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That's super rude to be playing a computer game at the table! But I can understand being desperate for players.

We did a 'one-shot' with a guest DM yesterday which was really fun. Although the poor DM got a bit of a baptism of fire!

We started with three of us as an existing company; The intellectual Arnaut (Drow Wizard), the thuggish Dendra (Human Barbarian) and the soulful Raffa (Halfling Paladin).
• First I got in a shouting match with a shopkeep after failing to intimidate him.
• Then we all got in an argument with an obnoxious gnome who was trying to get us to split the gold with a random Dragonborn who turned up (another player) but in the end we decided she could be the canary.
• Then a Drow Rogue tried to sneak in the mine (another player, splitting the party) and set up an ambush for us only to get bitten to shreds by bats.
• Then the Drow Rogue tried to attack Arnaut (some sort of drow business) so I had to give him a little squeeze!
• The we met some terrified miners who the drow rogue proceeded to kill as soon as we were out of earshot (let's split the party again!).

After all that roleplay we had to rush the ending a bit, but we did somehow kill the bad guys and seal off the mine from the underdark despite forgetting to take any rests and all ending with barely any health

It was very different from our usual sessions, where we are all nice and heroic, but was really fun to play!

@Kroem: I'm glad to har you ahd a good time. That does sound like fun, but also pretty crazy.

As for the screen discussion, I have no electronics at the table when I DM, even tho having a laptop for music and stuff would be nice. One gaming group I'm a part of, has a member who takes long shopping trips in game, and tends to take the leadership role a lot. Some of the other players end up messing around on their computers because they're bored. I think this is a shame, not only because I think it's rude, but because it disconnects them from the game even more when they stop paying attention and participating. This is a really fun game, when we let it get going.

Some of you already know, I love the feel of having the real books, and physical printouts. I really like being there in person, with just paper and dice. It adds to the immersion for me. I've played some games through online programs. I think it was called "Tabletop RPG"? But it jsut wasn't as fun for me even though it was much more convenient. Now that I DM, I'm a crafting DM so I especially want to meet in person without distractions so I can show off my models

 Syro_ wrote:
@Kroem: I'm glad to har you ahd a good time. That does sound like fun, but also pretty crazy.

As for the screen discussion, I have no electronics at the table when I DM, even tho having a laptop for music and stuff would be nice. One gaming group I'm a part of, has a member who takes long shopping trips in game, and tends to take the leadership role a lot. Some of the other players end up messing around on their computers because they're bored. I think this is a shame, not only because I think it's rude, but because it disconnects them from the game even more when they stop paying attention and participating. This is a really fun game, when we let it get going.

Some of you already know, I love the feel of having the real books, and physical printouts. I really like being there in person, with just paper and dice. It adds to the immersion for me. I've played some games through online programs. I think it was called "Tabletop RPG"? But it jsut wasn't as fun for me even though it was much more convenient. Now that I DM, I'm a crafting DM so I especially want to meet in person without distractions so I can show off my models

I am the same as you. No screens allowed at the table. I hate when people get bored and disconnect because some player wants to take control with minutia. I am also a crafting DM but it's never models. I do hand drawn in setting maps. I bought a 3.00 paper mache ball at a craft store and made a globe map of my world. Those are the hand outs I give to players.

I use a tablet at the table just for my character (via D&D Beyond), but that's it (no printer). Most of my games are online, so in the rare instance where I get to play in person there is 0% chance of my getting distracted.

Re: Minis. Even in games where we're not using a grid I tend to have a mini just for a visual aid to my character.

@Lance845: Those maps and especially globes sound awesome! Do you have pictures of them posted anywhere?

Yea people do tend to get bored when one player goes off the deep end with minutia! As it is impossible to prevent, what we've started doing is getting bored in character. So whilst one of us is doing one on one with the shopkeep the rest of us can be getting to know each others characters a little betting, planning the next quest or complaining about our companion being a slow shopper! I find these slow bit a lot more fun than just having constant constant breakneck combat and exploration

I'm a big fan of models, but what we did for the 'one shot' game last week we all selected an image from the internet that represented our characters and then the DM printed little tokens for us which was pretty cool.

I've been running with a group all summer, and our DM has been a rockstar since day one. He does a ton of preparation for each session, hand writes secret documents, uses wax seals and custom made "gold pieces" and the like. His stories are also really well done, with a lot of background lore available should we start asking questions during our sessions.

Lately I've been rather bored playing my character though, so I told him I was ready to switch it out. He asked what I wanted to play next and I told him I really wanted to play a knight of some kind. Sword and Board it all the way.

A couple of months ago our group went on a long session "heist" style questline, it took about 4 weeks of work to complete.

Basically we had goals:

There is a Barony that lies between a vast empire and a large Kingdom, sort of like a sliver type border state. An unknown benefactor contacted us through one of our Rouges and offered a bounty of 500 gold per party member if we could hatch a plan to embarrass the Baron of this kingdom. We hatched a plan to spike his favorite wine at a celebration held in our honor for the defense of this town during an orc raid. We spiked it with a rather potent orc aphrodisiac, the intention being for him to accost the daughter of a prominent member of the kings guard.

At the same time another group contacted us and put out a hit on the baron, insisting we'd each be paid a bounty of 1500 gold if we were to murder him and plant a kukri and blue cloth, the symbol of an assassin of the empire.

We decided not to delve too deep into why someone wanted to try and start a war, and the gold was too tempting to pass up.

Long story short, the plan went off without a hitch, and we accomplished both goals, without getting caught. Our party rolled an absurd amount of 20's for checks that night. It was incredible.

So anyways, back to the new character. I came up with the idea that I'd like to play into that story. I rolled up a knight, who secretly is a bastard son of the baron, cast out of the house for an unknown reason, he knows his bloodline, but little more. It's possible he was cast out because he was a product of a union between the baron and another high class family in the town who are enemies. Anyways, he's returned specifically looking for this party to try and figure out what had happened. He doesn't know the party did the deed, but he figured this would be a good place to start and I'm really excited to get this going during our weekend session tomorrow!

Our party up until this point has been a series of murder hobos and a mage trying to keep them from being murder hobos. The DM expressed that he wants someone to help drive the story and everyone else is new to role playing except me, so I'm going to try and be the voice of reason going forward. A couple of the other party members are switching characters too now that they've got some play under their belts.

Party Comp before this was:

1 Dwarven Fighter
4 Rouge Assassins
1 Ranger Monster Hunter
1 Sorcerer of lightning douchery (this was me)

The new comp is going to be

1 Dwarven Fighter
2 Rouge Assassins
1 Elven Bard
1 Gnome Paladin
1 Tiefling Wizard
1 Human Fighter (Me again)

I'm hopeful that this will help the DM get us back on track, without sacrificing too much of the work other players have put into the game.

I tell you, it's way too easy to be a murder hobo in this game sometimes...

Have you tried NOT role-playing a murder hobo? I hear that helps if your game gets too murder-hoboey

 streamdragon wrote:
Have you tried NOT role-playing a murder hobo? I hear that helps if your game gets too murder-hoboey

What kind of nonsense is this? Next, you are going to tell me to "just not walk directly into the traps".

balmong7 wrote:
Next, you are going to tell me to "just not walk directly into the traps".

Whoa whoa whoa... let's not get crazy now. Those traps take a lot of work, it would be rude to NOT walk into them.

 streamdragon wrote:
Have you tried NOT role-playing a murder hobo? I hear that helps if your game gets too murder-hoboey

I have, everyone else on the planet, not so much. :(

https://www.kerrang.com/features/dungeon-masters-how-role-playing-games-influenced-heavy-metal/

.. t'is the season for tie-in articles eh ?

Yea I'm not sold on DnD being cool... I think part of the point is that you know its a little weird, but can trust your friends/ fellow adventurers not to laugh at your flamboyant acting or for getting over invested!

 streamdragon wrote:

balmong7 wrote:
Next, you are going to tell me to "just not walk directly into the traps".

Whoa whoa whoa... let's not get crazy now. Those traps take a lot of work, it would be rude to NOT walk into them.

One of my players felt this way yesterday. Thankfully, the dungeon builder was just trying to scare people away. So now his skin is died magically green for the next 4 months unless he finds someone to cast dispel magic.

balmong7 wrote:

 streamdragon wrote:

balmong7 wrote:
Next, you are going to tell me to "just not walk directly into the traps".

Whoa whoa whoa... let's not get crazy now. Those traps take a lot of work, it would be rude to NOT walk into them.

One of my players felt this way yesterday. Thankfully, the dungeon builder was just trying to scare people away. So now his skin is died magically green for the next 4 months unless he finds someone to cast dispel magic.

Ha! Reminds me of a gag from one of the Discworld books (Sourcery). Rincewind, Conina, Nijel the Destroyer and Sultan Creosote are travelling along a corridor towards the treasury. The encounter several ineffectual traps, including an extending hand that sticks a label saying "Kick me" to Rincewinds back followed by a boot on the end of an extending pole wobbling at them in an attempt to kick him. The next trap is a bucket of whitewash balanced on a door.

They reach the final trap at the end of the corridor in which a massive block of stone falls down from the ceiling. Upon inspection they find a message engraved in it: "Laugh this one off"

 A Town Called Malus wrote:


Ha! Reminds me of a gag from one of the Discworld books (Sourcery). Rincewind, Conina, Nijel the Destroyer and Sultan Creosote are travelling along a corridor towards the treasury. The encounter several ineffectual traps, including an extending hand that sticks a label saying "Kick me" to Rincewinds back followed by a boot on the end of an extending pole wobbling at them in an attempt to kick him. The next trap is a bucket of whitewash balanced on a door.

They reach the final trap at the end of the corridor in which a massive block of stone falls down from the ceiling. Upon inspection they find a message engraved in it: "Laugh this one off"

My favorite thing about this dungeon is that all the damaging traps can be spotted with perception checks, but all the gimmicky traps are investigation checks. So the party keeps walking into rooms, seeing the dangerous stuff, then walking directly into the harmless ones.

There was a puzzle earlier that one guy took the time to solve while the others tried to pick the lock on the door. He managed to recover the key at the same time they picked the lock. Currently, he feels stupid but when the rest of the party gets attacked by the guardian at the end of the dungeon and he is ignored for "passing the trials" he won't feel quite as stupid.

For those of you who are constantly looking for townsfolk minis for your games, I just ordered a set of 5 minis made by WizKids as an expansion for a board game called "Agricola". The minis look nice: There's a man carrying two pumpkins, a man carrying a barrel, a woman carrying a baby & basket, an old woman feeding ducks, and a man splitting wood. The figures look great in the thumbnail, I'll share what the actual minis look like when I open them.

Hey All,

Just posted an article about my overpowered, game-breaking character build. I think it is the max-damage out there. Please take a look!

https://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/The_Paladin_of_Mystery


V/R
EJF

 Syro_ wrote:
For those of you who are constantly looking for townsfolk minis for your games, I just ordered a set of 5 minis made by WizKids as an expansion for a board game called "Agricola". The minis look nice: There's a man carrying two pumpkins, a man carrying a barrel, a woman carrying a baby & basket, an old woman feeding ducks, and a man splitting wood. The figures look great in the thumbnail, I'll share what the actual minis look like when I open them.

Any update on this?

Thanks for reminding me balmong, I just got home 3 days ago, so I did finally get to open them, but I forgot to post here about them. Minis aren't painted nearly as well as in the promotional thumbnail of course, but I still like them.

Sorry, the pic isn't that clear


And here's a size comparison shot with official D&D mins and some Reaper minis.

Recently played some 5th Edition D&D, and I forgot how mechanics heavy the game is.

I have found that as I have gotten older, I have drifted away from this style of game and to a much more abstracted model with minimal dice rolling or modifiers. It was a bit of a surprise to me about myself!

Despite that, my hats is off to the designers for making a fun version of the game that appeals to a lot of players. I look forward to playing more.

I have a problem and I'm hoping someone here can help.

I recently started running a game, and I've made a mistake that has set the players out on the wrong quest-line. I need to correct this so that I can get them to where they need to go to start out the Ghosts of Saltmarsh Mission #2.

Does anyone have any ideas for how to steer a party back on track?

The specific issue is that I introduced an NPC without reading ahead, and the book has a very detailed NPC already doing the job mine was set up to do. It turns out the other NPC is hugely important to the flow of the narrative.

You could have the NPC be killed off somehow. Or fold the NPC you created into the other NPC and have them be the same person?

NPC sends message to party saying his friend (the NPC you need to introduce) might have more information about whatever it is they are trying to do.

Is then killed.

Started a new campaign last night.

My first roles were:

2,1,3,6,5,1

But I stuck with my D20 and it all balanced out later, mostly getting 15 -20s in the late game fights.

Totally killed an NPC villain that the adventure assumes you have no chance of killing when he challenges you.

@Togusa: I haven't read any of the "Ghosts of Saltmarsh" stuff, so I apologize if this advice isn't helpful.
-For starters, how important is it for them to quickly get back on track? Would it be feasible to work a one-shot adventure into the story line where they are going? With the completion of the one-shot introduce a hook back to the main adventure?
-How dependent is this campaign on the map and geography? Is it possible to just move the place that they are supposed to be going to, and place it where they are heading?
-I agree with Da Boss, it's no big deal to replace or merge NPCs as long as you can keep track of it. I made a mistake running "Lost Mines of Phandelver" and had the players deliver the goods on the wagon they were protecting to the wrong NPC and wrongs store. I was kicking myself, but they couldn't tell the difference, still had fun, and don't even know that I made that mistake and wrote a store out of the game.
Good luck

Those minis look awesome. glad they fit the scale so well. May have to look into getting them myself one of these days.

Hey all,

Just got a look at this doc, the new Unearthed Arcana:
https://media.wizards.com/2019/dnd/downloads/UA-WildAstral.pdf

First thought - Half Orc Astral Monk.

But does it break the game? Some commentary here at #3:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/unearthed-arcana/44998-new-ua-wild-magic-barbarian-and-astral-monk#c10

Nazeon, 15 Hours Ago:

"Assuming a situation where a Life Cleric with 18 Wisdom (+4) and a Wild Soul Barbarian are in the same party, you can use Magic Reserves to permanently keep the Barbarian at max HP after every fight by trading spell slots for cure wounds.

Barb rolls 1 on 1d4, takes 5 damage, cleric Cure Wounds averages at 12
Barb rolls 2 on 1d4, takes 10 damage, cleric Cure Wounds averages at 17
Barb rolls 3 on 1d4, takes 15 damage, cleric Cure Wounds averages at 22
Barb rolls 4 on 1d4, takes 20 damage, cleric Cure Wounds averages at 28
This is straight broken hahaha. It should at least have a limit such as Constitution Mod in uses per long rest otherwise it's so hilariously easy to exploit. You don't even need to have a Life Cleric, it just helps tip things in the Barbarians favour.

Not to mention the fact that the Barbarian gets this at level 6 and can grant level 4 spell slots even though no class has level 4 spell slots at level 6."

Hypothetically, if one were a multiclassed Wild magic/Sorceror Wild Magic Barbarian- (henceforth known as a Double Wild) could one choose which Wild Surge table one used? I realize it is an unlikely thing, but it would be pretty cool to be able to have the potential to get 2 effects for the duration of your rage. Or, you know, to rage so hard a fireball detonates on you.

 Gitzbitah wrote:
Hypothetically, if one were a multiclassed Wild magic/Sorceror Wild Magic Barbarian- (henceforth known as a Double Wild) could one choose which Wild Surge table one used? I realize it is an unlikely thing, but it would be pretty cool to be able to have the potential to get 2 effects for the duration of your rage. Or, you know, to rage so hard a fireball detonates on you.

Good idea, but RAW (Rules-as-Written) I think that is a No-go. I love the explosive randomosity the wild classes add to the game, and I am glad to see Wizards add to the wild flavor of characters!