook:
Thethiefcomesin throughthe gates
of
thecity. He walksup to oneof the localsand
asks,"Excuseme,whereis therichest of part
town?"Thelocalwomansmilesandpoints
downtheroad."Rightdownthere!Turnleft at
the goldenstatueandyou can't missit." The
thief stealsthe localwoman's purseandfollows
her directions. He arrivesat the goldenstatue,
stealsit, andthenftndsthe richesthomeon the
block.He entersthefront door andencounters
a blindanddeafretainer.Hesneaksinto the
house,discovers l0,OOOpieceof gold,stealsit,
andthensneaks out,of thehouse.
Wow.Howdroll. Heart pounding excitement.
Let'stry thisagain:
Thethiefcomesin throughthe gates
of thecity. Thecity guard-muchheartier
menthanonemightsuppose-tpyhimat
onceanddraghim intoa corner, questioning
him thoroughly.Theydeuin himin theciA
dungeons go
for a weekbeforelettinghim with
a sternadmonition.
Wellthisseems morelikely,doesn'tit? I meanthe wouldweigh?
guyis a thief.He continues on.
Thethief, recentlyreleased from thecity
dungeon,walk up to a womannearthe main
gateof thecity and asks,"Excuseme,where
is therichestpartof town?"
Thewoman'seyesnarrowasshelooksat
him,"Whydoyou ask?"
oOh,' the thief says,thinkingon hisfeet
for thefirsttime,"it's my Uncle,He sentfor
me andhe happens paft
to livein the richest
of town,soI'm tryingto find him."
Thewoman,still squinting at him says,
"Indeed,andwhatis thenameof your
Uncle?"
"Uh... Frank/'thethiefrepfieswitha
smile.Thewomancallsthecity guardswho
dragoff the thiefto thecity dungeon.
Thisis a city,isn'tit? Peopleherearesuspicious
of eachotherandceftainlysuspicious of a complete
stranger. Thiswomanprobablylivesin the city andno
morewantsa thiefherethananyoneelse.OK, we'll
let thisonego for now.
"Uh...Frank/'thethiefreplieswitha
smile.Thewomandoesnot callthe cityguard
but says,"lt's nearthecenterof town.You
hadbestfindyour unclerightaway.Thecity
guards don't takekindlyto outsiders."The
thief nods,thentriesto stealher purse.The
womanfightshim for it! Shestartsbeating
himon the headwith her purse,screaming for
the guard.Othersin the squarerushto her
aid,andtheystarf beatingon the thief. There
arecriesto hanghimfromthecW gateslHe
is onlysavedbecause the CityGuardrescues
him,dragshimoff to thecitydungeonwhere,
a yearlater...
Somuchfor thatsimplepursesnatch.Maybehe
won't try that.He'lliustgo for the bigscoreinstead.
Thethiefmakeshiswayto the golden
st fueand attemptsto stealit..,
Haveyou anyideahowmucha goldenstatue
He can'ttakeit anywhere withouta
wagonanda teamof drafthorses. Forget ..
thestatue.
 An rHEQenm's
n $race

wasthe frrsttimeTracyhadeverseenthe lynchingof

Thethieffindsthe richesthomeon the playercharacters.
street.Dodging a far morevigilantgroupof Thepointhereis that games withoutinternal
cityguards,he waitsuntil nightandmanages ethics,withoutsociallyenforcedconsequences for the
to makeit into thefront doorof thehouse. actionsinside the game,areboring.Worse,theyteach
Heencounters the recainerwhois blindand a falsehood, thatwe arenot responsiblefor our actions.
deaf-butnot stupid!He sounds the alarm! play
XDMsalways the ethicsinsidetheir game to the
Thethiefgrabsa goldencandlestick-the absolutehilt not justbecauseit makesfor moreexciting
onlytreasure at hand-andleapsout the back gameplay,but betterpeopleafterthe gameis done.
window.Theguardsarebackthere,too! He
quicklythrowsopenthecoverto the sewer,
Ieaps downinto it, andtriesto makehisway
out.Heis lostin itsmazeof tunnels,getster-
riblysick,andat lastis forcedto comeback
out to the surface- wherethe City Guards
arewaitingfor him.Theysawwherehe went
andknewit wasonlya matterof time.The
thiefis hungby hiswristsfrom a wallin the
dungeon. ..

Now,isn'tthat moreexciting? That'sadventurel

that'saction!That'sdreadfullyhardon the character \N\,
l,l
inthegame,but he hadit coming. \i
Thepointhereis that gamesplayedwithout
internalethicsareboring.lt's likeSuperman without
Kryptonite. lf you cangetawaywith anything inside
thegamethenwhereis the challenge, the danger,the
thrill?
Jarod,TracyHickman's son,oncehada group
ofhisiuniorhighschoolfriendscometo hishouse
to pfayin hisdad'sRavenloft
these
adventure.
Admittedly,
wereiuniorhighschoolboys,sojusthowmuch
couldyouexpectfromthem?Anyway,we gavethem
L-
allcharacters with swordsandthe adventure began.
Theseboysmanaged to maketheirwayinto
townandfollowedthe soundof a womanweeping
inconsolably in the upperfloorof herhome.They lr
foundherthere,sobbingoverthe fateof her lost
daughter. Well,theseboyshadmadea lot of trouble
\'i
coming into townanda mobwasgathering outside.
Mindyou,you'llnot findthiswrittenin themodule,
butit madesensein the settingthat thetownsfolk
wouldgatherbecause the XDM waskeeping the
whole picturein hismindduringthegame.Seeing the
mobouside,oneof the boysdecidedthe bestwayto
escape the situationwasto throwthe sobbing woman
outof thewindowto distractthemob.
Youcanguess whatthe incensedmobdid! lt

57
 -rrr,4

Q-

h,
YOU ?ON'T! ,llY
TIALF-IQOLLOCOEIS
A FEAR.SAVEAOAINST

fHnnrun\frwr,fivrNcrHRoucHTHEfipvoruuoN
Whatto do whenyour playersturn uglierthanthey alreadyare!

In anyXDM gamethereis the possibility, 'em.r

no ]ustshoot
matterhowremote,thatthe playersmayactuallyat-
temptto question the authorityof the gamereferee.As As an XDM, whenconfronted with a player
absurdasthisappears on the faceof it, thereareindeed terroristwho is tryingto holdyour gamehostage to
numerous reportsof sucheventsactuallytakingplace. some obscure rule that he or she insisg you follow
is protractednegotia-
Youmayneverhaveoccasion to comeacross a player andwho willingto enterinto
tionswhileholdingall the otherplayersof your game
so foolishasto attemptthisbut, shouldyou somehow
hostage to incessant yammering abouthowhe or she
frndyourselfin thissituation,therearea fewtechniques
is beingwronged...
whichyou canuseto staveoff the unthinkable. You'retheXDM.Justkilltheircharacter.+
Dropa safeon themout of a clearbluesky.
The fack BauerRule Hey,it couldhappen, andshould.Havethe ground
Played superblyby KieferSutherland,. lackBauer beneath theirfeetopenup from an earthquake and
is a counter-terrorist
agentfor a secretUnitedStates swallowthemwhole.A vortexopensup andinstantly
agency on theTV show24. Because theshow'sentire teleportsthemto an alternate universe wherethe
season takesplacein 24 contiguous hoursof non-stop ruletheyarequotingactuallyworks.. . far fromyour
action,JackBauerhaslittletimeto enterinto overly- game.
lengthynegotiations with the terroriststhat he counters. Problemsolved.
Whenever he senses
that he has gotten everything he
hasout of themandthattheyaresimplystalling for f Disclaimer:We do not advocateor condonein any way the actual
shootingof playersor anyoneelsefor that matter. Role playinggamesand
time,he hasa universal solutionto the problem. pretend
fantastictelevisionshowsmay to bump off charactennightly, but
the only gun in a gameroom shouldbe lockedsafelyin your imagination.
{ Disclaimer:When we say "kill their character"we do not intend or in
any way meanto portray that you shouldenter into any sort of character
* Who alsovoiced the part of Raistlinin the Dragonlance:
Dragonsof assasinationon the actualplayerthemselvesno matter how deserving.
Autumn Twiligftt movie. We wish to clarify that you are to kill their characterin the game.

68
 fvrNc JHnoucH THERFVOLUTTON

TheAustralianRule ALWAYS anotherrulethatyou canapply... evenif you

A newlyinitiatedXDM in Brisbane, Australia haveto makeit up.t
whoattended the CenconOZ Convention therein To assistyou in mainuining controlof yourXDM
2008actuallygaineda levelon the spotfor coming games{, we provideyou nowwith the handyQuantum
upwiththisrule.lf he everbuysthisrulesbook,he Universal Incredulous RulesandKnowledge Generator,
automatically getsan additional mo levels.' or QUIRKGenerator. (seepage70) Thishandytable
PopQuiz:A playerat yourtablestaruquoting will allowyou,with the surreptitious roll of a fewdice,
verbatim to you an obscurerulethat contradicts a to createa reasonable-sounding rule,sureto confound
ruling youhavejustmade.Shereadsout of the rule playerwho is tryingto hiiackyour
anyrules-lawyer
bookto emphasize herpointandlooksentirelysmug game.
about herabilityto usean index.Whatdo you do?
All you needto do is roll four times,oncefor
Onesolutionmightbewhatwe nowcallthe
Australian Rule.Yousimplyreachacross eachcolumn,andcombine the phrase in orderfrom
the table
anduke hercharacter sheetfromher,placing A throughD. Thenmakeup whatever you wantabout
it
entirely out of herview.You thensayto her, howit supporuyour position.
"Fromthismomenton, you playyourcharacter Example: A playerchallenges you,quotingsome
without everlookingat your character sheet.You ruleabouthowhalflings geta + 5 bonuswhenusing
canstillplaythe samecharacter, but terriblethings cookingtoolsassiegeweapons. He is gettingbelliger-
willhappen to it if you makea mistake on anyof ent andchallenging bothyourauthorityandabilities
yourstatistics, rolls,or items." asanXDM.Youdecidemagnanimously not to usethe
Punish the character whenever the player
misquotes anyof is statisticsor callsfor an itemthe
sheet doesnot have.Kill the character if the player
makes a bigenoughmistake. You mightbe merci-
fuleventually andtellthe playeryouwill returnher
sheet if shewill put downher rulebookandnever
lookat it again.
WewouldhavecalledthistheTurnabout ls
FairPlayrulebut we thinkAustralian Rulesounds
eversomuchclassier. TTIATI1ALF.
TROLLOCSOOT
There'sALWAYSAnother Rule, R.ule OESUFFEO 'THE
IN
Oneof the greatthingsabouthavingso many ORIaINALAUftIORS'
-PLAYER INTENT
differentroleplayinggamesaroundwith exceedingly
complex rulessetsis that thereareliterallytoo many SUPPLEMENT,'
rulesfor anyonehumanto keeptrackof at one oo Iw 10
time.lt's likeadvanced mathematics: solongasyou KEEPUP.
tellsomeone you areapplyinga rulefrom a differ-
entbranch of the sciencethereis littletheycando
except helplessly whimper.
f Please note that the originalAdvancedDungeons and DragonsDungeon
Soif someone startsquotingrulesat you that MastersGuidecontained,in an obscureplacein that labyrinthinetome, a
aremeantto question your authority,assert their rule that said,"Regardlessof anythingwritten in theserules,whateverthe
dungeonmastersaysis the rule supersedes the ruleswrittenin this book." lf
ownplayersuperiority, or simplymesswith you as one wereto considerthe logicalextensionof thissimplephrasethen there
anXDM,you don't haveto takeit because there's was no needfor any of us to buy all thosebook aftenvardsincewe could
makeup any old rule we wanted.Your word asXDM remainslaw in the
rather limited universeof your gameso makethe most of it and losethe
r Butwe're not giving guilt over usingthis chan.
him his money back for the book. Justthe extra
levels. f And put theseuppity playersin their place.

AO
vt
lack BauerRulebecause theplayerhappens to bethe The XD2O Rule
brotherof a womanyou'rehopingto date.Soyou say, lf you wiselychooseto playyour gameusing
"Ah, but you'renot takingintoaccount the ..." then the XD20 systemit will be hardfor a terroristto take
you roflfourd2Os.Theresults are | 5, 3, 7, and18. overthe game,sincehe doesn'tunderstand the rules,
Youthencontinue with"... UpdatedToolsvs.lmpact andthe XD20 systemis soheavilydependent on the
FAQ." Youthenexplain thatthisrule-which you XDM anyway, thatanyrulesbasher wouldbeat a
recentlyreceived
with your updated game materials and loss.
the pfayerobviously
doesnot yet have-completely ex- lf youareplaying anothersystem andarehaving
plainswhyhisparticularhalfling
is at thismomentbeing troublewith players whowantto run your gamefor
cookedby the monsterin hisown fryingpan. you, we suggestswitching overto the XD20 system
untilyour players eitherhavelearnedbettermanners
or decidethattheypreferthisgameafterall.

Roll (1d20) Column Column Column Column

A B c D
1111 New Weaponsvs. Armor Modifiers Table

2112 Revised Creature

vs. StatsAdjustments Chart

3113 Online Toolsvs. F i n i t eS l i d i n gS c a l e Variant

4114 Official Comparative SpeedSpectrums Appendix

5l1s Updated BlastRadiusand RangeModifiers Module

6116 Corrected Magicvs. Trajectory Supplement

7117 Advanced DivineAid vs. lmpact Rerelease

8/18 Designer's Action and Penetration FAQ

9119 O r i g i n aA
l uthor's Charactervs. PlayerIntent PublishedErrata

10120 Canonical ChaosTheoryvs. QuantumReality BetaTest

70
UTTTMATEXDM
 VANOE 6R,MF
OENE(UIOR?YES!

PARTYLEARNSTIAT MOSES,
,llERLfN,ANOTESLAAQE
ALLTTIESAilEOW,

f unnrERTEN:Af,\lospHERE
Enough
Fog,Lights,Music,md Lasers
to-causeAll Manner of seizures.

Beyond Sanityand at the Edgeof Reality-The 3. Next,makea playlistof dramatic,epic,andoth.

UITIMATE XDM TheatricatSetup- enrriseadventure-esque
music+.UseiTunesfor
thislist-fromnowon we will callthisthe ,,music
Youwill needa buddyanda pyrotechnician to list".
be managingthingsfrom a controlcenter.Theywill
haveaccessto all your lights,sound,lasers,
holograms, 4. UseWindowsMediaPlayers to makea playl-
fog,andfire.Yourbuddywill messwith the firstfive. istof soundeffecsthatwill matchthe upcom-
Thepyrotechnician will messwith the lastone-and ingeventsin youradventure. Dungeondoors
probablyeatyourfood.. opening, armiesmarching,etc.rAlsobesureto
includefrghting/action
musicin thismix. From
Sound nowon wewill callthisthe',SFXlist,,.
I . Useasmanyspeakers
asyour receiver
cantake.
5. Besureto keepyour musictrackrelatively low.
2. Setyourspeaker to pumpyouraudio
distribution Themusiclististhesoundtrack of youradven-
throughall7 + speakers. Thespeakers
shouldbe tureandyou don't wantit to distractfrom the
placedin the roomsoasto completely surround game.
your players.Includea bigsub-woofer
andhave
everythinghookedthroughyour receiverto a 6. YourSFXlistshouldbeoff, but anygivenitem
computerr. on that listcanbe playedto adddramaticand

f The Dragonlance movle soundtrackis a great resource.Readthat again

* Let him. You don't want guy
a who lightsfiresfor a livingmad at you,
especiallynow that he knowswhereyou live,
f You advanceduserscan add a mixingboardin there,causeit makesyou
look cool.
and be sureyou know we are talkingabout the soundtrack-whichwas
awesome.We haveno officialcommenthereaboutthe restof the movie,
S Thk is so you can haveyour soundeffecs playon cue over your
music.Thereare other waysto do this, this is lust the way we havedone
it.
f Yesthis ls stuff foundonline.

72
 AIMOSPHERE

relevanteffectto the game.ls therea thunder Other waysto makeyour tightingmoredra-

stormapproaching? Canthe grouphearcrick- matic.
etsin the freld?ls therean avalanche,
dragon A. Usea chinaballwitha lightbulbinside.This
breathing frre,windin the cave? will diffusethe lightandcreatea softlookacross
everyone in the roomthat is fantastic.
Moviesuse
It is important to remember thattheaudiois this all the time.
totallysecondary to whatthe XDM is saying.The B. WhiteChristmas lighs.Hangsomeblacknetting
XDMshouldneverhaveto yell overhisownsound above your gaming areaandweaveyour lightson
effecs.Furthermore, the XDM andhisbuddymust it. Whocanforgetthisold yet goldengem?A bit
bein syncfor whena givensoundshouldbe played. cliched perhapsbut stillcoollooking.
Thiscomeswith practiceandexperience. C. Usereadinglighsor floodlighsto createdra-
maticlightandshadow againstwalls,largesheets
Lights thathanganddrapein coolways.Theripplesin
Dramatic lightingis a must.A XDM's go-to the sheetor in the texturedpaintwill createcool
movewith lightinginvolves the useof a gobo.Gobos shadows.
createpatterns of lightin the air or splashing interest-
Ingshapes anddesigns across surfaces. lf you have Dimmers andswitches areeasyto wireandevery-
everlookedout of your windowandseenwhatis of- thingshould be hooked back to your controlcenter.
tenreferredto as"God Light"piercingthe cloudsin Yourbuddyis thereat the rightmomentto shutoff all
afewof places, wellthanyou haveseena giantgobo the lighs,dim the lighs,turn on the gobos.. . what-
atwork. To makea simpleyet effectivegobo: evereffectis needed.

l. Go buysomeblackwrap.Youcanflndthis Lasers
onlinewithoutanytrouble.lt's a lot liketin foil The PoorMan'sLaserShow
exceptthickerand... black. It's easierto createa sweetlasershowthanyou
think.Becarefulthatyousetyourlaserdisplay up so
2. Geta reading
lightwitha clamp. get
that it can't in anyone's eyes.

3. Pullout a bigpieceof blackwrapand

cutoutcooldesigns in it. Rememberthat 71'S ALL6000, T LEARNEO
whatyou cut out will bewhatis written lHe OIFFERENCE EETWEEN-rtllLLlWATT'
ANO UWATT,'
in lightlater.We liketo puncha bunch ANO I 60T A COOLEYE-PATCH!
of holesof varioussizesinto the sheetas
the brokenup lightstreaming across
the
roomlookswickedcool.

4. Bendthe blackwraparoundtheconeof
your readinglight,placingyour designin
perfectpositionfor is projection.

5. Clampyourconvened lightto something

nearthe ceilingor downnearthefloor
andpointit in theopposite direction.
Usein a darkened roomwith justenough
fogto allowyour gueststo seethe effect.

73
[/rnunrEXDM
I . Geta handheldlaser-notoneof thosethatburn to a slowspinning motorandshineyour laser
a holein your skin.The greenkindareeasier to throughit onto a wall.Youcanget reallyamaz-
seebut a bit moredangerous andexpensive. Neyer ing patterns thisway.
Iookdirectlyat a laserl'Eventhe lasersthat are
weakanddiffrcultto seecando damage afteronly All of the controlsfor your laserspectacular
a fewseconds. shouldbe routedto yourcontrolcenter.

2. Geta penspring.Thisis a littlespringlikewhat Holograms

youwouldfrndin a "clicky"pen. Okay,whatwe cando isn'ttechnically "Holog-
raphy."Thetruth is,thisis better.Believe it or not
3. Geta smallmirror.No biggerthantwo inches therehavebeenwaysto makerealistic threedimen-
across. sionalproiections sincethe l8O0's.Our favorite
methodfor doingthissortof thingis with the Pep-
4. Attachthe mirrorto thespringandthe springto per'sGhostprinciple.+ Whenyoulookout a window
something heavy,a blockof woodshouldbe fine. at nightyou canseeyour reflection-even if thereis
a full moonout. ln the reflection you looklikeyou
5. Setyourlaserpointersothatit's pointedat an arestanding outsidethe windowin a semi'transparent
angleto your mirror. state.Pepper's Ghostusesthe sameprinciple.lf you
haveeverbeento the HauntedMansionin Disney
6. Add somefog to a darkroomandgiveyour World/Land, you haveseenthisspectacular illusion
springmirrora flick.Thislookswaycool. cometo lifewith the ghostsin the largediningroom.
Hereis whatyou shoulddo to getthe sameeffectin
Other cheapwaysof doingsupercool laser yourgamelocation.Forthe purposes of thisexplaina-
shows tion we areassuming thatyou arebuilidinga setlarge
A. Buysomediffractiongrating(youcanfind it enoughfor a human-sized ghost.Theinstructions can
online)andattachit to a slowturningmotor.The bescaled downfor smaller illusions.
diffractiongratingwill splityour beamin to several First,frnda placein your housethat makesan
beamsat variousangles. Add anotherrotatingdif- "L" or crossshape. lt couldbea hallway thathasa
fractiongrating(in the oppositedirection)which roomhalfiA,ay downit, or threeroomsthat arecon-
slightlyoverlaps your firstgrating,andyou'vegot nectedto eachother,or evensomething assimpleas
yourselfa freldof laserbeamsgoingevery-which- a doorway.Builda "blackart" setlikethe oneseen
way,yet movingin a pattern. on page8 7 but withoutthe platform-justa bigblack
void.Depending on thescaleof yourillusion the
B. Attacha smallmirrorto anold speaker (notthe setcouldbebigor small.Yoursetshouldbe in the
screen, but the actualspeaker). Pointyourlaserat adioining roomor space-somewhere the players can't
it and playsomething trippyfor music-drivenlaser see.
effecs. Second, go getasbiga pieceof clearPlexiglass
asyou canfrnd. lt needsto be at leastthe height
C. Attacha smallmirrorto a PCfanat a slight fromyour ceilingto the floorandlongerthanthe
angler.Fireyourlaserdirectlyat it. Thelaserwill lengthof yourset.lf you can'tgeta pieceof Plexi-
bounceoff themirrorcreating a cone.Thisisthe glassthatbig,geta smalleroneandmaskthe edgesin
popular"time tunnel"effect. As alwaysbesure a creativewaysothat no onecanseethemor suspect
to addfog. them.Setthat giantpieceof acrylicglassat a forty
frvedegreeangleto the blackart set.
D. Geta pieceof texturedglass.Differenttextures It isveryimportantthatyou lightthe area
will giveyou differentresults.Attachthe glass
* Originally calledthe "DircksianPhanusmagoria"-atrick of optlcs
Duh. inventedby Henry Dirksand further developedby lohn Henry Pepperin
+ Not whileit'sstillin yourPC. the 1850's.

74
 AWoSPHERE

behind theacrylicglass iustright.Thelightingin Youcando morewith thisof course.We liketo

thisareashouldbe dim but not dark.A bit brighter havethe spiritinteractwith thingsthat arebehindthe
thancandlelight perhaps. Becareful,you don't want glass.A bit of thread,andsomegoodtiming,canmake
anylightto shineon the glass iaelfsincethespecu- your ghostknockovera vaseor eventhe chairhewas
larhighlighs will be a dead giveaway. Theblackart sittingon. Youcanhavetheplayers askhimquestions
area shouldbe lit by lighs hookedto dimmersand beforehevanishes in an instant.
masked off withsomeblackwrap.Thelighswill be
controlled by yourbuddyat in XDM central
command.
Place chairB behindthe Plexiglass anda
similarblackchairA in the blackart area.Test
tomakesurethat the distance from the black
chairto the glass is equidistant to the distance
fromtheglassto the normalchair.Thisis easy
totest.Havesomeone sit in chairA. Lookinto
theglass fromwhereyour players will besitting.
lf helookslikea ghost sittingin chairB, you've
doneit. If he lookslikea guyfloatingin front of
orbehind-move chairB backandforthuntilthe
is perfect.
illusion
Nowyou'reready.

l. Makesureno onegoesdownthathallor
intothat room.As funnyasit wouldbe to
seethemjustslamintoan invisible
wall.

2. Haveyourghostactorin theblackart
area,iustsittingthereuntilit's time.Maybe
youcouldconvince the pyrotechnitionto
do this,sincehe isn'tbusyiustnow.Your
ghostshouldbe in a costume (nothing
black,unless youwantto do a floating spirit
you
head,whichmaybe do) andwearing
makeup.

3). Whenyouwanta ghostto appearin the

chair,yourbuddyin thecontrolboothwill
PLAYERS
iustturnthe lighsup a bit in theblackart
set. Thebrighterthe lights,the moresolid
theghostbecomes. Havethe ghostdeliver
hismessage andthenvanishfromwhenceit
came.

Besureto usetwo dimmers.Onceyour

ghost
hasappeared, fadeoneup andtheother
down.Thenviceversa.Thiswill createmoreof
effectaspartsof the ghostfadein
anethereal
andout.

75
[rnvarEXDM
Fog 4. As alwaysmakesurefog canbe controlledfrom
Thereisn'tmuchto sayhere.Fogmachines are yourmasterhubat command central.Youare
actuallyquitecommonnowdays.Go to anyTargetat runninga game anddon'tneedto bethinking
Halloween andyou will frndbothfloor foggers
andair aboutthe lights,music,fog,andwhatnot.
foggers.Keepin mind:
l. Youwantto getwaterbasedfog,not oil based.
(Mucheasierto cleanup.)

2. Youcanmakeyour own floorfoggerwith dry

ice,a largedrumanda heating element,but they
arenot assafeor evenusuallyeffective.

3. Smokemachines
will setoff yoursmokealarm.
-\
-/ FOe! I
HOPE IIIAI'S AS gAO
AS 1HISB@K

I
I
I

76
 f, HmrERELEVEN:
lrvrr,'s TbucH
Pyrotechnics
and Other Waysto Makethe Fire DepartmentMad

NOIE: TheBATF,NISB, Department of Homeland shoulders) andthe burningdownof yourhouse

Security, andSmokeythe Bearhaverequested'thatwe a second time-allin the nameof preserving the
makea numberof editorialchanges in thischapter,with communityfromthe influences of an activitythat
whichwe havereluctantlycomplied. is obviously dangerous evenwithoutthe useof fire.
After learning properstorytelling andbasicXDM
technique, nothingwill short-cutyou to a bettergame On soberreflection, the downsides of usingfirein
thanfrre.Therearearguments for andagainst usingthis yourXDM gameseriously outweighthe benefrs.
shortcut: Still,we knowyou.
You'realways lookingfor waysof takingyour
. Theplussideisthatfirecanbringanelement gameout at the edge.You'rea maverick in game
of mood,excitement, andverisimilitude to your performance. We alsoknowthat,whenit comesto
game-aswellaspossibly wakeup players who are frre, you (likeall the restof us)arenot to be trusted.
noddingoff. Sofromhereto theendof thechapterYOU AREON
YOUROWN.
. Thedownsideis thatfireis uncontrollable, unpre- lf you burndowna smallnationwith a gamegone
dictable, anddownright dangerous evenunderthe psycho, don'tshowup on the newspointingat the
bestof circumstances. Whenusedin conjunction XDM book.
with a role playing game, fire is the gameprop We arein no wayresponsible for whatyou decide
mostlikelyto landthe entiregamingindustryback to do with thisinformation. Feelfreeto suesomeone
on the front page of your localnewspaper. Then elsebecause you
we warned thatanything involvingfrre
theremaybe concerned parentsandreligious is dangerous. We alsowarnedyou that anyoneusing
leaders callingfor yourhead(if it isstillon your anyof the information in thisbookwithoutthe utter-
- R.td ,hrt d.ttrd.d or elsethey will withholdall our economicstimulous mostcareandresponsibility, is iustaskingfor badthings
bribesand investlgateour tax-freestatusfor the next hundredyears. to happen.

77
[rnnnnrEXDM
Our favoriteistheMestopholies FireBallLauncher
FlashPaper created by JimPace.lt not onlywill launcha ballof mi
A.K.A. "Burning Carpet" frrefromyour handsup to fifteenfeetaway,but also iur
TheXDM arsonist's bestfriendis flashpaper.lt is hasa reel,sothatthe devicewill leapbackintoyour of
greatstuff.lt feelsa bit likeroughtissuepaperandcan sleeve the momentafteryou useit. Thisallowsyour to
be foldedandwrittenon. Whenlit, it burstsinto bright handsto be displayed asempty.TheMestopholies da
flames,leaves no residue, andis spectacularto see.You FireBallLauncher canbe foundonlineat www. si
canfrndflashpaperat anygoodmagicshop.Theysell iimpacemagic.com. Whileyouarethere,besureto
it in largesheets andin littlepackes.Youwill usually checkout hisotherfireproducts includingfirewallets,
geta betterdealby buyingit in the bigsheesandthen invisible torches,andthe like.Greatstuff.
cuttingthatsheetup asnecessary. Thebestthingabout
FlashPaperisthatit is relatively' safe.lf youdo decide How to Make FlashPaper:
to do anything in thischapterdespite our manywarn- lf you needflashpaper,iustgo buysome.You
ingsthatyoushouldn't.i Thisis a goodbet. will savetime,money,andfingers.Butfor the sakeof
Whenyou getyour flashpaperit will bewet.lust completeness, andagainst our own betteriudgment
leaveit lyingout undera fanfor a shorttime.lt will dry we provide you with the followingrecipe.
out quickly.Alwaysstoreit in a coolplaceandinsidea Go get someI ancI
plasticcontainer. Neverleaveit in a hot car,or neara We'rekidding.
window.Thestuffwanfsto burn+.

Usesfor FlashPaper
Cutout a pieceof flashpaperabout2" x 4"
shoulddo. Wadthe paperup intoa ball.Leavea little
J\
tabfor youto pinchwithyourlefthand.Holda lighter
in your righthand.Usethe lighterto lightthe flashpa-
perat the balledup end.Themomentit is lit,stossthe
ll,,,,NIuDb
flamingballup andawayfromyou.Thisis likethrowing
a real-life
frreball.
lt looksamazing.
Youcanwrapflashpaperaroundthingslikeplay-
ingcards,coins,glass, etc.Theflashpaperwill burnbut
theobiectwill not.t
Youcanbuya flashpaperlauncher. Yestheyexist.
* Note that sincewe're talkingaboutfire here. Whenwe say,,relatively
safe"we meanin comparisonto suchthingsasnitroglycerin,fuel/air
explosives, and military-grade incendiaryordnance.
f Did we mentionthat fire is uncontrollable, unpredictable, and downright
dangerous? lust thoughtwe shouldmentionthis again.lf you iust haveto
havea flamingeffect,then flashpaperis asfar asyou reallyneedto go. Oh,
and did we mentionthat frreis uncontrollable, unpredictable, and downright
dangerous?
f Curtisnotes:When I wastwelveI almostburnt down my parent,s
housewith this stuff. I had a pad of flashpaper.I removedone pieceand
attachedit to a regularpieceof paper,then lit it. The flashpaperwent poof.
It vanished,leavingthe paperto burn slowly.I panickedand droppedthe
flamingpaper-ontothe pile of flashpaper.WOW WHAT A BLAZEIThe
blazefreakedme our evenmore, so I pushedthe flamingflashpaperoff my
deskand onto the floor. Fortunately,it burneddown aftera momentor
two, leavinga puddleof meltedcarperasa remindernot to do reallystupid

@0Afin
things.
5 Whenwe say"moment" we seriouslymeanmoment.lf you wait for
a confirmationfrom your friend that the flashpaperis lit, you will havea
fireballin your handinsteadof in the air.
f Don't do thiswith the flashpaperaroundregularpaperbecause the
regularpaperwill alsobum. Seethe previousfootnoteon whenCurtiswas
twelve.Yes,apparentlyhe reallywasthat stupid.Learnfrom his mistakes,
grasshopper,and be wise,

78
 DEVIL'S TOUCH
Thethingis,we couldtell you exactly howto yourcookingpan.Thenmixin two tablespoons
of
makeprofessional flashpaper,but you wouldprobably I I
justendup deadandwe wouldgetput on somesort
of list.' Insteadwe'vedecidedto giveyou the recipe Step2:Placethe panontoyour burnerandcookon
to makeghettoflashpaper.Theprocess is stillreally a very low heatfor around45 minutes.A thin
dangerous, but not ashorridor involvedasthe profes- frlmwill formon the top.
sionalway.
Step3: Remove the panfrom the heatandskimoff
Youwill need iustthissyrupyfilm into the smallglasspan.Put
I . To put on protectivegogglesandwearlatexgloves yourI intothe pan,making surethatit is
the entiretime. Do everything
outsideandaway totallycovered.LettheI soakfor lO-2O
from your homer.Wellyou canput the goggles minutes.
on insidebut. . .youknowwhatI mean.
Step4: Remove tneI andplaceit on a
2. A bottleof I+ (sometimes
knownas bakingtray.
I) thisis foundin hardware
stores
andis usedasa I. Step5: Youhavetwo choiceshere.Youcanplace
thetrayin theI for aboutanI at around
3.I innards. Cutonelengthwise overa Iot youcanlaytheI in theI untilit
bigsheetof I. Insidethef aresmall is dry. Eitherway,you haveto watchit, or it will
I. Carefully collectthemandput burstintoflames. Thenyourlifewill be ruined.
themin a Ziplockbaggyfor nows.Don't loseany Youwill knowit is dry whenit looksgolden
of that- lts dangerous pyrotechnic yellow.
will lightyour homeaflame,givingno
capabilities
thoughtfor poorlittle Simkin. Step6: lt is ready!Remember to storeyour flash
paperin a cooldry place.Forlong-termstorage of
4. A smallpropane
burner. your flashpaper,frrstmoistenit with water.

5.I paper.Somethingl. Many Again,is all thisreallyworththe effort?Go buy

peopleliketo useI. Cut theI someinstead.
into smallsquares.
About 2 inchesby 4 inches
shoulddo. FlashCotton, FlashString FlashBills:
Thesearejustwhattheysoundlike.Flashstring
6. A smallcookingpan,a smallglass pan,anda bak- burnsfromoneendto the other.Flashcottonis used
ingtray. in a numberof fireutilitydevices.
FlashBillslooklike
currency,but arein factflashpaper.lYoucanfrndall
7. A frreextinguisher.
. .justin case. thisstuffonline.

Whatyou will do:

Step1: Pouroneor two cupsof theI into FlashPots!
A.K.A. "Arson"
* The Departmentof HomelandSecurityassures
and that we may, or may not, alreadybe on lt.
us that there is sucha list Flash arepyrotechnic
pots devicesusedfor
t Likeout by the Unibomber'scabin.No, wait. That'stoo flammable. creatingsmall,controlledexplosions
on stage.lmage
Perhaps somewhere insidethe NevadaNuclearTest Range. theshock(andincontinency) resulting
froman
t We would like to thank the Unlted StateForestServicefor their kind
assistance(and insistence) in editingthis sectionof the book. We apologize
for whateverunlntentionalamblguitymay haveresultedasa resultof their f I don't knowwhy you would needflashbillsfor your XDM game,but
edltorialguidance. thereit is. Wait! You couldtell your playersthat the billsrepresenttheir
$ You are gettingcloseto reproducinga moment from someweird, gritty treasuregatheredfrom the last adventure,and that somewizard is making
70s drug frlm. lt's probably best if your neighborsdon't seewhat you are their treasurevanishunlessthey hurry and stop him from, well, you get the
dolng. idea.

79
[/rnunrEXDM
explosion happening duringyour game.Whatcrarysort alshere,but greatwhenproperlyused.Only usein
of RPGhasexplosions? Our kind! smallamountsin a flashpot. lt's usuallymadeup of
Thisisn'tthesortof thingthatyouwoulddo while - Go onlineandyoucanfindit
sittingaroundyour mother'skitchentable,or actually in variouscolorsandforms.
insideanymoderately sizedenclosed space.Onlyusea
pot
flash in a parking lot, your driveway,or an audito- Black Powder (for smoke):
rium-somelargeopenspace-and alwayswith several Blackpowderis actuallysaferthanflashpowder.
fireextinguishers at hand. lf you wantyour flashto havea smallburstof flame
Truthfully,flashpaperis bettersuitedfor role anda bigpuff of smokethisis yourstuff. Againadd
playinggames.FlashPotsaremoreapplicable to LARPs someI for evenmoreeffect.
or othergames that areplayedoverlargespaces. lt is
importantthatyou getyour mother'spermission to use (for sparkle):
theseif you area maleunderfifty yearsof age.. Lookfor I onlineif you wantto iazz
up your flashpot explosionswith frerybitsof sparkle.
Again,it's bestto justbuythe stuff.We'veseen
methodsto makeyourown involvinga coffeegrinder,
a rocktumbler,anda myriadof otherthings,but we
recommend iustgoingonlineandbuyingthe profes-
I rlrlll
",\ Jtr sionalI Thatwayyou knowit wiil work,
andyou don't haveto worryaboutbuyinga powder
thatisn'tfineenough.

A Giant lncredible+Fireball!!
A.K.A. "HomelandSecurity
'11 <\ Warchlist"

lf youarea diehardXDM gamerand

wantto continueyour gamingcareerin prison,this
How to makea flashpot: shoulddo it. Saythatyou'rerunningyour XDM role
Thisis too complicated for usto describehere.lf playing gamein the middleof a plowedfield,or open
you wantto makeyour desertspace onehundred yardssquare on a side.
- you
hasgooddesign.Eventhe old classic Naturally, wouldwanttheattackof yourgiant
f hasa veryniceworkabledesign.r you can, flamingdragonto havea visceral impacton your play.
of course,frndprofessional
flashpotsonline-theyrun ers.What you needis theGiantIncredibleFireballl
aboutfifty dollars. Thisshouldall bedoneon yourfavoritegame
To worka flashpot, all you do is placeabouta site,locatediustpastthe middleof nowhere.l'm
teaspoonful of powderinto the receptacle andflip the sureyou regularly playyour gamein the middleof an
appropriate switchat theappropriate time.Kaboom! open,barren place.

FlashPowder (for flash): Whatyou will need:

Thispowderburstsinto a quickexplosion of bright
flamewhenlit. lt is morehazardous thanothermateri-
well.Youq4ngetthisin 25lb bagsfrom a
* Men cannotbe trustedto
havegoodjudgmentwhen it comesto f supplystore.s
pyrotechnics. All malesunderthe ageof frfty remainthe mentalequivalent
;
of twelve-years-old when it comesto explosivedevices.
t We want to thankthe Bureauof Alcohol, Tobacco,and Firearmsfor f The Depanmentof HomelandSecurityaskedthat we changethe actual t
their asistancein editingthe flashpot portionof the book. Theyalsoask nameof this deviceand we havedutifullyand patrioticallycompliedwith h(
us to tell you not to smokeor drink irresponsibly.Or is that not to smoke their request.Did we havea choice? al
irresponsibly or to drink?Whichever,don,t do it. S Ahhoughprobablynot after the publicationof this book. in

80
 DEVIL,STOUCH

frllthe canmorethantwo thirdsof the way

2.Theessential
andmostdangerous
ingredient
uDat the mostror elsethe wholethinc will
-

paper.Thefacialkindwouldbe frnehere
3.Tissue
butmakeabsolutely
certainthat it contains
no
Step7: Makesurethe areais clear.Becarfulthat
I no oneis goingto walkup at thewrongmoment
asking,"Hey what-cha got in the can?"Assuming
4.Visco"Safetyfuse".
everything is safe,I andgetawayto
a minimum disteance of 45 feet.Youwill feelthe
5.A #10 sizecan.Thisisthesizecanyoufrndin
heatof thisthing!TheI will ignite
restaurants
andbulkfoodstores.
whichwill blowtheE
into the air and,at the sarRetime,setthe resulting
Whatyou will do:
cloudaflame. Theresultis nothingshortof spec-
Step'l: Diga littlepit thatyouwill setthisthingin.
tacular.
Do not makeit too deep.

Step2: Puncha holein the canusinga sharpawl.i

It needsto beiustbigenoughfor the Viscofuse
The ArmageddonHellstorm
A.K.A. "NSA BlackopsHitlist"
to fit through.

Step3: Putyourfuseinsidesothatoneendis Haveyou everbeenrunninga gamefor your

in the middleof thebottomof thecan. The friendsandthought,"Boy! | reallycouldusea realis-
remaining lengthshouldextendoutside tic volcanic-inferno entirecity blocksin a
that engulfs
thecan.
It is a safetyfuseso it will burnslowly,but we highly-concussivefireball.Thatwouldbethe perfect
endof tonight'sadventure!"
don't trustyou, so usemorethanyou thinkyou
Well,of course youhave!Whohasn't?
need.
Our solutionto thispressingquestionis the Arma-
geddonHellstormDisplay.
Step4: Pouryourlegally
obtained -
intothecan.lt doesn'tneedto bemuch,but Hereisthesimplest wayto buildoneout of
youshouldn'tbe ableto seethe bottomof the materialsyou probably havearoundyourownhome:
First,obtaina microwavesafecasserole dish.
canwhenttreI arespreadout. Neyer
usemorethanthe preciselydescribed
amount.

Step5: Cutout a circleof tissuepaperthe di-

ameterof yourcanandplaceit overyour

;,*=;,1:T'#"""u'n"ni"iili*,,,o -.
After your planelandsyou will crossthe borderinto
blowupthe can,killingyou,andyourdog,and
yourneighbor's I thereyou wiil findsomelyans.
dog,too).
Whenyou talkto the Ivans besureto askfor
the weaponsgradeI andnot theI that
pour
Step5: Carefully
theytry andpassoff asthe realI.
intothe canon top of yourtissuepaper
Nexr, wrtn tNrrNr l E L,.KE you genry I
makingabsolutelycertainI. Neyer
As it hassafetyin the title, we are allowedto print this.
Awlscan be dangerous. Useawlswith caution.Never run while
oldingan awl. Never allowsmallchildrento playwith an awl. Never f Canyou usethe I in heretoo? You bet. Sprinklesomein
llowpes nearan awl. Do not attemptto usean awl while underthe asyou pour in the I for a little extraglimmerin your bang.
tffuence of certainmedications. Do not drink and usean awl. 5 And we're not kidding!It will do this and probablymuchworsel

81
[frnnnerEXDM

a minimumdis-
tanceof fivemiles.
It is fun to pretendto do thingslikethis,but
that is the entirepointof roleplayinggames-to
imagine things.Indeed, thegreatest displaythatyou
couldevercreatewill neverrivalthe imagination
of your players. Youshouldfirstandforemostrely
on thembeingimagnitively enthralledby thegame,
ratherthantricksandgimmicks-especially dangerous
ones.
lf allelsefails,remember thatthisinformation
wasgivento you by non-certified pyro-magic guysin
a bookaboutgaming. We'remagicians, shouldyou
reallytrustus?

[o,E
I',,VlNOT OETT\NO
THAT CASSEROLE OISH
aACKNOW,AM 7?

82i I
 f,umrenf{trlVE: WoNorRsoFTHEQons
Die tricksand other pointlessmiraclesto bewitchthe senses
and impressdates.

Contactluggling neverleaves contactwithyour body.Instead the ball

Nothingwill makeyou lookmorelikeyouhave rollsfluidlyfromonesideof the handto the otherand
mysticalpowersbeyondwhatthisworldcanmanifest backagainin an organicandhypnotizing motion.lt
thancontactiuggling.lt is an art thatwhensuccess- mightthenroll downyourarm,across yourchest,and
fullyperformed will mesmerizeyourgamers andhelp ontothebackof yourotherhand.Again,the ballnever
break downthe wallsof reality.Unfortunately it is, far leaves contactwith your body.Witnesses sometimes
andaway,thehardest thingyoucanlearnfromthis describe it aswatching a bubblefloateffortlesslyfrom
book.Contactjugglingcantakeyearsto masterfor handto handin smooth,sweeping motions.
some, andmanyyearsfor others,but don't worry, Contactiuggling wasdeveloped by MichelMotion
most of youwill giveup longbeforethen.Still,for (whoalsoperformed it for DavidBowiein the movie)
thefewbraveXDMswhosurvive,you will havean andhassincegrownso popularthat almosteverypro-
amazing tool thatyoucanuseduringcharacter mono- fessionaljugglerwill useelements of it, evenduringa
logs,plot exposition, andanytimeyou feelboredand regular"tossjuggling"demonstration.
justwantto showoff your awesomeness. Therearevariouspatterns andmovesassociated
Whatthe heckis it? Formanyof you,it will withthisformof juggling. Theseareusually dividedinto
suffrce
to saythat contactiugglingis whatyousaw groupssuchaspalmspins,bodyrolls,walks,holds,and
David Bowieperformwith a smallcrystalspherein the soon. Herewe areprimarily concerned withtheiconic
ftlmLabyrinth. Forthe unfortunate fewof you who moveknownas"the butterfly."
have neverseenthemusical with]enniferConnelly
anda barrage of Muppetgoblins, let me do my best Preparation
todescribe it. (Contact juggling,
not themovie,which Professionalssometimes disagreeon the bestway
woulddo nothingmorethanmakeyousay,"People to learn,however,mostof themrecommend starting
paidmoneyto seethat?"Butlistenherebuddy,you with a practiceballspecifrcally
designed for contactiug-
paidgoodmoneyfor a bookabouthowto be an gling.TheMisterBabache ContactBallissuchan item
"xtremegamemastet,"so let'snot throwstones.) with a relatively
low cost,largesize,andlightweight.
Theycallit contactjugglingbecause the ball However,feelfreeto useanythingyou canfrnd.A

6'
tY t- t
[JrnnnerEXDM
smallsilicone ballis alsoa viableoption.Curtisstarted
with a clearacrylicball.Thesehavea bit of weightto
themandcanbreakthingswhendropped(thingslike
lamps,windows,andfeet),but whenyou'rewatching
yourselfin the mirror,it lookswaycoolerthansome
lameplasticball.Youmayalsoconsider startingwith
a poolball,asit hasa similarweightto it but is less
costlyto damage. Finally,no matterwhatballyou use
be prepared to drop it overandoverandoveragain.
Droppingis the onlythingyou will knowhowto do re-
allywellfrom the start.Congratulations.
The Butterfly
It lookslikea dance.In fact,it is namedafter
a MiddleEastern dancethatlooksa bit similar.The
movements area tad awkwardto learnandevenmore
awkwardto put in motion,so it is usuallytaughtin
paru thencombinedto createthe whole.So,takea
deepbreathaswe startyou on the pathfewXDMswill
dareto tread.
l. First,youshouldgetusedto holdingthe ballon
the backof yourhand.Thisis doneby placing
theballin the "cradle".Thecradleis madeup
of the frrst,second,andthird fingers.Thesecond
fingeris belowthe othertwo, creatinga dip or gap
between them.Theballisthenprimarily balanced
andheldby the firstandthird frngers.
Onceyou arein thispositionyou needto get
usedto the feelof holdingthe ballthere.Move
your handaroundsothatthe ballrollsoveryour
knucklesandthenbackintothecradle.Then
quicklyshake yourhandleftandright,up and
84
down,andanyotherdirectionyou can,again
whilestillendingwiththe ballin the cradle.
2.The nextthingyou haveto learnis howto hold
the ballin "homeposition."Holdyourmain
hand(whichever handyou writewith) sothat
the palmis facingthe flooriustbelowshoulder
level,thearmparallel withthechest.Yourelbow
shouldbeslightlybelowthe wristandthe hand
a comfortable distance fromthe body(about
four or frveinchesshoulddo it). Thefingersare
pointedto your left if you arerighthanded.The
ballshouldbe in thecradle.Thisisthe insideor
"home"position.
3. Now tossthe ballfrom homepositionup into
the air iusta littleandcatchit backin the cradle
withthearmstillin homeposition. Continue
to do thisuntilyou feelcomfortable with large
tossesandcangetthe ballbackinto the cradle
evenif it movesout ontothe smoothpartof the
hand.
4. Now moveyour handsothatthe palmis hori-
zontalto the ceiling.Yourarmtakesthe shape,
moreor less,of a servercarryinga tray.Thisis
"outside"position.
yourtossing
5. Practice in ousideposi-
exercises
tionaswell.lt will be mucheasier.
6. Now the time hascometo put the two
together.Thisiswhereour methodof teaching
 oF rHEQons
WoNosRS

HalfButterfly

variesfrom others.Otherstell you to nowtoss put themtogetherto form the full butterfly.This
theballfrom ousidepositionto insideposition. canbe donein manywaysbut the coolestway
Goingbackandforth alwaysmakingyourtoss (andconsequently thehardest way)is by doingthe
smaller andsmaller. Instead:Try rollingtheball back-to-back transfer.
in homepositionwith a movement of yourwrist Holdtheballin homeposition withyourmain
andelbowover your fingertipsandintoyour hand.Now put yourotherhandin homeposition
palmin ousideposition. Thisprobably won't in frontof that.Youaregoingto roll the ballout
work,but it will at leastgiveyou a betteridea of the cradledownthe smoothpartof your hand
of whatwe areattempting to accomplish. Next, overthe smoothpartof your otherhandandinto
pickthe ballup off the floorandput it backin its cradle.Practice thisby simplymovingthe back
homeposition. Thistime,roll theballup into handunderneath andin frontof the handthatjust
theair off your fingersandcatchit in ouside caughtthe ball.By repeating thisoverandover,
position.Thendo thesamethingbackto home. youwill not onlygeta hangof it but whendone
Thefocushereis rollingtheballandlearning fluidlyit's a trickknownasthe staircase.
to controlits motion.Practice this,makingthe
motionsmaller andsmaller untilyouaregiving
the balliustenoughenergyto go overthe top of CHEAPTRICK
the fingersandroll downinto outsideposition. To makeback-to-back transfereasier,shorten
Repeat thisstepuntilboth directions aresecond- the distancethe ballrollson the smoothpart
natureandthe ballneverleaves contactwith of the hand.lf you must,roll it from cradle
yourhand.lf you do, youwill be performing a to cradleoverthe knuckles. Keepworking
halfbutterfly.' on makingthat disuncelonger,asit loola far
moreimpressive.
7. Now learnto do it with the otherhand. Youcould,of course,iustskipthe back-to-
backtransferandusethe palm-to-palm whichis
8. Beforewe continue,let me saythat if you've simpler.Thisis donewhenthe ballis in outside
Onceyou
reallymadeit thisfar, congratulations. position.Thehandsmoveto meetin front of
cando halfbutterfliesin eachhandyou needto the body(yourfingerspointedawayfrom you
t Thisdoeslook betterasyou get more heightandmoreof the ball is
thistime)andthe ballis rolledinto the palm
nvealed.Still,it's harder.The cheapway of doinglt is to makethe ball roll of the receivinghand.Thathandthenmoves
fromthecradleup andlust in-between your first andsecondfingers.Doingthis
(eatesa trackthat greatlyhelpskeepthe ball undercontrol.Practlcewhile backto outside positionanddoesis halfof the
slnlngon thecouch.Thearmsof the couchwlll keepthe ballfrom rollingtoo
farawayfrom you and makespracticein generalmorecomfonable
butterfly.

85
[JrnunrEXDM
9. Onceyou havethe back-to-back transferdown,
it's a simplematterof transferringthe balland
continuing thebutterflyin thereceivinghand,then
reversing the motionto theotherside,andsoon.
In the full butterfly,theballshouldneverstop
moving.lt is onefluid,continuous motionandis a
wonderto behold.
CHEAPTRICK
In the middleof a butterflyor half
butterflytry this:Movefrom ougideto
insideposition,only don't roll the ballto
the backof your hand.Insteadkeepit there
in the palm.
Granted,if something isn'tdone,the ball
is destinedto fly directlytowardthe nearest
fragileobiect.Sopressor hookyour thumb
to the backof the ballandpressit against
yourhand.Thethumbshouldendup near
the bottom,but not at the bottom,of the
ball.Thiscreates the illusionthatthe ball
is stuckto the handanddefyinggravity.
Tilt your handiustslightlytowardyour
bodyif necessary to helphideyourthumb.
Continuebackto outsidepositionandthen
butterflyasusual.The pacingof thisis
important.Justkeepthe movementof the
handandarm consistent with the restof
your butterflies.lt's funnyandwhendone
right,a touchdisarming.

10. lf yougetthatdown,try Finally

puttinga smallroutinetogether. ContactJuggling isa hardthingto learnand
Startby doing a half butterfly, entirebooks have been writtenon the subiect.lf you
then movingto the otherside wouldlikemoreinformation thanwe haveroomto
and doing a half butterflyin provide, includingtricks with multipleballs,body
that hand.Next, moveinto a roffs,walks,andmuchmuchmore,checkout Contact
full butterflymixingpalm-to- Jugglingby JamesErnest.Therearealsoa numberof
palmtransfers with back-to-back DVDsandotherresources out there,sofeelfreeto
ones.Thena staircase, andend Google it.
backin yourstarting handwiththe
ballbeautifully displayedat the Appearances
fingertips.lf you feellikeit, Effect:TheXDM walksoverto a cornerof the
throwin the following cheap room andstands on a platformwhichyoucansee
trick,asit will drawsome underandto the sides.He lifu a largesheetup into
gasps whendoneright. theairanddropsit dramatically, revealing
a longlost
player,an NPCcometo life,or thepizzadude.All
with the helpof a littleblackart.
 WoxosRSoF rHEQoos

It isn'tactually aspaganasit sounds.. Magicians .O4o/o) mustbe compensated for by the useof blinding
forgenerations haveamazed the publicandaccom- lights,alsocalled"blinders." Theselightsarepointed
plished all mannerof featsusingthisancient tech- directlytowardyour audience andactasthe street
nique. In factit isstillusedin fantastic multimillion lightdid in our example above.Goodblackart will use
dollarillusionshowstoday,from DavidCopperfreld blinders assubtlyaspossible.s Forexample, in a stage
toCriss Angel.Youcando thesamethingin your illusionCurtisoncecreated,the blinders werenothing
garage for around30 bucks. morethanthe onesetof rearlighsslightlylowered
lmagine thestarsat night.Now placea bright andangledtowardthe audience, therebygivingthe
street in
light the middleof thatscene. Can you still impression that it wasmerelybacklightingfor the scene
seestarsaroundit? Thedynamicrangeof yourvision with no ulteriormotive.
isnotlargeenoughto makeout boththe dim stars
andthebrightlightall at once.Soif therewasa per-
sondrapedin blackbehindthatlight,youwouldn't
beableto seethemeither.Takingthisbasicprinciple
a bit further,it becomes possible to vanish,float,and
basically do anything youwantwitha bit of black
cloth.t
lmaginea stagewherethe entirebackground is
draped in blackvelvet.A brightwhiteballis in the
middle of thatstage.Dimlightssurround thearea
pointing to theaudience, subtlyblinding them.lf a U
blackvelvet-covered
ballaroundthe audience
stickwereto movethatwhite
wouldseenothingmore
D
thana whiteballfloatingin a blackvoid.Thisis a
bitobvious,but, whenusedmoresubtly,canreally
amaze anaudience and,yes,evena gamer.But,hey Onewayto furtherfrll in the blackvoidandin-
evenif they don't freakout, it's aboutentertainment crease the dynamicrangeof yoursettingis to useblack/
morethanamazement in theXDM business. UV lighs.Theflorescent bulbvarietyarethe best,
however,the cheaper bulbsyou flnd in a iokeor party
shopwillworkaswell.Byaddingflorescent materials to
CrashCourse in BlackArt the scene,the dynamicrangeincreases dueto the glow
Firstyou, aregoingto needa lot of blackcloth. that overpowers the darknessof the black material.lt
lf youarerich (or owna velvetfactory),thengetting canbe diffrcultmakingthisworkright,assomedustwill
yardsuponyardsof the perfectblackmaterialshould glowunderblacklightsaswell.Keepa lint rollerhandy.
notbea problem.The restof you haveto settle Howdo you useblackart in your game?Saythat
your players haveenteredthe realmof doomanda
forthe blackest felt you canfind.Thedifference
liesin the "reflectioncoefficient"eachof your beautifulmagicspiritappears to tell the groupwhatto
materials possesses. In otherwords,howmuchlight do next.Forget tellingthem about it. Let'sdo it.
a givenobiectwill reflect.Someof the finestblack Thefirstthingyouwill needto buildis a back-
velvets will havea reflectioncoefficient of aslittleas drop that isall black.We'llleavethispartmostlyup
.04o/o.+ Whatever the little Iightleftover(likethat to you, howeverwe will mentionthatsomePVCpipe,
buckets full of rocks,andsomeclampscangetthe iob
* Although,to be fair, more than one spiritualist cult hasusedthis donequicklyandcheaply. Youwill alsoneedto cover
technique to strikefear into the hearu ofcrippled childrenand orphaned
widows.This is only okay if your gameis beingplayedby iust sucha the floorwith the same blackmaterial, at leastthearea
group, beneath andaroundwhereyourplatformwill go.
i Only from the perspectiveof the audience,and only whenon a black
an set.Robbinga bankwith a blacksheeton your headwill probablylust
getyou shot. $ Despitethe name,"blinders"are NOT meantto permanently
blindyour
audience.
{ TheNew Make-upof Magic,MickyHades,1974, P.37,

87
 Next,you needthe platform.Thisis thestandthat
yourspiritwill appearon. A goodcheapoptionis to
builda makeshift stageout of four or morecinderblocks
anda large piece of plywood. Atuch your blackmate-
rialto the backof your plywoodandhaveit hangdown
behindyour cinderblocks. Now placeyour blinders,
perhaps addsomefogandlasers, andyou'redone(see
the pictureon page87).
Haveyour assistant getinto positionbehindyour
blackaft screen(theblackmaterialattached to your
board).Shecancrawltherefroma holein theback-
ground,or iustbe lyingtherewaitingallnightuntilher
momentarrives.Whenthe timecomesfor thespiritto
manifest herself, simplyholdup a coverof somekind
(usuallya cloth)and,whenshestepsinto position,let
it go. Naturally,you will wantsomestoryto go along
withallof this.Makingpeople appearis all frneand
dandybut a reasonfor all your odd actionsis prefer-
able.
Cardsaren't only Collectables
Use the Force...*
Thefirstthing,and probably the mostuseful,you
canlearnaboutcardmagicis the force.A "force" is
a handywayto makesomeone "randomly"selectthe
specificcardor objectthatyou secretly wantthemto.
Yes,it reallyis a sortof ledit thing.We will go overthe handymagician thingwherethe cardsarespreadbe-
manyadvantages of the forcein a moment,but firstgo tweenthe handsandtheyiustpickone?Try this:
geta deckof cardsandfollowalong.
The "Cut a Little Deeper" Force
A handywayto forcesomeone to "randomly"
selectthe cardthat you secretly wantthemto, via
cutting.Thenameiaelfimplies whatyouwill bedo-
ing.You havethemcut the deck,but not too deep.
Thefirstcut is placedfaceup on the deckthenyou ask
themto "cut a littledeeper"andturn all of thosecards
faceup on top of the deck.Finally,you askthemto
spreadthroughthe nowface-upcardsuntiltheygetto
a facedowncard.This,you tell them,is theirrandom-
ly-cut-tocard.Handilyenoughfor you, it alsohappens
to be the originaltop cardof the pack.
* We swearwe haveneverheardof this Sar Warsyou speakof... despite
what we may sayelsewherein this book. PleaseGeorge,don't sueus.
f l'm sorryGeorge. I can't seemto shutup.
The "Criss-Cross" forcet
Step1: Havesomeone cutthedeckbutnotcom-
pleteit.
Step2: Placethe cut-toportionon top of theother
halfasif you wereto naturallycompletethecut,
onlyinsteadplaceit on top crosswise. Heresay
thatyouwill "mark"theircut.
Step3: Allow a momentfor time misdirection.
Thenlift the crossing halfoff the bottomhalfand
turn overthe "cut-tocard"this,again,is thetop
cardof thedeck.
The "Touch" Force
So you have learnedhowto havethemcut the
cardsto forcethem,but whatif you wantto do that
Preparation Whenno oneis watching, getyour
forcedcardto the top of the deck.Let'ssaythat
you areusingthe sixof diamonds.
Step1 Holdthecardsin yourdealing handand
startto dealoff a fewcardsinto your otherhand.
(For simplicity
let'siustassume you are right
handed.) You should now have a few cardsin
your righthandandthe restof the deckin your
left hand.Do thisasyou say,"Let'shaveyou
picka cerd."
Step2 Withoutpausing, startto spreadthe deck
fromyour left handintoyour right-overthe
threeor four cardsalreadyin that hand.All
you haveto do hereis keepthisstockof cards
underneath the spreadcards.Youcando thisby
{ Thiswasinventedby Max Holdenin 1925.lt doesn'tmatterhowold
it is, iust how well it works.
 keepingthe rightfingerswrappedaroundthem Step5 Oncethe righthandpacketissquared' (and
andallowing thespread cardsto glideoverthe you areconfidentthatthe cardsareall generally
frngertips.
Saysomething herelike,"ln fact,you
tilt yourrighthandup andshowthe
aligned),
canchoosefrom anywhere in the deckjusttouch
bottomcardto the spectators. . .err players.+
lf
anycardyou like.".
everythinghas gone accordingto planthisshould
betheoriginal top card:or thesixof diamonds.
Now What?
Sowhatcanyou do with a forcedcard?We can
promise youthatthe mostamazing thingsyou have
everseenwith cardswereaccomplished with a force.
Froma selected cardappearing on theothersideof a
gfass windowto a "freely"selected cardbeingpredicted
Step3 Continueto slowlyspreadthroughthe cards yearsin advance, a cardforcewasbehindit all.Below
untilyourvictimtouches a card.Separate the aresomeof the thingsthat I liketo do with it. As you
cardsbelowthe placetheyindicated. Youare readtheseplease do sowith XDM eyesandtry to see
nowholdingabouthalfthe deckin onehandand howtheseeffecscanbe usedto entertainyour players
theremaining balanceof cardsin theotherwith in the naturalcourse of a game.
thetouchedcardat the bottomof the righthand
spread. Hickman'sSpectatorCuts the Aces
"Spectator cutsthe aces"is a veryold magic
theme,a problemthatsomeof the finestmindsin
magichavestruggled to accomplish. Theproblemis
thatyou needto somehow finaglethe endresult(the
fouraces)eventhoughthe cardsareunderthe control
of thevolunteer almosttheentiretime.Thisusually
means thatthemagician hasto performsomeabsurdor
awkwardmovein the actionof turningthe four cut-to
selections over.
Thisis,of course, whenalltheheatison andrare-
Step4 Now, usethe cardsin the left handto close ly in magicdo you wantto performthe
secretactionas
the righthand'sspreadoveryourconcealed everyone watches the exactplaceyou do it. Thisis why
packetof cards.Theconcealed packetcombines we havemisdirection. Unfortunately, in thiseffectyou
naturallywiththe othercardsandeverything is reallycan'tmisdirect too muchbecause anydirection
heldtogether awayfromthe cardsis a bit conspicuous, andyour goal
is not to leadthemawayfromthe effect,but fowards it.
Still,aswesaidbefore,manymagicians havecome
up withastounding waysof performing thisparticular
feat.However,noneof themmeetthe directness that
( wouldcomefromthe spectator actuallycuttingto the
\ aceswithno sleight of handfromthe magician. Letme
presentto you Hickman's Spectator Cutsthe Aces.
The Secret:Theyactuallycut to the aces.
Mindblowingisn'tit.

t Besureto emphasize
"touch" sinceif they pull a cardout you,re f You may wishto givethe right-handpacketan additionaltap on the top
hosed, You can alsohavethem iustyell stop,whichis usuallyeaslerin to squarethem all the way around.
with lots of peopleand largetables.
situations f I like to turn my headawayto emphasize
that I couldn,tknow which
card it is.

QO
vt
[JrnuerEXDM
1l

Thequestion is,how?Wellif you didn'tskipthe youwant)on yourforearm.Youwill do thisin

above,thenthe answer shouldn'tsurprise youbecause a shorthand form.So"The Sixof Diamonds"
it's reallysimple.In fact,we cansumit up by saying becomes, "61." Useshorthand because other-
that it's a combinationof two Cut a LittleDeeperforces wiseit takesa longarmanda lot of ChapStick.
anda Crisscross force.Whenyou combinethemin a Havea pieceof paper,a pencil,a lighter,andan
particular way,you geta verydeceptive pieceof magic. ashtrayor smallbowlhandy.
StepI Forcethe sixof diamonds cardon someone.
Preparation Placethreeaceson the top of the deck Feelfreeto useanymethodyou like.sIn this
andoneaceon the bottom. case,I personally wouldusethe Touchforce.
Step1 Tellthe playerthathe is goingto playa quick Oncetheyknowtheircard,gatherthe deckand
gameof "TexasSmoky"with Jackthe Grifter. put it away.
Thewinnergetswhateveris relevantto the story, Step2 Tellyourhelperto "thinkof yourcard
maybea talkingkangaroo. andconcentrate on it." Lookintotheirsouland
Step2 Havethe spectator do the Cut a LittleDeeper struggle for a moment.Tellthemthat perhaps
forcetwice.Eachtime place the cut-tocardface theyshouldwritethe nameof theircarddownto
downandto the side.Remember to placethe re- helpthemfocus.Lookawayastheydo thisand
maining face-up cardsbackintothemiddleof the havethemcrumpletheirscrappaperintoa little
deckfacedown,leaving thetop andbottomcards ballwhentheyarefrnished.
always the same.. Step3 Takeout the lighterandthe bowl.Settheir
Step3 Endby doingthe Crisscross force.In the prediction aflame,allowingit to burnalltheway
aforementioned "momentof time misdirection" out in the bowl.Youshouldhavea littlepileof
showthatthe firstandsecondcardstheycut to ashes left.Waita moment,twentyfrveseconds
wereaces.Thenmovebackto the"markedcut." or so,to makesuretheashes arecool.
Pickup the top halfwith your righthandandturn Step4 Rubtheashes overtheChapStick writingon
overthe facedowncardon the bottomhalfwith yourarm.Theashes willstickto theChapStick
your left saying,"whatis reallystrange is thatyou andrevealthenameof the cardtheyarethinking
alsocut to thethird.. ." now turnyour righthand of in ash.
palm-up, showing the bottommostcardin thetop Anything canbewrittenon your armandre-
halfof the cut saying,". . .andfourthace." vealedin ashes; a clueto yourgame;the location of
the magicwhasit,anything. Thisis a fun trick,but
Youhavejustcreated a Maverick-esque moment the principle canbeusedfor a myriadof coolgame
for a playerwhois aboutto be the luckyrecipientof moments.
a talkingkangaroo.lf you do thisrightit will foolthe
pantsoff peoplel. "Quill of EYIL"
Duringyouradventurer's travels
theycome
"Revealedin Ashes" across a strange quillof evil.Thequillissaidto fore-
Revealing the nameof a selected objectby rubbing tellthe future.At differentpoinsduringthe adven-
ashes on yourarmgoesbackcenturies. lt's weirdanda tureanyonecanpickup thequillandwritewithit.
little freaky.Perfectfor a latenight game'. Thecurseof the quillis thatanyonewho triesto look
Preparation Go getyourself someChapStick. In at the predictionbeforeit happens goesblindfor a
private,writethe nameof your forcecard(We'll shorttime.Aftera numberof predictions aremade,
usethesixof diamonds again.Youusewhatever thequillrunsout of inkandthe papers areread.Each
prediction, someof whichareveryspecific,hascome
" My favorite way to accomplishthis is to shufflethe cardstogethermaking to pass.
surethat the top and bottom cardssuy iust wherethey aresupposedto. The Secret:lf a playereverasksto usethe
Shufflinglike this will alsoreallyconfuseanyonewho may think they know
what you are doing.
quillyou will pickup a penandsmallpieceof paper
f Not literally.Which in most casesis a REALLYgood thing.
t This usesfire. Be careful.Duh. $ No guns.

90
 (about Post-it.sizeis good)andostensibly writedown TheXDMwriteson a pieceof paper"the second door
a prediction abouta specific eventthatisaboutto will be chosen." That prediction is tossed in withthe
takeplace.Perhaps something likewhichdoorthe othersandtheXDM announces thatthequillisout of
players willchoose, aboutwhatwill happen inkandthe predictions
specifics maybe read.Of course they
inthenextbattle,or go for brokeandpredictactual allcameto pass.Doyouseehowtimedisplacement
dierolls.Whateverfloatsyour boat*youwill be one canmakejustaboutanything possible?t Anyway,it'sa
hundred percentrighteachtime.Howcouldsuch funwayto makesomething asodd asa magicquillthat
devilry exist? much more real.
It'seasywithour old friendtimedisplacement. Butwaita second. Thisis a gameafterall.What
you
What writedownfor prediction numberoneis in happens if my party frnds a wayto readthe predictions
factthelasfeventthatwill happen-an eventthatwill beforetheyhappen? Well,asthe veritablegodof their
beforceduponthe player.Thenthenext prediction world you can naturallypreventsuchthingsfrom hap-
youwillmakewill be for the frrstevent.Yourthird peningbut we havea betteridea.
prediction will be for yoursecond event,andsoon. Letthem.Evenhelpthemto find a wayto do
Allowusto illustrate. Thequillof evilstartsto it. lt creates a reallyinteresting gamedynamic. So
movebefore your playersentera room.Sothe XDM after doing the pen of evil effect, perhaps theyfind
picksup a pieceof paperandwrites"Thequeenof a vialof waterthat grantsthemimmortalsightfor a
hearu will bechosen"crumples the paperup and moment.Nowyou mustwriteon the paperaboutan
tossesit into a bowl.Erikthe Vicarsearches for traps. eventthathasn'thappened yet.Like,"Sherrythe elf
Heflndsonebut stilltakesa frstfullof poisonto the kills the magic princess with a rock."Now you have
face. to makesurethat no matterwhatthe pafi does,the
eventcomesto pass.lf Sherrycommigsuicidebefore
anything elsehappens, you haveto makeup a wayfor
whatyouwroteto happen. Perhaps Sherryrollsa 20
on hersuicide roll.Youcouldsaythatherforceand
conviction weresostrongthat Sherry'sbladeshattered
in herhand,preventing herdeathandforcingthe rocks
to shake andfallon theprincess. Basically no amount
of ingenuity or dierollingwill undowhatthe penhas
written.lt's a fun dynamic, especiallyif the predictions
theyreadareunfortuitous.
lsn'tthatnot iustcheating, but a complete mas-
sacreof therulesof the game? No. Firstlet me remind
Sometimegoesby andthe players cometo youthattheQuillof Evilis evil.Second, deciding the
frvedoorsbut canonlychoose one."Thequillof fateof your players oncetheyhavediscovered howto
evilstaru to write,"andtheXDM picksup another readthepredictions withoutgoingblindis not cheat-
bitof paperandon it secretly writes"Erikwill finda ingor rulegenocide at all. (Evenif it waswe doubt
poison trap".The paperis balledup andplacedwith that we would care.) Butit is perfectlyfltting.Still,for
theother.Theplayers choose thesecond door.In the sakeof yoursanity,allowusto illustrate whywith
thenextrooman old gypsy womanis foundwith a an oft told folktalkenarrated by the Angel of Death
deckof cards.Sheaskssomeone in the partyto cut herself:
thedeckandshemarksthecut by placing it crosswise "Therewasa merchant in Baghdad who sent
(Crisscross Force)on the otherpack.Beforethe cut- hisservant to marketto buy provisions andin a little
to cardis lookedat, the quillof evilstaruto write.
* Post-itis yet anothertrademarkthat we haveusedin f This is yet anotherreferenceto the sectionin this book called"Twisting
total disregard in the Wind." lt's a reallygoodsection.lf you skippedall that stuff in the
for lawsthat might preventus from doingso. Also, if you actuallydo beginningand somehowgot herefirst-weoffrciallydemoteyou down to a
thiseffectusingactualPost-its,you will be deducted20 XDM levelsand levelTwo SkuzzPuff. But then for you LevelOne Nub Cakes,I guessthat's
forcedto wearthe "l took XDM too literally"signto our next meeting. a promotion, 5o. . . good work.

91
[rnunrEXDM
whilethe seruantcameback,whiteandtrembling,
andsaid,l{aster,justnowwhenI wasin the mar-
ketplace I wasjostledby a womanin thecrowdand
whenI turnedI sawit wasDeaththatjostledme.
Shelookedat me andmadea threatening gesture,
now,lendmeyour horse,andI will rideawayfrom
thiscityandavoidmy fate. I willgo to Samarra and
thereDeathwillnot find me. Themerchant lenthim
hishorse,andthe sevantmountedit, andhedug
hisspursin its flanksandasfastasthe horsecould
gallophe went. Thenthe merchant wentdownto
the marketplace andhe sawme standing in thecrowd
andhe cameto meandsaid,"Whydidyou makea
threatening gesture to my servantwhenyou sawhim
thismorning?"Thatwasnota threatening gesture,
I angledtowardyou slightly.Thethumbis putting
said,it wasonlya startof surprise.I wasastonished
to seehimin Baghdad, for I hadan appointmentwith
himtonightin Samarra."
a fortunebuyingthesecards.Basically, you need
Bicycle cards..
Please notethatto saveusall a lot of confusion
in thissectionwe will be assuming thatyou areright
handedtoo. lf you arenot, we aresurethatwe're
not the firstto pity you. Stilldespiteyour sadlot in
lifewe iustknowyou candrumup enoughmoxieto
convertthe followingtext to fit your specialneeds.
The nuo handedfan
Fourducksat firstglance,
but reallyit's probably
morelikeoneor two.
Step1 Holdthecardsin yourlefthand.The
cardsshouldbe in the crotchof the thumb,
pressureon the packat the bottomnearcorner

Therearea millionthingsyoucando witha

forcedcard.Takea duplicate of the forcecardandput
it in yourbuddy'swallet.Havethenameof theforce
cardrevealed in laserfire andfrreworks.
Beinventive!You'reanXDM-that'syourjob.

Card Flourishes: Step2 Therighthandnowcomesover,andwith

Whetheryou'rea cardcheatin the old west,a itsthumb,his the nearlongedgeof the cardsat
wandering gypsy,aboutto playanyoneof the billions the top left corner.lt thenmakesan arcaround
of cardgamesout there,or doingan effectfromthis the otherthumb,puttingthe majorityof its
book,you needto knowhowto do sowith flair.Card pressure on the uppermost card.Thefingersin
flourishesareanart of theirown. Manyof themlook backsupportthe fan.
impressive and,if donecorrectly,areeasy.Thatis the
idea.Thereis anold magicsaying, "Makethediffrcult
lookeasyandthe easylookdifficult."
Whatfollowsarejusta fewof thethousands of
cardflourishes out there. To makeit simplewe'verat-
ed eachoneon a scaleof ducks.Fiveducksbeinghard,
oneduckbeingeasy.(Whyducks? we don'tknow.
Whystars?)We'renot goingto venturetoo far into the
fiveduckcategory,because thereareplentyof amazing
flourishesthat don't requirenearlyasmuchwork.
Beforewe begin,please notethatyou shouldgo
out andgeta qualirydeckof cards!Don'tevenlook
at that horridexcuse for a decksittingin your kitchen
*
drawer.You neednewcards.You needqualitynon- Bicycleis a trademarkof the U.S. PlayingCardCompany.Rumorhas
it that their mainofficesare madeof 85,720,645,496 playingcards
plasticcoatedcards.Youalsodon't wantto spend carefullystackedby a bllndChineseman.
It's alsoa modeof transportation.

92

The snapbackfan close
Assuming you did the lastoneright, two ducks.
Thisis a cleverandmagical lookingwayof
the two handedfan.
closing
Step1 Bringyour left indexfingerto the bottom
of the fan.Thetip of thatfrngershouldbe in
contactwith the bottomcenterof the lower-
mostcard.Themiddlefingershouldbemostly
in contactwith the spreadabovethat bottom
card.
Step2 Two thingsaregoingto happenat the same
time.You extendthe indexfinger,forcingthe
cardfanto beginto close.Themiddlefrnger
pullsdownon the fan,thusforcingit to closein
anarc.
Step3 Onceyou can'tloweryour middlefingeror
extendyour indexfingeranyfurther,reverse the
motionto pullthe fancompletely shutwith the
indexfrnger.Leavethe middlefingerwhereit is.
It's doneits iob anddeserves a break.
Somethingsto keepin mind
Thefanshouldclosefast.Remember itsthe
snapback close.Whenviewedfromthe front it should
looklikethe fanis closingitself.
CHEAPTRICKI
lf youwantto do an old-fashioned gag pretend
to graba pieceof hair andtie lt to the fan.
Thenclosethe fanwlth the left handpretendto
pullthe invtsibleline,asif shuttingthe fanwlth
thehalr.lt migfrtseemsllly,but world-famous
, magicians still usethis bit in their performances.
Andreallydoeslookcool.
WoNnsRsoF THEQoos
The One HandedFan
Onelittleduck
Thisis a fanthat by itselfis onlymildlyimpressive,
but whentwo handsof themarecombinedyou getone
veryimpressive displayknowasthe S-fan.
Step1 Placehalfthe deckon the fingersof the right
handsothatthe longedgesof the packareparal-
lel to them.Yourrightthumbcontacts the bottom
innercorner.
Step2 Whilemaintaining pressure withthethumb
andbottomfingers,makea fist.Unlikethe fistyou
mightuseto beata leveloneorphancleric,this
fistis madewith the fingersflat againstthe palm,
thumbsetagainst the bentindexfinger'sknuckle.
The S Fan
Theevilwarlordtwinbrotherof thelastlittleducR
Step1 Do a onehandedfanin bothhands.lt's really
not thathard..
Step2 Movethe handssothat the top of onefan
comesin contactwith the bottomof the other
therebycreatingan S shapewith the cards.
" Havingiust re-readthis before goingto print, it seemsto us that this is
and ignorantthingto saysincewe can alreadydo it. lf
sort of an insensitive
you wereoffendedfeelfreeto blamegrandmasterFrank. We usuallydo.
93
[JrnunrEXDM
To closeReversethe motionsof creatingthe fans
andbringthe two handstogether.Thecards
shouldcollapseneatlyintothehands.
Note:Curtishasbeendoingmagicfor a longtime
andstillgetsasgreata reactionfrom the S fanashe
doeswhenperforming a complicated version
of the
(a
SybilCut Sybilcut beinga twentyon the fiveduck
scale,andtoo complicated for usto describe
here).
Speaking you
of cuts,les introduce to anold
friendof themagiccommunity knownastheCharlier
cut.
The One HandedCut or Charlier Cut
probablythebiggerhalf
Twoanda half ducks...
Step1 Holdthe packat your left handfingertips,
lengthwisebetweenthe fingersandthumb.Your
pinkyshouldbe at the bottomedgeof the packto
helpkeepthingstidy.
Step2 Now releasethebottomhalfof the deckby
rollingyourthumbup a bit sothatit loses
the
lowerhalfandkeeps thetop half.
Step3 Usingyour indexfinger,pushup on the bot-
tom packetuntilyou haveforcedthat packetto
iustclearthetop packet.Now loweryourfinger
anduseyourremaining fingers
to helpbringthe
newlowerpacketunderthenewtop packet.
a
The Card Spread
Oneduck
Step1 Grip the decklengthwise betweenthe
fingersof your handandspreadthe cardson the
table.Thepressure comesfrom the deckpushing
downon thecardsasthe handsweeps quickly
acrossthe table.Thefingersdon't dragthe cards
but ratherregulatethe distribution
of the cards.
A lighttouchis neededanda littlepracticeto
makeit smoothandeven,but really,howhard
couldthisbe?
Step2 (We'renot doneyet?)Now tilt the first
cardin thespread up andwiththe frngerridethe
crestof the waveyou justcreated.Rideit both
downandup thespread. lt shouldlooklikea
peakor wavemovingdownthespread. In factif
youmovethewaveto the middleof thespread
andthensplitthe wavewith the otherhandyou
canmovetwo wavesaround.
-' ' :-..':,' =.--
Step 3 Whenyou get tired of this or feel the
spreadstaftingto fall apart, bring the waveto
the end of the, fan thusflippingall the cardsface
up.
Note:Thiswon'tworkon smoothsurfaces. In
fact,if you everattemptthison glass,feelfreeto give
yourself 5 moronpoints.
Springingthe Deck
FiveDucksanda Yeti
Likeanythingthisstartsout hardandthenwith
practicegetsto besosecond-nature you will look
backandwonderwhywe'recallingit fiveducks
(granted, you maylookbackon thisandsaythat
anyway).Still,juststartingto learnhowto springthe
deckfrom handto handcanbe quiteaggravating,
especiallyif you areconstantlypickingup cards.Trust
me, it's wortheverymomentyou put into it.
Step1 Holdthecardsin yourrighthandwiththe
four fingerson the top shortedgeandthe thumb
on the bottomshortedge.
94

Step2 Squeeze the deck,creatinga concave bend
intoyourpalm.
Step3 Nowspringthe cardsby releasing them
with the fingers.Thisis doneby straighteningthe
knuckles out andevenlyregulating the flowof
thecards.
Step4 Catchthe cardsin yourlefthandwhichis
heldjustbelow,in front,andto thesideof your
righthand.Thehandsfingerscreatea bowlfor
thecardsto fall into. (l apologize
to thosethat
did stepthreewithoutreadingstepfour first.Let
thatbe a lessonto you.)
Step5 Square the cardsandknowthat,yes,you
lookedcool.
CHEAPTRICKI
Therels a wayto totallycheatat the card
spring.lf you do thls rlght,you mlghtgetaway
with lt. On the other hand,it letsyou do some
reallyfunnyflourishes, evenlf the gimmicklt is
obvious.
l. Sapleor otherwise connectaltemating
endsof your cards.In otherwordssuple
the shortend ofthe top cardto the next
card.Thentekethat cardandstaplethe
opposlteendto the cardbeneathit. You
will end up with a deckthat is one bigzig-
zagconnectedpack.
2. Now you canreleasethe cardsfrom one
handto the other from greatdistances and
they will cascadeperfectly(if a bit zlg-
zagged)everytime.
Note: lf you are doingthisandrryingto
getawaywith lt, you will wantto concealthe
deckwlth the handuntilthe lastposiblemo-
ment.After all, peoplemightgetsuspicious of
the largepiecesof metalstuckto your cards.
Die tricks and other PointlessMiracles
Vanishes
Theabilityfor a XDM to vanish diceat will is...
wellpointless. . . but fun.After all,thereis no wizard
or creature thatwouldhaveactualdiceto makevanish.
Perhaps it's bestusedasa symbolof fatevaporizing,
the creaturedisappearing, or someotherreallyesoteric
nonsense.
As mentioned earlier,thereareonlythreeways
of making anything vanish. Bymovingtheobiect,hid-
ingtheobject,or it wasneverthereto beginwith..
So,in an effortto deliverthe XDMsof the worldthe
bestin illusiontechnologies, we will provideyou with a
fewtechniques thatinvolvea combination of allthree
methods.
Die Vanishl:
FeaturingThe FrenchDrop(akaLe tourniquet
Vanisht)
Step1 Thedieis hetdbetween the thumband
forefinger of yourpalm-up hand.Theotherhand
movesoverto takethe die.
Step2 Themomentthesecond handiscovering
the dieyourfirsthandreleases its gripon the die
allowingit to fallintothe palm.Thesecond hand
thenwrapsis fingersaroundemptyspace.
Step3 Tenseup thehandthatnowholdsnothing
(butsupposedly holdsthe die)andrelaxthe hand
that nowconceals it. Youreyesshouldbe fixed
on thehandthatapparently tookthe die...andI
meanriyefedon it asif your eyeballs
wereliterally
super-glued
to it.
" ThePsychology of Magicby mo guyswho havenever beenin my kitchen
before.
+ WARNING: A toumiguershouldonly be usedasa lasrresortif all other
efforu to controlbleedinghavefailed. lfyour playersare bleedingduring
your game,you're doingsomethingwrong.
[rnuerEXDM

Step,l Finally,massage
the emptyspacein the sec- Step1 Tossthe D20 from handto handa few
ond handandslowlyrevealthevanishof the die. times.Thehandsshouldbe relatively close
togetherwhiledoingthis.Therighthandrotates
Step5 Reveal
or ditchthe concealed
die in the first overthe left andthe left handoverthe right.
hand:

A. Produceit fromyour elbow,behinda player's

ear,or out of a cheese
sandwich.
Justreachover
withthe firsthandandactlikeyou pluckedthe
objectfrom the netherregion.

B. lf youareseated,
youcancasually let thedie
dropinto your lapundercoverof thetable'sedge.

C. lf youarestanding andhavebeenpracticing
your misdirection, you cando this:Leanforward
withthesecondhandandbeginto vanish thedie.
As you do thisturn your bodya bit to the side Step2 Now dumpthe dieinto the left hand,its
andwhenall eyesareon yoursecond handallow quicklyclosing
fingers aroundthedie.
your firsthandto drop its die into a convenient
pocket(iacket,pants,etc).Thissortof thingtakes Step3 Yourrighthandimmediately movesinto
practicebut whendonecorrectlycanbe amazing. the iacketandup to the left breastpocket.Re-
Havingsaidthat,I don'trecommend thatyoudo movethe pencilanddisplayit sayingsomething
it, at leastnot for a longtime.lt's not thatI don't witty like,"Hereis my magicpencil."
devilishly
trustyou-it justtakesa bit of practice.
Step4 Wavethe penciloverthe left handand
Youcan,of course,makeanything
smallvanish openit to revealthe die is stillthere.No one
withthismethod.Justremember
whatthefatherof will be impressed,
I hope.
modernmagicsaid:
Step5 Saythatyou musthavedonesomething
"To succeed asa conjurer,threethingsarees- wrong.Placethe pencilbackinto your innerleft
sential-first,
dexterity;second,
dexterity;
andthird, breastpocketandsayyou will try again.Repeat
-
dexterity." Robert-Houdin Stepl.

Die Vanishll
Thereturnof the DieVanish(Thistimeit's personal)
EffectTheXDM causes a D20 to vanishfrom his
handusingthe waveof a pencil.Witha second
wave,thediereappears in thatsamehand.
Thiseffectis a classic
of magicand,despite ffiil \
l\Y
beingsupereasy,is high-impact whenperformed
correctly.'Thebadnewsis you haveto be wearing
a jacket or sportcoat.Placethe pencil/pen in the
inneriacketpocketandyou arereadyto perform.

* A wonderfultrick accreditedto
JamesF. Herpick.Yes,someof the
footnotesare real.

96
Step6 Now makethe samemotionof the right
handdumping/tossing the die into the left as
youdid in Step2but thistimeuseyourthumb
to clipthe die behind your closedfrngers (frgure fringesocietyof XDMslivingin hiddencavesnear
3 exposed view).Closeyour left handaround
theempryspaceasthoughit heldthedie.The
illusionshouldlookalmostidenticalto a regu-
lar actionof tossingandcatching the die.You
shouldbestaringat your left handwhichis now
tense.Yourrighthandshouldbe an afterthought
andappearrelaxed.
Step7 Yourrighthandoncemoremovesunder
the jacket andup to the innerleft pocket. There
it will release
the D2Ointo the sleeveandtake
out the pencil
oncemore.Yourleftarmshould
alreadybe bentso thatthe die doesn'tmakeit
pastthe elbow.
Step8 Tapthe pencilagainst
the handagain,pre-
senfingyoursuperior
intellect
by saying,
"l think
I haveto tap it."
Step9 "And nowit will vanish!"Slowlyopenyour
left handto revealthatthe dieis nowgone.
Step1OA momentlater,clearlyshowyourright
handemptyexceptfor the pencilfinishing
your
by saying,"Completely."
statement
Step1 1 Now raiseyour righthandasyou singthe
praises
of the magicpencil.Yourlefthandwill
nownaturallydropto yoursidewith its fingers
relaxedandcuruedinward,readyto catchthe
diethat is aboutto fallrightinto it. (Besureto
lookonlyat theallwonderful pencil.Remem-
ber,theywill lookwhereyou look.)
Step12 Closeyour left handaroundthe diebut
keepthe handrelaxedandraiseit backinto
position.Now say,"But if I wereto giveit three
taps.. ." andtapthehandthreetimes.
Step13 Openthe handto showthe diehas
returned.Acceptstanding ovations
grudgin
gly
becauseno onelikesa Mr. SmartyPang.
Volatilis Sors
(latin for oWingedFortune")
Thisis an amazing featthat datesbackto a small
Oman.Theydidn'twantto giveup theirsecretbut
threatsweremadeandMountainDews*wereconfis-
cated.
Effect:You roll your D20 anddon't likethe result
soyou makea smallwavingmotionoverthe die
andit literallyandvisuallyre-rollsiself. lf you
don't likethat resultyou canalwayswaveagain,
or snapyour fingers,gettingthe dieto floatback
up intoyour hands,readyto be rolled.lf someone
complains feelfreeto handthemthe D20 to see
iusthow utterly normalit reallyis.
IMPORTANTI
Whatyou areaboutto tearnls a trldr
nragide,nrpry morc,,tlnnthe,prheof thls
bookto ham" Wo-dtfrq0eil,ml$tlff orcr
wlretheror not to,lMpdelt h$re"$rh dsdded
that lf you areserlousenougftto hry thb
book,thenyou anercrlou$enougftto,dp $'het
followswlth respectandgoodfudgment.'
Thlslsn't I Srg.Thh ls ln*youdacc,pee-
your-pants,slapyou-around mrglcl lf you
can't handlethe practlceanddll|gencelt wlll
require,fust sklplt rnd addsod(pupp€tsto
your nextgame.
VolatilisSorsPreparation
PartOne Thefrrstthingyou will needto do is go
out andbuysomeblackthreadWoolyNylonEx-
tra. lt's usedfor serging
andshouldbe foundiust
aboutanywhere sewing aresold.Don't
supplies
useanyotherkindof serging thread.lt won't
work. Theeasiest wayto findthe stuffis iustto
go onlineandordersome.Alsopickup someof
thattackystuffyou useon posters. Keepsome
tapehandy.
* lf you didn't buy this book and are readingthis in a store or off some
photocopiedversionfound on a torrent or other P2P network, you are
undoubtedlygoingto the "specialhell". Go buy a real copy, you wonhless
shellof a humanbeing,and saveyour alreadytatteredsoul from unspeakable
destructlon.Oh, and lose3 levels.
97
 [JrnnnarEXDM
PartTwo In the supersecretandhiddenroomyou
areusingfor preparation,
placea brightwhite
sheetof paperdownon yourworksurface. lt will
help.
PartThree:Unwinda stretchof the nylon(about
the lengthof yourarmshoulddo). Thisstuffis
wonderful. lt's a lifetimesupplyof real-nokid-
ding-invisiblethread.Eachlengthof WoofyNyton
is madeup of manyteenytiny littlestrands, strip
oneof thoseout andyou,vegot yourselfa wisp
of threadthat'sthinnerthana humanhairyet can
supporta D2O,andundertherightconditions,
impossibleto see..
PartFour:Lookat the veryendof your lengthof
threadandfindiustonestrandpokingout with
the rest.Makesureit,sjustone.Useyourpaper
anda brightlightto helpwiththis.pinchit with
onehandandslipthe remaining
strands
downthis
singlestrands
length.lt will clumpup a bit-that
PartSeven:Puta bit of tapeat the baseof your
singled-out
strandandbreakit off from the bulkof
thethread.
PartEight:Younowhaveto attachit to a die. We
likeusethe 20 sideddiebecause it,scommon, but
reallyit's yourchoice.Thecolorof dieyou useis
important.Darksemitransparent dicearegood,
sincethe threadis harderto seeagainst them.
Neyerusewhitedice.Duh.Thetapeyou will use
to attachit with is alsoimportant.Glossytape(not
matte,invisible frnish)tapeworksmuchbetter,but
is yourresultsmayvary.Cut off a smallbit of your
tapeandplacethe bottomof your invisible thread
across the die.Affrxthe tapeto oneor moreof
the triangles trappingthe threadin between.Break
off the excess lengthof thread.Smoothout the
tapeandremoveanyextrabits,so it becomes
I
invisible on thedie.
I
TRI,TI
ANO
\
cuT i

justmeansyou'redoingit right. SMOOTITAPE EXCESS I

THREAO I

PartNine: Now takethe tackystuffandplaceit

underyourbeltto the rightsideof yourbody(or
leftif you rollwiththathand).Makesurethat
your clothesaredarkcolored,but preferably
not
black.

PartFive:Takeyourtackystuffandroll it around PartTen:Carefullyput the die in your pocket.

thesinglestrandyouareholding.Now stickthis You'rereadyto do somecrazyamazing stuffallat
littleballof fun ro the table. yourwhim.

PartSix:Continueto slipthe otherthreadsdownthe VolatilisSorsPerformance

lengthof theonethread,grabbing belowwhere StepOne:At anytimeyouwish,pullyourD20
theclumpisandmovingthestrands untilit clumps out of your pocket.Takecarenot to breakthe thread.
again.Now reachup andslipmorethreads down
the linetowardthe newclump.Repeat thisuntil
you havesingledout a pieceof invisiblethread
at the aforementionedlength,strippedfrom the
others.

* lt alsobreaksuper
easy.onceyourearniusthowmuchit cantakeand
howto handleit, threadbreakswill becomemuchlesscommon.

98
 WoNorRSoF THEQons

StepTwo: Holdthe die in your handasyou nor- lmportant tips!

wouldto roll a die.With your handpalmup the
mally 1. Youcan'unhook'your thumbat anytimeto allow
will run underthethumb
thread yourhandsfull rangeof motion.And viceversa.
Startby rollingthedieandthenleaving it on the
StepThree:Rollthe dielikeyou normallywould. tableuntilthe nexttimeyou haveto roll. Then
Besureto standcloseenoughto the tableto allowslack getthe threadbackinto position.Youdon't have
intheline.Thedie mustmovefreely. to seethe threadto do this.Youknowwhereit is.
Don'tmakea bigdealout of it, youcanfeelwhen
it's in the rightplace.

threadis greatin florescent

2.Invisible
\ ',,,
\.-
StepFour:Withthe linestillhookedunderthe
ftumb,turnyourhandpalmup overthe die.The
hreadshouldnowmakea firm linefromyourwaist,
yourthumbanddownto the die.Becarefulnot
around
h make thelinetoo firmor the diewill moveprema-
0rely.
StepFive:Keepyour fingersclosetogetherand
bendthemtowardyour palmquickly-asif you were
doingthefrrsthalfof a "comehere"gesture to the
tableddie).Bytuggingon thethreadthe diewill iump
upinto theair no morethanan inchandbasically
itself.Thethreadhasn'treallygoneanywhere
re-roll
youiusttuggedat it for a moment.To your playersit
willlook likeyou did a magicwaveoverthedieandit
re-rollediself.
lightingor any
sortof diffusedindirectlighting.Daylightis hor-
rible.Lightyourenvironment evenly.Youwant
thebackground lit iustaswellasthe foreground.
Thethreadlooksinvisible, not becauseit's too
your
smallto see,but because eyescan'tfocuson
it. Oneglintof thethreadandthegigis up. This
is whywearing a blackoutfrtisn'tthe bestidea.A
niceredwith a bit of a designis perfect.lf you can
findsomething likethatwhichlooksgoodon you,
great,otherwise mostanythingwill work+.]eans
areidealsincethecolorandgrainworkwonder-
fullyasa backdrop.Don'tforgetthe uble either.
lf yourtableiswhite,you'redoomed.Wooden
tablesareperfect.
3. Practicethis.A lot. And we meana lot. Practice
in frontof a mirroror videocamera.Do thisbe-
foreyou showanyone.Eventhen,showsomeone
you cantrustfirst.VolatilisSorstakesa greatdeal
of practice.

StepSix:Repeat if youwish(don'toverdoit) 4. THISISTHEMOSTIMPORTANT THING!DO

and,if youfeellikeit, havethe die floatup intoyour IT ONCEA GAMEONCEEVERYTWO TO SIX
waiting hand.Thedieshouldbeon thetableandthe MONIHS,AND DON'TTELLANYONEHOW
$readstillunderyour thumb(in the crotchof the lT WORKSIEVERIThisis a secretof theXDMs
$umbbetween the thumbandforefinger) your right andwewouldliketo keepit thatway.lt won'tbe
hand turnedpalmdown.Slowlymoveyourwaistback specialif everytimeyou reachfor a die,it jumps
asyour righthandmovesup andforward..Thediewill up intoyourhands. Youdo thismorethanonce
riseintoyourhandwhereyou will catchit. Don'tdo in a game, andtheywill catchyou. Thefirsttime
thistooslowlybecause it will lookweird-likea threadis it's puremagic-EVERY TIMEAFTERTHAT lT'S
slowly the die into the air. Do it iusttad slower
hoisting A PUZZLE. Don't givethema secondchanceto
thanthereverse speedof gravity.r frgureit out. Useit sparingly.
i Don't
iustthrustyour hipsback.That'sweird. Leanforwarda bit-as if
pu weretrying to get a closerlook at what you were doing. The hip moves f Do this in a whiteshin and you will be seeingme at your door with my
hckwardasa result. cavedwellingfriendsfrom Oman. Eachof us with a MountainDew in one
handand a mini bat in the other.
t Which,if you think aboutit, is relativelyfast.

99
 5. lf the trick is not working,try adiusting
the length StepThree:Do sometrick. Whenthe diestartsto
of threadandthe placement of the tackystuff. slowdown,floatit up into your hand.

6. Usethissubtlyandwithoutanysortof buildup. Uber Volatilis SorsTricks:

It iusthappens. Doingthiswithoutdrawingattentionto To float the die up Hookthe threadbetween your
it makesit that muchmorepowerful. thumbandforefinger. Moveyour handforward
andleanbackat thesametime.Thediewill
7. Youcanrig the tapeon the dieto comeoff rise.Alternatively, put the thumbof your oppo-
easily.Providing a quickout, iustin caseanyonewants sitehandon the lineandpushthe threaddown.
to lookat the die.Performthisawayfrom people.They To passthe die througha hoop of frngersCreate
aregrabby.Justleavea littletab of tapethatyou can a hoopout ofyour fingers aroundthethread
grip in an emergency. Or breakthethreadat the very above the die and in that samemotionpassthe
edgeof the epe. What'sthe playergoingto say,"Oh I hoopdownandaroundthe die.
knowhow you got
do it. You've tapeon your die?" Cageof WonderCarefully createa cageby
puttingthefingertipsofyour handstogether and
Uber Volatitis Sors archingyour fingers to separate your palms.Do this
(l-atinfor "Aber WingedFortune") aroundthespinning die,thethreadgoingin the
Effect:TheXDM decides to ignoreeverythinghe has middle of the big hole yourthumbsandforefingers
everlearned aboutbeingsubtleanddo a fullfloat created.Now rotatethe cagearoundthe dieasbest
of a D2O.Perhaps to impress a lovedone. you canwithouthittingthe thread.
Preparation: Sameasin VolatilisSors.Only this
time,stripout a threadthat is a fewincheslonger.
Placea bit of tapeoverthe ucky stuffandhideit
by placing it frrmlybehindyourear,allowing the
thread,anddie,to hangdownin frontof you.
Placethe die in your breastpocketor iustholdit
in yourhand.

Performance:
StepOne: Keepthediehandy.Thisisn'tan im-
promptueffect,but do your bestto makeit look
likesuch.Pullthedieout andholdit in frontof
you sothat gravirymakesthe threadtaut,almost
to the pointof liftingit off yourhand.Youshould
be leaningforwardslightly. Aroundthe Back:Thisis a bit...ummhardand
gutsy.Butheyif you'relookingfor a challenge this
StepTwo: Grabthe die in bothhandsby itsedges is it. Usea touchmorethreadfor thisone.Spinthe
andspinit likeyou wouldon a table.Leanto your dieto your rightwith a throwingmotionandleanin
leftandthespinning diewill floatleft.Leanto thatdirection too. Thediewill clearyourbodyand
your rightandit will floatright.Useyour handsas startto archaroundthe backside.Helpit on itsway
neededagainst the threadto helpcontrolit. Your by continuing to leanyour headwhereit needsto go.
handsshouldalways lookliketheyarecontrolling The thread will wrapigelf aroundyour neck.Lower
the die.Youwantthe players to thinkthatthe yourshoulder andmoveout of the wayasthe die
magicis in yourhands,not in someinvisible con- comes around the otherside.Catchthe diewhenit
nectionto your head. finishedis iourney.Reverse the actionsto untangle
the threadfromyour neck.

100
 f,HenrER I(rren $nrerrnsrro Qo
TFTTRTEEN,
XDMshavetraditionally pushedthe horizons of lf you havepurchased thisbookandhappento
roleplayinggaming. Neverwasthissoevidentthanin livein a suruivalist compoundcut off from the inter-
KillerBreakfast, theeventwhere"You'llDieLaughing!"netor civilization in general andstillwantto know
lf you haveattendeda KillerBreakfast asthey whatKillerBreakfast is about,we'lltry describing it,
havebeenrun at selectconventions aroundthe world, but you shouldknowthat l'm worriedaboutyou and
thencongratulations, you havejustgoneup a levelasan hopeyou finda wayto escape soon.
XDM!KillerBreakfast hasbeenrun personally by Tracy KillerBreakfast is a parody of traditionalrole
andLauraHickman(Level829 and262 XDMsrespec- playinggamesperformedin frontof an audience and
tively)at the LUCCAConvention in Lucca,ltaly,' at usingaudience members as participants.lt takesrole
theGenconOZ Convention in Brisbane, Australia,and playing gamerulesandturnsthemon theirheadin
hasbecome a hallmark of theGenconConvention in the grandest traditionof XDMs.
Indianapolis, lndiana. Whenyou performa KillerBreak-
fastyou arecontinuing an international tradition! A Brief History of Killer Breakfast:
lf you haveneverattendeda KillerBreakfast Thisbizarremethodof playingroleplayinggames
thenthe restof usfeelverysorryfor you. Youshould cameaboutsomeyearsagowhenTracyHickman
not hesitate onemoremomentandgo to www. decidedto auctionoff a game.He realized-after the
killerbreakfast.com where you canwatchoneof our players in thatgamehadspendquiteanamazing sum
morespectacular performances throughthe miracle for the privilege-that a lot of peopleprobablywanted
of onlinevideostreaming. Youcanevensubscribe to playin hisgamebut therewereonlyso manyseats
to it throughiTunes.Thereis no betterwayto learn thata gamesession couldaccommodate at a time.He
whatKillerBreakfast is allaboutthanwatching it being wondered if therewasa wayto sharehisXDM skills
performed. with morepeopleduringa singlesession.
ThusKillerBreakfast wasborn:a fun gamethat
* This wasconductedin Englishby Tracy EI Lauraand convertedinto couldinvolvea lot of peopleat once.Let.each of
lulian by our incredibletranslators.
Player'sresponses werein ltalian them play for a shorttime,kill theircharacter, and
convertedinto English.We're not entirely sure if we got everythingright but
aseveryonehad a goodtime we cannotcomplain.Seephoto on p | 02. move to the next.

101
 Herearethebasicrulesof a properlyrun Killer
Breakfast:

is:YOUWILL
l. Thefirstruleof KillerBreakfast
DlE. No amountof ruleslawyering, begging,or
whiningwill change thisfact.Yourcharacterin
the gameis goingto dieshortlyafteryou start
playing.Getusedto the idearightnow.

2. Playersstartwitha firstlevelcharacter.
Thisis
a pre-generated character sheetwhichhasthe
for a character
statistics not evena kindergarten
teacherwouldlove.Thischaracter is givento
the playerat the lastpossible momentbefore
comingon stageso thattheywill haveaslittle
emotional attachment to the characteraspos-
sible.
Theconceptwassimple,andit wasfirstperformed
at theGenconGameConvention thenbeingheldin 3. Playerssitdownat an emptyspotat thetableon
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Thegamewasinitiallycalled stage. At thismoment,the playeris askedto
year,a program writedownthetime,including seconds, thathis
"KillerDungeon" but on a subsequent
directorfor the convention took a disliketo Tracyand, character "sprang to life" meaning the moment
in a punitivemove,programmed the eventto take he or she satdownat the gametable.
placeat 9:00 a.m.on Saturday morning, unquestion-
ablytheworstpossible timeto holda GenconEvent. 4. Newplayers at thetablemustexplain how their
Ratherthantakeoffense,Tracydecidedto wear characterarrivedat this particular
pointin the
it asa badgeof honor.Fromthattimeonwardwe have adventure. lf players'explanations of howtheir
proudlyruneachof our KillerBreakfasts character got here are not suffrciently
entertain-
on Saturday
morning,defyingconvention traditionsby drawinghuge ing,valiant,or clever,thentheyDIEat onceand
crowds.Theonlyexception hasbeenon those
yearswhenwe havemovedthe eventto Friday I WASfiA ilERINa,ANO7 ool
SOAPfN ,ilY EY9S,FLALLINO AROUN?,7 ACCIOENTALLY
in orderto accommodate our devoutJewish INVOKEO-ARCANEPOKTAL,' ANO HERE7 4fi,
gamers.
OOE| ANYONE
HAVEA SPAREPAIR
Killer Basics OF PANIS?
Thebasicideaisthatthisisa roleplaying game
beingrun by the mostunjust,unsympathetic game- CONaPaTULATION',
masterwho everlivedto make player'slivesmiserable. YOU LIVE,FOR,
Deathcomesquicklyin thisgame,andif it evercomes
justly,it is almostalways
by accident.
At least,that'sthe player'sperspective
on the
ioke.
XDMsknowdifferently. Havinga ierkfor a game
masterisn'tfun or funny. Creatinganoutrageous
caricature of a badgamemasteris funny.Makinga ioke
out of all thebadwayspeopleplayroleplaying games?
Thatis hilarious.

102
 trrmn$nraxresrroQo

mustIeavethetable.lf theirexplanation istoo Beforewarned: Running a properKillerBreak-

long,too boring, or too stupid-thentheyDlE, fastis a grueling
challenge.lt is the equivalentof do-
getup from the tableandmakeroomfor the next ingtwo hoursof improvisational theaterandstandup
playerto be moreinteresting. comedyat thesametime.lt isnot for the faintof
heart.
5. Ihere arethreewaysto survive fromroundto
round. Yourpatheticcharacter will be pitted Death Takes Planning:Themes,Props
against creaturesso horrible,sovicious,andso and Stunts
powerfulthattheywill kill you on an initiativeroll Preparing anXDM KillerBreakfast requires a
alone.Theonlywayyou will survivefrom one greatdealof advance planning. TheKillerBreakfasts
roundto the nextis if you do oneof the follow- at Genconincludetheadvance preparationof a
ingthreethings:A something incredibly brave, specially-authoredDVDwithuniquevideosegments.
B something incrediblystupid(almostalways YourKillerBreakfast doesnot haveto be that elabo-
thesamethingasA), or C something incredibly ratebut you shouldknowthat preparation for a prop-
entertaining. Themomentyour deathis funnierthan erlyrun eventcantakeconsiderable timeandeffort.
you are,you DIE! You'llhaveto be amazing to live First,you shouldsettleon a themefor your
from roundto round. KillerBreakfast.In recentyearswe'veenioyed
runningour eventsascrosses betweenpopularsci-fi
Now, thesearethe rulesof the gamebut thereis a andfantasy genres; andmusicformsto create"Killer
lot moreto a KillerBreakfast thaniustoffrngcharacters.Breakfast Musicals.
" We'vecrossed Dragonlance
"Dying is easy. Comedy, that'shard" is the absolute with the broadway musical Grease. We've crossed
mantraof a KillerBreakfast. lt's no trickto killa StarWarswith the BackStreetBoys.We'vecrossed
character in a roleplayinggame,but gettingthe player TheLordof theRingswith lohn Cash.(Someone
to laughwhileyou'redoingit is the realchallenge. describe performance
thisparticular asFrodomeets

"l have a bad feeling

"Gameover,man!"
" H e ' sd e a d , J i m ! "
"Usethe force,stupid!"
"Beamme up, Scotty!" "lt'sonly a model!"
about this!"
"Thisgroup will self-
"Nevergive up!
"Surrender,Dorothy!" destruct in ten seconds
NEVERsurrenderl"
...goodluck,Jim."
" B yG r a b t h a r ' s
"Snakes.Why did it
"Godzilla!Godzilla!" h a m m e r . . . y o us h a l lb e
haveto be snakes?"
avenged!"

"Theenginesjust can't
"Run,Forest!Runl"
take it anymore!"
"l'llget you,my
"Danger!Danger, "Activatethe
pretty... andyour
WillRobinson!" O m e g a1 3 ! " "
littledog,too!""
" S h a - n a - n a - n.a. .
s h a - n a - n a - n .a. . "Runaway!Runaway!" "Hastala vista,baby!"
hey,hey ... goodbye!"

" l ' l lb e b a h c k ! " "Setfor stun ... NOT!"

't
:

103
I
t
I
- f
NASCAR.)Thepointis thatyou needa themefor overon theirownquiteeasily.
your KillerBreakfast
that is off-beatandrifewith
comedicpossibilities. HideousToysEveryyearwe go to the localToy
Youshouldthenstartcollecting itemsandprops Liquidator's
Outletstoreto searchfor truly hid-
for your performance.We suggest the following: eoustoys-toysthat areridiculousor whichone
mightthinkwouldgivechildrennightmares. Then
. GenericTicketsYoucanpicktheseup a most we bringthemwith usfor KillerBreakfast.Thus,
localoffrcesupplyor department stores.Get players be by
can confronted suchthingsasa me-
yourself a roll of numbered tickes.Thiscanhelp chanicaldragondesigned to latchontoyourarm e
your crewkeepthe audience in orderby giving andgrowl.Usingbizarretoysassetpiecesin your l;
out ticketsin the orderpeoplearriveandthen performance
KillerBreakfast canbe a realboost. a
callingthemup to playin thatsameorder.lt a
alsohelpsyou to knowaftenrardjusthowmany t'
players you managed to off duringthe perfor- t
mance. WASALIIIOSTLEVEL t
s
Watchwith a secondhandlt's alwayshelpfulto
havean offrcialtime keeperwhocanclockthem I
in andclockthemout whentheyaredonewith I
onestandard officialtime. 1

CharacterSheetsYou needto preparethese

in advance.TrueXDMsusethe XD20 system
games.
asthe basisfor theirKillerBreakfast
PreparesixKillerBreakfast charactersheets
or
downloadthe traditionalonesfrom www.
xtremedungeonmastery.com. Besureto create
enoughcopiesof all sixof thesecharactersheets
to coverthe numberof characters you expectto
blowawayduringthecourse of thegame.

CueCardsKillerBreakfast doesnot iustinvolve

the playerson the stage.lt getsthe audience
into the game,too. You needto havecuecards
for the audience containingthingsfor themto
shoutout in unisonduringthegame.We includ-
for yourconve-
ed a shortlistof our favorites
niencebut any popular fantasyor sci-frphrase
will work.
. BadMiniaturesThesearemorefor showthan
actualuseduringthe game,astheregener-
allyisn'tenoughtimeto dealwith positioning
miniatures.We personally recommend the use
of Legopeopleasminiatures-especially the little
medieval or sci-frLegopeople.Theyareeasyto
transport,do not requireanypainting,andfall
Pilesof diceWe usuallybringa largenumberof
dice,not so muchto determine anythingat all,
but mostlyto strikefearin the hearuof gamers.
There'snothinglikeseeingthe lookon theirface
whenyou say,"The dragonhitsyou! Let'sroll for
damage. . ." andyou pickup aboutflfty dicein
bothhands.
. Audio/Visuals lf you aregoingto featuremusic
in your KillerBreakfast-and whatXDM wouldn't?
Then you'll needto write parody lyricsthat frt
your gameto the music,obtaina karaoke version
of the song,figureout how you will get thewords
to your audience (eitherproiectthemfor the

10+
 - --r

ro So
Klrren$nrmresr

audienceor providethemwith photocopies),and Holdtheaudience outsidethe roomif possible

figureout howto playthe musicandsingit at but besureto allowenoughtime for themto enter
thesametime.Thiswill largelydependon your the roomandfind a seat.Depending on the sizeof
capabilities
andthetechnicalequipmentavailable theaudience thiscantakeupwardof halfan hour-
to you where you areperforming.
Learnto deal anotherreasonwhyyou shouldarriveso early.Spend
withthe unexpected. thisentrytimepacingup anddownin frontof the
audiencelikea cagedtiger,eyeingthemhungrily.lust
Wealsorecommend thatyou getyourselfa crew, beforethe gamebegins, do a fewcalisthenicsto show
especially if you areexpecting to run thiseventfor a themthatthisis seriousbusiness.
largenumberof people.A crewcanbe invaluable to
anXDMin KillerBreakfasq haveenoughto worry The Grand Opening
you
about withoutdealingwith crowdcontrol,ticketcollec- Youshouldbegintheshowby explaining the
tion,ticket giving,timing,andothergeneralhousekeep- rulesto Killer Breakfast to them in the most enter-
Ingitems.A well-trained crewcanmeanthedifference tainingwaypossible. TracyandLaurahaveanonline
between an enjoyable eventfor your playersanda videocalfedthe KillerBreakfast SaferyPresentation
sluggish one. which provides a proper startto anyKillerBreakfast.
Foroverten yearsnow,LauraandTracyhave XDMsmayavailthemselves of thisvideoaswellas
been privileged to be assisted
in our KillerBreakfast per- basic cheers by special ordering the DVD (NTSC
formances by a groupcallingthemselves the Kokomo format)throughthe XDM website.
lnegulars. Thesegallantvolunteers eachyearcometo After you havegottenthe rulesexplanation out
theGenconConvention andprovidestaffsupportfor of the way, it's time to open the game itself.
lf you
oureventthatis unparalleled andunexcelled. Youcan't areusingmusicduringthe game,thiswouldbe the
have them:Theyareoursandwe'llfightyou for them. idealtimefor theopening numberwhichshouldset
the themeandtonefor the game.Forexample, in the
KillerBeats 2OO7GenconKillerBreakfast performance Phanfoms
Soyouarestillintenton runninga KillerBreakfast, of the Ravenloft, we opened with the following lyrics
eh?Don'tsaywe didn't warnyou. Thenextstepis set (with apologies) to the tune of "Phantom of the
foryouto createa beatchartthat includes the timing Opera:"
ofyour KillerBreakfastperformance. Youonlyhavea (LAURA)
llmited timeto performandyou needto makesureyou We wrote adventure games / for TSR
geteverything in beforethe nextseminardemands you Butoneabovefheresf/ Wasquitebizarre.
$veupthe room. Now it's returnedagain / thoughnot thesame...
Thisbeatassumes you arerunninga two-hour Thewritersof theRavenloft havecome...
KillerBreakfast. To play their game!
(TRACY)
Preshow Comeplaymy RPG/ for thesetwo hours
Beforethe gamebeginsyou shouldarriveabout We'llkill morecharacters / thantenJackBauers!
anhourearlyif possible. Youwill needto makesure It's KillerBreakfast time.Youglance behind...
thatanyaudio/visual needshavebeenproperlysetup Themakers of theRavenloft return...
andthattheyareworkingasyou expect.Do thisevenif To blowyourmind!
youhaveperformedin thisvenuebefore,because there
arealways lastminutechanges, whichwill needto be It wasat thispointthat LauraandTracyboth
deah withpromptly.Setout your character sheets,look climbedaboarda recently-procured luggage dollyand
attheroomwith an eyetowardhowpeoplewill flow hadour crewpushusthroughtheaudience whilewe
through the room,wheretheywill gettheircharacter sang.
sheet, whichsidetheywill comeup to the stage,and (rAuRA)
which sidetheywill departthesuge. Thosewho haveplayedthe game,draw backin

r05
 dread.Charactersspringto life.. . a bottomless andSet2 wasthe JungleCruise
crevasse,
(TRACY) througha dragon-infested
swamp.
Thendropdowndead!
(DUET) lmportantTip: Youshouldtry to completely
Andthoughyou pleadandbeg/ androllyour clearthetableof players-in otherwords,kill allof
dice.. . themat once-before you changesets.lt makesfor a
TheDM of the Ravenloft will kill. . . nicetransitionfor the audience andletsyou startfresh,
Andnot think twice! with littlebaggage in eachset.

Thisis exactlythe kindof bigproductionnumber Bothof thesesetsshouldtakejustaboutten

thatXDMslivefor! Planon theseopening sequences minuteseach,bringingyour gameto aboutthe thirty
(includingthe gameintroduction) to takeup no more minutemark.You'llneeda pacingbreakat thispoint,
thanten minutes.You needto getthe playersinto so givecontroloverto your associate
to run the first
the game. LauraQuest.

Set#1s.2
Nextyou needto planon a coupleof sets.A
"set" in KillerBreakfast is essentially
a scenelikein
a playor a movie.lt usually takesplacein a specific
settingor location(youwon't havemuchtimeto do
more)anddealswitha specific jokeor dilemma that
is relatedto the generaltheme.
Forexample, in the2008 editionknownas
AnimatedKillerBreakfast, we usedthe themeof role
playingmeetsWaltDisney.Theentireadventure
wasstructured arounda bizarreversionof Disney-
land.Players startedin a tavernset(wherethe Town
Square is located)andthenproceeded to encounter
bizarresetsthat mirroredthe JungleCruise,Pirates
of the Caribbean, the Matterhorn,andlt's a Small
World.In thiscase,SetI wouldbe represented by
the TownSquareTavern,whichwassurrounded by
LauraQuest #1
LauraQuesuarelittleaudience participation
games andgivethe
that breakup the KillerBreakfast
XDM runningit a chance to breathe.
Theyarenamed
afterLauraHickman, whooriginated the LauraQuest
andwho hasbeenperforming themnowfor years.
TherearethreetraditionalLauraQuests:
l. AlienAbductionThisinvolves beachballsbeing
throwninto the audience, askingthat theybounce
it backandforthovertheirheadsuntilthe music
stops.Thosestillholdingthe ballwhenthe music
stopsgetsa prize.Thisis oftena specialT-shirtbut
canalsobesomething asmind-blowingly exciting
asbeingbumpedto the frontof the lineto come
on stage.

1 IHINK 1HISfIEANSTHERESA
sETCHANaECOMIN6.,,,

106
 2. RedShirtAptitudeTestThisis basedon a South Now, Dungeonmaster" to the tuneof ,rDonrtCry for
American game calledCai.In thisgame,the Me, Argentina."
leaderon stagedemonstrates four differentposi-
tions-hands formingvisorovereyes,armscrossing It waswayfoolish.. .
chest,onearmbentwiththeotherarmtouching ThatmoveI made.. .
theelbow,andarnis.at sideswithhandson waist
- thentellsthe audience I forgotandjustopenedthedoor.. .
thatwhensheshousCai
Andmy dex-ter-i-ty didn,thelpme onebit,
theymustperformoneof the threehandpositions
that is differentthanthe onesheis doing.lf they ButI'm a cleric,
matchher,theyareout. Andchecking for trapsisn,twhatI should
do.
3. Diceof the GodsThisis a gamewherepeople That'sFrank's job,
areaskedto rolltheirD20 die.Anyonewhorolls becausehe' saThief...
anything otherthana 20 isout. Keeprollinguntil I blamehim,andthinkyoushould,too!
yougetthenumberof liars. . . I meanwinners To run thisgame'snot easy.
downto a manageable size. Youshouldgetpaid.
For suffering throughplaythat,spoor,
Thesequestsareimportantastheyprovideanop- from idiotslikeFrank,
portunityfor theaudience to be involvedandtheyallow whoreallyshouldquit.
theXDM to gatherhisor herthoughsbeforelaunching Youarea GEN-IOUS!
intothe nextsets.Planon thistakingyou to about35
minutes intothe performance. Quotingtablesandchartsoff thetop of your
head.
Set#3 And I thinkyour hygiene,squitegood,
Thisisa bit longersinglesetthatyoushouldplan no matterwhatanyonesays!
you
on taking to aboutthe frftyminutemarkin the Don't kill menow,dungeonmaster!
performance. lt will be importantto keepthe pace of Thetruthis.. . I don't deserve it!
thegamehighthroughthisset. Nl throughmy wildplay,
the mapsthatwedrew!
LauraQuest #2
Yougetanotherbreakhereat the fifty minute I broughtDor-i-tos. ..
mark.ThisLauraQuestshouldagaintakeaboutfive Andalways likedyou!
minutesandgetyou backinto the gamefreshat just
beforethe hourmark. Thismusical numbershouldtakeyouiustpast
theonehour,twentyminutemarkandsetyou up
Set #4 for the pushtowardthe endof the game.
Makethisonea ten minutesetandperformit with
ener€iy. Youwill flnishthisat abouttheonehourten Set #5
minutemarkin the performance. Thissetis aboutfifteenminutesandshouldtake
you intoyour finalLauraQuest.lt is easyto let your
Stretch Song guarddownin thisset. Keepyourenergyup andthe
You reallyneeda breatherat thispointin the deathcounthigh.Planon thissetrunningto theone
marathon, so thisis the perfectplaceto performthe hourthirty-fiveminutemark.
StretchSong.Thisis the middlesongof thethreethat
makeup yourperformance LauraQuest #3
andis intended to give
everyone a littlerest.Thissongcanevenbe a ballad, Thisisthe finalLauraQuestandyourlast
so longasyou havesomeone breather beforethe endof the performance. lt
whocanperformit. In
,,Don,t should leave you with just twenty minutes to go.
2OO7,for example, Lauraperformed KillMe

107
lJrnHnnrEXDM
Set #6 whatis trulyfunnybasedasmuchaspossible on the
Yourfrnalsetandyoushouldmakethisone actionsor descriptions you getfromthe players in the
special.Craftthissetarounda largescalebattlein game.
which you caninvolvetheaudience. Thissetneeds to One technique for makingthisworkis to get
bespectacular andhaveanepicscaleto it. lt should actiondescriptions fromallof the players at thetable
alsobe devastatinglyexplosive.
lt is not uncommon to beforeyou determine the results of theiractions. You
reachfor eitherthe HolyHandGrenade of Antioch needto keepa picturein your headof all of these
or a thermonucleardeviceat thispoint.Finish off the actionsandconsider howthosesameactionsmightcon.
entireaudience whileyouareat it*andleavethem tradictor clashwith eachother.Bycombining character
with a bang! actionsyou canoftencomeup with outrageous conse-
quences.
Big Finish Forexample: A giantlapanese monster isstomp-
Havingthusdestroyed not onlythe players on- ingdownthe streettoward your players' characters.
stagebut the entireaudience aswell,thereis nothing Youaskeachof the players at the tablewhattheirchar.
leftto do but singthe closing song.Traditionally, this acteris goingto do. Onesayssheis goingto leapintoa
hasbeenour rendition of "Chainmail Woman"to the tankanddriveit towardthe monster.Thenextsayshe
tuneof RoyOrbison's"PrettyWoman"but you can will pulla missile out of hisbackpack andfrreit toward
chooseyour ownappropriate closerasyou seefrt. themonster. Thethirdsaysshewilliumpout of the
way.The fourthalsoiumpsinto the tankandfrresits
Running the Gauntlet gun.Thefrfthhidesunderthe tank.And the sixthcalh
Now thatyou havethe basicmechanics in mind for the Air Force.Theeasyinterpretation of
lapanese
abouthowto put togethera KillerBreakfast, we this,afterall the actionshavebeendeclared is thatthe
cometo the mostimportant anddifficultpaft. front
third character leapsin of the secondcharacter's
Thatwouldbeyou.
missile, is carriedaway by the missile,but hisweightde.
Why?That'sbecause a successfulKillerBreakfast
reliesmostheavilyon the expertperformance of a flecs the rocketdownunderthe tankwhereit his the
worfd-class XDM. Tracyisa 1772nd LevelXDM and frfth,hidingcharacter (killfive,killthree),blowingup
he frndsthe performance equivalent to a marathon. the tank (kill one,kill four) iustasthe shellis firedinto
Theultimatesuccess or failureof a KillerBreak- theair,exploding amongthe planes of theJapanese Air
fastrestsfirmlyon the shoulders of the XDM running Force, causing several to fall from the sky into thestreet
the show.You haveto thinkquicklyon your feet, belowasflamingdebris(killtwo, killsix).
be prepared to changedirectionfrom momentto
momentandkeepyourmindsearching for the next
interpretation of playeractionsandhowtheymight
be construed-ormisconstrued-in the mostentertain-
ingfashion. Haveno illusions: Performing a Killer ACTUALLY PRETTY
Breakfast is aboutbeinginstantlyfunnyfor two hours
usingmaterialthat is constantly beingthrownat you
from veryintelligent players whowouldlikenothing
betterthanto put you off your game.

What's So Funny?
Thefirstlawof XDMinga KillerBreakfast
is that
it mustbe entertaining-which you
means mustbe
Havinga sense
entertaining. of humor,timing,and
pacingarecriticalto makingyourKillerBreakfast
function.
More importantly,you needto havea sense of

108
 (rmn$neerrnsrroQo

Keepingthe Lid On, While StayingOff the arguewith them(theydon't deserve it), neverexplain
Bottom: anything to them(theywon'tunderstand it), and
Don't counton the players to provideentertain- don't listento themraveon (theyaren'tworththe
ment;sometimes you'll comeacross a goldenplayer time).
whois truly entertaining-and whenthat happens, it Justkill them,bootthemoff the stage,and
makes your job so mucheasier, andyou shouldkeep moveon withthegame.You'reanXDM! Standtall!
themaroundaslongaspbssible. Butfor the mostpart, You'resupposed to off theircharacter andyou don't
youcancounton playersin anyKillerBreakfast game owean explanation for it to anyone,leastof all some
to feedoff the bottom-to reachfor the lowestcommon pansy,whinyplayer.
denominator of potty humorandthe grossly iuvenile.
It isyourjob asan XDM to bothkeepthe lid on, Dealingwith Bribes,for Fun and Profit
meaning thatyou ensurethatthe gamedoesnot get Finally,
onetraditionhasmadeis wayinto Killer
outof hand,andkeepyour playersfrom dragging your Breakfastfor goodor ill, andthat is bribes.In many
gamedowninto the muck. roleplayinggames, bribingthe gamemaster is a tried
Whenwe talkaboutkeeping the lid on,whatwe andtruemeans of getting yourwaywhenthediceare
aremostlytalkingaboutis maintaining frrmcontrolof not helpingyou. Thisis reflected in the KillerBreak-
theperformance. Players in a KillerBreakfast perfor- fastparody of such games.
mance will naturallyattemptto wrestcontrolof the A fewTwizzlers anda bagof Doritosis fine,but
gameawayfrom the XDM. Someplayersmisukenlysee sometimes thesegifu cangetentirelyout of hand.So
thisasa contestbetweenyou andthem,ratherthanas we havetriedto establish the followingasiron-clad
anentertainment. rules:
Kill theircharacter. Do it now.Do not passgo, do
notcollect$200 . . . iustkillthem. l. No CashBribesAn XDM nevertakesa cash
At the sametime,you needto keepeveryone out bribe.The onlyexception to thisruleis when
of the gutter.Themomentsomeone staruusingbawdy the gameis beingrun asa charityfundraiser
humorandtriesto dragyour gamewith theminto the andthenonlyif all the moneygivenasbribesis
gutter. . . well,you shouldjustkill them,too. Senda donateddirectlyto the charity. Endof story.
message that you will not toleratesuchbehaviorin your
game;XDMsdo notdwellin the gutterl
A IHOUSANOOOLLA?,PONATION
Tempo! Tempot Tempo! 10 lHE ORPHANA6E,,,CONERfrTULfrT'ONS
!
Comedyis allabouttiming,andin thiscasethat lHE SHARKIHAT IS EAT|n.l,O
YOUONLY
alsomeanstempo!You haveto keepthe energyhighall HASTI]REEROWS OF TEEIH,
throughthe performance. Themomentyou slackoff,
you'reshowing weakness andyourplayers will pounce!
Paceyourself duringthe game andtakeallthe
advantageof the songsandLauraQueststo giveour
braina rest. Butwhenthe bellrings,you
overheating
haveto comeout swinging andnot let up untilit'sall
over.

Death ls Firm, Final, and Unquestioned!

Themomentyou sense someone at the tableis go-
ingto arguewith you your
or challenge callratherthan
playwith you, kill theircharacter.
Rightnow. Killtheircharacter anddo soin the
mostemphatic andunquestionable waypossible. Never

109
 2. NeverRewardExtravagant BribesYoumust
neverrewardan expensivebribewith anymore
consideration
thanan inexpensive
one.Killone
iustasquicklyastheother.
Deathwasnevermeantto bethismuchfun.
KennyBakerGame
TheKennyBakerGameisa reallyfunconcept
that Tracy'sdaughter, Angel,mentioned at one
point.Duringthisgamethe roleof the gamemasteris
constantly changing from personto person.In fact,in
an idealKennyBaker.situation, thiswouldatsomean
that all the playersrotateaswell. In otherwords,every havejoinedthisgroupin orderto preventhisassas-
so manyminutes( | 5?) everyone at the tablemoves
overa spot.Theguywhowasplayingthe warrioris
nowplaying theelf,thegirlwhowasplaying theelf is Eventhe gamemasterdoesn'tknowwhateveryone,s
now playing the wizard,andthe guywhowasplaying
the wizardis nowthe gamemaster.Thegamemaster,
of course,is nowthe warrior.
Murder in the Dark Game
Murderin the Darkis a gamethatyouthplayat
parties.Theconceptis sound,however,andelements
of it mightbe useto createsomeveryinteresting and
strange dynamics duringa roleplayinggame.
Forexample, if you havefiveplayers, thenyou
havefrveslipsof paper. Eachonesayssomething dif-
ferent.Perhaps onesays,"You havejoinedthisgroup
in orderto kill the veryKingyou aretryingto save.,,
And another says,"Youowea debtto the Kingand
sination."Thethingis,thepapers arepassed out at
random,andnot necessarily at the startof the game.
motivesare.

(ANlrS
PARry ERl,Vq
REALLY
gqy u,ilrRs0c!0pfiTl{:

; Tlre reasonitt calledthe Kenny BakerGame is basedon a variation

of heartsthat our relativeKennyBakercameup with, in whichafter each
round,the handyou haveis passedto your left,

110
XDMrHEp.nvsRs$EcrroN

Yl/ vv

{/

S/--
ra\
\.-IHJI
 :w\ (.
,// I
,{(

f, HamER HowYouF-nvrHEQelce
FoURTEEN:
krdan slogskneedeepthroughthe black,foul beyondthe lightof hisburningsword.krdan bared
waters.Hismassive bicepstwitchwith anticipation, their histeeth,growlingashe advancedthroughthe swirling
enormous powerbarelyheldin check.Eachbone-chilling blackwatersaroundhisfeet.
stephe takesthroughthe ankledeepwaterabouthim Suddenly,Kardan's mammoth bodyshookat the
heightens hisbuildingrage,nearlyblindinghimin hislust Hervoicepiercedhissoul!
soundof a scream.lllirion!
for justiceandrevenge. Almostforgottenarehiscompa- Thesoundhadcomefrom justbeyondthedoor
triots,fivetruefriendswho havepledgedtheirlifeto him to hisright!
andmaywellbe calleduponto redeemthatpledgethis
verynight. Freezeframe.Popquiz.Multiplechoice,and
Threedaysbefore,the mightywarriorandhiscom- please
feelfreeto rereadthe abovetext againbefore
panionsfoughttheirwayinto the MountainTempleof eachanswer.
Thog-kjara in searchof Kardan's betrothed, thePrincess Kardan'snextactionwill be:
Illirion.Thebarbarian's mortalenemy,lmhothisof Chaos,
threatenedher death.krdan knewthat the HighPriest l. Kardan will checkfor traps.lf hedoesnot have
Imhothiscarednothingonewayor the otherconcerning thisability,Kardanwillturnto a memberof the
the lifeof a princess.Hisonly thoughtwasto cause pain partybehindhimanddetermine whichof them
to thebarbarian lord beyondanywoundthat weapons cancheckfor traps.
of steelmight inflict.ln this,Kardanknewwith clenched-
teethsuretythat Imhothishadsucceeded.Hislove suf- 2. Kardanwill takethisopportunityto searchfor
feredbecause of him,andthe knowledge of it burnedhis secretdoors.Thisshouldtakeaboutten min-
souL utes.
KardandrewhisgreatswordEiric,flameslicking
downits shininglength.Its flickeringbluelight,illuminated 3. Kardansimplyassumes thatthe dooristrapped
the deepest corridorof the templedungeon.Rotting anddevises a complex means of opening the
woodencelldoorssagged in their stoneframeworkon doorfrom a safeandprudentlocationdown
eitherside,their ranksdisappearing into the blackness the corridorutilizingfifty feetof rope,several

112

block,tackle,andpulleys,
spikes, whichhe has
notedon hischaractersheet.
4. Kardan,to be fair to the otherpartymembers,
asksthemto voteon whattheyshoulddo next.
5. Kardanwill moveto the backof the partyand
allowthe thiefwith betterstatsto takecareof
thisone.
Beforeyou answerthissimplequiz,let'stakea
momentto join anotheradventure in anotherplace
andtimeandseeif thisis morefamiliarto you.The
a kitchentable.Thepizzais cold,the drinks
scene:
arewarm,andthe eternaldungeongoeson. . . and
on...andon...
DM: "Like,uh,you arein thishallway
andit ends
in a door."
ALLAN: "A door!" (Turningto fellowplayers
Betty,Charlie,andEthel.)"Hey, it's a door.
Whatdo we do for a door?"
(To Allan.)"Whatkindof dooris it?"
CHARLIE:
ALLAN: (To the DM, suspiciously.)
"Right!What
kindof dooris it?"
DM: (Checksnotes.Thedescription in theadven-
turedoesnot tell himthe kindof door.DM mo-
menurilyconsiders whetherthereis a Random
DoorTypeTablesomewhere in the Dungeon
l4aster's
Cuidethat he is not awareof andthen
responds.)"lt's ... a woodendoor!"
ALLAN: (To fellowplayers.)
"lt's a woodendoor!
Okay.Whatdo we do for a woodendoor?"
BETTY:(Leafrngthroughherspellbookpages)
"l thinktheremight bea spellfor thiskindof
thing.Fireball.
. .Flamestrike.
. ."
(To Allen.)"Ask himwhatkindof
CHARLIE:
woodendoorit is."
PrnvrHE
HowYou Qmm
ALLEN:"Right!"(To DM) "Whatkindof wooden
dooris it?"
DM: (Somewhat flustered,
searching hismemoryfor
the typesof woodhe learnedin shopclassbut
cannotthinkof any.)"A wooden woodendoor!"
ETHEL:(Fromthe middleof the party. Ethel
learnedlongagothatthosewhostandat the back
of the partycangetattacked
there,too.) "Which
waydoesthe dooropen?"
DM: "Towardyou,intothecorridor."
ETHEL:
"Whatkindof handle?"
DM: "Oh, for cryingout. . . a regular
handle,likea
lever."
ETHEL: "Okay!Now, I climbthewalloverthe door
and with my hammerdrivea spikeinto the stone-
workoverthe door,thenI go downthe hallback
the waywe camefrom. . . oh, 30 feetanddrive
anotherspikeinto the wall.ThenI takemy 50'
pieceof rope-see,it's righthereon my character
sheet-and makea loopin it, andusingmy ten-
foot pole..."
a ten-footpoleinto the dun-
DM: "You dragged
geon?"
ETHEL:"See!lt's righthereon my charactersheet.
Anyway,I usemy ten-foot pole anddrapethe
loopoverthe handle. ThenI bringtheropeover
the spikeandoverthe otherspikeandthen,
standingthirty feetawayfromthe doorwith my
backagainst thewall,I pullthe ropeandopenthe
door."
DM: (After a shortpausewhilethe DM considers
whetherhewantsto botherwith the actualphysics
involvedin thisfeatof engineering.)
"Okay."
ALLEN:"Wait!We flattenourselves the wall,
against
tool
XDMrHEFnvsRsSECrroN
Thedoorisopen."
DM: "Fine.Whatever.
ETHEL:"l climbup overthedoorandpeekdown
carefullyfrom the top of the windowcasement.
Whatdo I see?"
DM: "You see.. . (bigdramatic pause). . .a ten-foot
widecorridorrunningthirty feetin frontof you.
At the endyousee.. ."
ALLEN:(Filledwithdread)"Yes?lYes?!Whatis it?"
DM: "lt's. . . anotherdoor!"
You knowthisgame.You'veplayed in thisgame!
It isthe reason why"Knightsof the DinnerTable"was
the firstplacewe turnedto whenwe got our copyof
'DragonMagazine' eachmonth.(Whenit stillwasa
magazine with pages.)We'veall satat B.l.'stable.
The Deadly DungeonSession
Thishappened to Tracyin a dungeon session.He
was playing a barbarian character surrounded by the
dungeoning equivalent of forensicaccountants.Ev-
erydoor we came upon had to have paintchipssent
to the labfor cobaltcarbondating.Thepartywould
spendthirty minuteson sucha door.Theywouldwaste
anentireevening on a singleroom.Untiltheyfinally
endedup in anornatechamber. Theroomdescription
statedthat thewallsandpillarswerecoveredwith runes
but gaveno furtherdetails.Theplayersquiteliterally
couldn'treadthewritingon thewall,butyoucouldn't
convince the playersof that.Theyspentall nightin that
oneroomlookingfor something thatjustwasn'tthere.
After that playing session,Tracy wasangryand
discouraged. Oneof the otherplayers saidto him,
"Hey, you're a barbarian. Be barbaric!"
An ideacanbe a dangerous thing.
Thenextweek,Tracywasdetermined to play
hisbarbarian likea barbarian. Thegamestartedin that
samerunecoveredroom.
TheDM said,"Well,you arein a roomwhere
runescoverthewalls."
And oneof the forensic accountantssaid,"lf I
holdthe gnome upsidedown,canshereadthe runes?"
Tracyturnedto the DM andsaid,"Whereisthe
doornearest to my character?"
"Wellr"hesaidsolemnly, "to yourleftyouseean
11+
intricately carveddoorwith images of-"
Tracydidn'twaitfor him.
"l go andopenthe door."
A stunned silencearoundtheuble ... then
chaos!
Theotherplayers shouted,"No he doesn't!"
Tracyshouted, 'YES,I DO!"
Thenextroomhappened to be inhabitedby two
minotaurs, who hadheardthe shoutinglongbe-
forethe barbarian chargedin. Oneof the partywas
criticallyinjuredandseveral took somebadlumps,
including the barbarian.
lust asthe clericwaswrappingup a roundof
healing, Tracyturnedto the DM.
"ls thereanotherdoorin the room?"
"Wel|" he saidcautiously, "behinda massive
stonealtar,a bandedmetaldooris-"
"l openit!"
Thepartymusthavegonethroughthirty rooms
thatnight.Theychased thatbarbarian allaroundthat
dungeonfromonemessto the next.Eventually they
cameuponan evilwizard.Tracy'sforensicaccoun-
tant fellowadventurers wereobviously settlinginto
a pointless,andtediously prolonged, parley with the
old mystic.
Thenandthere,Tracydecidedthat hisbarbarian
hatedwizards. He concocted somestoryaboutthe
barbarian's sisterbeingturnedinto a goatfor a while
whenhewasyoun&andhe neverhadgottenoverit.
Thebarbarian walkedup to the wizardandspit
in hisface.
Whata battle!
Thepartyfell backinto the corridor;the magic
flew!Theparty'sownwizard,in the excitement, got
carriedawayandthrewa frreballinto the roomwhich
wasonlythirty feetsquarewith a ten foot ceiling.
Toasties!
Manya bravePCwascharbroiled that night.
Butwhata greatstoryto tell!
The Boring Long Life Character
Whydo we playthesegames? To be boring?Do
we sayto ourselves,
"Let'sall gettogethernextweek
and,insteadof leadingour everydanboringlives,Iets
makebelievewe arefantasy charactersleadingboring
lives."
Truthbetold, we don't carefor PCswhoare
 HowYouF-nvrHE
Qmm

higher than8th level.We aredeeplysuspicious of rity. Youcansoakup anawfullot of experience points

thosewhoclaimto havea thief/druid/assassin (69th by sittingbackandlettingothercharacters do the dying
levelin each)witha swordof +2O Instantly Kill for you, but whereis the fun in that?
Anything and + 60 Armorof Weightless lmpenetra- Youmuststartby makingup yourmindto be
bilityand50 bazillion goldpieces. Suchcharacters heroic,evenif your character dies.
areasboringastheycome.Theyareno fun. They Look,we knowyour character to you
is special
aren'teveninteresting. Whatkindof storycanyou but hecoulddiefromsomeDM'sdumbtrapandwhat
tellabouta character likethat? wouldyou have?No storyworthtelling.lf your charac-
"Oh, my character waschallenged by Zeusto a ter is boringalive,thenhe isworsethandead.
wrestling matchandl, like,killedeveryone on Olym- Whatis the alternative?
Become the herothatyou
puslastnight." longto be. lt isn'twhetheryou liveor die,it's howyou
Yawn. playthe game.Soif you'regoingto play,playwell!Be
Manyyearsago,whileTracyworked a hero!
asgamedesigner at TSR,he
talkedto a fellowoverthe
phone. Thisyoungster had Things Which You Can Do to
called with a question and Make Your Game Better
theswitchboard senthim Therearesomespecificthingsthat
upto Tracy. you cando thatwill makeyour charac-
"The characters in my ter better.
game areall around65 and,
like,if theykilleda god,would Findyour Character's
anything badhappento them? Kryptonite
l, mean,wouldthe clericsbe Weallknowhowhelp-
pissed or something?" ful character backgrounds canbe.
Perplexed, Tracy Don'tiustlet your character spring
asked thiskid if he used out of nothing-givehima place
theoffrcialADetD hecomesfrom anda background.
modules. You'llbesurprised howmuchthis
"Yesr"he littleexercisein storymakingwill
replied,"we go helpyou definethelikesand
throughabout of yourcharacter.
dislikes
threeor four of However,asyou arecreat-
themeveryFriday ===*-+=,- ingthe background story takea
night." lessonfrom Kryptonite.Did you
MontyHaulhasfounda everwonderwhytherearesomany
newstandard! differentkindsof Kryptonite? Why is thisstuff(a sup-
No, thankyou!Giveusa character thatdoes posedlyultrarareelementfrom a destroyed planetfar
bravedeedslGiveus a character about which we can fromour own)soreadilyavailable to nefarious
under-
tella goodstory evenif he doesbuythe farm! worldfigureswhentheyneedit?
It wasBenFranklin whosaid,"To be remem- Surprisingly
simple:Superman wouldbe Super-
bered,eitherwritea bookor do something worth borewithoutit. Hewouldbeunstoppable, andwhereis
writinga book about." the storyin that?
Themistaken notion,whichwasbuiltup over Achilleshadhisheelandeverygoodcharacter has
thelast twenty-five years,is that in a roleplaying hadhisor herequivalent since.Yourcharacter needs
gamesurviving meanswinning. Thisphilosophy re- somevulnerability andyou arejustthe personto seehe
sultedin a lot of peoplegivingup heroicsfor secu- getsit.
XDM rHEEeveRsSECrioN
Give your characterautomatic reactions Of course,we realizethatthe appealof role-
Thisdoesn'thaveto be asrestrictive asit sounds. playing games is that it canbe a cooperative en-
Youshouldgiveyour character: deavor.We heartilyencourage a spiritof camaraderie
amongpartymembers.
l. Threethingshe will fight over Thiscanbe any- Butif the resultis not heroic,thenit,stimeto
thing:A ladyin distress; a manin distress; injustice take mattersout of the handsof the committee.
to the poor;iniustice to the rich ... whatever your We suggest the followingguidelines:
character background mightindicate. If your character hasnotdoneanythingin the last
five minutes,do something.Anything!
2. One thing he will quailfrom evelytime. Fear If you cannotsolvea puzzlein ten minufes.Leaye
of anythingworksfinehere.Fearof anytypeof it. lf you can'tsolveit, you eitherhaven,tfound
monsteror obiector action.Tracyoncehada enoughinformation to dealwith it properly,or the
clericwho professed a profoundfearof rope.This DM isn'tdoinghisiob right.Theanswer lieselse-
seemed harmless enoughto the restof the party where,not in standing aroundandpondering. lf you
untiltheyremembered the entrance to think you havea solution,comeback. Other-
the dungeon wasdowna wise,geton with it.
thirty foot shaft.This
forcedanotherplayer
I 1HINK Be dramatic
to tell Tracy'scleric
HE CAME lf youhaveanytraining
a storyabouthis THIS WAY ! in theater,useit. Yourvoiceis
"magicrope your mostpowerfultool in any
powder"which roleplayinggame.Through
wouldmakeany your voiceyou paintthe
ropeabsolutely safe. pictureof your character.
Thatthe mysteri- Let your voiceportray
ouspowderwas your feelings.
saltwasnever Also,drawon
mentioned in realfeelings. Don't
front of the let your character
fearfulcleric. justwanderlike
'- .: a mindless hulk
3. One thinghe will throughyour
fight to the deathfor. Makeit a goodone,be- games. Yourown
causethismaybe the lastone.Don,tbeshy;pick experiences cangivedepthof understanding to what
something wellbeyondtheabilities of mortalmen. your character is feeling.
Something nobleandimpossible sounds good.you
mightalsopreparea tear-jerking speech to de- Be creative
liverfor your deathsceneif whatever you picked Try to takean innovative lookat everything
provedto be a littlebeyondyour range. that is around your character in the dungeon.Using
everything aroundyou: lf you canseeit, oddsareyou
Take charge of your own destiny canuseit to somedramaticadvantage. Thismeans
No onecontrolsyour character or shouldcon- trainingyourselfto obserye everything aroundyou
trol your character but you. Whatyourcharacter does andhavethe innovation to useit.
shouldbe up to you andnot somecommittee of others. OnceTracywasin a dungeon wherethe party
ln your handsis the abilityto controlthe gameflow.lf raninto a library.lt wasobviousthat the bookin the
the gameis dragging, you canchangethat.lf the game centerof the room(theonewith the columnof light
is too fast-well,it's nevertoo fast. shiningon it) wasthe onethe DM wantedusto look
 Qnnne
HowYouF,nvrHE

at. Tracy,however,startedaskingaboutthe other aswellastheircapabilities, strengths, andweaknesses.

bookin the library. lust asyour party is balanced and works to utilizeall the
"]ust books"saidthe DM. talengof its groupto its advantage: sotoo mustyour
"Give me some titlesr" Tracy replied. game group work together for the best success.
TheDM, thinkingto embarrass him,cameup
with someterribletitleslike LoveRituals of theOrcs Conclusions
andPassion Dances of theOgres. Consider this:Whatarethe hit dice,armorclass,
Tracy'scharacter took the books. anddamage statisticsof a minotaurthatyou discover
The DM thenforgotall aboutthem.. . afterhastilybustingdowna door?
. . .Untilthe partywasconfrontedby a groupof Now, whatarethe hit dice,armorclass,anddam-
orcsandTracypulledthose(fullyillustrated) works agestatistics of a minotaurthatyou creepup on after
out anddisplayed themto the attackers. spending twentyminutes checking a door?
Now, thatdistracted the orcs! Theyarethe same.Statistically, settingasidefirst
lf it's described, it canbe used.Driveyour DM roundsurprise factors,thereis no realstatistical differ-
crezy.Evenif you don't useeverything you frnd,be encebetweenbeingcarefulandbeing gonzo, hang-it-
aware of it sothatyou over-the-edge, to-the-wall brave.
coulduseit if you gIO OUY, BLACKHAIQ,,
Tracyoncehada paladinthatwasthe worst
needed to. Mac- pain-in-the-rear paladin youcould
SHEEPSKIN IOOA, CARRIES
Guweroftenescapes A REALLY gIO AXE? possibly hopeto avoid.He was
withnothingbut a Mr. Cleanalltheway.Tracyhad
paperclip. lf you have workedout a dealwith the DM that,
a paperclip, thenuseit. so longasthe members of the parry
Inanimate objecu did not conductanyoutwardly
arenot the onlythings questionable actof evil,thepala-
thatyou canuseto dinwouldnot checktheiralign-
youradvantage. NPCs, ment.Thismeantthat
whenrun properly,are we hada paladinin
a $eat sourceof a partyof neutraland
information about chaoticevilPCs.But,oh,
whatis goingon howcarefulthosePCshad
aroundyourchar- to be.
acteraswellasoccasion- Our questwasto retake
allyproviding directhelp. a castle,ownedby a goodking,
NPCscanbe fun if you whichhadbeentakenoverby an
usethemright.Don't evilwizard.At onepoint,the pala-
engage in meaningless din stoppedthe partyfrom break-
parleys unless allyouare ingdowna dooron thegrounds
afteris pleasant conversa- thatthe doorwasactuallythe propertyof a goodman
tion. (theking)andthatwrecking hispropertywouldbe
wrong.
Be Thoughtful of Other Players'Needs Thisgroupgotin thehabitof sending the paladin
In your rush
headlong toward individuality, to "scoutahead"quitea bit.
remember that the needsof otherplayersin your At onepoint,whilethe paladin was"scouting
grouparegoingto be differentthanyoursandare aheadr" the partyturnedrightwherethe paladin had
justasimportantasyour own.Youmustkeepyour goneleft,andencountered two bugbear guardswatch-
otherplayersin mindin the samewaythat a goodPC inga smalltreasure. Thegnomewastheonlymember
wouldkeeptheothermembers of hispartyin mind, of the partywhospokebugbear and,beingsomething

117
xDM rHEEeveRsSECrroN
of a rascal,begannegotiating with the bugbears.lf the to address the bugbears for him in theirbaseand
bugbears wouldtell uswherethe reallybigtreasure was, fallentongue.
thenthe partywouldretreatandnobodywouldget Thepaladin began,"lf theywill but
hurt.Thisseemed agreeable to the creatures sincethey repent.. ."
wouldstillbeguarding theirowntreasure. Thegnometranslated, "lF YOU WILLBUT
It wasat aboutthistimethepaladin returned. TELLUS.. .
Seeing the bugbears,he drewhisswordat onceand "Of yourevilways.. ."
charged. "WHERE THETREASURE IS.. . "
Playing a gamethiswaynot onlymakes yourgame "Then I will your
spare lives!"
improvebut it demands that others playbetteraswell. "WEWON'TSICHIM ON YOU!"
Theplayerof thegnomecharacter hadonlyseconds to Thebugbear's eyesgrewwide,thenthey
think.He turnedto me andheldup hishands, saying, repliedwith veryexplicitdirections to the larger
"No! Stop!Theywantto repent!" treasure.
Thepaladin stopped. Thegnometurnedto the paladin andsaid,
Holdinghisgreatsword with the tip downandrest- "They agree."
inghis palms on is hilt,the paladin asked thegnome It isn'twhetheryou liveor die.. .
|pzo RPrsP,nuNcsYsrEM

(;;( r\ )

]
I
(

\re
)

t
 I
;,N9/=
:f\; d

ffi
IHImERFTFTEEN:
JHeXDzo$asrcQnnm
Oncein an XDM'slifetime,a revolutionary effort,andcreativityon games whichareso compli-
conceptof unprecedented powermanifests itselfto catedlydaunting thatyou arethe onlypersonin your
the gamingworld.Forthe gamers of the Renaissancehousewhocouldpossibly playthem.Let'sfaceit:
it wasthe inventionof the twenty-sided die.Foryou Wearesurrounded by games thatno oneiswillingto
my luckyfriend,it's the XD20 gamesystem. You playwith us.lndeed,thereis a highlikelyhood that
learnthissimplesystemonceandyou will neverhave yourspouse, friend,mother,father,sister,brother,
to learnanothersystem.. . everagain.Everwanted or childrenfleeat the verymentionof oneof your
to playa ledi masterwho fighs LordSothin Toon roleplayinggames.
Town,withouthavingto do insanecalculations that Wellnot anymorel
breakdown the veryphysics of timeandspace? Ever Welcometo the XD20 BasicAll-Purpose Role
wishedyoucouldteachyourbuddyhowto play PlayGame.Foryou RoleplayingAfficianados out
hisfirstdungeoncrawlwithouthavingto handhim there,thisis the Basicversionof the XD20 game
volumeaftervolumeof player'sreferences, tables, system. TheAdvanced versioncontainsa lot more
andcharu?Everwanteda systemthatwill makeit wordsandstrives to maintaintheillusionof being
actually possible (howeverunlikely)for a levelone overlycomplicated. Butthisbasicversionis the game
halfling to kill a level24 deathknight? My dear you canplaywith your parents, spouse, friends,
friendsof the XDM fraternity,the time hascome. siblings,or kids.
Welcome to theXD20 Roleplaying GameSystem! Thinkof it asanolivebranch,the bridge
TheXD20 RoleplayingGameSystem, pro- between our worldandthe restof humanity.
ducedexclusively for XDMs,is a shiftin gaming
paradigms. Withthisgamesystem youwillsoonbe
takingyour players on fantastic
adventures thatare lntroduction to Role Playing
filledwith the sameexcitement, wonder,andim- lf youaren'tfamiliar withroleplayinggames,
pendingdoomthatyou recallso fondlyfromwhen whatareyoudoingreading aboutthisone?Only
adventure games werenew. offrciallysanctioned XDMsareallowedto havethis
lf you'relikeus,you'vespenta lot of time, book-andif theycan'texplain whata roleplaying

120
i
 IHtr .h.L).{-tw ftADr\J ufuvrE

gameis about,thentell themtheyhaveiustlostfour . One regulationXDM+Gamemaster.

Youwon't knowwhatyou said,but it will
levels. That'sall you need.Thisis the basicgame,
probably shockthesock off them! remember?
Actually,XD20 is a reallygoodsystemfor
teachingpeoplewhoarenewto roleplayingwhat Obiect of the game
thisgameof heroism-on-the-edge is all about.You're Theobiectof your gamewill bewhatevercrary
goingto takea part,iustlikein a play,onlythe lines thingyourXDM saysis the objectof the game.lt could
aren'twrittenfor you-you'llbe makingup whatyour beto recoverthe Arc of the Covenant, rescuingthe
characterdoesalongthe way.Thinkof it aslow-pres- princess froma DeathStar,or tossing jewelrybackinto
sure,improvisationaltheater. . . or playpretendif the volcanothat it wasforgedin. lt canevenbe getting
youprefer. backto AuntieEmin Kansas. Whatever your XDM says
Look,justgetsomedice.YourXDM will show is the obiectof the game,that'sthe obiectof the game.
youwhichoneto roll andwhen. Get usedto it.

About the XD2O Role Playing System \ .v!

I
<9

TheXD20 roleplayinggamesystemis de- -< / t

"t :
signedto adaptto anygenreof gaming.Youcan 2,t
playgenericspaceadventures,genericfantasy ad-
ventures,generichorroradventures,genericmystery ??Eciiourrr'F ,l
adventures,genericromanceadventures . . . not to I
mentionclandestine in anyheavilytrade-
adventures ?i
markedandcopyrighted story-worldthat may,by the
wildestof coincidence,
seemto modelSar Wars-like'
worldto whichyou mayor
or Lordof theRrngs-liket
maynot havepaida franchise fee.

You,asan XDM, canmodelanything with this

includingall yourotherfavoriteroleplaying
system,
games.
Knockyourself out.

What you need to play (setting up)

Youneedthe followingitemsin orderto playa
gameof XD20.
. One (minimum)nrenty-sided die (moredice
arebetteranda full setof polyhedral diceare
bestof all ... asksomeoneif you don'tknow
whattheseare).

t . One properlycompletedXD20 BasicCharac-

t ter Sheetfor everyplayer.(Seepage122 for
q fillingout a basiccharacter
sheet.)
T * Starlt/arsis the unquestionedcopyrightof Lucasfrlm,Ltd. and is used
i herewithouttheir permission. We are, of course,referringhereonly
L

ti to sirnilarmilieusthat may containcommon elementswith that heavily

I
guardedwork,
l
I Lord of the Ringsis certainlycopyrightedby the J.R.R.Tolkien
Esuteand is usedherewithout their permission. We wouldn't think of
condoningyour useof the word "hobbit" in your game-cenainlynot in
print. f lf you do not havea regulationXDM, one may be appointedfor you.
XDroRoLEp,nuNcsYSrEM

Howdo you knowwhenyou'vewon?TheXDM XD2O Engine

will tellyouwhenyou'vewon.Howdo you knowif TheXD20 systemresolves all (andwe do
you'velost?Sameway. meanALL) issues with the roll of a twenty-sided
die.Whenever a numberis needed in a rangeother
thanD20,usetheXD20 Resulstablefoundin the
Playing the game Appendices (pagel56) to determine the resulting
Hereis howthe gameis played: number.
Step1 TheXDM describes whereyour characters Or, we suppose you couldactuallygeta setof
arelocatedandthesituation in whichtheyfrnd allthesedifferent diceandmakeyourlifemuchsim-
themselves. Hewill describe yoursettinglikehe pler,but we reallywantedyou to feellikeyou were
is tellinga story.He mightincludelasers andfog gettingyour gamingmoney'sworthandthat meant
machines if it will help. puttingin an overlycomplicated andelaborate table
somewhere in the book.
Step2 Eachof the players,pretending to betheir
character, (hence"role playing") describes
the CreatingYour Character
actions of theircharacterto theXDM.Possible Theheartof anyroleplayinggameis the
actionsincludemoving,hittingstuff,doingstuff, characterandthesheet(or sheets)of paperwhich
or tafking.Describeyour actionslikeyou aretelling itemsownedandusable,
detailtheircapabilities, spell
a story. andendless
details, lissof specifrc
skills.
Butnot here.
Step5 TheXDM may(but is not requiredto) have
the variousplayersat the tableroll diceto deter- BasicXD2O CharacterGeneration
mineif theirdescribed actionssucceed or not.The | . Writeyournameon yourBASICcharacter
XDM tellsthe playera "targetnumber"which sheet'
theymustequalor exceedin orderto succeed at
theirdescribed action.Thisnumberis basedon the 2. Writeyour character nameon your BASIC
character,sSTATfromtheircharacter sheetandis sheet.Youcanmakeup anyname
character
modifiedby factorssuchashowdifficultthe action you Try to pictureyour character
wish. in your
wouldbe to perform.TheXDM will takecareof mindsothat you don't giveit a namethatthe
thisfor you. Trustthe XDM. otherplayers
will giggleat.

Step4 Whetherthe actiondescribed succeeds or 3. DeterminewhatTYPEof character youare

not,the XDM will describe theresult.lf the playing.Somesuggestions from othergames
player's is hurtasa resultof anyactions,
character knight,bard,cleric,assassin,
include: thief,
thenthe XDM will haveyou subtractanydamage pilot,
wizard, rogue,raider,or archeologist.
from your character's healthasnotedon your Choosewhateveris appropriate for the game
sheet.lf your healthdropsbelow
character's yourXDM issettingup.
zerothenyour character has" died"in thestory,
anotherwayof endingthegame.TheXDM will 4. Determine yourcharacter's STAT.Thatis gam-
describe likehe istellinga story.
the results ln BASICXD20youonly
er-talkfor "statistic."
haveone.lt's called"My Stat."Youdetermine
Step5 The players'locationandcircumstances hav- yourSTATby rollingoned8 (that'saneight-
ingchanged becauseof theiractions
andthoseof sideddie)andsubtractingthat numberfrom
anycreatures theyhaveencountered, the XDM fifteen.Thisresulsin a numberbetweenseven
takeseverybody backto stepone.Repeatuntilthe andfourteen.Remember in the XD20 system,
of thegamehavebeenmet.
win or loseconditions the loweryour statnumber,the betteryour

122
 JHrXDzoSnsrc
Qavr
Thinkof it asif youareat a football
character.. 7. DetermineyourHEALTH.Thisis howmuchpun-
gameandshouting
"We'renumberone!"t yourcharacter
ishment cantakebeforedropping
deadand,likely,fallingout of the game.Write
5.Modifyyour STAT.lf yourcharacter TYPE downyourSTATnumberx 2.
(cancastspells
hasmysticabilities or healother
thencheckthe MYSTIC
mystically)
characters yourCharacter
8. Determine Level.Writethe
boxand add2 to your STAT. number1 in thespaceprovided.

6. Writedownyour STATin the 'MY STAT' YourBASICXD20

Congratulations!
spaceprovided. detailedin every
is nowcompletely
character
necessary
way.

ON YOUR CHAQ,ACIER
IT IN HEREWASEASY,
I fiEET IS NOT IT1ESAilE
WROTE"LAOOEQ'UNOEQ. AS PUTTINoIT IN
YOUR.POCKEI,

* This aspectof XD20 systemis one of our favoritesbecauseit totaily

messeswith the mindsof established RPGgamers.They look at their
charactersheetfor the first time and often start out by braggingto other
playersaboutwhat high statsthey havefor their characters.
t Shouting"We're numbertwelve!"would not be nearlyasgoodas
shouting"We're numbersix!"

123
 $nsrcXpzo,*f HnnncrER
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f,Hnnacren\[nvr
QHenncrrnlYrr [\dvsnc
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flEarrn f,HanecrEnpver

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BASrcGHARACTER
NoTES

,l;
 -

ltrn XDro{ovnNceop,evens Qurnr

fHnmEn$><IEEN:
We knewthatyou wouldn'tbesatisfied with the typesasthosementioned for basicXD20 char-
basicsystem,especially says,,,Go
sinceit essentially acters,but if it makesyou feelsuperior,you can
getanXDM andlet himdo allthework.',Sohere believethat advanced charactersallowfor a vastly
you arewith the AdvancedPlayer's Guidesothatyou widervariety.)
cantakeour nicesimplesystemandmakeit overly
complicated,'justlikeeveryothergamecompany. 4. Determine your charactersSTATS!Yes,you now
havethreeratherthaniustone.Thesestatseach
AdvancedXD2O Character havea name:TAC, PSYCH, andWAH. TAC
Generation standsfor "Toughness andConstitutionr"repre-
AdvancedXD20 characters arefar morecompli- sentingyour physical strengthandhealth;PSYCH
catedthanthe basiccharacterandvastlyexpandyour representsyour intelligence,
wisdom,smaru;and
optionsin play.t WAH represents your mysticalpower,karma,and
Followtheseinstructionscarefullyandyou will evenluck.Determine thesethreenumbers by the
soonbe readyto playin the high-poweredworldof samemethodasin BasicCharacter Generation.
Advanced XD20. Foreachof your STATS,you roll oned8 (that,s
an eight-sided die) andsubtractthat numberfrom
I . Writeyour nameon youradvanced
character fifteen.Thisresultsin a numberbetween sevenand
sheet. fourteen.
Remember: in XD20 system,the /oweryour
2.Write your characfer
nameon your advanced stat-number thebetteryourcharacter. Do thisfor
sheet.(Seebasiccharacter
character instructions eachof your STATSseparately. Thisresultsin
on names.) threeseparate numbers, eachbetweensevenand
fourteen.
3. Determine you areplaying.
the typeof character
(AdvancedXD20 characrersfollowthe same 5. Modiff your STATS:lf yourcharacrer type has
anymystical (can
abilities castspellsor healother
But still paradigm-alterlng
and more fun.
+ Comparatlvelyspeaklng,that ls. characters
mysticallyor do anythingelsebeyond

25
XDro Rorep,nvrNcSYSTEM
the powersof mortalmen)thensubtract2 from Look,let'sfaceit, whatyou haveon you at any
your character's
WAH STATandadd4 totalto giventimeis goingto be dependent on (l ) howpre-
yourTAC and/orPSYCH STATS.. paredyou werein the firstplaceand(2) the situation
you findyourselfin.
6. Writedowneachof yourmodifred STATSin the Ask if you arecarryinga battleaxe. Well,if
threeboxesprovided. yourcharacter typeis "warrior"or especially if it
is "knight"andthe gamewe areplayingis setin a
7. Determine your character's health:Thisis how fantasy versionof MedievalEuropethenl'd saythe
muchpunishment, physical or mental,thatyour oddsareprettygoodyou'vegot sucha weaponon
character cantakebeforedroppingdeador going you. On the otherhand,if you askme if you are
nutsand,in eithercase,mostlikelyfallingout of carryingthatsamebattleaxe andyour
the game.Totalthe two lowestnumbers of your character typeis "paleontologist" and
STATSandwritethisnumberin the HEALTH the gamewe'replayingis seton a pres-
spaceprovided. ent-daydinosaur island, thenthechances
aregoingto be muchmoreslightunless
8. Determine yourCharacter Level:Write you'rereferringratherirreverently to a
downthenumber '|' in thespace mother-in-law ratherthantheweapon.
EILL
provided. aUISARME, lf, however, you claimto be car-
Ar YOUR. SEWICE, ryinga thermonuclear weaponandyour
Congratulations! YourAdvanced iloNstEuR.! character typeis a "cabinboy" playingin
XD20 Character is nowcompletely uber- a sixteenth centuryCaribbean pirategame?
detailedin everywaythat counts! Let'sjustsaythatthe chances of thispar-
ticularitemappearing areastronomically
Stuff: Skills, Weapons, badbut stillpossible (moreon whythisis
Supplies,Armor later).Likemostthingsin roleplaying,it
Okay.So you wantto know if your comesdownto a quickroll.YourXDM
character isa blackbeltin TaeKwanDo, will assign you a numberthatyou haveto
is carrying a Bill-guisarmet, hasenough roll on a d2O.lf youroddsaregood,the
rationsfor an expedition to the South roll will be easy.lf your oddsarebad,the
Poleor Kevlarbodyarmor?Suchcritical rollwill be hard.lf youroddsareclown
questions areanswered by theXDM using shoesridiculous, your oddsarenear
the official anddefinitive XD20 rulesstatement: impossible.
Sometimes in roleplayinggames, you
"Maybe." findvaryinglevels of quality in equip-
lf askedfor a clarification of thisrule,you ,\, ment. This is usually expressed asa
Kt "plus"or a "minus"weaponor device
mayanswer with:
simifyingits modifrcation to something
"Thatdepends." or other.
lmportantSafetyTip In the XD20 system
* Youcansubtract all fourfromeitheryourTACor yourPSYCH 5TAT, lowernumbers
or you cansubtractonefromyourTAC STATandthreefromyourPSYCH
arebetter.Thereforeif someone
STAT,oryou cansubtract twoeachfromyourTACandPSYCH STAT, wantsto handyoua " + 70 dragon-slayer sword,"
or you cansubtractthreefromyourPSYCHSTATandonlyonefromyour you shouldiustlaughat themfor tryingto pawnoff
TAC STAT,or you cansubtractall four poins fromyourPSYCHSTAT.
Hey,that'swhythisisADVANCEDI sucha cursedpieceof iunkon you! Whatyoureally
t A guisarme (sometimes gisarmeor bisarme) wasa poleweapon used wantisa "-5 rusting sword"because it will not only
in Europe between I000- | 4OOA.D. lt wasusedprimarily to dismount
knigtsandhorsemen. Likemostpolearms it wasdeveloped by peasansby improve your d20 die roll in combat by 25o/obutwill
combining handtoolswithlongpoles:in thiscaseby puttinga pruning hook probably alsocauseruston the target.
onto a spearshaft.Thisweaponis,in moderntimes,knownonlyto RPG
fanaticsasgenerallythemostuseless weapon anyroleplayinggamercould Yes,we reallyintendto messwith established
possibly choose. role-players' headshere.

126
 THEXD2o {nveNcED pLAyERsGUrDE

Remember to writedownstuffwhenyou getit for a fewminutesbeforebeingmiraculously revived

sothat you canremindthe XDM laterthat hewas by a nurseor a medicor whatever.
foolishenoughto haveallowedyou to haveit in the Now, instead of beingout in the freshair, out
firstplace. of yourmom'shair,andgettingsomedecentsun,
we'vemovedthe wholethingindoors,onto your
Doing Stuff: Movement and Actions mom'stable.Thenwe playthesamemindgames in
Thisis a roleplayinggamesoyou'reonly a moretroll-likeexistence.i Moreimportantly, how-
pretendingto be doingstuff..That'swhywe have ever,we haverulesanddicethatdetermine whether
rulesto determine whetherthe stuffyou imagine thethingswe imagine actuallysucceed or not.
yourselfdoingactuallyworkswith whateveryone else Whenever you attemptto do something in an
issupposed to be imagining together. XD20 game,it justworks.Unlessyou aretryingto
Okay,that didn't makethat muchsense to do something that hasa reasonable expectation of
meeither.Thepointisthatwhenyouwereout in failure.I mean,it wouldbemind-blowingly annoying
your backyard playingarmy,or copsandrobbers,or for everyone to roll a dieeverytimetheytook a step
Rambo,or whatever, it alwayscamedownto oneguy downthestreet.("Did I trip?""Did I trip?")On
saying, the otherhand,if you weretryingto stepacross a
"Bang!You'redead!" ten-thousand foot deepcrevasse bridgedonlyby a
And thenthe otherkid saying, one-inch thickgreased steelcable.. . well,not only
"Nu-huh!| shotyou frrst!" wouldthatbe far moreexcitingthatjustwalking
Thisargument go
would backandforthuntil downthe streetbut mostdefrnitely requiresome
onekid eitherwenthomeor laiddownon the ground seriously considered dicerolls.

SEENASTRONOilICALLY A BLESSIN6THAT
IMPRO9ABLE
TO sHouLoPul YOUQ.
9PLEENRIOI|TSACK
6AW YOU'RE
OOTNO
rO
ROLL EVEWTIIAEYOU LACEYOUR
gOOlS, EVENTUALLY
SOffiETHINaLIKE
THISSECONES
A STATSTrcAL

* In theory,althoughthis being
an XDM game,you,ll probablybe
doingmore than iust sittingaroundthe tablesuckingdown iunk food in
your questfor ultimarevalor.
The very quintessence
of progress.

127
XDro Rgrs fr,nvrNcSYSTEM
Thebasicprocess anyphysical
for resolving ac- substitute for punching someone, but throwingdicewill
tion in the gameis asfollows: justhaveto do. We certainlyrecommend pretending
with a swordoverthe realthing.
l. Describethe actionWhenyou do something Yourcharacter hasjustencountered a monster
in the game, describe it. lt's assimpleassaying, which, for reasons now unclearbut which madesense
"l walkdownto the endof the corridor,"or, at the time,deserves to be put downandrightnow.As
"l leapintothedragon's mouth,brandishing the old saying goes, sometimes you catchthe bearand
my hatpin." sometimes the bearcatches you ... but whichis it?
That'swhywe havecombatresolution.
2. ShouldI bother?TheXDM shouldthenask lf it's timeto smackthe monsteror seeif the
herself whetherthisactionwarrants anykindof monster smacks you, usethe followingbasiccombat
dicerolling.ls therea possibility of interesting resolution:
failure?lf something go
might wrong,thenyou
probablyneedto roll somedice. l. CombatroundsAll combatis resolved in
Rounds-like boxingrounds,but usuallywith a lot
3. Determinethe TargetSuccess NumberThe moredeadlyforceinvolved.Generafly, everybody
XDM will lookat the mostappropriate charac- involved in the current donnybrook ges to takea
ter STATand,usingthatasa base,determine turn doingsomething-swinging, screaming, fleeing,
a success number.Easier thingshavelower praying-during a combat round.
numbers. Harderthingshavehighernumbers.
Remember, whenit comesto die rollsfor suc- 2. Who shotfrrst?What'son second?| dunno,
cesslessis best.TheXDM will addto (bad)or third baseUnlikereallife,combatroundsin most
subtractfrom (good) your basicstatnumberto ofherroleplayinggames areusuallyorderedaffairs
determine thistargetsuccess number. with everyone takingturnsbeatingoneanother's
brainsinto the floor.Thinkof thisasthewaythe
4. Roll one d20 for basicsuccess lf you roll the Britishwouldhavepreferredto frghtthe war in the
targetnumberor higher,then you succeed. Americasif thosepeskycolonists hadn'tcheated
Otherwise, you fail. by ducking behindtreesandfiringtheirgunswhen-
evertheywanted,insteadof takingturns.
5. Roll one d2Ofor degreeYou nowroll l d20 That'snot theXDM way-asif you hadn't
dieto determine the degree of your successor guessed by now.Players andmonsters getto t:tke
failure.Youmightsucceed spectacularly with theiractions duringa roundwhenever theXDM
a roll of a 20, or you mightfailspectacularly saystheydo. lf that meansthat all the playersget
withthatsame20 if you blewyoursuccess roll. to taketheirturn andthenthe monsters all attack,
that'sfine.lf thatmeans thatthe monsters attack
6. XDM explainswhat happened asa resultThe firstandthenthe playersgetto react,that'sfine
XDM nowinterprets the resultbasedon wheth- too. lf that meansthat the XDM iustpointsto the
er you succeeded or not andto whatdegree playerwhenit istheirturnto actandthewhole
you succeeded or failed.Take your lumpsand thingis mixedup andcrazyin a waythatmore
geton with it. resembles actuallife,thenthaf'sfinetoo. Solong
asoneruleis alwaysfollowed:everyone getsto do
Hitting Stuff: Combat R.esolution something at somepointin a combatround. (Or
Thisis probably theonething you'll be rolling more if the XDM saystheycan.)
the mostdicefor so let'sgetit overwith. Players
loveto bashthings;theywantto takeout their 3. Did l hit him?Combatis resolved prettymuch
lifetimeof frustrations by pretending they'rebeating likeanyotheraction.TheXDM determines a
the livingdaylights out of something. lt's no real Target Success Number based on the character

128
 THEXDZO ADVAI{CEDPLAYERSGUIDE

or monster's rnostappropriateSTAT.TheXDM 6. Assigndamage Anyonedamaged in the game-

will addto (bad)or subtractfrom (good)your characterscontrolledby the players, or mon-
basicsut numberto determine thistargetsuccess sterscontrolledby the XDM-subtracts damage
number. fromtheirHealthStat.Onceyour Healthstat
dropsbelowl, you hadbetterbe prepared to
4. Roll one d20 to determinebasicsuccess lf you do somefancybegging to keepyour character
rofl the targetnumberor higher, thenyou succeed. alivebecause unlessthe XDM saysothenrise,
Othenruise, you fail. Remember thatyou always your character is dead.Deadcharacters are
succeed with any20 rolledandyou alwaysfail honorable andreveredin all XDM games,but
spectacularly withanyroll of a l. onlyif theydie in heroicways.Dyingstupid
is causefor ridicule.Deathmaybe mitigated
5.RolldamageHow muchdamage you do is de- in theXD20system by healing
or miracles or
terminedby whatyou'reusingto do the dam- magicandthe like.Theseshouldbe treatedas,
age,duh!Usinga fistagainst someone is a whole respectively,"doingstuff"or "mysticalstuff."
differentstorythanusinga tacticalthermonuclear
weapon.OnceyourXDM establishes thedamage Thinking Stuff: SureYou Think
a weapondoes,you shouldprobablywriteit down You're Smart
andkeepit. Othenvise,askthe XDM howmuch Hereis the basicproblemwith "mental"
damage your weapondoesin dicetermsandthen mechanics andproblems in roleplayinggames: You
roll thosedicefor damage. andthecharacter you'replaying almostcertainly
do not havethe samementalabilities.Faceit, when
you rolledup your character in your favoriteother
FOR.AS 9ULKYAS YOUR role playing game, you somehow knewthat
WANOOF O|S\NTEO(/4.T|ON tS, 7 SOKI your character wassmarterthanyou in real
OF EXPECTEO I1 TO BC FRIENP- life.Normally,that'sokay- because if your
FOE OISCRIMINATINo, starship is brokenin the game,you wanfto roll
diceto fix that hyperdrive ratherthanhavethe
DM handyoua wrenchanda boxof washing
machine paruandtellyouto buildone.
On theotherhand,if you come
up to a pairof talkingdoorswhereone
alwaysliesandthe otheralwaystellsthe
truth,andyou'vewatchedLabyrinth
moretimesthanthe DM, you knowthe
answer to thisriddlecold.Theprob-
lemis thatthe idiot character you are
playing in the game mightnot.'
is
There at onegame
least
out therethat getsaroundthis
particular problemby iustas-
suming thatthe dice
aresmarterthan
you-or at least,
* lt seemedlike sucha good idea to trade out those"mental" points
for "strength" polntswhen you createdyour character.I mean,what
gamecharacterever actuallyusesthosementalstatisticsanyway.Stay
tuned.

129
XDro RoLEp,avrNcSYSTEM

the properarbiterof howsmartyour character is in CastingSpellsand Mystical Stuff

the game. Yourcharacter comesup to a sphinxand Wait!Wait!Whataremy spells? Wherearemy
the massively powerfulcritterposesyou "the ques- spells? Hereisthethingthatcouldblowyourmind:
tion of the ages."Nevermindwhatthatquestionis, Feelfreeto castanythingyou want.I mean,you'relike
or what"four legsin the morning,two in the after- a magician, priest,voodoosomething, right?Surely
noonandthreein theevening" hasto do withman's magic is based on fundamentals ratherthanprefab
progression throughthismortalcoil.All you haveto unis. Sounless the XDM saysotherwise, inventany
do is roll your diceagainst your character's smart- spell you want for the circumstances you are in.
nessfactorandeitheryour character getsit or
doesn't-whether do or not.you
Whilethismakes a certainlevelof
game-sense, I mean,comeon! Thisis a TT{AOSURRENPER'
gameplayedmainlyon theimaginary stageof THAA'URENOER!
yourmind,the placewherepuzzles andriddlesare
supposed to be solved.Whereis the problem-solving
in roleplayingif the diceiustsolvethe problemfor
you?And theydon't evengiveyou the solution
but iusttellyouthatthe problem"is solved,"
muchthe samewaythe government worksin
economic bail-outs.
Here'sthe rulein XD20 games: Think
of your character in the game asthoughhe
wereyourbuddysittingnextto you..lf the
gamepresents you with a puzzlerequiringthe
useof higher-order differential calculus and
you don't happento be into thatsortof
thingrecreationally, thenturn to your
playercharacter, roll the dicefor him or herand Bewarned,however. lt is up to theXDM'sdiscre-
seeif theyknow.YourXDM will consider theirap- tion asto your oddsof castingit, andwhatthe ef-
propriateSTATor PSYCHscorein the samewayas fectsare.Magic,beingwhatit is,canoccasionally-ok,
doingphysical stuff.+ often-gowrong.Forthe mostpart,castingspellsis the
On the otherhand,if you happento be a foren- sameashittingstufFwhenthe magicyou'recooking
sicpathologist in reallifeandareplaying anXD2O up is intendedto do damage.lf, however,you wantto
gamebeingrun by a forensicpathologist andall the casta utilityspell,likemasssleep,do the following:
otherplayersat the tablealsohappento be forensic
pathologists, it is legitimate for your partyto do an l. Tell the XDM all aboutthe magicalspectacular
extensive autopsyon anydeadbodiesthatyou might you wouldlike to createIf you havetriedto pull
frndlyingaroundin the dungeon+ . . .evenif your off thissamespellbefore,justgiveit a name.lf
playercharacter it is something you'vecookedup specialfor the
hasan intelligence of 18.
occasion, or if the XDM wantsmorespecifics out
" On the other hand,ifyou actuallybelievethat your playercharacter of you, you're going to have to be a bit more
is sitting next to you or speakingto you from his miniatureon the descriptive aboutwhatyou expectout of your
table, pleasehavesomeoneat the uble assistyou to the nearesthealth
professional available. magical effect.
t See"Doing stuff Movementand Actions" on page127.
f Sure,laughifyou dare ... but I haveactuallyheardofsuch a group
of role playinggamers. 5 See"Hitting Stuff:CombatResolution"on page128.

130
 THEXDzo {nvnNcED PLAYERS
GUrDE

2. Flightor fnzle?TheXDM will modifyyour ap- arounda tableclutching the papercharacter shees
propriatestatistic(whichwill beyour STATin the or hunched overa keyboard whileplayingin massive
basicgameor WAH in the Advanced game)and multiplayer onlineenvironments-all playershavehad
tell you whatyou haveto roll for your attemptat onesingular, overriding obsession: To levelup.
thisto workat all. Untilnow.
Leveling is, for the XDM, a plaguethat has
3. Wimp or wow? Rollyour secondd20 to deter- infectedthe otherwise healthybodyof roleplaying.lt
minethe degree of success or failureof thespell. isanentirelyartificial measure thathasno application
in the realworld.lt is truethat in militaryforces,a
4. Whator whatever?lf deemednecessary by your Private(E-2)maybe proudto be advanced to Private
XDM,you mayneedto roll additional d20sto (E-3)
First-Class andthatceruinlylookslikeleveling
determine otherrandomfactors,suchasduration, up. However, justbecause thatE-2is nowan E-3
location,etc. doesn'tnecessarily makehimappreciably harderto
shootat, nor doesit allowhim to takemoredam-
Example Youarefacingan armyof stonewarriors ageunderfrre.Evenif he makes it all thewayto E-8
soyou say,"l will casta sleepspell!"TheXDM, (MasterSergeant) whilehewill,admittedly, beone
feelingunusually generous, tellsyouthatit flatout toughhombrethat you probably shouldn'tmesswith
failsbecause stonewarriorsdon't sleep.As they in a barfight,he is stillequallysusceptible to damage
continueto approach, you reviseyour previous froma grenade betweenhisfeetasthatsameE-2.
ideaanddeclare "l will castglacialsleep on the We're not sayingthat characters shouldn'f
stonewarriors." advance. We all wantto getbetterandyour player
TheXDM wantsto knowwhatit is aboutglacial character is no exception. WhatXDM isagainst is the
sleepthatmakes youthinkit wouldmakeanydif- ideathat any player characters with enoughlevels
ferenceto stonewarriors.You explainthat glacial becomes anindestructible tankon legs.
sleep"is a special spellagainst stonewarriorsthat We weregoingto throwout the wholeleveling
makethemfall into a frozenstatesimilarto human thingaltogether, but everyone startedto whineand
sleep." cry so.. .fine!Youcanhavea leveling systemand
TheXDM asksyouyourlevel.Yousay7. The hereit is.
XDM asksyouyourWAH. Yousay| 3. He then You accumulate experience pointsfor just about
says,"Okayroll an | 8 or better."Yourollyour anythingyou think you shouldaccumulate
d20 andgeta l9! TheXDM grumbles andthen experience pointsfor doing.Theseareawarded
says,"Creatthe glacialsleepspellhis the stone entirelyat the discretion of the XDM andit is
warriors.Rollfor effect." noneof yourbusiness howtheydetermine this
You roll get
againand a 5. The XDM interprets number.
thisandsaysthat abouta quarterof the warriors
arefrozenin theirtracks. Whenyou haveaccumulated suffrcientexperi-
encepoints, your character will go up to the
Of coursemanyspells won'trequiresomuch next level.Howmanyexperience pointsare
rolling.lf, in the aboveexample, you hadbeena level requiredto getto the nextlevelis a complicated
18casting sleepon a smallarmyof levelonepeasants formula,partof whichinvolves concentrated
theXDM wouldprobablyaskyou to roll for success meditation. YourXDM will let you knowwhen
(perhaps a l2 or better)and that'sit. thishas happened.

Whenyour charactergoesup a level,addthe

Characterlmprovement3Gaining Levels numberof levelsthat your XDM tellsyou
of themodernroleplaying
Sincethe beginning to add-hopefully,iustone-to your previous
game,playersaroundthe globe-whether
crouched character you wereIevel
level.lf, for example,
XDro Rgre p,evrNcSYSTEM
I beforeandhavejustadvanced onelevel,your Conversionfrom Other Systems
characteris nowlevel2 andhasaccess to altthe You'vespenthundreds-ifnot thousands of
rightsand privileges
that thisnewlevelprovides. dollarson otherroleplayinggamerystems, havea
redwagonfull of reference boolsthatyou love,and
That'sit. lt doesnot affectyourotherstatistics one you iustcan'tgo coldturkeywith the superior(if
bit. Youdo not getmorehealthpoints.You do abbreviated) XD20 system. We undersund.We even
not getmoreTAC, PSYCHor WAH poins (if sympathize. All you reallyneededwasthisbook,but
you'replaying withAdvanced XD20characters). it's too latefor that now. Mostof the statistics for
you
All the levelallows to do is sayto the XDM, XD20 games aregenerated basedentirelyon the
"But, hey,I shouldbe ableto hit thisuntrained expertandhighly-trained iudgmentof the XDM. So
goonmoreeasilybecause my character is level2!" if someone wantsto usea weaponor magicalartifact
or, "l thinkI couldcastwaterlilyon themenacing fromanothergame,glanceat the overlycomplex
child,causel've finallyreached level| 8!" Your statistics
for the device,assignit a TAC statanda
XDM will takethisintoaccount-ornot. Damage stat-Healthstator evena PSYCHor WAH
statif you feelinclined-and callit good.

132
 XDzo,,f,HanncrER$Hrrr
ADVAr{cED

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MYSTAN
psvcH

prnsoNnr, NoN-BTNDiNG
BAsrccHARACTER
NorES
 This mess age srill selF-
destpuct in lO secosrds-

Minimum saFe distaflce

is Foun hundned sneterrs-

Hawe a
shopl day!

f, HemER XDzoltrucroN MASTERv

SEVENTEEN: flnxonooK
lntroduction to XD2O for XDMs for the bookratherthaniustreadingit in the store.
YouareanXDM. Oneof thefew.Oneof the Foryou will be subjectto thiscurse.All the powers
proud.Oneof thoseselectfewwho havebeenprivi- of thegaming spiritsshallbewithdrawn andleave
legedto be admittedinto the innercircleof knowledge you desolate. Youshallsearch in vainfor a gamethat
passed downfromthe ancients. XDMsbringlifeand will satisfyyour lustfor entertainment, andeachshall
fun backintogaming. turn to dry cardboard in your hands.You havebeen
You havefoughtfor this, purchased the franchise warned!r
righs,. andnowarereadyto bewhatso manyhave
dreamed of becoming.A fully-fledged XDMI Theory of Game Relativity
Anythingthathappens in a game,or that
mightworkin a game,or that playerswantto do in
a game,is relativeto its storysettingsurroundings.
A revolvermightbe reasonably commonin a
1920shorrorsettin&but you'd be hardpressed to
lf you arenot anoffrcially
sanctionedXDM and come up with one during the Crusades. Likewise,
you arereadingthissectionof the book,thenyou a phaser+ mightcomein handyduringthe Battle
shouldknowthat thispartof the bookis protectedby of Thermopylae, but goodluckfrnding the right
an ancientTibetancurse,passed downfrom SunTzu, batteries.
whichwill affectallof yourdierollsduringperiods of Whileyour players seemto havethe abilityto
thefull moonandmanyof yourotherdierollsat all pull iusttherightrabbitout of theirhac at anygiven
othertimes.Woeuntoyou who lookuponthewords moment('Oh, soXeryesis attacking? | pulla tactical
of theXD20 Dungeon MasteryHandbook without
firsthavingbeenpurified,or possiblyhavingpurchased f Likewe couldreallystopyou, but this did giveus the opponunityto
franchise righs,or at a minimumpaidfullcoverprice write a cool curse.It's the way they did copyrightbackin the old days
before governmentsgot around to it, so we thought it might be effective
here.Oh, that remindsme, this book is copyrighted.
* lf you haven'tpurchased
your localfranchiserights,you might consider f Phaseris a direct-fire,beam-based,energyweaponfrom the StarTrek
doingso! universe,and we're sorry for borrowingit here.

13+
 XDZO DUNGEoNMASTERY
HANDBoOK

nukeout of my backpack!") theymaybe verylimited this,too. Wecalledit "ChapterFive:Designing

by the rulesof the settingin your game.Youdecide
if yourworldis basedcloselyon historical classical
Greekmythology-inwhichcaseyou canforgetthe
tacticalnuclearweaponevenremotelyshowingup,
andyou shouldsmackanyplayersuggesting it-or you
candecidethatyourworldis completely gonzoand
Spartans actuallydid havetacticalweapons of mass
destruction availableto them.
HOWEVE&(anddidyou noticehowbigwe
madethat however)you mustdo the followingor
foreverloseyour statusasan XDM:
(l ) Establish
the rulesof yoursettingfromthe
beginning.
(2) Onlychange themunderexfreme duress.
An XDM muif be consistent in hisinterpreta-
tion of the settingrules.You maynot givephasers
Spartans withoutgivingdisruptors to the Persians.
for Story"andit ison page42.You shouldselect
eitherlineardesign,
openmatrix,or closedmatrix
for youradventure. Mountthison the narrative
frame.Thinkof it asthe bodyof the car-thegen-
eralshapeinto whicheverythingelsewill frt.
3. Createa basicbeatchartfor your adventureA
beatchartis an outlineof the encounters in your
adventure. An example canbe foundin "Killer
Beats"on pageI05 Thenatureandapproach to
thisbeatchartwill dependuponwhichmatrixyou
iustchosefor the game.ln everycasemakesure
thatdifficultyof the encounters
riseswith the rising
action.
to

Adventure Design
You'vecomeup with the basicrulesfor your
setting(anythingfrom strictlyhistorical,
to anything- TRIP LOOKS
goesgonzo),andit's timeto createthe designfor the LIKEtT'SOOINO
actualadventure. Here'swhatyou do to makeit all rO 681 HAQOER
cometogether: AS WEOET
cLosEQ.l0
the basicstructureof your adventure
1. Establish rHE IOP,
You do thisby frrstconsideringyour adventure |tt, ,;
in termsof the CambellianMonomyth(seepage
30). Yes,youshoulddo thisevenif yourgame
is aboutmutantclownsattacking Sheboygan
withcream-pie bazookas..
]ustbecause your
gameis goofy,doesn'tmeanyou canignore
structure. games
lf anything, aboutmutant
clownsattacking Sheboygan requiremoreat-
tentionto structure.Narrativestructureis the
frameon whichyouwill hangeverything elsein
the game.Makeit strong.

2. Determinethe generalmatrixapproachfor
your adventureWe'vealreadytalkedabout
* "Mutant ClownsAttack Sheboygan with their Cream-PieBazookas" is
a trademarkof Tracy Hickman,CurtisHickman,and HowardTaylerand
is usedherewith their permission. Adventuresbasedon this incredibly
markeubleideashouldobtainthe permission of the copyrightholders
beforebeingwritten.XDMs desiringto write adventures in the "Mutant
ClownsAttack Sheboyganwith their Cream-PieBazookas"settingmay
obtainthe non-exclusive rightsto do so by sending$5 U.5. to the
copyright holders.Copyright 2009, all rightsreserved.

135
XDzoR9LEp,avlxc SYSTEM

lf you'reusinga Lineardesignthenthisbeat XDM'siudgmentis key.Youhaveto makethatiudg-

chartwill simplybe a series of encounters one mentcallbased on what'shappening in yourgameat
afterthe other.In thiscaseit is importantto thetime.
establishdirectlyin the chartthe arcof thestory We can'tbe thereandholdyour handduringthe
iself. Encounters will havea clearincrease in gamecall,but we cangiveyou someguidelines about
diffrcultyup to the climax. whatmightconstitute a decentgeneralmodifrer.Try
lf you areusinganopenmatrixcampaign theseandseeif they work in your game.
designthenyou will stillwantto chartsome
sortof story,but it will be almostwithoutany
dependence on location.Youwill stilltell a story
but it will unfoldprettymuchwherever the
playersfrndit.
lf you areusinga closedmatrix-thenyou are WHAT
c/00s
a trueXDM! Createyour beatchartbasedon
expanding locations,makesurethestoryarcis oo YouotvE
established throughoutthe flowof the matrix,
andimpress gamers with your incredible game
design skills.

4. Fill in the restYou haveprettymuchall you

needto run the adventure at thispoint,but if
you wantto lockmoreof it downon paper,
designcoolandimpressive maps.Beprepared by
you feelareneedful.
fillingin allthe blanks

AdventureTranslation
One of the coolthingsaboutthe XD20 system
is thatyou caniustprettymuchlift anyold adven-
ture from anyone'sgamesystemandstillhavea good
time.Youhaveto throwout alltheircumbersome
mechanics but, hey,that'swhatbeingan XDM is all
about!Approacha published adventuremodulelikea
chopshop:Takewhat'svaluable fromthe adventure
andleavethe restin a canal. TLL FETCH
Theimportantthingis thatyou takethe awe-
somepartsof an adventure, thenmountthemon an YOUR,CLOWN
XDM chassis.

Target Diffrculty Determination

Thisis the bigone,the veryheartof XDM reso-
lution.lt's up to youto makethiscallandno oneelse
cando it for you.
Everything staruwith the baseSTATfor any
action-whether that is frghting,moving,thinking,
or magic.Thetrickcomesin assigning reasonable
modifiers to anyactionin the game.Thatis wherean

135
 XD zo DUNGEoNMASTERY
HANDBooK

9erlously. Wa mean llke brcrthlng.lf someonc In your game ls

golng to try and ure gravity on Earth, thls modifler would rpply

You kidding me? -12

Forgetabout itl -1O

Relax,everyonel -8

Walk in the park -6 Theseare various degreesof easy,ranging from the almost sure
bet,to the casualapproachto somethingthat shouldn'tbe a big
No problem -4 problem.
I got it -3

Donethis before -2

Not so tough -1

lf no other factors apply,thsn modlflers don't elthca Lct thom

rofl agalnst thGir st.t.

Not sure +1
Newto me +2
Anybody else? +3
Tricky +4
Palmswet, mouth dry +5
Sweatin'bulletshere +6
Must change shirt +7
On this side are the various degrees of hard, ranging from a bit
Changesomethingelse... +8 tricky,to who in their right mind would even attempt this.
No way l'm doing thatl +9
Who do you think I am? +1O
Let me outt Let me outl +11
lmprobable +12
Astronomical +13
lmpossible +14
Inconceivablel +15

"Clown Shoes" lr our XDM code for somethlng eo polntlcrely

rldiculous that brlnglng lt up is laughable. "l'm golng to try
dlvlng Into the sun and comlng out th. other ide." Yeah,buddy,
roll the dice and wc'll soc. "Clown ShoesRldiculous" ir the ONLY
tim€ the automati< 2Orucccss rulc is changed. Theflrct roll
determlnes lf the attempt camc off at all. Thc second ndur.l 20
would lndlcate succesr,with any other rerult Intorproted as a
degree of failure. We gotta draw the line somewhere.

137
XDro Rgrp p.nvINcSYSTEM

Now that you haveyour nicebigtableto lookat, stuffbackon page127. That'sfinefor mechanics,
we aregoingto tell you a basicXDM secretthatyou but your realiob asanXDM is to bringmeaning into
mustkeepfromyour playersand,for that matter,from the numbers of thisgame. That means that you need
all theother,non-XDMgamereferees on the planet. to interpretthe resultsfor the players.
Thissecretis so powerfulthat,shouldit getinto the Hereis wherewe separate the XDMsfrom the
wronghands,it coulddestroyhobbygaming aswe everyday wimps:Yourinterpretetion of the mean-
knowit: ingbehindthe roll is criticalto thegame.Do nottell
a playerhe hasfailedhischeck.Tellhimwhatthat
failuremeans! Giveit to him in graphicdetail.You
mustneversay"Oh, you missed your TAC check.I
guess you didn'tmakeit overthatchasm."lnstead
you shouldsay,"You leapacross the gapingchasm
but, weakened by your lastencounter with the raven'
ousYak,yourlegsfailyou!Youclawa the air butyou
alreadyknowyou won't makethe ledgeon the far
side.Yourbodyslamsagainst the far chasmwall,the
forcerebounding you intothe emptygulfbelow..."
It isyouriob to interpretthe dicerollsand give
No matterhowrealistic you try to makeyour meaning andimpactto theirresults, not iustreport
game,no matterhowdetailedthe rulesor the modi- Jportsscores.
fiers,it stillcomesdownto a single die roll thatcan
onlyrespond withoneof twentynumbers. Thismeans
thatthe resolution scaleof the gamesresponse canonly CAN 1 RC-ROLL
comein 5oloincrements.
Youcanspendall daydealing withcharuwhich
try to grapplewith the ideathat oneweaponessentially
is .03olomoreaccurate thanthe nextweaponon the
list,but thesecond weapondoes.2650lo moredamage.
Butin theend,you'restillrollingthatsamed20 andit
is physically impossible
to accuratelysimulate anydiffer-
encelessthan5ol0.
Youcanspendall daywindingdownthrough
charsandtablesfor absolute accuracy andit stillis only
goingto comedownto the resolution of the diceyou
roll.
We'renot doingaircraftaccident investigations
here,andwe don'tneedthatlevelof realism. Justcut
to thechase, a reasonable
assign numberandgeton
with the game.

Dealingwith Doing Stuff

Yes,we alreadytold you howto takecareof doing
* Yes,we know all aboutbell probabilirycurveswhentouling multipledice
thrown and how it givesa finer resolutionthan the one we're talkingabout.
a
We havebeendoing this for over a quarter of a century. However,the point
is that whileyou get a niceprobabilirybell curveout of throwingtwo or
three six sideddice, it still comesdown to only six possibleresultsper die
thrown.Justget usedto the ldeathat the finer the resolutionofthe game
system,the more complex and unplayable it becomes.Dealwith it.
o

138
 XD z o DUNGEoN
MAsrERyHANDBooK

Got a character standing underan Armageddon-sized

Dealingwith Hitting Stuff meteoraboutto annihilate the knownworldandall
We alreadydealtwith thisa lot in the player you cancomeup with is. . .well,maybethat,sa bad
section on page128.l'm sureyouwouldlikeus example, butthe pointisthatmagic,unless handled
to give you los of additionalruleslikehowto properly,is a crutch.
dealwith partialcover,hardcover,movingcover, Too oftenmagicis viewedasthe exception to the
covercharges, sofacovers,andotherreallysmall- rule,ratherthana subsetof the rulesthemselves. This
detailsimulation issuesthatcropup in all such ratherscientific-logic
sounding statement
means that
games. Perhaps you wouldlikea tablethat liss the in mostroleplayinggames theyspendseveral chapters
penetration modifiersfor varioustypesof fences, tellingyou howthe physics of theuniversearehandled
walls,crates,andtrashcansversus a varietyof (combat,movement, skills,actionresolution)
andthen,
crossbow bolts,rocks,depleted-uranium howitzer afteryou barelyhaveyour headwrappedaroundthose
shells, andbeam-energy weapons. concepts, presentyou with a sectionon magicthat
Gee,doesn'tthat soundlikefun! turnsall thaton its headwith a completely differentset
Well,we'renot goingto do it. Haven,tyou of rules.
beenpayingattention? lf you reallywantallthat Nutzto that.
stuff,go aheadandbuyotherpeople's RPGs. Use Whatareyou goingto do?Hereis howyou,asan
theirinformation asa guidelinefor makingyour XDM,shoulddealwithmagic.Someof it starubefore
call.lt all comesdownto themodifrers youassign to the gamebegins.
the roll and,let'sbe honest, whoamongyourplay-
ersshouldquestionyourjudgment? lf you wantto 1. How relevantis magicin your game?Remember
includeall thatstuffin yourcalculations on a finaltar- whenwe hadthatfatherlytalkon page134 about
getnumberfor the roll, that'sfinewith us.Solongas the Theoryof GameRelativity? Youfirstneedto
you remember the XDM secretwe gaveyou above. decideiusthowmuchmagicis invofved in your
Youshouldcreatively interpretthemeaning of game.ls thereno magicat all?Doesit flowlike
combatdicerolls.Temperyourdescriptions for your water,to the pointwhereeveryone cancastspells
audience. Keepit lightfor younger, or moresensi- willy-nilly?
Doesit requireconsiderably trainingto
tive,players. evenachieve thesmallest
effector is it an incred-
ibly powerfulforcewhichcaneasilygetout of
Dealingwith Magic (or not) handif not carefullycontrolled?
All of theseare
Thisis probablywhereyou haveto workthe possibleand you haveto knowthat beforethe
mostin a game.Magicis,admittedly, a problem gamestartsandmakeit clearto your playersiust
because a properXDM doeshisbestto put thework howit's goingto be.
off onto playersin the game.Still,therecanbe no
helpfor it, soyou'lljusthaveto suckit up anddo it. 2. Adjustall magicfor relevance Onceyou establish
Thebiggest problemwith magicis that it is howmagicwork in your game,stickwith it and
so...generic. Manyhackauthors throughtheages alwaysstartwith the samegeneraladjustmens for
whowishedto getaroundplot-holes theydugfor magic your setting.
themselves knowyou cansmoothanythingoverwith
a liberalapplicationof magic.Theheroiccharacter, 3. Do not treat magicasan exceptionto the rutes
who your readerswill followthrougha contracted Youmustalwaystreatmagicasan integralpartof
three-book series,
is suspended a thousand feetin youruniverse, not asanexception. Consistency in
the air by chainsfroma cavernceilingovera hungry treatingmagic is the key.
lavadragon.He is doomedandthisis onlybookone.
Savehim with magic.Yourprincess is thrownover- As with all otherresolutions of die rollsin the
boardfromthe pirateshipwitha cannonstrapped game,it remains youriob with magicnot to justgive
to her daintyfeetandhands.Saveherwith magic. the results
butto interpret theirmeaning aswell.
XDro Rgre p,evrNcSYSTEM
Resolvingthe lmpossible Thepointis thatcharacters mustdie in games so
Youcometo a point in the game whereyour that realpeople who playthem don't getthe wrong
playersareaskingto do thingsthat aresimply idea.Gameswherecharacters do not die-or where
impossible in your setting. they never fail-do a huge diserviceto the worldby
Thentheycan'tdo it. lsn'tthatthe definitionof teaching these people thattheycando stupidthings
impossible? No matterhowmuchtheywantto clap and be all right.
for the fairyandwishwith all theirheartthatthe giant Moreover,unless thereis someelementof
forty-thousand ton boulderrollingoverthemwill not riskin the game-in this case,adventurers risktheir
flattentheminto an unrecognizable stickymass,well,it lives-then the game losesall purpose andchallenge.
wouldbe a disservice to themto let themliveiustto be So,if the characters in the game wouldrather
nice. die, let
then themdo soanddecrease the surplus
Whatisthis"beingnice" peoplekeeptellingme player character population.
aboutanyway?

1+O I
f,HenrER y[zo f,nrerunr fooex
ETcHTEEN'

Note:Weweregoingto putin anextensiveandcomprehensive list with

statistics
of all themythological,magical,monstrous, and mundane creatures that
you mightencounter in whatevergenrestrikesyour imagination,but the thought
exhausted us.Look,you probablyalreadyBOUGHTthosebooksfilledwith all that
stuff from someone else,so why iustbry it alloveragain?Dragout your favorite
monsrerbook,convertthe statson thefly, andhavea goodtime.

However,we knowthatyou will wantsomeform of crutchfor your gameso

we presentto you several
exclusive
monsters ONLyin theXD20 gamecys-
available
tem.Sinceyou professto bean XDM,we'll letyou practiceby fillingin the statistics
for thesemonsfers.Youevengetto NAME them. How uniqueis that?

,s;
L./-
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TO 11-rf5tiAP, WESHOULO
HIT .HO,l1eCOMlN6,,lN
pA6E OR.IWO,
TAYERNOOORSAHEAA,
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fi's Tlila FOR.YOU,tAE,
AN' THEWEEFAISIIO
PRINKIHAT ELIXIR
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APPENDICES
,
i.
 .IHIS
SHIRTFEELS YOU WENTUP A LEVELWHEN

OpprcrAlly$nNcuoNrDXDMffrncHnworsr
Putyourselfon the pathto gamingfortuneand
successby establishingyourownXDM franchise! For o Privateandsecureaccess to our onlineblog
the investmentof a fewdollars,you cangetin on the for XDM ClanMasters onlyandyour personal
groundfloorof oneof role-playing gaming's fastest- digitalcodekeythatwill allowyou accessto
growinginternational pseudo-phenomenon.' secretmessages,Tribemeetings, Q8tA and
Foryour investment of $20 you will be granted clandestine
conventionevents.
the semi-irrevocable yourownoffrcial
rightto establish
XDM Triberightout of yourownhomeor business! . A signedphotographsof the GrandMasters
of
And there'smore:t XDM suitable
for framedadoration.

. One officialcertifrcate your semi-irre-

establishing Simplyvisitour websiteat
vocablestatusasan officialXDM ClanMasterand www.xtremedungeonmastery.com for more
your elevationto XDM level2 status- possibly informationregardingthisopportunity.
signedby the GrandXDM masters themselves+. TrueXDMsusesonlyofficiallysanctioned XDM
jeans,
blackt-shiru, dice,and protective
gear.
A
. TwelveblankXDM certifrcates for you to assign completelistof available officialXDM itemscanbe
(at your personal to thoseXDM re-
discretion) foundat www.xtremedungeonmastery.com
cruig thatyou bringinto your localTribe.

* Look,we
iust got stanedwith this,so how much of a phenomenoncan it
be if we're letting you in on the ground floor?
f Total valueof itemsincludeddoesnot exceed$2. Why shouldour scam
be any differentthan other scams?
$ Well, we signedthe original.We cannotvouchfor the multiplecopieswe
subsequently printed, 5 Okay we will actuallysignthe picture.We can't be completejerk,

1s0 fl
 XDMf ouranBrlrrYTbsrgconrNc
l. Howmanysidesareon a dodecahedron? C. 20-Totalfabrication;
the making of an
A. O-Youdon't understand basicphysics,
do XDM.
you?. D. lO-Goodtechnique if you cancomeup
B. 2-Well,at leastit isan ODDsizefor dice. with a reasonbehindit.
C. 1-Monopolydice,friend. E. 5-OK technique,but betterto solvethe
D. I O-Technically
correct. problem.
E. 2O-XDM'srarelyseethe needfor dice!

6. Did you lookat the answersbeforetakingthis

2. Oneyoungplayerat theendof thetable.. . test?
A. O-And don'tcomeback! A. lO-for beinghonest.
B. 2-Neverleavea playerbehind! B. 2-You mightbe president oneday,but not
C. O-YouNEVERstopthe gamefor an XDM.
psychobable! C. 2O-Thisistheessence of beinganXDM!
D. 20-Excellent
techniquefor frguring
out his D. 5-For beinghonestaboutcheating.
style! E.O-Youmayhavea futureasa non-player
E. I O-lustbecause
it'scool! character.

3. Two trains. . .
A. lO-Technically correctbutyou'llstillhave
to waitfor your badge. Score Results
B. 2-At leastyou triedto do the math.
C. I -lt onlyFEELS liketrainscollideat 1 2o r Youarea perfectcandidatefor
Gencon. less gettingthe pizzafor the game.
D. 2O-Thinking outside the box. A bribe
on thistestdoesn'thurt. 13-30 Haveyou considered
becominga
E. O-Whyareyou evenreadingthisbook? professiona
l'Non-player
Character'?

3 1 - 6 0 Congratulations!
Withsignificant,,
4. Haveyou everbeena memberof the trainingyoucanbecomean XDM.'
Communist Party?
A. 4-Showscommitment. 61-80 Congratulations!
Youarenatural
B. 4-Showscommitment. bornXDMmaterial!2
C. 2-Not fastenough.
D. lO-Your priorities
arein the rightplace. 8 1 - 1 2 0 Congratulations!Youarean XDM!
E. 0-Too muchsolitare. Youqualifyfor ouradvanced
placementprogram.3
5. Theplayerjumpsup fromthetable. . . Remedial
mathematics coursesare
A. 2-Technicallycorrect,butalsoleadsto nowopenat yourlocalHighSchool
bloodyfighs.
B. O-Neverapologizefor a ruling!
I Your trainingwill startat level I assoonasyou purchase this book.
2 By purchasing this book,you will be admittedat onceinto your XDM
* The Mdbiusdie hasyet to be invented.We haveXDMs in Turkey trainingprogramat frrstlevel.
3 Advancedplacementprogrammeansthat all of your initiationfeeshave
workingon it. beenwaived. All you will needto purchaseis this book asyour coursework
materials. You stan as a level I Wet Newt XDM

51
{wrxorcrs

YOU NEEO
'IHE
TO FLIP
gooK a/ER.,

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152
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 QrossARY
BlackArt Whena magician usescombinations of prop Any objectthat assists
Expositional the
blackclothandbrightlightto performillusions. XDM in conveyinginformatlonaboutthegame.

CampaignA commonnamefor a largescalerole Force A magician'stechnique to geta spectator

playingadventure
whereplayerscango in any to "randomly"selectexactlythe cardthe ma$-
theychoose.(seeLinearDesign)
direction herto pick.
cianwishes

Campbellian
Monomyth Thebasicstructurefor epic GameMaster (seeDungeon
Master)
storyas quantified
by JosephCampbellin hisbook
TheHerowitha Thousand Faces.We tell you all GameReferee (seeDungeon Master)lt's right
on page30.
aboutit starting up therein the D section.

ClosedMatrix Therecommended form of gamede- GM (seeDungeon

Master)No, D comes
signfor all XDMs. Players
areallowedfreechoice beforeG.
withina rangeof directedevents.
Hickman, Curtis A GrandMega-lord Taloned
Aown ShoesRidiculousThisis our XDM codefor GriffrnXDM andco-author of thisbook.You
something sopointlessly
ridiculous
thatevenbring- canlookhimup in the introduction.
ingit up is laughable.
Hickman, Laura A CrandLadyPegasus
XDM
Codex Thelatinword for book. In currentusage it andwifeof TracyHickman.She'smentioned
implieseitherageor importance. Weiustthinkit in the introduction
too.
sounds cool. That'swhywe put onein our book.
It is full of creatures. Hickman,
Tracy A GrandPaladin-lord Horned
DragonXDM andco-author of thisbook. Did
CrazyOldMan What? Him again?We thoughtwe you not readthe introduction?
hadhim trappedin chaptersix. Who left the gate
open? ImpliedStory Whenthe description or obiects
in an adventure locationcausethe players
to
CutScenesShortsegments of storywherethe createstoriesin theirmindsaboutwhatmight
playershaveno controloverevents.Commonly haveoccurred.
foundin videogames.
KillerBreakfastJustfindout wherethe nearest
DM (SeeDungeon
Master) oneis to your locationandgo to it. Thatwill
workfar betterthananyexplanation we can
DungeonMaster (AlsocalledDM, GM, Game give. Or you couldiustgo readthe whole
Master,GameReferee) Thisis the personwho is chapter'we devotedto talkingaboutit. Weare
in chargeof organizing
anddirecting a roleplay- that perhaps
startingto suspect you areiust
ing game. Thetraditional Dungeon Masterrelies flippingthroughthe bookat a storeandhaven't
heavilyon charts,tables,andpilesof booksto run readit at all.
the game.lf you knowa Dungeon Master,you
shouldrunout andbuyhima copyof thisbook lauraQuest Youstillhaven'treadthe Killer
rightaway. Breakfast
chapter?Honestly.

15+

LinearDesignA formof gamedesignwherethe
playersareled from eventto eventwithoutbe-
ingableto deviatefrom the setpath.
Magic ls neverto be usedby XDMsasan
excuse to plasterovershoddygamedesign;
Prestidigitation,
illusion,
legerdemain,
andblack
art usedby an XDM to drawattentionaway
from shocidy gamedesign.
a gametaskto
Offloading Whenan XDM assigns
someone otherthanhimself.
OpenMatrix A formof gamedesignwherethe
playerscanventurein anydirectiontheychoose
andthe GM mustworkto stayaheadof them.
Alsoknownasa campaign.
OptionLock An adventure designwherethe op-
to the players
tionsavailable diminish
overtime
untiltheyareleftwithonlya singlecourse
to
follow.
PictureA flightschooltermwherepilos are
to keepa mentalpictureof the space
instructed
aroundtheiraircraftat all times.In roleplaying
the GM is expectedto do thisfor the adventur-
ingcharacterssothatshecanplanaheadfor the
nextencounter.
Polling
When
an XDM looksaroundthetableto seeif the
player's
needsarebeingmet.(seepage27)
Purpleprose A literarytermusedto describe
passages,or sometimesentirebooks,writtenin
wordssooverlyextravagant, ornate,or flowery
asto breakthe flow anddrawattentionto iself.
Adventuremodulesarefull of thisstuff. We
tellyou howto dealwithit on page63.
Game Thepremiereform of enter-
RolePlaying
tainmentin theworld,wherea groupof people
gatherto createa sharedimaginative
adventure
story.
Qrossnnv
Selddir Go backandreadchaptersixagain.We
alreadytoldyouwhatselddirmeansat theendof
thesecond paragraph.
Societe
del' Ultimel4aitres The Societyof the Ul-
timateMasters of the Game.We talkaboutthem
on page9.
Storything Theamazing XDM systemfor creating
storyor adventure
ideasin a matterof moments.
Youcanflndit on pages 38-41.
Timemisdirection A magician's
techniqueusinga
to forgetpartof
delayto causethe spectators
whatwentbefore,thusallowing the magician to
foolthem.
Tayler,
Howard An up-and-coming Wet Archduke
KoboldXDM who drewthe picturesfor thisbook.
if you'renot
Why did we writethat introduction
evengoingto readit?
TimeLock A formof adventure designwherethe
players
arelimitedby theamountof timeavailable
beforea largeeventoccurs.
XD20 RolePlayingSystem Thisis the hottestthing
to hit gaming
sincegaming.lt issohot, it iscool;
andsocool,it is hot. We wroteseveralchapters
devotedentirelyto XD20. Go readthemnow.
X-tremeDungeon Mastery Thisis the bookthat you
iustread. On the otherhand,if you hadactually
readthe bookyou wouldnot needto be lookingit
up in the glossary.lf you havenot readthe book,
go backto pageoneandstartover.
XDroRBsurrs
JAnm

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155
 {

POPCHUTES,
EVERYBOOY!

WESHOULOHAVE
ROLLEOUP CHA(24.CTERS
BEFOREJUIIPINO,

157
 A.rrERwoRD
WArnNGFoRQvcnx
Do you remember yourfirstroleplayinggame? Youdidn'tknowwhichof those
strangedicewereusedfor what, your character sheetwaslargelya mysteryto you,
rulesweresomething thatyourgamereferee tookcareof, andtherewasa coldcoreof
fearsomewhere downin the ofpit your stomach thatwhatever waslurkingbehindthe
nextturn in the corridor,or behindthe nextdoor,wouldsuddenly leapat you, be too
muchfor you to handle,andbringthe curtaindownon your characterin the game.
And it waswonderful.lt wasexciting, andunknown, andyou felt it morethan
knewit.
Theearlyrole playinggamesby E. GaryGygaxandDaveArnesonwerefusions
of traditional tabletopminiature war-games andplaypretend.Theyweresimplein
theirbasicformandnearlyopaquein theiradvanced stages. Youreallyfeltyou had
accomplished something if you your
slogged waythroughtheoriginalDungeon Master's
Guideandmadeanysense of it. lt wasa frontierandwe wereall pioneers, blazingnew
trailsanddiscovering newwaysto play games.
Thatwasthen.Butsomething happened to our wildlyexcitingandalmost
rebellious role playing experience. lt became "tamed"aswildernesses oftendo. The
thrillof the unknownbecame replaced with formalized rulessets,complexsimulations,
andexacting procedures. ln somewaysgames became easierto learn,but alsoless
challenging, andlessunexpected. Everyone knewthe precise for everypossible
statistics ,
i
monsteror nemesis theymightencounter-the restcamedownto the mathematics
of probability. Somewhere alongthissmoothed, pavedroad,roleplayinggames no I

longerdealtso muchwith roles.Theybecame morelike processesthan games,and J

completely lostsightof thetruemeaning of theword"play."

LikeGodot,we beganwaitingfor anotherGygax,but thatgoodmanwassadly
gonefrom usandour radicalgames hadtransformed intoa business. )
ft'stimeto takebackour play, timeto rediscover, oncemore,whywe played
thesegames in the firstplace.Theywereoncethrilling,exciting, andfun.Theycould l
i
be again. I

That'swhywe aregameplayers whostillbelieve therearefrontiers to bewon in

role playing games. That'swhywe areXDMs.

TracyHickman
CurtisHickman
Thispagehasbeenintentionally left blank. lt is possiblethatsomeone a pictureon your niceblankpage.lf
hasscribbled
thisis thecase,qe're sorry. Wedo thatsometimes. lf you paidextrato haveyourbookscribbled in, Congratuljtions!
Yougo up a level!
Thispageis alsointentionally
blank.we're not surewhichsideof the pageyou'llwantscribbled
bleedthrough,andthatcangetmessy. on. Besides, pens
sometimes