The Good DM's Guide to D&D: Acting in Character

In today's adventure, our heroes did nothing heroic. They weren't involved in daring mine escapes, rooftop chase scenes, horse carriage crashes with loads of fireballs and exploding horses, and no, they did not delve into any dungeons, nor did they kill any dragons.

Today, the crew took a well deserved break from the monotony of sitting around a cramped table at Po Mo Ishi Mura to stretch our legs and explore the area around Arab Street. We braved the perils of human traffic and blinking road signs, all to have a little fun at a Costume Shop, then we went to a bakery, where we bought snacks, the arcade at Marina Square, and then just chilled in general.

'What kind of significance lies behind such obviously banal acts?', the diehard dice roller might ask. 'What DM encourages his players to have fun'?, and Typo forbid, away from the gaming table? It's an affront to tradition! A taboo, I tell you! Oh the mockery!

Then again, I'm not exactly a traditional DM, and I'm a firm believer in the creation of a wholistic gaming experience. It's easy to teach a player how to interpret the rules - it's a simple matter of learning to play by rote.

Me, I prefer for my players to become comfortable, not just with the mechanics of the game, but also in other ways.

The very act of going to the Costume Shop is a rite of passage. When players don the robes and cloaks and props that define their character, they become that character. It helps players solidify their vision of their character in the game, which will improve the quality of their roleplaying.

When everyone's taken their turn, and the adventuring crew has had a good laugh together, it also creates a bond that extends beyond the fantasy world in D&D. The shared experience becomes a fun and interesting process and livens things up for all and sundry.

And it is that act of having fun and opening up to other players that makes it more than a staid tabletop adventure, where all you talk about is killing Goblin A or Ogre B, which direction an ambush comes from, or whether you'd trade your kingdom for a horseshoe.

Afterall, D&D is not just about dice and numbers. The players behind the game are important too. They are the ones that make a difference.

Fig 1. Yan Sin dressing up as her character Az the Necromancer.

Fig 2. Orson and Yan Sin playing the D&D arcade game.

Past Games

If you'd like a taste of what Fontia is like, I've attached the logs of some past games here for casual perusal:

1. For whom the Wingdings - Part The First
2. For whom the Wingdings - Part The Second
3. For whom the Wingdings - Challenge The First
4. For whom the Wingdings - Challenge The Second

It's all random silliness, but it should make for a good rainy afternoon's entertainment.

Our Animal Companions say Hello!

Saturday was Fontia pet day and thus our animal companions made their physical appearance at Po Mo. From L-R: Random necrophilic bear (LaGrad), Sandwich (Subway), O RLY the silver balloon owl (Orson) & Buaya the croc (Venti, who couldn't stop stroking his pet. Ahem!).


Here bodes a typical combat setup where we use random objects to represent our characters, monsters, pets, summons and any other things pertinent during our battle. We use a piece of graph paper as reference (grids for movement etc) and towards our Green efforts, this piece of paper is slot into a plastic casing and the area of battle is drawn using a whiteboard marker. You can use those shiny stones that are sold at aquariums to mark positions of monsters (esp if you are the sort of DM that likes to swarm your players. heh.)

Always have a piece of paper on hand to sketch whatever strikes you (Sandwich wip is shown here. Yup, Sandwich was born on a piece of paper during a game!), a pencil (esp when marking temporary effects on your character during game) and dice! Always bring your dice! Although some of us (actually 1 only) constantly forgets. *cough*
Anyway here you see a pink d4, a clear d6, a green d8, a dark purple d20 and a black d6.
Maybe our DM will post an entry on how to properly conduct combat & also introduce to you what dice we use and what they are used for. So, stay tuned to our Fontia blog! =P