The World of Magic

Jason Bouchard
Storytellers Preface: The Crux of Every Game

I could write a book about being a good storyteller, game master or dungeon master, but I would complain every step of the way because I would rather tell you about it. There are a lot of things that story tellers do and do not do in their campaigns. Let me take a moment to give some basic pointers on being a good storyteller. First, you need to plan for every possible outcome that could happen in the game you are about to run. Allow your players the freedom to do they want; do not try to force them to do what you want. Be creative and dont be afraid to do some improvisation. The next thing that needs to be said is that it is not the storyteller versus the players. As a story teller and moderator, you are there to tell a story and let them be part of it. Once your players become a part of your story, it ceases to be yours and becomes theirs. Always keep in mind that the most important thing is to make sure they have fun. If that is not something you are able to do, or if you want to be the hero of the story, then you should not be the storyteller. The last piece of advice is the most important: reward creativity. If players do something that you were not expecting them to do, don't shut it down or say no. Reward them for their creativity and roll with it. If you don't already have one, the person who is going to be the Storyteller will have to become a Vorthose and read as much as he or she can get their hands on. Don't forget that the flavor text of the cards is a wealth of information as well. Aside from storytelling, you will have to come up with interesting new ways to play Magic. Incorporating players engaged in a game of Magic as well as those outside can create a complex duel. These will create situations where critical thinking and high stress will lead to some of the most resourceful moments for your players and some best moments of your campaign. I will give an in depth explanation of this and a few examples later in the article.

Creation
This Game that came about by the desire to combine two great pastimes: Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: the Gathering. There may have also been a few fond memories of an old computer game called Shandalar. The goal was to play Magic: the Gathering and suround it with a story that linked the games together and linked them with a pourpose. When there is a reason to play Magic beyond just winning and loseing it makes the game much more enjoyable.

Elements: Deck
When you start down this path, the first thing you have to do is choose a plain to put your players in. There are many sets that take place in Dominaria, however gathering up cards from those sets tend to be expensive; also it was before wizards invested a lot of time into the background (not to say they did not - there are a plentiful amount of stories that could take place in the place i.e. the Weatherlight). I recommend using sets that are rich in history and detail. Listed below are my recommended sets and the pros and cons of each: Ravnica Pros: In my opinion the single most flavorful set in magic's history. There is a great deal of information on the factions and the story is readily available. Cons: Unless you already have the cards it will cost a small fortune to get the cards you need (or spend a lot of time making proxies). Rackdos starter deck is also weaker than the others. Innistrad Pros: The starter decks all very well balanced. The flavor is amazing and very well thought out. Innistrad is also a current set, so getting sets of cards will be relatively cheap. A bit in the middle: The grim, dark setting is not for everyone, so carefully consider your group. Cons: We do not yet have perfect knowledge of what is going to happen.

Elements: Campaign Creation

When planning a campaign, you need to start is by asking yourself a few questions. First, are your players wizards or plains walkers? This is important element to plan your campaign around. I would recommend for players to start off as wizards so they strive to achieve. Just remember during your gameplay that there is a difference between a plains walker and a character that can cast spells. Playing as plains walkers makes things more difficult for the game master, due to all of the additional knowledge that needs to be known about different plains to be incorporated during game play. The next question is what power level you want your players to start at. I typically start them at the bare minimum, which will be illustrated later. However, if you want to start them of at a higher power level, I would recommend giving your players additional packs, or allow them to make their own deck under certain guidelines.

Elements: Game Prep

Assemble the pre-constructed decks, "intro packs," or whatever you have chosen for your players, and then cut them down to forty cards so they are basic, limited decks. Wizards do a good job of balancing [Balancing what?], so you may buy the decks or build/ proxy them. Allow your players to each choose which deck will allow them to have the most fun. Settle any disputes as best you can. Try to achieve the most diverse color pie to create unique actions among your players.

Elements: Final Touches

At this point the game is almost ready, but the work is not over. There are a few things that you need to make sure happen in each season. Each player needs to play at least one game of Magic. Keep in mind this means you need to prep a deck for each player for them to duel. A pack of magic cards from the plain your players will be occupying, or the core set preceding/ following the plain setting for each player. Dungeons and Dragons character sheets.

Elements: Characters
Creating characters is pretty straight forward, however if you need assistance there are many references online that will help players fill out their stats. Encourage players to make characters from their favorite versions of D&D, however do not give them a class. Players are going to be very powerful from the beginning of game play; expect them to be able to kill literal armies of humans - it is just in their nature. They will be given experience after each session, however all they will gain from the points are attributes, skills, and hp. Character class is basically predetermined; they are wizards, but instead of having generic spells like magic missile, all of their spells are those that that you have given them in their intro pack. The cool part is using the spells of Magic in cool and creative ways. For example, what does Animate Artifact do outside of a game of Magic? At the end of this tutorial is a list of cards that may not be the best in Magic, but can provide a new dimension of creative function during gameplay.

Elements: Rules
These rules apply for using Magic cards as spells outside of games of Magic, as well how and why wizards play games of magic.

Classifications
Wizards are considered creatures and are also considered colorless. Everything is a permanent Living things are creatures Non-living things are artifacts To cast spells, one must first gather mana into their pools. To do so, players must roll a d20 and receive mana as follows: Roll 1-4 5-8 9-12 13-16 17-20 Mana 1 2 3 4 5

This mana may be saved or spent immediately, and gathering mana is a free action. This mana may be used on any spells owned by players, but keep in mind that every mana gathered uses a land, and each spell may only be used once per day. To target something you must see it. If you cast a spell like Wrath of Good, it only kills or effects creatures or objects that your character can see. Wizards can sense the presence of another wizard.

Gameplay: Dueling
Wizards are able to cast a spell like lightning bolt on another Wizard/Plainswalker, however if this happens, they lose all of their magic forever. This is a rule made to ensure that there is a reason to duel. Important notes on these spells: areas of effect spells (like pyroclasim) will automatically not affect other wizard. Basically, no player should accidently lose all of their powers. On the other hand, let us say a building is collapsing on a player, and their companion uses oblivion ring him to save his life. The rule of thumb is, does the spell negatively affect the wizard it was cast on? If it does, then they will lose their powers.

Dueling a wizard is just like playing a game of magic. Any wizard can start the duel without provocation. The length of the duel can be fit to whatever timespan is most convenient to the nature of the story as determined by the storyteller.

When a duel is finished, two things happen: the winner of the duel gets a random card from the losers deck, and they may choose what action they want to take against their opponent. They could kill them, do nothing, or put them into a state of consciousness that makes them very easy to interrogate. They cannot duel this wizard again for the rest of the day.

Gameplay: Summon Creature

Players do not actually summon the Niv Mizzit or the Snap Caster Mage. The player summons an avatar or likenes , and they are completely under the players control. Also they have some mild intelligence. Once cast, the creature will last for one hour until chosen for action, or until death. Creatures may be summoned anywhere within line of sight, however if summoned, a creature in the air that does not have flying may die from falling damage. Creatures that add mana to your mana pool, llanawar elves for example, only execute their functions and do not use up land in your deck. Power and toughness works just the same in magic as outside of it. To make things easy to keep track of, creatures will act directly after their summoner is in the initiative order.

Gameplay: Classifications
Flying A creature has to be at least a 2/2 in order to be ridden by a player . ( I can't Indent this. Trample Vigilance They can take an additional partial round action. First strike o They attack at the top of the initiative order instead of after theyre summoned. If two or more creatures have first strike, whichever has the higher power is first. The creature has cleave attack feat.

 All other powers work the same way they normally would in Magic. Some spells are designed only for dueling. Anything that effects a hand or library does nothing. Example: A Mill Stone would do nothing outside of a duel, however you could play a Dark Confidant as a 2/1 creature that does nothing else. A graveyard is anything that you have used that day.

Gameplay: Flow
I usually have a box for each player that they keep their cards and character sheets in. Players take them out and I give them a pack from the set I have chosen. They draft these packs, leaving in the land because it is very important then give them a few minutes to fix up there deck and then start the game. Here is where the story teller earns his bread; I tell my story that is vivid and really draws my players into the campaign. I look at cards and make up a story about them or what the card means, like the Kessig wolf run. This will make the cards mean something more than just being a cool piece of paper. Also important for a storyteller, don't be afraid to use flavor text. Make sure over the course of the night everyone gets to play magic and have one "complex duel, meaning that you will need to come prepared with a deck for each player. This will be time consuming, so keep in mind it is more important that the decks make sense flavor-wise over playability. When these steps in the campaign have been completed, come to a good ending point and finish the game. Always award them their experience points no matter what they did.

Examples: Complex Dueling

This is a term I have coined for something that is going on in the world simultaneously with a duel. They need to effect each other, or one needs to affect the other. Here are some examples that I used in Innistrad, but if used, make sure they are right for your campaign.

One player is dueling a Wizard-demon in a building.The building is set on fire and imps only make it worse. The more damage the demon takes the hotter and more engulfing the flames become. While this going on, the player dueling can't do anything other than concentrate on the duel, and must rely on their companions to save them.

One player is dueling a wizard in a church. Outside of the church is a horde of oncoming zombies. I made this deck more difficult than a typical deck would be since if a zombie deals

combat damage to the player, it is able to make it into the world outside the duel. Now the other player/s must save his friend and the innocents in the church.

Examples: Cards of Note

These are cards are not that good necessarily exceptional in the game of Magic, but I would feel very good about giving them to players. I like to come up with a cool merchant trader NPC. There are plenty of bazaars in the history of Magic. For example, take a look at cards from Mercadian Masks for good material: Desert Twister Animate Artifact Sissay's Ring It raises questions about a larger world outside this one. Have someone who represents give this to a player and say, "With this ring you will have friends in places you have never heard of. Fliker Tunnel wall of denial Gut shot Oblivion Ring Reknit