Posted on by Kristian Serrano

Swashbuckling Action

Wayne, Kristian, and Scott swing into action to discuss swashbuckling in your Eberron games.

Time Markers

  1. 00:00:00 – Introduction
  2. 00:01:22 – What We Mean by Swashbuckling Action
  3. 00:04:31 – Movies to Inspire
  4. 00:07:21 – Readings
  5. 00:10:01 – Players Can Prompt the GM
  6. 00:12:43 – Systems Can Influence Style
  7. 00:13:46 – Swashbuckling Action in D&D 5E
  8. 00:18:33 – Clearly Communicate Intent
  9. 00:22:54 – How GMs Can Facilitate Swashbuckling Action
  10. 00:23:00 – Set Expectations and Empower Players
  11. 00:23:38 – Invite Collaborative Descriptions
  12. 00:27:34 – Don’t Hinder, but Maintain Satisfaction
  13. 00:30:28 – Keep Encounters Interesting
  14. 00:35:27 – Big Damn Heros at the Beginning
  15. 00:40:09 – Backstory Cards for Starting at Higher Levels
  16. 00:41:17 – Look Beyond the Rules
  17. 00:51:35 – Why Are GMs Feel Afraid to Empower Players?
  18. 00:52:57 – Success but with Consequences
  19. 00:54:48 – Use Swashbuckling Action with Your NPCs
  20. 00:57:24 – Start with a Chase
  21. 01:00:10 – Closing Thoughts
  22. 01:04:17 – Wrap Up

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:05:00 — 54.8MB)

8 Replies to “Swashbuckling Action”

  1. For experienced PCs in 5e I would start at 3rd level. That is the first big survivability jump and it is where each class has all of its core abilities, sort of where the game begins. (The devs said as much during DnD next. )

    Reply

  2. After listening to this episode, I discussed it with the group I DM for. I told them I would try harder to give them things to interact with in combat, which will give them more options.

    That night, the Druid climbed a tree, then jumped off it onto a monster, shape shifting into a giant spider on the way down. I couldn’t have been more proud!

    Reply

  3. Excellent episode! I think my favourite comment was when Wayne (I think it was Wayne) said, “If you aren’t doing swashbuckling in Eberron, you might be doing it wrong!” I totally agree with that!

    I think you covered the topic rather well, I just wanted to add my 4 cents. and I’ll try not to ramble too much.

    It is no surprise that a majority of RPGers get their start with D&D. And since Eberron is an official D&D setting, talking about the setting in terms of D&D rules is completely reasonable.

    But something I’ve found about D&D (after playing for almost 40 years) is that the system itself isn’t designed to empower characters. It doesn’t encourage them to “think outside the box”. And it doesn’t promote the flamboyant, dramatic, and bold actions of swashbuckling. I’m not saying that it can be done in D&D. I’m just saying that it really requires a DM that actively promotes that kind of play to make it happen. And honestly, I’ve only really learned this from switching to a different system (Savage Worlds). If I were ever to run D&D again, I would do some things drastically different.

    This leads to a topic you mentioned in the episode as well; pulling mechanics from other systems into D&D (or whatever system you’re running). And I think this is a great idea. I’ve done it before. One of my favourite times was when I used the Escalation Die from 13th Age and put it into D&D 4E. I absolutely made a positive difference in the length of combat encounters. It also gave the players a decision point on their action (Do I use my big daily power now or do I wait 2 rounds for the additional +2 and have much better odds to hit?).

    But I do think that a GM needs to be careful. While it is true that you aren’t likely to break a game by doing this, it is possible with a system like D&D that adding mechanics in could have some “ripple effects” that end up making certain abilities/classes/skills/etc over or under powered. So I would say that any GM that wants to “cross-pollinate” their mechanics should be 100% transparent with their players and let them know that if the results end up contrary to what the GM intended, they may have to pull that mechanic. Or modify it. Or whatever.

    And this leads to a thought that was running through my head as you were all talking about players that ask obscure questions. “How long is the table? And what is it made of?” or “How many books are on the top shelf of that bookshelf?” and so on. One thing that D&D is notorious for is providing a situation where the DM and players can become adversarial. Obviously, this isn’t “baked in” to the rules, but DMs and players who are already highly competitive people can easily slip into the “Players vs DM” mode of play. I’ve seen it happen many times (and had those players come to my table and end up shocked that I make all my rolls in the open and tell players the AC of an enemy at the first attack).

    Anyway, I was thinking that players who ask questions in a sort of “roundabout way” are often afraid that the DM is going to put the kibosh on their action. They don’t want to say, “Okay, I’m going to dash over, leap up on the table, and launch myself feet-first at the necromancer!” because they are afraid of the DM saying, “Nope, you can’t do that.” Then, when they ask why they can’t do that, the DM says something like, “Well, the table wouldn’t support your weight.” or “You couldn’t get a running start from that table.” or any other convoluted reason to deny an otherwise cool action. For that matter, the DM may just feel like allowing an action like that would make the fight “too easy” for the players. Or maybe they just don’t fee confident enough as a DM to be able to adjudicate the action and they are afraid that if they allow it, it will cascade into some kind of “crazy free-for-all” where the players are just doing outrageous things that the rules don’t cover. So those players are probably just trying to “feel things out” and make sure that any possible denial of their intention is covered before they declare their action.

    I’ve had players say that they want to do something like that. And most of the time I’ll say, “Okay, sounds give, give me a roll” of whatever is appropriate. But if the action actually would fail and the character would know that. Like say they wanted to bash a door down, but it is a crazy-thick door with reinforced hinges and stuff like that. I’ll tell them that they can see that it would take more than a squarely placed boot (or shoulder) to be able to bash the door.

    But I think that’s because I’ve build the trust of my players. They know I’m not waiting for the “gotcha” moment when they try something and I say, “I know you asked if you could buy material components for your spells, but you didn’t ACTUALLY SAY that you were buying them, so you CAN’T cast that spell!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-GOTCHA!”

    Because GMs that do that are jerks.

    Anyway, thanks for all the great Eberron talk. This is seriously one of my fav podcasts and I always move it to the top of the queue when a new episode comes available!

    Reply

  4. When you mentioned Hansel and Gretal Witch Hunters I had to say, “Yep, that movie is awesome in the most cheesy ways possible.

    I’m catching up on the show. Love everything you guys are putting out there and love the savage worlds Eberron rules Kristian. Not a huge Savage World’s fan but the stuff you have for Eberron is great and I’m much more of a fan of how the new Savage worlds rules mesh with the Swashbuckling parts of Eberron.

    Reply

    2. Thanks, Chris! That’s exactly how I feel about Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. It’s so cheesy, but it’s so much fun that you don’t care and are along for the ride.

      Glad you’re enjoying the show, too. We take a lot of pride in it, and it feels really good to know that so many listeners find so much value in it.

      Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE) is a great improvement over previous iterations of the core rules, and yet it still doesn’t break too far away from those editions such that it’s like learning a new system altogether. When I read SWADE, all I could think of was Eberron. Even the revisions to Weird Science being just a trapping of “casting with gadgets” as a trapping is fitting to how 5e treats Artificers. The rules for the Artificer Edge and Arcane Devices as temporary magic items are right at home in Eberron, too. Heck even a few o the illustrations in the book look like they belong in Eberron.

      You should give it a try. I think it might like how Savage Worlds plays in this new edition.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.