This week has been a busy one, filled with online group games of Dungeons & Dragons almost every single day. I’m so glad of the productivity and the progress I am making.
Every session, I am striving to improve my game-master skills by learning new systems and descriptions.
The most enjoyable aspect is when the players are debating their plan of attack during their characters’ rests – proof that they truly are invested in the world created for them.
If the players put their imagination and creativity into it, you can reward them for their very welcome efforts.
For example, this week:
Two sessions back, the Rogue killed a Giant Spider and successfully rolled to extract the poison from its venom sacks… Now, days later, he wants to use that venom in order to add poison to his shortbow arrows? That’s creative! Genuis! Cunning even!
I told him he had enough venom to poison ‘1d4‘ arrows/crossbow bolts. But he must earn each one; stirring and boiling the arrowhead in the venom over the camp fire (like in Red Dead Redemption 2). As long as he has proficiency with the Poisoner’s Kit (and owns one in his inventory), he must beat a DC:15 in order to successfully poison each arrow. If he fails, the poison he brews is a poor batch, doesn’t soak into the arrow and is wasted.
Naturally, you don’t want all his arrows to be poisonous all at once. That would be too over powered – even game breaking! But if he earns up to four arrows? …That awards him something special for his efforts. It also gives him a chance to get creative with his targets!
John Hutch 