Dungeons and Dragons
“You are not entering this world in the usual manner, for you are setting forth to be a Dungeon Master. Certainly there are stout fighters, mighty magic-users, wily thieves, and courageous clerics who will make their mark in the magical lands of D&D adventure. You however, are above even the greatest of these, for as DM you are to become the Shaper of the Cosmos. It is you who will give form and content to the all the universe. You will breathe life into the stillness, giving meaning and purpose to all the actions which are to follow.”
- Gary Gygax
Dungeons and Dragons has been a hobby of mine for many years. From the high school homerooms where I first cut my teeth on goblins and zombies to the game I currently run for that same group of guys, I have a deep love for table top role playing games and the game systems that allow me to shape the cosmos and bring magic into the world one session at a time.
As a Game Master, I have spent a considerable amount of time collaborating with my players to make their characters’ ambitions come to life at the table. From crafting encounters that put the party at odds or fleshing out a backstory with a convenient character, being a Game Master allows me to flex my creative muscles and design experiences that engage my players. My favorite part of being a Game Master, however, is being able to create items and make changes to the way the game works.
Agony - Designed by Jake Tasker, Art by Jovan Wilson
Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition is a surprisingly easy game to tinker with. The system is relatively simple with a ton of room for a Game Master to make their mark on their own game. The way I do this is by introducing new mechanics into the game or changing the existing ones to work better for my table. An example of this is a sword I created for a player in my game.
My player had expressed concerns about not being able to maneuver around the battlefield and being unable to do things that were as flashy as some of the other party members. Agony was my response. It allows for every turn to feel impactful and flashy. The stances were something I had been working on for some time as a solution to the repetitive gameplay experience that playing a melee character can entail. It gives the player two extra options every turn. This engaged my player at the table by giving their turn the ability to affect the game state for other party members. Instead of just attacking every turn, this sword afforded him more actions and even spells to a class that would not normally gain access to spells. I count this bit of game design as a complete success.
Item designs are among the easiest to test in the game. Items can be dropped into the game a a reward from any story objective and start impacting the play patterns of the table as soon as possible. Agony is an example of the way I use design thinking to solve problems in the real world for my players.
