Use a Small Magnetic Board as a D&D Gaming Aid - Track Status, Initiative, or More

We use a few white boards on the wall to keep track of modifications in affect to our characters.  In the image below I show our three boards.  The small board on the left is magnetic and we use some small magnetics on a piece of paper we printed and cut up to track our initiative order.  As you can imagine, this is helpful for the players to prepare their action when their turn is coming up.  Our group generally consist of 5 players, and we each play two characters to keep us from being bored all evening if one character becomes incapacitated. 

The board on the right is currently used to remind us of all the affects of the Haste spell, which we cast on the party frequently.

The big board in the middle is to keep track of the cumulative affect of other enhancements on our characters and how they stack, and to which characters they apply.

We often have a Heroes Feast, Attack and Damage bonuses from a bard singing, Saving Throw bonuses from Cleric spells, and more.

You can usually find Magnetic boards for less than $10, and plenty of magnets for $1 or less.  In this case I had a long strip of magnetic that I cut up into several small pieces.

Large white boards are a little more expensive and less portable, but I think it has been worth it for us to improve our game play.

Can you Scry on an Object using the Scrying Spell in D&D 3.5?

Can you Scry on an Object using the Scrying Spell in D&D 3.5?

 

The answer is "Yes".  Although the spell description for the scrying spell does not explicitly state you can scry on objects, we can imply the spell, and crystal balls, were intended to be included based on the description of several other spells, most notably Obscure Object and Nondetection.  The text of each of those spells specifies that they make it more difficult to scry upon objects or beings when using the scrying spell or a crystal ball.

When scrying upon an object, or person, there must be sufficient light for the scrier to see the object being scried upon.  If you attempt to scry upon an object locked in a dark chest and you don't have darkvision, you will be unable to see the object you are scrying upon, but you will know that it is in a dark place.

A Sortable List of All Immediate and Swift Spells From D&D 3.5 Edition - Spell Compendium

I put together this list for my use, and thought others might like it as well. I have two scenarios where I really like to review this list.

1) I like for some of my characters to take just one, or maybe two, levels of another class in order to have access to a few spells to help them with their primary class. For example, my Swashbuckler has one level of Sorcerer and he uses this to cast swift spells that help him in combat such as Blades of Fire and Insightful Feint.

2) Some of my high level characters stock up on swift spells to give them extra actions in a round.

I hope this helps you more easily flesh out your characters:

http://www.robkraft.org/DnD/SwiftSpells.html

The Order of the Stick - a little D&D 3.5 humor

I just discovered this great 3.5 D&D comic strip. It has existed for years.  The Order of the Stick.

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0001.html

What should a DM do when players game the rules?

I enjoy AD&D 3.5 more than any other edition of the game.  One thing I like in 3.5 better than 2.0 or 1.0 is that it is much more difficult for players to subvert the nuances of the rules in order to gain advantages in ways that disrupt game balance.  For example, in 2.0 it is much more likely that players can find ways to combine two spells in ways not imagined and gain a powerful tool to easily defeat most monsters or obstacles.  As a DM, I want to challenge the players, but when the players can just use the same technique to defeat everything, it is less fun for the DM and the players.
In 3.5 it is much more difficult for the players to disrupt the balance, but they can still do some things that are allowed by the rules, but don't make sense in game play.  Here are a few examples:
1) The rules allow players to "hold their action" and go later in the round.  Well, now the players hold their action to see what the other players do, then take their action "just before the monsters go".  I think the rules allow this, but it would never be the way that the character would think.  Would you, in a deadly situation, choose to hold your action until "just before the bad guy shoots you?"
2) Our characters routinely decide when to move and how close to move to a monster based on whether or not the monster has already taken its Attack of Opportunity in that round.  But in a real fight, a person couldn't do that.

Although I don't like it as a DM, I realize that some people care more about "winning" than realism and they believe that anything the rules allow should be used to further their advantage.  I don't play my characters that way, but I am a role-player and want to do the action that the character would do.  So I just allow players to do what they want.  Ultimately, I feel it is just lessening their own enjoyment, which is their own choice.

How do you carry a "wisp of smoke"?

One of the spell components for the Gaseous Form spell is a "wisp of smoke".  Have you considered how your character is going to carry a wisp of smoke?  Or how your wizard will manage to use the wisp of smoke in the spell?  Fortunately for those of you trying to follow the rules of the game, this tidbit rule is irrelevant.  According to the description of spell components, you can ignore most components, and the complexity of obtaining, carrying, and using them.  But you cannot ignore the components that have a gold piece value attached to them, or an experience point cost.  These you should account for.  I do wish the authors of the material had kept to spell components  that would be reasonably portable, unlike the wisp of smoke.

Rangers Get a Bonus on Spot and Listen Checks against Favored Enemies

The characters are moving through the dense jungle listening to birds, reptiles, mammals, and sounds they cannot identify.  The Dungeon Master (DM) asks each character to roll spot and listen checks, for the party is secretly being followed by Drow enemies.  The players and their characters, are unaware of the pursuing Drow. Only the DM knows the Drow advance.  But the DM knows there is a chance
the party will hear some of the Drow if a party member listens well enough and if the DM's roll for the Drow to Move Silently does not beat each character's listen roll.

The characters roll.

The DM rolls. 

The DM compares the numbers and realizes that none of the character's heard the Drow.  Not yet.  But one of the characters only missed the check by one point.

[break] - Unbeknownst to both the players, and the DM, is that rangers get a +2 on spot and listen checks against their favored enemies.  The DM is unaware of this rule, and may not even recall that Drow are a favored enemy of the ranger in this party.  If the DM had declared that the party was being stalked by Drow to the players, the player of the ranger may have pointed out that his ranger
should get an additional +2 listen bonus; but we can't expect the DM to reveal everything that is coming upon the characters because this would take some of the fun out of the game.  [break]

The characters continue, unaware of how close the Drow are.  The Drow attack the party gaining the element of surprise.  Several party members are wounded greatly by the Drow's surprise attack. The Drow win initiative killing a party member and wounding more.  The party responds by fighting back, and eventually, after two rounds of intense melee requiring two hours of gaming time, the Drow are driven away.

The players, on behalf of their party, begins to wonder if there is any way to save their dead comrade. Could they have done something, or could they do something now to reverse his death. 

Only now does the player of the ranger recall the +2 bonus he should have received on his listen check
to the Drow, and how well he rolled, and that it might have been enough.

What should the DM do?  What would you, as DM, do?  Would you roll back the battle and undo hours of play time and replay it all?  Would you declare that the statue of limitations for corrections was one round and that it is too late?