52 votes

As per the username: Anyone want to talk about D&D? If you play - what's going on in your game?

I notice quite a few people on here play RPGs, whether it's D&D or another system. I have an hour to spare until my game starts, so I thought we could chat a bit about the hobby.

GMs, players - what's going on in your game right now?

If you're just browsing ~games and have never played - ask questions!

-LTADnD

102 comments

  1. [4]
    LetsTalkAboutDnD
    (edited )
    Link
    So in my Friday game, my character has just been outed as a pawn of the big bad evil guy. The end of last session had the party debating whether they should trust me (My character burned their...

    So in my Friday game, my character has just been outed as a pawn of the big bad evil guy. The end of last session had the party debating whether they should trust me (My character burned their bridge to the villain) or if they should cut me down there and then. It was amazing to role play as previously I had been a bland stoic character who after the reveal has become a slimy smooth talker.

    A GM on Saturdays for a morally grey party of gunslinging monster hunters. The delved deep under an ancient Orcish keep last session. It was swarming with Tomb Spiders from "Monsters of the Guild". It ended with them disturbing the webbing too much, attracting rotten corpses animated by the Tomb Spider nests embedded within them and hearing the eight-legged footsteps of something much larger deeper in the dungeon.

    -LTADnD

    8 votes
    1. [3]
      Tsubasa
      Link Parent
      Your character sounds like just about the reverse of mine! Since the campaign started he's been a paladin of the Gruumsh-equivalent god who started a war a few hundred years ago that killed a...

      Your character sounds like just about the reverse of mine! Since the campaign started he's been a paladin of the Gruumsh-equivalent god who started a war a few hundred years ago that killed a whole bunch of people, so the general population has been pretty wary of him. My character has been arrested a few times for it and eventually resorted to hiding his symbol, somewhat unwillingly.

      All that finally boiled over a few sessions ago, and I was ballsy enough to set an ultimatum with the most powerful being known to still be living: stop being a god of destruction and war, or lose your link to society. So now I'm an oathbreaker and my magic hurts to use.

      2 votes
      1. [2]
        LetsTalkAboutDnD
        Link Parent
        Your game sounds really cool! A good Oathbreaker is an interesting idea. Most of tonight's game was the party debating whether killing my character when I might still be useful with the chance of...

        Your game sounds really cool! A good Oathbreaker is an interesting idea.

        Most of tonight's game was the party debating whether killing my character when I might still be useful with the chance of redemption would be moral or not. I spent a good chunk of it tied to the barbarian with my weapons and holy symbol taken away. They ended up buying a magic collar from a seemingly omnipotent demigod that would restrain me on command. I guess it's better than rolling a new character haha.

        -LTADnD

        2 votes
        1. Tsubasa
          Link Parent
          It's pretty fun, I just wish we could get together more... Scheduling issues are the bane of tabletop games. I'm not really planning on staying an oathbreaker permanently, since most of the...

          It's pretty fun, I just wish we could get together more... Scheduling issues are the bane of tabletop games. I'm not really planning on staying an oathbreaker permanently, since most of the features don't really fit him as a person. Some of them are pretty nice though...

          That's actually a really interesting debate! Seems like a decent solution as well. We made a tentative alliance with one of the leaders of the state we were trying to overthrow, but he was very obviously not a trustworthy guy. Our goals aligned, and that was about it, so I think we'll have to keep an eye on him in future. A bit different from a party member though....

          3 votes
  2. [4]
    CorbuMulak
    Link
    I play in a small game doing the 5e Curse of Strahd usually once a week (sometimes less). It's been a lot of fun. The DM is modifying the campaign pretty heavily. We have fought giant trees,...

    I play in a small game doing the 5e Curse of Strahd usually once a week (sometimes less). It's been a lot of fun. The DM is modifying the campaign pretty heavily. We have fought giant trees, little trees, (no medium sized trees yet). I got my ass kicked by a broom. I tried to sleep with a ghost (and almost got killed). So far we've only had one PC death (eaten by a giant tree, dissolved by it's acidy sap before I could save him). The DM has suggested that we all make backup characters ahead of time, because it's going to start getting harder though.

    I really want to run a Star Wars: Edge of the Empire campaign (or play in one) but it's hard to find the time. I can barely do D&D once per week for 4-5 hours.

    5 votes
    1. [3]
      LetsTalkAboutDnD
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Curse of Strahd is awesome - I love the Ravenloft setting. Have you met Strahd yet? -LTADnD

      Curse of Strahd is awesome - I love the Ravenloft setting.

      Have you met Strahd yet?

      -LTADnD

      1 vote
      1. [2]
        CorbuMulak
        Link Parent
        Not yet. At one point we were captured by an army of gnolls and were being marched to his castle, but we successfully created a diversion and escaped. And then they found us again and we killed...

        Not yet. At one point we were captured by an army of gnolls and were being marched to his castle, but we successfully created a diversion and escaped.

        And then they found us again and we killed them all. Not sure why we didn't lead with that, but it wasn't my plan.

        2 votes
        1. LetsTalkAboutDnD
          Link Parent
          Hey CorbuMulak, it's been a couple weeks - I was curious if anything new has happened in your Curse of Strahd game?

          Hey CorbuMulak, it's been a couple weeks - I was curious if anything new has happened in your Curse of Strahd game?

  3. Durinthal
    Link
    I'm in a 5e game that's been running for a couple of years now, homebrew world/campaign. Maybe ~18 months back (real time) we had an NPC accompany us for a while that ended up saving my character...

    I'm in a 5e game that's been running for a couple of years now, homebrew world/campaign. Maybe ~18 months back (real time) we had an NPC accompany us for a while that ended up saving my character from a collapsing mine but had her legs crushed in the process. We took her back to a city and left her there to recover while we continued on, and in the next town over I sent a brief note to the DM saying I wanted to write her a letter thanking her and wishing her a speedy recovery, etc.

    After another month or so in game we spent six months trapped in an alternate dimension (taking a year of real time) and only got back to our home plane in the most recent couple of sessions. Upon returning to civilization and checking in with our guild, my character is the only one that has any mail waiting and the DM hands me a handful of papers. Over a dozen letters from the NPC that had just caught up to me, most from after we had disappeared from the world and including a few from well after our party was officially declared missing.

    With both me and my character feeling awful for leaving her without a response for so long, I wrote a letter back right away and included one of a pair of sending stones that allows for short daily communication between the two holders. So I guess my character's in a long-distance texting relationship now?

    4 votes
  4. [7]
    HutchinsonianDemon
    Link
    Let's see. In one campaign I'm DMing we left off having the group getting ambushed by a couple of tiger ogres. They're on an island that might by the birth place of the Tabaxi race so everything...

    Let's see. In one campaign I'm DMing we left off having the group getting ambushed by a couple of tiger ogres. They're on an island that might by the birth place of the Tabaxi race so everything is cat themed. It was a genetic experimentation ground for an ancient race that killes their own gods and used their bodys and souls as magical batteries.

    In another I'm running the PCs are in a cursed forest where something is causing all the animals to begin to rot and fuse together into horrifying monstrosities. There is a fragment of a cursed gem made from the broken heart of a king. And of course these fragments are scattered all over and are causing all sorts of havoc.

    And in the game I'm a PC in my crocodile man hick recently ate some probably cursed meat that was doing some awful things to him because he failed 2 CON saves in a row, only to nat 20 on his attempt to self induce vomitting. Fun stuff.

    3 votes
    1. [6]
      CorbuMulak
      Link Parent
      Tell me more about this hick crocodile man.

      Tell me more about this hick crocodile man.

      3 votes
      1. [5]
        HutchinsonianDemon
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        Well, Cletus Cornelius Crocodilius the 3rd is a simple lizardfolk with a crocodile skin (I altered a few things with permission from my DM that made him a bit more crocodiley feats wise). He grew...

        Well, Cletus Cornelius Crocodilius the 3rd is a simple lizardfolk with a crocodile skin (I altered a few things with permission from my DM that made him a bit more crocodiley feats wise). He grew up in an isolated village in the middle of a massive swamp and his only contact with the outside world was through handful of trashy love novels and pulp action books that a traveling merchant who totally wasn't a washed up petty thief and conman fleeing the authorities. These books are now Cletus' second most valuable possession. The first being Bessy, his thunder cannon. The croc-folk worship a god of the hunt who blessed them with a great weapon on account of how much they like to kill and eat things.

        Anywho, Cletus and his two brother Billy Bob Bo Billy and Ally Jean Chompski all volunteered to venture forth from the swamp after it started to be attacked by hideous monsters in order to find the source of these foul beasts that couldn't even be eaten. Along the way his two brother died and Cletus ate them, as is tradition in his clan. Now he's stuck wandering the world, lost and alone, in desperate need of some friends. Unfortunately he only met up with a fast talking bird-man bard, an undead pirate monk, and an incredibly naivete gnome sorcerer who may or may not be the avatar for a dragon god.

        Cletus is none too wise as far as the world outside his swamp is concerned, and he relies on his friends and the trove of information his trashy novels gives him to figure his way through this strange new world.

        3 votes
        1. [4]
          LetsTalkAboutDnD
          Link Parent
          The more you talk about your character the more I absolutely love him. -LTADnD

          The more you talk about your character the more I absolutely love him.

          -LTADnD

          1 vote
          1. [3]
            HutchinsonianDemon
            Link Parent
            He's a lot of fun. He's currently focusing on helping the undead pirate monk woo a lady who has caught his eye. Using his romantic novels as reference of course.

            He's a lot of fun. He's currently focusing on helping the undead pirate monk woo a lady who has caught his eye. Using his romantic novels as reference of course.

            1 vote
            1. [2]
              LetsTalkAboutDnD
              Link Parent
              Hi again HD! In the spirit of keeping these threads alive, are there any new stories from the world of Cletus?

              Hi again HD!

              In the spirit of keeping these threads alive, are there any new stories from the world of Cletus?

              1 vote
              1. HutchinsonianDemon
                Link Parent
                Unfortunately my group hasn't been able to play recently (two of our players went to Europe for vacation and got engaged =D ) But I did whip up some quick blurbs about the awful novels Cletus...

                Unfortunately my group hasn't been able to play recently (two of our players went to Europe for vacation and got engaged =D )

                But I did whip up some quick blurbs about the awful novels Cletus likes to read:

                “Throws of Love” by Asunto Turgid - when the strapping famed Luchadore, Carne de Hombre stepped into the ring one fateful night, he expected to grapple with a mighty foe. He did not, however, expect to grapple with his base desires. For his opponent that was was the bulging and vivacious El Hombre Martillo. Carne de Hombre felt more collide that night than their rigid, turgid bodies. He felt his heart begging to be tapped into the ring. So begins a sordid affair filled with single leg takedowns, double leg take downs, and el codo de la gente going places no one ever thought it could.

                I have about 6 more of these and I'm going to sprinkle them in at random. I also managed to tie the books into a bit of Cletus' backstory, as they were bought off a con man who stole them from an aging widow and Cletus thinks the guy was some sort of amazing adventurer and was his prime inspiration to leave his swamp.

                2 votes
  5. [4]
    guildenfern
    Link
    I run a lot of "newbie teaching games," which are just 2-3 hour introductions with limited combat to get folks just familiar enough with the system to be comfortable trying out more in depth...

    I run a lot of "newbie teaching games," which are just 2-3 hour introductions with limited combat to get folks just familiar enough with the system to be comfortable trying out more in depth things. :) Some new players are absolutely hilarious and off the wall, and it's so gratifying seeing them feel comfortable stretching their legs and getting crafty with an unfamiliar system.

    Mostly though I run two instances of Storm King's Thunder - one group from /r/lfg on Reddit and one all-lady squad. The team dynamics are so different and so interesting! They approach similar problems in such radically different ways.

    3 votes
    1. [3]
      silva-rerum
      Link Parent
      I just started playing this past weekend, although technically it wasn’t playing, it was mostly us learning the mechanics of the game and watching Harmonquest afterwards. Do you have any advice...

      I just started playing this past weekend, although technically it wasn’t playing, it was mostly us learning the mechanics of the game and watching Harmonquest afterwards. Do you have any advice for complete novices (not just to D&D but to RPGs in general)?

      1. [2]
        LetsTalkAboutDnD
        Link Parent
        Hi Silva! I just noticed you'd been left without a reply. My advice would be to get comfortable talking in character. It makes a world of difference at the table when the players talking and the...

        Hi Silva! I just noticed you'd been left without a reply.

        My advice would be to get comfortable talking in character. It makes a world of difference at the table when the players talking and the characters talking are one in the same.

        Mechanically it depends on the system, but a good tip for most games would be to stock up of miscellaneous tools. Not all problems can be solved with a good stat roll - plus, it's very fulfilling to MacGyver your way out of trouble yourself. In the case of D&D, think:

        • Pitons: metal spikes designed for mountain climbing. You might also be able to use it to secure something down, wedge a door shut, etc.

        • Ball bearings: Most obvious use is as a slip trap, but how about clogging up mechanics or throwing one as a distraction?

        • 10-foot pole: I don't think these are listed in the PHB any more, but they should be. Remotely set off a trap? 10-foot pole. Bridge a 9-foot gap? 10-foot pole. Suppose you're standing between a giant's legs; you look up and think "Those could make a good pinata". 10-foot pole.

        -LTADnD

        1 vote
        1. silva-rerum
          Link Parent
          Thanks for the reply! Especially that second part, I definitely hadn't considered tools and accoutrements at all... In some ways I feel like I'm in over my head, but that's part of the fun of it.

          Thanks for the reply! Especially that second part, I definitely hadn't considered tools and accoutrements at all... In some ways I feel like I'm in over my head, but that's part of the fun of it.

          1 vote
  6. [6]
    ruspaceni
    Link
    You probably get this a lot, but I've never played the game before but always wanted to and have a few people in a discord server that have expressed interest over and over about wanting do a dnd...

    You probably get this a lot, but I've never played the game before but always wanted to and have a few people in a discord server that have expressed interest over and over about wanting do a dnd bash.

    The thing is though, a few have played a time or two before but none are actually confident enough to DM. Then us newbies don't know anything at all about it so taking the lead and going "oi guys lets do a thing. make sure you're free on the Xth" is really daunting.

    How do you recommend trying to bootstrap and corral a bunch of novices into finally pulling the trigger?

    3 votes
    1. [4]
      LetsTalkAboutDnD
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      A great DM once said: "Being a Dungeon Master is fun, it's creative, and it's not that hard" That DM was Matthew Colville and in fact he says it right here. If you're taking the initiative to get...

      A great DM once said:

      "Being a Dungeon Master is fun, it's creative, and it's not that hard"

      That DM was Matthew Colville and in fact he says it right here.

      If you're taking the initiative to get everyone to play, then you're de facto DM. Sorry. But that's a good thing! As long as you have a good idea of what a DM does - not even necessarily how they do it - you are in a great position to DM newbies (including those who have played a couple times).

      Half the battle of getting a group together is just having a DM.

      You're DM. Check.

      Then you just have to establish who wants to play and set a date. That's much easier to do when you know who's running for you.

      The basic rules of D&D 5th Edition (the newest version of the game) are available for free officially from Wizards of the Coast's website. They also provide a bunch of free pre-made character sheets. If you're playing online, you'll wanna use Roll20 for its battlemat and for dice rolling.

      "But wait! What am I running?" you're probably thinking.

      That link at the top is to Matt Colville's "Running the Game" series. Episodes 1-3 are for brand-new DMs to demonstrate how to build and run a basic adventure. By the end of episode 3 you'll have a one-shot adventure called "The Delian Tomb" that you can run for your players.

       

      If you've never seen anyone play D&D, you should definitely do that first to put an idea into your head of how the game works.

      The most popular example is Critical Role. However everyone at that table is a professional actor so - while it's very entertaining - it is way above and beyond what to expect in an average game.

      For games closer to the average, I would recommend:

      High Rollers. this is a game ran by an experienced DM, but many of his players had never played before at the start of the series.

      Dice, Camera, Action. This game is run by Chris Perkins - a way oldschool DM and also one of the designers for D&D 5th Edition. While Perkins knows all the tricks of the trade, his game is still a good representation of an average game of D&D.

       

      -LTADnD

      9 votes
      1. [3]
        ruspaceni
        Link Parent
        Wowza! Thanks a tonne! Yeah, a pirate is nothing without his ship and sometimes you just gotta build one if you wanna go sailing. Thanks for the advice! I'll be sure to pass it on while i get...

        Wowza!

        Thanks a tonne! Yeah, a pirate is nothing without his ship and sometimes you just gotta build one if you wanna go sailing. Thanks for the advice! I'll be sure to pass it on while i get myself up to speed with that Delian Tomb.

        Those links for premade character sheets and whatnot are great too! so I guess that'll be my 2nd step, getting everyone to pick a sheet and commit to a time

        3 votes
        1. LetsTalkAboutDnD
          Link Parent
          After you play, make sure to come back and tell us how it went. Good luck!

          After you play, make sure to come back and tell us how it went.

          Good luck!

          2 votes
        2. Tardigrade
          Link Parent

          Yeah, a pirate is nothing without his ship and sometimes you just gotta build one if you wanna go sailing.
          That's a cool phrase.

    2. Paradoxa
      Link Parent
      Check out Lost Mines of Phandelver. It's designed for both new players and new DMs. it's a great story too.

      Check out Lost Mines of Phandelver. It's designed for both new players and new DMs. it's a great story too.

      1 vote
  7. pun-master-general
    Link
    My group unfortunately hasn't been able to play for the past couple of weeks, and now I'm itching for my D&D fix, haha. A lot of our members (including our DM) are out of town and will be for...

    My group unfortunately hasn't been able to play for the past couple of weeks, and now I'm itching for my D&D fix, haha. A lot of our members (including our DM) are out of town and will be for quite a while, so we aren't sure when we'll be able to meet, but we're hoping to do some sessions on skype or roll20. The last thing that had happened in our campaign was we defeated an undead creature that we dubbed "Banshee Prime" that had pushed some friendly-ish werewolves out of their territory. Next we'll be trying to soothe over tensions between those werewolves and the villagers who didn't take kindly to the werewolves being pushed onto their land.

    I also was recently invited to join an ongoing campaign that a friend is running, but unfortunately it's looking like it'll be a while before they are able to play again, too. I'm excited about the character I have in mind for that campaign - he's a wood elf monk who was raised by dwarves.

    I recently picked up some nice new metal dice at a convention, so I'm really looking forward to having the chance to play with them, hopefully soon.

    3 votes
  8. EsteeBestee
    (edited )
    Link
    We're playing Earthdawn right now, which is a fantastic fantasy setting set in the same universe as Shadowrun (thought quite a bit before Shadowrun takes place). It's a super unique system and...

    We're playing Earthdawn right now, which is a fantastic fantasy setting set in the same universe as Shadowrun (thought quite a bit before Shadowrun takes place). It's a super unique system and definitely worth trying.

    Our party recently infiltrated the forces of an army about to lay siege to basically an entire country. This invading force from Thera has a behemoth. Literally a gigantic flying city. They build them by cutting the tops off mountains, inverting it, then building a city. We find a way to get ourselves into their army by posing as officers on a smaller vessel (with some illusion magic involved). After we get our intel and escape, we start heading east towards Lake Bahn, which is home to the T'skrang clan, House V'strimon. My character, Julios, is a T'skrang, but she isn't very connected to her people (raised on the streets half the country away). T'skrang aren't as populous as humans or dwarves, but they make up a good portion.

    We decide to head there since they're allied with the empire we're trying to protect, Throal. Upon arriving, a pair of royal guards meet us at the gates. They say "we've been expecting you" to me directly. At this point I'm guessing that they just trust me more than the rest of the party since I'm a T'skrang and they just want to get our intel.

    The guards escort us through the streets while onlookers gawk and squeal with glee. We're somewhat celebrities here, it seemed. We aren't unknown as an adventuring party, so this isn't that out of the blue.

    We are escorted to the palace and into the throne room. From there, the Shyvalahala (queen) asks me to come forward. I do, expecting she will be asking me about the intel we collected.

    She begins by talking about how she's long awaited my arrival. I was confused and after a short pause she said, "you are to sit this throne one day."

    "What?" I replied, picking my jaw up from the floor.

    "Yes, you were destined to sit this throne."

    She continued with a tale of destiny (which the T'skrang put much stock into).

    So I had just found out that I'm the secret destined princess of a fairly large empire. I don't have a timetable on when I'm expected to lead, considering the current Shyvalahala is in good health. I also know that T'skrang leaders are blessed with long life, somewhat like the Dunedain in Middle Earth. So I've just found out I'll be alive much longer than I planned (if I even make it to old age). What's the kicker, you ask? The knife in the back? I've been horror touched for quite some time. In Earthdawn, Horrors are the worst kinds of creatures imaginable. More manipulative and brutal than your typical tabletop demons.

    I was marked when I played a cursed set of panpipes. From there I lost all of my ability to produce music and a half man-half zombie began following me around and assisting me, on orders from "the master." He would always blabber about how after "a year and a day you will join the master."

    Well, it's been about 9 months since I blew those pipes. To travel back to Throal proper will take us several weeks, then we have to complete our current objective of passing off the intel from the Therin army. Once that's done, we'll only have two months to research my curse and try to break it. If not... I don't want to know what will happen.

    TL;DR: found out I was the destined, hidden princess of a fairly large kingdom. A horror-mark will prevent me from fulfilling my destiny unless I find a way to break it.

    3 votes
  9. [2]
    ThirdSquid
    Link
    My players are in the middle of a 5e campaign set in the fall of the Roman Empire. They're currently trying to escort a noble who's father was murdered in front of them by a corrupt Legatus to...

    My players are in the middle of a 5e campaign set in the fall of the Roman Empire. They're currently trying to escort a noble who's father was murdered in front of them by a corrupt Legatus to Rome to tell the Senate what was going on.
    But they've discovered now that an Archdevil is orchestrating events to push Rome to fall and they're interfering with his plans. At this point, they're fleeing from shadow creatures that are the Archdevil's will incarnate which have been chasing them from town to town. They're almost to a port where they want to seek passage to Rome by boat, but things aren't going to go quite the way they expect when they get there.

    3 votes
    1. crius
      Link Parent
      I love settings different from the classic d&d and Rome empire is such a cool settings if you know enough of its history. Bravo to you for trying something original!

      I love settings different from the classic d&d and Rome empire is such a cool settings if you know enough of its history.
      Bravo to you for trying something original!

  10. [36]
    Kom
    Link
    one of my oldest mates sent myself and a few others a message asking if we would be interested, so we all got together a month back and had our first go. Unfortunately I had to work that evening...

    one of my oldest mates sent myself and a few others a message asking if we would be interested, so we all got together a month back and had our first go.
    Unfortunately I had to work that evening so missed a ton at the start but did get to see the others play a little, they had their first encounter with a goblin once that was over they stopped to help my character set up and all that. Friday night will be my first go and I cannot wait to get into it!

    2 votes
    1. [34]
      LetsTalkAboutDnD
      Link Parent
      I hope you enjoy Friday! What kind of character did you go for?

      I hope you enjoy Friday!

      What kind of character did you go for?

      2 votes
      1. [33]
        Kom
        Link Parent
        Human rouge, I sort of panicked a bit over what race to go with. I wish I read more on the others before my brain fart kicked in and I blurted that out, I guess next time I can change it up. When...

        Human rouge, I sort of panicked a bit over what race to go with. I wish I read more on the others before my brain fart kicked in and I blurted that out, I guess next time I can change it up.

        When picking the special stats I did try to make sure I could help the group overall since it's all our first time and none of us have much of an idea what we are doing lol

        2 votes
        1. [21]
          LetsTalkAboutDnD
          Link Parent
          Humans are still pretty good. They're like the jack of all trades among the races.

          Humans are still pretty good. They're like the jack of all trades among the races.

          2 votes
          1. [20]
            Kom
            Link Parent
            ah good it wasn't a complete poop of a choice. I need to read over the book again, there is so much to remember it's crazy

            ah good it wasn't a complete poop of a choice. I need to read over the book again, there is so much to remember it's crazy

            1. [5]
              LetsTalkAboutDnD
              Link Parent
              When you actually start playing it's not much to remember at all. Almost everything is written on your sheet - you just need to know in what situation to look at which part of it. The extent of...

              When you actually start playing it's not much to remember at all.

              Almost everything is written on your sheet - you just need to know in what situation to look at which part of it. The extent of that really is knowing the difference between your ability modifiers (strength, dex, int, etc), skills (acrobatics, athletics, medicine, etc) and saving throws (Which are pretty similar to ability modifiers but are context sensitive such as dodging a trap, shrugging off a toxin, fighting mind control, etc). 90% of what comes up in regular play is adding these numbers to a D20 roll.

              Remember it's called the "Player's Handbook", not the "Player's Rulebook". It's there to look up when in doubt rather than memorise, or ignore when you think it isn't needed in the situation (Although the latter is at the DM's discretion).

              1 vote
              1. Kom
                (edited )
                Link Parent
                that is a MASSIVE (stupid autocorrect) help thank you. the group our DM has put together is probably the best he could have for a first time since so far none of us have taken things too serious...

                that is a MASSIVE (stupid autocorrect) help thank you. the group our DM has put together is probably the best he could have for a first time since so far none of us have taken things too serious (from what I was watching)

                1 vote
              2. [3]
                Kom
                Link Parent
                So we had our game. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! playing along was far easier to follow than just sitting back questioning what the hell was happening, the guide book was getting a work out the whole...

                So we had our game. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! playing along was far easier to follow than just sitting back questioning what the hell was happening, the guide book was getting a work out the whole evening.

                Human rogue was definitely a top choice, our DM threw is own spin on a few things to keep in line with our derailment and humour. Our elf made one decent shot all night and it was a dick around shot towards me lol

                1 vote
                1. [2]
                  LetsTalkAboutDnD
                  Link Parent
                  Awesome! I'm glad you enjoyed it. "The Lost Mines of Phandelver" is super cool. You have some exciting stuff coming up in future sessions.

                  Awesome! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

                  "The Lost Mines of Phandelver" is super cool. You have some exciting stuff coming up in future sessions.

                  1. Kom
                    Link Parent
                    I really look forward to getting in further, especially once we all know what we are doing and it moves a lot smoother lol

                    I really look forward to getting in further, especially once we all know what we are doing and it moves a lot smoother lol

            2. [14]
              Eylops
              Link Parent
              My experience in 5e is that very little is truly underpowered. There are some classes thart are stronger in the early levels (Druid) or in the later levels (Wizard). Everything is playable though...

              My experience in 5e is that very little is truly underpowered. There are some classes thart are stronger in the early levels (Druid) or in the later levels (Wizard). Everything is playable though and as long as you have fun everything is good.

              1. [13]
                Kom
                Link Parent
                I've never really thought about playing, but now I've had a small taste I can't wait for more nights. I may have to suggest to the others that 3 weekly isn't enough. I don't think I'll have to...

                I've never really thought about playing, but now I've had a small taste I can't wait for more nights.

                I may have to suggest to the others that 3 weekly isn't enough. I don't think I'll have to twist their rubber arms all that far lol

                1 vote
                1. [12]
                  Eylops
                  Link Parent
                  I wish I had a 3 weekly campaign, at the moment we only meet every wednesday for 2 and a half hours, which is not nearly enough in my opinion.

                  I wish I had a 3 weekly campaign, at the moment we only meet every wednesday for 2 and a half hours, which is not nearly enough in my opinion.

                  1. [11]
                    Kom
                    Link Parent
                    2 and a half hours? if we only had that time we would be going home before anything happened lol Friday night we sat and talked shit for an hour first Reading up more and more I really want to...

                    2 and a half hours? if we only had that time we would be going home before anything happened lol Friday night we sat and talked shit for an hour first

                    Reading up more and more I really want to play sooner than the 22nd

                    1. [10]
                      Eylops
                      Link Parent
                      We try and meet a bit early every time. We make up for it though every once in a while when we play a mega session for 8 to 10 hours. A big dungeon or a boss fight really makes the most sense to...

                      We try and meet a bit early every time. We make up for it though every once in a while when we play a mega session for 8 to 10 hours. A big dungeon or a boss fight really makes the most sense to me that way.

                      1. [9]
                        Kom
                        Link Parent
                        that would be amazing. I hope once we understand it all a bit more and things move more smoothly we can do something like that, probably would have to start earlier than 7pm lol

                        that would be amazing. I hope once we understand it all a bit more and things move more smoothly we can do something like that, probably would have to start earlier than 7pm lol

                        1 vote
                        1. [8]
                          Eylops
                          Link Parent
                          Those big sessions are usually on a weekend, starting midday. Running the game smoothly comes with experience. One thing I always try and ask myself is: How can I use my abilities in the current...

                          Those big sessions are usually on a weekend, starting midday. Running the game smoothly comes with experience. One thing I always try and ask myself is: How can I use my abilities in the current situation in the best, i.e. fun and most useful, way possible, sometimes just hitting things with a quarterstaff, sometimes throwing a fireball in the middle of the group (probably not the brightest idea) and sometimes using a magical staff which transforms into a tree to escape dangerous situations.

                          1. [7]
                            Kom
                            Link Parent
                            that sounds way cooler than my Rogue's moves / skill set.. So far my rolls have not been kind, just seems to be really bad luck so far

                            that sounds way cooler than my Rogue's moves / skill set..

                            So far my rolls have not been kind, just seems to be really bad luck so far

                            1 vote
                            1. [6]
                              Eylops
                              Link Parent
                              That are some of the recent highlights in a campaign going on for nearly 9 months now. As the campaign goes on both your character and his abilities and you as a player will grow. There are a lot...

                              That are some of the recent highlights in a campaign going on for nearly 9 months now. As the campaign goes on both your character and his abilities and you as a player will grow. There are a lot of different very inventive ways to use anything really. I think its a really good idea to start at a low level, as you can get to know the abilities while playing, without being too overwhelmed because of so many different rules.

                              Bad rolls are always a bit annoying, but they are part of the game. Sometimes a save that you did not succeed on or not getting a certain piece of information right aways can lead to very interesting roleplay situations. But there also have been sessions where I did nothing but be asleep because of a spell gone wrong. As long as you are engaged and having fun everything is good. There are going to be a lot of opportunities to prove yourself and to get some of those sweet last hits and bragging rights on a strong enemy.

                              1 vote
                              1. [5]
                                Kom
                                Link Parent
                                That's the sort of thing I'm really looking forward to, so far I've not had the chance to take the first shot and use the sneak attacks. It will come in time I'm sure, just need to be patient....

                                That's the sort of thing I'm really looking forward to, so far I've not had the chance to take the first shot and use the sneak attacks. It will come in time I'm sure, just need to be patient.

                                I'll have to check out some YouTube videos on others playing and get a better idea of how things can go

                                1. [4]
                                  Eylops
                                  Link Parent
                                  Just to make sure: Your sneak attak also activates whenever there is an enemy of the target within five ft of it and you do not have disadvantage. Critical roll is a good indicator on where it can...

                                  Just to make sure: Your sneak attak also activates whenever there is an enemy of the target within five ft of it and you do not have disadvantage.

                                  Critical roll is a good indicator on where it can go, but you should remember that they are actors and most have years of experience playing dnd.

                                  1. [3]
                                    Kom
                                    Link Parent
                                    I was a bit unsure on how the sneak attacks worked, I need to read the guide again and make sure I understand it. So if an enemy is focused on anyone but me, I can use sneak attack? or have I...

                                    I was a bit unsure on how the sneak attacks worked, I need to read the guide again and make sure I understand it. So if an enemy is focused on anyone but me, I can use sneak attack? or have I miffed the understanding on it?

                                    I've bookmarked a few podcasts on YouTube and will only use that as an idea of how things could be over how it must be.

                                    1. [2]
                                      Eylops
                                      Link Parent
                                      You can use sneak attack if: you are using a finesse weapon AND you have advantage on the attack OR there is another enemy of the target within 5ft AND that enemy is not incapacitated AND you do...

                                      You can use sneak attack if:

                                      • you are using a finesse weapon
                                        AND
                                      • you have advantage on the attack
                                        OR
                                      • there is another enemy of the target within 5ft AND that enemy is not incapacitated AND you do not have disadvantage.

                                      So you can use it when there is your beefy fighter next to the target and your are shooting with a bow, or if you are standing next to the target and are using a rapier for example. Important to note is that the creature next to the target does not have to be your allie, it simply has to be an enemy of whatever you are hitting. You can use sneak attack even if you are the target of the creature you are attacking. You can gain advantage if the target is unaware of your pressence prior to attacking (use your cunning action to stealth where you can).

                                      That is exactly how I would want to phrase it! Hope you enjoy it and get your fix of dnd that way! Any luck convincing your fellow players to play more sessions? :D

                                      1 vote
                                      1. Kom
                                        Link Parent
                                        wow I didn't understand the sneak attacks at all! thank you! At the moment it's more based on myself and our DM (we are the only two that have kids) then unfortunately I need 2 weeks notice for...

                                        wow I didn't understand the sneak attacks at all! thank you!

                                        At the moment it's more based on myself and our DM (we are the only two that have kids) then unfortunately I need 2 weeks notice for work as I'm casual. although I work near full time hours some fortnights...

                                        but I'm sure we can wiggle more in, I may have to suggest a Saturday night session between the Friday nights especially once we all get the swing of it

        2. [4]
          Tardigrade
          Link Parent
          I hate to be that guy but Rouge is red in french and Rogue is the class

          I hate to be that guy but Rouge is red in french and Rogue is the class

          2 votes
          1. Kom
            Link Parent
            thank you. completely missed that I'll make sure I look more carefully next time lol

            thank you. completely missed that I'll make sure I look more carefully next time lol

            1 vote
          2. [2]
            crius
            Link Parent
            I even read some articles that write rouges instead of rogues recently. Seems like a common typo. Problem is when someone use it consistently. That means they learned it wrong, so you did good by...

            I even read some articles that write rouges instead of rogues recently.
            Seems like a common typo.

            Problem is when someone use it consistently. That means they learned it wrong, so you did good by pointing that out.

            Non-English native speaker appreciate it :)

            1. Tardigrade
              Link Parent
              Yeah. It's really common. It's a pain when you've learned things wrong but I always like finding it out so I can correct myself. No problem.

              Yeah. It's really common. It's a pain when you've learned things wrong but I always like finding it out so I can correct myself. No problem.

        3. [7]
          Tardigrade
          Link Parent
          I found it didn't really matter what we chose our first time as we got most things wrong but the first adventure was all about working out how it all happened and getting the hang of things, it...

          I found it didn't really matter what we chose our first time as we got most things wrong but the first adventure was all about working out how it all happened and getting the hang of things, it was still loads of fun.

          1. [6]
            Kom
            Link Parent
            I need to keep that in mind more, this first (and probably the next) will be a bit of a mess with working out how things go. Still it was amazing watching the guys fumble through it, Friday can't...

            I need to keep that in mind more, this first (and probably the next) will be a bit of a mess with working out how things go. Still it was amazing watching the guys fumble through it, Friday can't get here fast enough.

            I've send the DM a text about the campaign name, once he gets back to me I'll let you know

            1 vote
            1. [5]
              Tardigrade
              Link Parent
              Sounds like it's going really well then. Nifty.

              Sounds like it's going really well then. Nifty.

              1. [4]
                Kom
                Link Parent
                got the name, The lost mine of Phandelver, the one that came with the starter set. When I got off work and finally got in, they were taking out a band of goblins. Then stopped once that event (is...

                got the name, The lost mine of Phandelver, the one that came with the starter set.
                When I got off work and finally got in, they were taking out a band of goblins. Then stopped once that event (is that the right word?) ended

                1. [3]
                  Tardigrade
                  Link Parent
                  That's the one I did first. It's a suprisingly long thing and I kept expecting it to end but we never even made it into the mines (we got side tracked a lot). I guess event works well enough. Did...

                  That's the one I did first. It's a suprisingly long thing and I kept expecting it to end but we never even made it into the mines (we got side tracked a lot). I guess event works well enough. Did they tell you what happened before the goblin attack or?

                  1. [2]
                    Kom
                    Link Parent
                    they didn't... I think it was also a lot of derailing, when I turned up one of the guys was saying he would tea bag the last goblin because he had such horrible rolls up to that point

                    they didn't... I think it was also a lot of derailing, when I turned up one of the guys was saying he would tea bag the last goblin because he had such horrible rolls up to that point

                    1. Tardigrade
                      Link Parent
                      Fair. Hahaha, that sounds brilliant.

                      Fair. Hahaha, that sounds brilliant.

                      1 vote
    2. Tardigrade
      Link Parent
      Are you playing the Mines of Pha(something I can't spell) campaign?

      Are you playing the Mines of Pha(something I can't spell) campaign?

  11. Tardigrade
    Link
    Last session we played we lost one of our group as we decided to just stop in the middle of nowhere and then got ambushed as we were close to a bandit place. Possibly we didn't need to cook the...

    Last session we played we lost one of our group as we decided to just stop in the middle of nowhere and then got ambushed as we were close to a bandit place. Possibly we didn't need to cook the horse meat as much as we thought we did.

    2 votes
  12. MsZapatista
    Link
    I'm currently in three 5th edition games, two as a player and one as the DM. The most hilarious story I have, though, comes from a few years back. I was playing with a group of old friends at a...

    I'm currently in three 5th edition games, two as a player and one as the DM. The most hilarious story I have, though, comes from a few years back. I was playing with a group of old friends at a summer camp, and this happened at like 1:00 in the morning, thus the insanity.

    So, my character, being a rogue, decided to test out her thieving skills by attempting to steal a thievery kit (yes really) from a store. I rolled badly, and the shopkeep noticed and called the guards. We get into a tussle with them, and were running around the shop like mad dodging them. Our ranger, played by my friend Kat, was pretty much continually hopping back and forth across the countertop of the shop to mess with the guards. Eventually, she rolled badly and failed the jump, but then asked if she could land on the counter lying down, which the DM allowed and she rolled well for. She then asked the immortal question:

    "Can I try to seduce the guards?"

    The DM, fully done with our shit, just let it happen. IRL, she got on the ground and acted out what her character did: lying in a seductive pose, she asked us all to "draw me like one of your french girls." Then she rolled. Natural 20. The DM, now just wanting to get it over with, said that since it was so effective the guard would take "love damage." He failed to remember that the guard had only one hitpoint remaining. He described how the guard's eyes "flamed out" and he collapsed on the ground, dead.

    2 votes
  13. [2]
    Defluo
    Link
    I'm going to run a game involving a false hydra tonight, I'm so excited! I really think wizards should make it an official monster. We just finished a 2 year long campaign that took characters...

    I'm going to run a game involving a false hydra tonight, I'm so excited! I really think wizards should make it an official monster.

    We just finished a 2 year long campaign that took characters from level 1 to 20 and now we're starting fresh. New world, new characters. I wanted to use a false hydra for months but when I first read about the false hydra, there would be no way to pull it off with a group of high level characters that min/max. They would have found it immediately and decimated it. So I had to wait until now. I hope nobody in the group has read about them before.

    2 votes
  14. Hypersapien
    Link
    Our party just saved Bauldur's Gate from an evil life-syphoning cult that had taken power. We were given a landship* and a keep awarded to us by Elminster himself. *As in a title, not something...

    Our party just saved Bauldur's Gate from an evil life-syphoning cult that had taken power. We were given a landship* and a keep awarded to us by Elminster himself.

    *As in a title, not something out of "Mortal Engines"

    2 votes
  15. [11]
    Paradoxa
    Link
    Strahd. My character died so I decided to make a cleric. We were about to learn the true identity of Rictavio, so my DM just said "why don't YOU be Rictavio?" coolest backstory ever, now. It's a...

    Strahd. My character died so I decided to make a cleric. We were about to learn the true identity of Rictavio, so my DM just said "why don't YOU be Rictavio?" coolest backstory ever, now.

    It's a great campaign with a great group. Slow but lots of RPing. It's as much a journey to learn about each other as it is to fight Strahd, and it's so rewarding. We constantly talk about it even on off days.

    Plus we do it all on Roll20 so there's tons of great music and visuals, and we can play with long lost friends across the earth.

    2 votes
    1. [10]
      LetsTalkAboutDnD
      Link Parent
      I absolutely love the Ravenloft setting. I have a bunch of older-edition books about the setting and I'm sorta sad that they've only shown the surface-layer in 5th Edition. I don't want to say...

      I absolutely love the Ravenloft setting. I have a bunch of older-edition books about the setting and I'm sorta sad that they've only shown the surface-layer in 5th Edition.

      I don't want to say specifics in case any Strahd players are reading through, but you get to play that character!? That's so cool! It's like if you were playing a superhero RPG and your GM says "Yeah okay - you can be Batman".

      -LTAD&D

      1 vote
      1. [9]
        Paradoxa
        Link Parent
        Yeah it's fucking amazing. I don't know the details yet beyond what my DM had to tell me (what Rictavio would know), and what happened after Strahd and the Festival. We're only halfway through...

        Yeah it's fucking amazing. I don't know the details yet beyond what my DM had to tell me (what Rictavio would know), and what happened after Strahd and the Festival. We're only halfway through after about 4 months of play, just now leaving Vallaki.

        I got to design his secret identity. I made him a Tempest Water Genasi. Cool and confident and seeking vengeance. It's nice after playing a rather uptight do-gooder Monk to have someone who is more morally ambiguous as long as the ultimate goal is to destroy vampires and protect the living.

        1 vote
        1. [8]
          LetsTalkAboutDnD
          Link Parent
          So are you playing a reskinned Genasi Van Richten, or have you replaced the name and backstory as well?

          So are you playing a reskinned Genasi Van Richten, or have you replaced the name and backstory as well?

          1. [7]
            Paradoxa
            Link Parent
            Mmm I dont know TOO much about the original story beyond the unchanged essentials (DM prepped the character weeks in advance) but I basically have the freedom to do what I want with him as it's my...

            Mmm I dont know TOO much about the original story beyond the unchanged essentials (DM prepped the character weeks in advance) but I basically have the freedom to do what I want with him as it's my character now. I just check with the DM before making major changes or going too out of the character's spirit because he will still play a central role in the story. I mostly use Rict for inspiration on how to play my own guy.

            I can share the bio I wrote for him if you'd like, but I'm scared that you'll be unhappy with any changes! Esp given the Batman comparison, haha. Imagine if someone rewrote Batman as their own character but changed the backstory? Fans would be furious.

            1. [6]
              LetsTalkAboutDnD
              Link Parent
              Haha. No, I'd love to see your bio. Players always trump lore IMO. I know a good bit of Ravenloft lore, so even if you're not going the Van Richten direction per-say, I could help you flesh your...

              but I'm scared that you'll be unhappy with any changes!

              Haha. No, I'd love to see your bio. Players always trump lore IMO.

              I know a good bit of Ravenloft lore, so even if you're not going the Van Richten direction per-say, I could help you flesh your backstory out as a character from Ravenloft if you like.

              1. [5]
                Paradoxa
                (edited )
                Link Parent
                Awesome! Here it is, if you're interested. THEODOROS: THE STORM AWAKENS Theodoros, or Theos: a Water Genasi who serves the gods of storms. He came to Barovia as a vampire slayer, by his own...

                Awesome! Here it is, if you're interested.

                THEODOROS: THE STORM AWAKENS

                ​Theodoros, or Theos: a Water Genasi who serves the gods of storms.
                ​He came to Barovia as a vampire slayer, by his own volition, through the assistance of a young Vistani apprentice named Esmeralda.
                ​His goal: to end the tyranny of the vampire lord Strahd.

                As a water genasi, he grew up with weak familial attachments. Unlike most genasi, he was not borne of a union between mortal and genie. His parents, too, were genasi -- a rare union in Faerun. Genasi rarely encounter one another, and with their tendency to fanatically great egos, they tend to stay away from other genasi who may steal their limelight. The case of his parents was no different - they separated, and the child too spent more time with the local villagefolk than at his mother’s breast. And true to genasi form, this did not seem to bother him one bit.

                He left his birth home during his teenage years, and moved on to _________, a small village along the Sword Coast. He enjoyed a fine lifestyle there. He was well-off and lived comfortably, pursuing artistic vanities in his ample free time. He had a particular knack for ice sculpting -- a strange hobby for such a warm climate. (He would first shape the water to his liking, and then freeze it -- not crudely slice it up as others might).

                In his new home, he had become quite a popular budding artist. He was living a carefree life. However, those close to him often remarked how strange it was that he had no family. They convinced him to reach out to his estranged family and invite them to stay for a short time and meet everyone. He begrudgingly agreed. He wrote to his mother and father, and had them come visit. He was surprised how much he enjoyed their company. Everyone loved them! They were the talk of the town…. Until one night, during their short stay, vampires ravaged the entire village. They destroyed homes, burned his sculptures, and devoured his friends and family. Every last person he had grown to love was destroyed by these vampires.

                He fled for his life that night, with a few others, and only barely made it out alive. The others were not so lucky. Some died from their wounds. Some were turned. His own mother and father, even, were bitten thrice… he was forced to put a stake through their hearts to end their suffering.

                Distraught and without hope or guidance, Theos tracked down the head vampire who led the attack. Swelling with rage, he delivered mighty blow to the back of his head and brought him to his knees. As he watched it laying beside the lake, wounded. the rain began to fall heavily on them. Theodoros at that moment said a prayer: a prayer for repentance, a prayer for vengeance. To his surprise, the clouds gathered above him, and with a booming clap of thunder, a massive lightning bolt struck the ground before him, obliterating the abomination who had taken so much from him.

                From this point onward, Theodoros knew that the tempest lords of the skies were powerful deities who demanded his service, in exchange for what he desired most: repentance. He devoted his life to fulfilling that promise. Though their message is unclear, he knew this one thing: the skies will purge the wicked.

                He spent the next few years on two tasks: pouring over dusty old tomes, and tracking the wicked. He was trying to learn anything he could about how to appease the gods of thunder, and how to track down and repel the vampire attacks. when he heard whispers of an unholy presence in a faraway town, he made his way over and did what he could to cleanse the town. he has more than a few scars from these adventures, but his studies had proven useful enough, and the gods had proven thankful enough to support him.

                One thing continued to trouble him, though: he could not, however much he looked, find any reason for his loved ones to be targeted by the vampire attack. This would have driven Theo into a spiraling depression had it not been for that thunder. He felt as if it had answered his prayers. A storm is chaotic; life is chaotic. Through controlling the storms, he seems to find some semblance of control for his life.


                My DM commented on how repentance didn't seem to fit the overall theme of the character, and while I agree that it perhaps wasn't the correct word choice, it felt okay overall. Nothing too problematic. The DM pointed out that it doesn't make sense because Theos was okay with one of the party members refusing to attack Strahd (and being healed by Strahd). My reasoning was that Theos understands how powerful Strahd is and that we had no chance of defeating him at that time, so we have to yield and obey for the time being. I guess the DM thought it was strange for him to seek repentance for himself but be so forgiving to the others? He suggested that I would be more okay with killing my parents, especially given the familial weak attachments. I dunno, I figured killing your parents, even if they asked for it, would have a bit of an impact on you... I'm not quite sure the conflict he saw.

                Feel free to point out any other oddities or inconsistencies you see. Our campaign is quite RP heavy so having a fleshed out character is very important.

                1. [4]
                  LetsTalkAboutDnD
                  (edited )
                  Link Parent
                  I like it, although I see your choice of setting a tad unfitting. Barovia isn't on the Sword Coast. It isn't a place you can choose to adventure to or can simply walk in and out of. Barovia is one...

                  I like it, although I see your choice of setting a tad unfitting.

                  Barovia isn't on the Sword Coast. It isn't a place you can choose to adventure to or can simply walk in and out of. Barovia is one of the Domains of Dread - a demiplane that feeds on suffering and revels in tragedy. It drags in cursed lands from all over the multiverse - not just from the Forgotten Realms - as new Domains.

                  One of the interesting things about the written Van Richten - that I think would work well with Theos if it's not too late to change it - is that he has lived all his life in the Domains. He grew up in a realm that sides entirely with that which goes bump in the night. A place where survival is difficult and being a hunter or Cleric is just suicidal.

                  Van Richten comes from the Domain of Darkon, ruled by the Wizard King Azalin of Greyhawk. It is the largest Domain and geographically is quite a lot like Faerûn. Darkon is a melting pot of different races and cultures who have been pulled into the domains. The interesting thing about Darkon is that if you've lived there long enough, your history changes so that you and your family have always lived in Darkon.

                  A fitting town to be from would be Varithne, near the Jagged Coast. It has the extra note that it was once overrun by werewolves which were hunted and destroyed by Van Richten. That could easily be replaced by vampires and be the home of Theos.

                  The thunder gods as well could be thematically tweaked. The Domains were created and overseen by amorphous Dark Powers. Their central impact is pulling people and lands into the Domains, but they also twist fate for their enjoyment, to keep evil on top. They especially like tragic irony. They sometimes take interest in people inside and out of the Domains, typically being interpreted as spirits, known gods (e.g. a Thunder God) or even Death itself by those they interact with. They enter into unspoken pacts with individuals. The person gets something they want (but usually not in the way they wanted it) in exchange for something awful happening to them or people around them (typically the people they care for being Final Destinationed). This is also accompanied by a curse fitting of the pact (which, remember: the person has no idea they made).

                  1. [3]
                    Paradoxa
                    Link Parent
                    That's very interesting. I'm going to have to give this a read over again, but I thought I'd just mention a few things. We as players OOC and IC don't know what Barovia is. We just woke up there,...

                    That's very interesting. I'm going to have to give this a read over again, but I thought I'd just mention a few things. We as players OOC and IC don't know what Barovia is. We just woke up there, and we learned that only the vistani can bring people in and out.

                    I originally wanted to be a player who was native to Barovia, before Rictavio (I guess the canon name is Van Rictan?) was discussed. Afterwards, I followed the storyline that had already been set for him, in which having his apprentice bring him to Barovia was a key element. (At least, I think so. I get a little confused about what parts of his story I made, what the DM made, and what Wizards made, because I'm mostly just shooting at the dark to avoid spoilers.)

                    So I do understand that the Sword Coast is a whole nother plane. But we also had party members from that area, and I'm a bit familiar with it and its features, so I thought it was as good of an idea as any. Either way, it's hard to change crucial elements like that now. One thing the DM insisted on was that not much time would have passed since he arrived, because Strahd has been looking for him.

                    1. [2]
                      LetsTalkAboutDnD
                      Link Parent
                      Ah okay. I get it more now. Yeah, the canon character is Dr Rudolf van Richten, Vampire Hunter. Everything you've mentioned about NPC Rictavio seems to be in line with the what's written. It...

                      Ah okay. I get it more now.

                      Yeah, the canon character is Dr Rudolf van Richten, Vampire Hunter. Everything you've mentioned about NPC Rictavio seems to be in line with the what's written. It doesn't seem like your DM changed much there.

                      Your DM changed Curse of Strahd's intro that gives a lot of context. I don't think it's a spoiler to tell you the intro you didn't use, but if you do you should skip the next paragraph.

                      The traditional intro has the party travelling between towns in the Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, wherever the game's set. A fog sets in during the evening and walking through the mists they come upon the Gates of Barovia.

                      When your Curse of Strahd campaign ends, I recommend you check out the novel "I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire". It's a great book about Strahd, the Domains of Dread, and a little bit on Van Richten too. Obviously don't look it up beforehand, because spoilers.

                      1 vote
                      1. Paradoxa
                        Link Parent
                        That sounds fantastic! Thanks for the info... gah I'm enjoying Strahd so much that I want it to end so I can read all about it.

                        That sounds fantastic! Thanks for the info... gah I'm enjoying Strahd so much that I want it to end so I can read all about it.

  16. dfin
    Link
    Few different parties, currently. :) One, where I'm a player, just went on hiatus. We're playing Curse of Strahd. It's been a great bit of fun, although we are pushing a year (player time). We'll...

    Few different parties, currently. :)

    One, where I'm a player, just went on hiatus. We're playing Curse of Strahd. It's been a great bit of fun, although we are pushing a year (player time). We'll probably finish up this summer. The DM is feeling some burnout, which is pretty understandable. We're a group of six rambunctious rule-challenging people (I was the first DM of the group and yeah... burnt out after a year as well, haha). But this is the same group of players that gave the world Silence - a Tiefling rogue with a vow of silence and a surprising amount of charisma leading to him being the frontman of the party, and Uncle Cousin - a tank-top wearing Barbarian who uses a giant wheel to bludgeon his enemies to death (and also fantastic at cart/wagon racing). So, definitely a double edged sword on that front.

    I have another group I'm DMing. I recently moved so I've established some friends here and introduced them to D&D. We're running the starter campaign. For some reason, they've all started communicating via elaborate hand signs (of course, I make them actually do it!) while in the Cragmaw Hideout. So we're rolling lots of performance/perception checks (performance of gesture-er + perception of gesture-ee >= 20) because they only do the signs spur-of-the moment and don't talk about it beforehand. But it's led to this amazing thing where they are building a library of nonsensical hand signs to mean certain things. I'm taking notes as best as I can to remember what means what. One of my favorites is that simply waving at someone means they can see Goblins... There's definitely going to be an insight check in a tavern after a friendly wave, haha!

    2 votes
  17. Obi
    Link
    I have a story for you guys. I was playing my first ever campaign (3.5) about 8 months ago. We were going through a dungeon as a party of seven, all level 3. I was a sorcerer, and we were doing...

    I have a story for you guys. I was playing my first ever campaign (3.5) about 8 months ago. We were going through a dungeon as a party of seven, all level 3. I was a sorcerer, and we were doing pretty well so far. We found a magic wand, and before I could do anything, a dwarf picked up the wand and cast it. It turns out, the wand created a magical item. I ask to examine the object created, and the DM tells me that I pick up what seems to be a deck of cards. Me, not knowing, decide to take out 12 to examine them. The DM then tells me with utter shock on his face, that I just pulled 12 cards from a deck of many things. I killed my entire party that night, and that was how I teamwiped my very first game of DnD.

    2 votes
  18. [3]
    ConfusingDalek
    Link
    In the campaign I'm in, we spent the whole time today attacking some kind of frost mage fort. They captured a princess who's about to be married in like a day. There are a lot of them, haha. We're...

    In the campaign I'm in, we spent the whole time today attacking some kind of frost mage fort. They captured a princess who's about to be married in like a day. There are a lot of them, haha. We're all level 3, and most of the wizards are lower level than we are, but some are level 5, and there are three over level 13. One is 14, the other two are 16. They're the archmages of the place. We ended pretty much with them figuring out "HEY THEY'RE OVER HERE" and us being like "oh crAP ITS THE ARCHMAGES!" The squad of soldiers that were promised to show up also showed up on that turn as well, so I forsee a clusterfuck in the next session, ha.

    1 vote
    1. [2]
      LetsTalkAboutDnD
      Link Parent
      It's a little late unless someone has it prepared already, but if you're fighting all wizards - cast "Silence". Those wizards can suddenly do jack. They can't even cast dispel magic.

      It's a little late unless someone has it prepared already, but if you're fighting all wizards - cast "Silence". Those wizards can suddenly do jack. They can't even cast dispel magic.

      1. ConfusingDalek
        Link Parent
        We're all level three, and I'm not sure any of us have silence. I know some of us have no magic, myself included.

        We're all level three, and I'm not sure any of us have silence. I know some of us have no magic, myself included.

  19. [2]
    Paradoxa
    Link
    My character died. It was a TPK with a twist: someone came to save us, but she only focused on the baddies. Worst part? The DM just had us all roll our saving throws at once, no turns, tension, or...

    My character died. It was a TPK with a twist: someone came to save us, but she only focused on the baddies.

    Worst part? The DM just had us all roll our saving throws at once, no turns, tension, or anything. I rolled a 13, 9, and 1. No one even noticed I was dead.

    1 vote
    1. LetsTalkAboutDnD
      Link Parent
      Those seem like poor choices on the DM's part. That really sucks.

      Those seem like poor choices on the DM's part. That really sucks.

      2 votes
  20. Kerbobotat
    Link
    Love RPGs', but haven't got to play in ages (Between returning to college and general lack of time. My brothers' running a star wars d20 game at the moment and its gotten into that consistency...

    Love RPGs', but haven't got to play in ages (Between returning to college and general lack of time.

    My brothers' running a star wars d20 game at the moment and its gotten into that consistency niche and fairly stable, so Im hoping to join that. Was never a huge fan of d20 in general but the game is made by the group not the system. Can't wait to jump back into it!

    1 vote
  21. BBBence1111
    Link
    In the campaign I was last part of (well, "campaign". One of my classmates wanted to be a GM and we agreed to be test subjects for a couple of sessios), we kept failing at problems until things...

    In the campaign I was last part of (well, "campaign". One of my classmates wanted to be a GM and we agreed to be test subjects for a couple of sessios), we kept failing at problems until things worked out.

    Highlights include:

    -We call each other Asshole Elf/Dwarf/Halfling, as we have yet to manage introducing ourselves to each other.

    -THE STONE OF JUSTICE which killed multiple goblins and also acts as a flashlight for our Halfling Rogue.

    -My inability to hit things: Since the second session it's canon that all elves have terrible aim. I have managed to miss spells in point blank range, and the Elf Archer we fought did the same. I actually defeated him by setting the grass around him on fire.

    -The debate wether birds can break stone. After multiple critfail int rolls we all agreed that the holes in a wall in a cave were an attempt by a bird to get some bugs out of there. GM later told us he had bonus rooms with loot and fights behind that puzzle. (We actually knew what to do, but IC we couldn't act on it...)

    -SPIDERS: My usual battle tactic is putting a huge ass spider illusion on someone's face. GM allowed it and now it's a 1 turn stun.

    -Debating what's worth more: fulfilling the quest of saving the son of some random guy or killing said guy, looting everything he has, saving his son and selling him as a slave. I was arguning for the first as the only non Good character....

    -Personal quest failure: GM set us up 3 questlines that would end at the same spot, as we wasn't really a team yet. Failed at about 3 seconds in as the rogue couldn't get into the house he was supposed to, I accidentally sent away the guy that was supposed to turn on us later because I guessed he was evil and he creeped me out, and our Dwarf completely missed the thief he was supposed to catch because he was busy haggling armor. We later fixed it, but it took severeal hours and the others almost died (as I continued my streak of not getting hit because fuck the frontlines)

    1 vote
  22. [2]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. LetsTalkAboutDnD
      Link Parent
      I agree with everything you've said. Having been on both sides of the DM screen in physical and online games, you definitely lose a lot from playing online. It feels like your sense of touch...

      I agree with everything you've said.

      Having been on both sides of the DM screen in physical and online games, you definitely lose a lot from playing online. It feels like your sense of touch through a glove - very dull and muted.

      I've found that it helps for everyone to use webcams - not only does it feel more like you're all there together, but it gives you back most of the cues you'd have in person.

      My longest running game at the moment is as a player on roll20. That game doesn't use webcams and it's difficult to know when you're free to butt in. The DM tends to monologue because he can't tell when someone wants to interrupt. It's a lot smoother if you can just tell when someone wants to speak. Like I said though, it is my longest running game currently so we're doing something right.

      As a DM specifically, online benefits from preparation.

      The way I did it isn't for everyone, but I thought in addition to ease of use, it created an interesting aesthetic. All of my maps and creature tokens were all in 16-bit video game style. I downloaded a bunch of tile maps from different games and imported them into a map editor (IIRC the one I used was called Tiled). It was much easier to use than if I were to draw maps with a mouse, and they looked quite professional. I made a bunch of generic maps as well for random encounters. I'd do a similar thing with creatures - downloading sprites from The Spriter's Resource. I'd roll for random encounters before hand and find matching sprites for if the encounter came up.

      Of course, the big issue is that my improv abilities became fairly rigid. I traded out on-the-go creation for ease of preparation and customisation. I ran pre-made adventures to assist in this.

      Players zoning out just seems to depend on the people and the game itself. You can have a game where everyone's like that, or everyone's listening intently - just like at a real table.

       

      If you want to lessen the load of your online issues as a DM, the easiest way would be to run a dungeon-crawler game. One thing online does have is good combat support, assuming you have a battle mat ready. Running a retro-style "kill mobs, get treasure" sort of game would work very well. If you were to set it somewhere like the Underdark or Myth Drannor, you could still interweave NPC interaction.

      I don't blame you if you've read all this and think "This guy's ideas are terrible". Playing online you have to make sacrifices and nothing is ever ideal. If you manage to find the right group though, it can be enough to overlook a lot of the shortcomings.

      -LTADnD

      1 vote
  23. bigby
    Link
    I'm in a party of 3 playing through Tyranny of Dragons, but we've gotten really side tracked. My level 1 character was trying to solo a kobold, but kept tripping and falling and just looking like...

    I'm in a party of 3 playing through Tyranny of Dragons, but we've gotten really side tracked. My level 1 character was trying to solo a kobold, but kept tripping and falling and just looking like a total fool. This prompted the kobold to laugh and hoot and pantomime at my expense. So upon defeating his friends, I decided since he wanted to put on a minstrel show, I'd take him prisoner to be entertainment. Eventually, my party decided to capture some kobolds themselves and we're currently negotiating with the governor of the local town to establish a kobold circus.

    1 vote
  24. DoctorBoson
    Link
    Not D&D, but I'm playing in an alt-history WWII game called Weird War II (in the Savage Worlds system). I've been playing the kid of some German immigrants; super tech-savvy, very smart (drafted...

    Not D&D, but I'm playing in an alt-history WWII game called Weird War II (in the Savage Worlds system). I've been playing the kid of some German immigrants; super tech-savvy, very smart (drafted in his second year at MIT), stuck as the squad's radioman (as well as mechanic if we're in a pinch) but not a good soldiering type—very cautious and nervous, and early on got a little bit of a PTSD-induced phobia of positions without a readily obvious exit (cleithrophobia, for those curious). He's a wonderful lad.

    Campaign started us in November '42, right when the US began landing troops in North Africa, and thus far we've encounter a fair number of zombies, Nazi blood sorcerers, demons, and a few Nazi-engineered monsters (some armored frankenstein motherfuckers and proto-werewolves). We've just gotten to July of '43—playing for almost exactly a year now—and just landed in Sicily with the rest of the troops; Nazis had a Tiger waiting for us, but we got lucky with a narrative card (Adventure Cards, basically give players minor narrative control tweaks once per session) and were able to get a Sherman Howitzer landed in the next wave behind us to take out the Sherman. It's also been heavily hinted that Model is actually a descendant of a group called "The Brotherhood of Solomon" I think, which means possibly a connection to divine powers. It's been a crazy time so far.

    1 vote
  25. Flashynuff
    Link
    Sigh..my friend who is the DM of my current campaign is headed off to Georgia for a summer internship. We're gonna try to play on roll20 or something but I'm not too sure how that'll shake out....

    Sigh..my friend who is the DM of my current campaign is headed off to Georgia for a summer internship. We're gonna try to play on roll20 or something but I'm not too sure how that'll shake out. Does anyone have any tips for moving to online play?

    1 vote
  26. [2]
    odin
    Link
    I have always wanted to play, but none of my friends have ever played and I'm moving to college soon, so I don't want to start something in person. I have heard about roll20 but don't know how to...

    I have always wanted to play, but none of my friends have ever played and I'm moving to college soon, so I don't want to start something in person. I have heard about roll20 but don't know how to find friends to play with?

    1. LetsTalkAboutDnD
      Link Parent
      It's pretty likely that your college will have some form of tabletop RPG society, so your odds are pretty good if you wait til then. Otherwise, check out /r/lfg to find an online group.

      It's pretty likely that your college will have some form of tabletop RPG society, so your odds are pretty good if you wait til then.

      Otherwise, check out /r/lfg to find an online group.

  27. [3]
    wrenly_garrick
    Link
    I played my first game just over two years ago. We didn't get that far into it, but I enjoyed every session. Or group didn't take the game serious and would often frustrate our DM by messing up...

    I played my first game just over two years ago. We didn't get that far into it, but I enjoyed every session. Or group didn't take the game serious and would often frustrate our DM by messing up his plans every time we played.

    I recently started working at a board game distributor and have found a few other people who are not into DnD than I am. We are going to start our campaign soon and I will be DMing the story. It is a home brew, but I don't know how to do the dungeons and need help with riddles, traps, and puzzles.

    1. [2]
      LetsTalkAboutDnD
      Link Parent
      Watch the first couple episodes of Running the Game and you'll have a good idea of dungeons and homebrewing.

      Watch the first couple episodes of Running the Game and you'll have a good idea of dungeons and homebrewing.

      1 vote
      1. wrenly_garrick
        Link Parent
        Thanks, I will for sure give this a look over!

        Thanks, I will for sure give this a look over!

  28. [2]
    Bobbings
    Link
    Me and my mates started playing a couple of months ago. Our most confident member ran a couple of one shots first and we got a feel for it. Then I decided to create my own three part adventure and...

    Me and my mates started playing a couple of months ago. Our most confident member ran a couple of one shots first and we got a feel for it. Then I decided to create my own three part adventure and DM that, which went well and we learnt a bit more about what we like (less combat than I put in). Now we have one friend running his own mini-adventure whilst I have begun preparing a proper campaign. Does anyone have any advice for making plans for a full on campaign? I'm making various different quest hooks and designing a a town and a dungeon just for the beginning.

    1. LetsTalkAboutDnD
      Link Parent
      The way I do it is I create one central location (like a town) and there I place a number of varied quest hooks. Rumours of dungeons, someone in need, maybe the town guard has had issues with...

      The way I do it is I create one central location (like a town) and there I place a number of varied quest hooks. Rumours of dungeons, someone in need, maybe the town guard has had issues with goblins, etc. I prep three or four of these for Session 1.

      This will give a good indicator of the kinds of adventures your party prefers and they are almost guaranteed to latch on to at least one of your hooks. They obviously can't do everything at once, so the quests they don't pick will have an impact on the world. For example, if they didn't help the guard, maybe there has been a large goblin raid since they got back from their adventure, or maybe its something smaller like a caravan was attacked by the goblins and now they have a different quest.

      You keep doing that session by session and that turns into storytelling and after a while a campaign.