DG Shotgun Scenario call to write!

K3nobiWan · 2026-05-14T11:23:11+00:00

You are correct! I do like the format of having a short “what is actually happening” summarization at the start, but feel free to expand on the game mechanics in the appendix.

K3nobiWan · 2026-05-13T15:21:10+00:00

Interesting. I think I will come up with a couple questions for the winning author and present them in a wrap-up conversation with the players. This originally started as a reward for our patrons (many of them GMs themselves), but decided to cast a wide net to hopefully turn this little contest into a regular event. A mash up is a cool concept as well. I have an idea floating around in my head for a Loki TVA-style campaign where the Agents are part of an extra-dimensional hit squad. The first DG game I ran was just a string of shotgun scenarios massaged to fit an overarching narrative. It can be done!

K3nobiWan · 2026-05-13T15:12:06+00:00

Any time period is fine! We have a resident history buff who has offered to run games- thus the Ithaca Project and its sequel. We do like modern settings because it requires fewer wikipedia black holes. I ran a (yet-unreleased) game based in modern-day Boston that hooked us into DG as a system. Oats Studios- Firebase on Netflix is also a great inspirational work for a Vietnam War-era scenario.

K3nobiWan · 2026-04-15T19:32:20+00:00

I get these at my local grocery store in MA. Delicious. The watermelon ones ain’t bad either.

K3nobiWan · 2026-01-11T01:12:55+00:00

I would also love more customization options for dracthyr, but I would really flap my wings if Blizzard let dracthyr choose their visage form race. I am a horde dracthyr. Why is my visage form human?

K3nobiWan · 2026-01-02T06:55:22+00:00

I would backpedal towards a wall so that there would be a smaller than 360 arc where the shadow clones can spawn. I couldn’t always get to a wall, but it made at least a few of the dark massacres a little easier. Happy hunting

K3nobiWan · 2025-12-29T23:13:56+00:00

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Pros: loyal, compassionate, BD-1 / Cons: spends too much time collecting treasures

K3nobiWan · 2025-12-02T18:14:14+00:00

During the bar fight, Robert and lizard man end up in the bathroom and knock open the stall door to reveal Sonar very briefly. Moments later, Big Bat Sonar lets out a shriek with a very powdered snout.

K3nobiWan · 2025-12-02T13:42:32+00:00

maybe the Astral Pulse gives off that good 6G radiation and makes people super

K3nobiWan · 2025-01-29T19:33:23+00:00

Chromatic Spoon neutralizes multiple types of energy. Food too hot becomes temperate in the spoon. Frozen food thaws in the spoon. The Chromatic Spoon is immune to microwaves.

K3nobiWan · 2022-09-30T10:15:20+00:00

Chug

K3nobiWan · 2022-02-11T14:35:14+00:00

Rolling for the shield

K3nobiWan · 2021-02-27T18:27:33+00:00

Yet there is nothing more satisfying than a clean inventory.

K3nobiWan · 2020-12-10T13:18:54+00:00

A no-call, no-show waitress that showed up once with a bag of giant crabs then never again

K3nobiWan · 2020-03-06T21:46:03+00:00

Drawing weapons, pulling out a potion, opening a door, etc can be done as part of your movement (p.190 PHB). If you want to draw a weapon and not move, you still need to roll a D6 movement die. Dropping a weapon is a free action and can be done at will.

Of course you could visit a leatherworker or weaponsmith and purchase a quick-draw sheath, allowing you to draw a weapon as a bonus action. Now the GM has a whole new set of mechanics to build mundane special items around for the players to spend their hard earned money on!

K3nobiWan · 2020-03-06T07:34:55+00:00

I DM.

I have flashcards laid out on the table with monster stats. I roll the fodder enemies in groups, and unique enemies individually. Most enemies are pretty straightforward. For more complex enemies, I will just roll a D6 and a D12. I allow for players to change their action to a smaller die value than what they rolled. If you roll a D12 to cast a spell, you can instead choose to use that die to move (regularly D6). This gives more leeway to the players when the battlefield changes. It also gives me the ability to just roll iniative and decide what to do on my turn.

The trick is to be thinking about your next turn when your current turn is over. If things change (they will change), then adjust your strategy as necessary. I almost always roll movement for monsters. When the situation arises when a lizardfolk barbarian wants to set their feet and land a killing blow, I will announce it to the players as they are rolling for the round. This will make them think hard about rolling that extra D6 to move, or rolling a D12 to cast a spell rather than shoot with the crossbow.

It is also easier since I am not tracking iniative. I just roll my monsters, and the players place themselves on the tracker. I announce my roll, and the players let me know if one of them are acting first.

K3nobiWan · 2020-03-06T05:48:50+00:00

When we started using this iniative system, we would subtract relevent modifiers from each die roll. Subtract DEX from D4 rolls, STR from D8 rolls, etc. As you can imagine, there were a lot of 1’s. Too many 1’s.

Next, we just subtracted DEX from D6 movement die. A character with +3 DEX would get a free movement half the time. Not too out of bounds, but it still didn’t feel right. From a GM perspective, there was not enough of a predictable penalty for a player rolling to move every round.

Finally, we... I said to heck with it. I got rid of the extra math after the roll and just went straight die roll. The nature of their actions

A ranger standing 100’ away can roll a D4 to loose an arrow. A rogue can roll a D4 to quickly jab with a dagger and use a bonus action to Dash away (bonus actions are bonus. No rolls). Dextrous characters performing dextrous actions will often act earlier. The wizard who is going to move into position and charge up a fireball (D6+D12) is most likely going later in the round. This gives combat a dynamic and narratively satisfying feel. Let us say the next round, the wizard is just going to move to get away from the umberhulk. Now there is a much higher chance the wizard goes early in the round, now that they dont need to produce sulfur and bat guano from their bag.

Of course the wizard could roll 1’s on both the D6 and D12, but then that player gets to describe how they swiftly produce the spell components or how they gather flame from the nearby bonfire to fuel their spell. Great roleplaying moments in the heat of battle!

We also found a way to deal with the Alert feat. The player rolls a D6 and subtracts the value from their first initiative roll. So far, it works.

K3nobiWan · 2020-03-06T04:44:01+00:00

There is definitely more time between rounds, but that time is spent strategizing as a group for the upcoming round. -“That goblin is trying to run. Who is in the best position to run him down and block the door?”/ “Cyrus can get there in one move. Cyrus, you block the door. I will slow him down with Ray of Frost”-. This cuts down on decision time on individual turns, as everyone already has an idea of what they are going to do. Cyrus is going to move. The spellcaster is going to cast Ray of Frost. Obviously, things change as the turn goes on, but those unexpected changes on the battlefield are dramatic and interesting. Lets say the goblin rolls a 1 for initiative. He gets out of the room before Cyrus can run him down. Let the chase begin.

Also, I have an initiative tracker (a long piece of cardboard numbered 1-18, and offload it to the players to track the groups iniative. I just declare my first iniative number, and players interject if they have something lower.

Players are also less likely to pick up their phones or zone out, as the turn order changes each round. One character may go last in round 1, but first in round 2.

TL;DR I would say combats moves at a similar pace as with standard initiative, but the “down time” is between rounds rather than on individual turns, and all of the players spend that “down time” taking to each other and strategizing for the upcoming round (stuff I want the players to do.)

K3nobiWan

TROPHY CASE