A friend who has never DMed before is starting a Ravnica campaign, as she is a big M:TG player. I have no experience with Ravnica. I was immediately drawn to the Ozrhov Syndicate though. A church/bank/mafia? Where you equate debt and guilt? Hell yeah, extremely cool. Rolled up an Order cleric to play this weekend.
In a Ravnica campaign I briefly played an Orzhov Cleric. I think my favorite bit was I flavored Guidance/Bless as commanding a little Will-O-Wisp to help. When someone tried talking to it, I did a Droopy Dog voice and said “Please sir, I just have a lot of debt I need to work off. Don’t make this weird.”
Sadly I switched as he was a bit too much of a piece of shit for the rest of the party I felt.
I mean, yeah, the Orzhov manage to get the uncontested trophy to "Most Evil" on a plane that includes literal murder torture clowns and bureaucrats that level entire city blocks with people inside because it's not their problem if people didn't see the eviction notice (delivered by skyrunes, it happened to be cloudy). It's hard to play an Orzhov that actually belongs in the guild and not have the rest of the party chucking you off a tower.
I've only dealt a little bit with proper Ravnica lore, which guilds are the murder clowns and the bureaucrats you're referring to?
Okay in retrospect Rakdos should have been fully obvious. That was a huge brainfart.
I don't recall the smidge I interacted with the lore painting Azorius as being heartless, dang.
You probably missed Vraska's backstory where, uh, let me just quote the wiki:
Persecuted
Vraska's life had been fairly simple in the Undercity, on the fringes of the Golgari Swarm.[12] However, on a world such as Ravnica, even a simple life can be destroyed by politics.
Vraska was seventeen when the Azorius Senate decided that the Golgari had grown too powerful, too numerous, and needed to be pushed out of certain areas they'd claimed.[13][9] Isperia, then a high-ranking Azorius judge, issued a writ of a mass arrest for any people caught bearing allegiance to the Golgari.[14] Vraska was amongst those apprehended, and they were taken to an Azorius detention compound, the place where all victims of the writ had been imprisoned. Vraska was kept blindfolded with broken ribs in standing water for weeks, only able to listen as another gorgon, Ludmilla, was blinded and killed.[9] The cells quickly filled beyond capacity, and, vastly outnumbered by their prisoners, the Azorius guards were swept under the tide of a prison riot. These events became known as the Duskend Purges.[15] Vraska and her fellow inmates found themselves quickly ferried away to a secure location while much of the riot continued, but in the tight confines of the basement, they were trapped. Hours passed and tensions grew thick, the guards becoming nervous and abusive. Soon enough, the prisoners had taken enough from their callous jailors.
Escape
Many of the Golgari captives worked together and freed Vraska, but realizing the threat, the guards quickly turned their attention to her. She was severely beaten and lay near death when her planeswalker's spark ignited, threw her away from the world she knew.[13] She woke up in a swamp on a dark plane, with half her ribs broken and no idea where she was. She lay in the darkness, unable to understand what had happened, and much time passed before she learned to control her abilities.[16]
(The (Rivals of) Ixalan story is pretty good, btw, and worth reading.)
Does anyone have a custom/blank/pocketed GM screen they like? I have a fair few bundles with digital GM screens, which aren't very useful on their own. Also can't decide between landscape or portrait, both seem to exist.
I almost grabbed one at my FLGs but I noticed when I picked up that one of the panels had already torn most of the way off. So I'm concerned about durability.
Does anyone have a custom/blank/pocketed GM screen they like? I have a fair few bundles with digital GM screens, which aren't very useful on their own. Also can't decide between landscape or portrait, both seem to exist.
I almost grabbed one at my FLGs but I noticed when I picked up that one of the panels had already torn most of the way off. So I'm concerned about durability.
Nothing fancy, just has clear pockets on both sides so I can put artwork on one side and rules on the other side. I've been using it for every game I run for a long time now.
Someday I might swap it out for something else but this has been good.
Does anyone have a custom/blank/pocketed GM screen they like? I have a fair few bundles with digital GM screens, which aren't very useful on their own. Also can't decide between landscape or portrait, both seem to exist.
I almost grabbed one at my FLGs but I noticed when I picked up that one of the panels had already torn most of the way off. So I'm concerned about durability.
Nothing fancy, just has clear pockets on both sides so I can put artwork on one side and rules on the other side. I've been using it for every game I run for a long time now.
Someday I might swap it out for something else but this has been good.
I use a similar one. I like putting player cheatsheets in the outer pockets.
Made a new cantrip because our group keeps mispronouncing "Booming Blade."
Blooming Blade - S, M (a melee weapon worth at least 1 sp)
You brandish the weapon used in the spell’s casting and make a melee attack with it against one creature within 5 feet of you. On a hit, the target suffers the weapon attack’s normal effects and is wreathed in blossoming vines until the start of your next turn. The target takes 1d8 acid damage the first time they miss with an attack roll while these vines are present.
This spell's damage increases when you reach certain levels. At 5th level, the melee attack deals an extra 1d8 acid damage to the target on a hit, and the damage the target takes for missing with an attack roll increases to 2d8. Both damage rolls increase by 1d8 at 11th level (2d8 and 3d8) and at 17th level (3d8 and 4d8).
I think it'd be funny to have two characters who use booming blade and blooming blade interchangeably, and are also twins who mix up who does what constantly.
"No I'm the one who booms, you're the one who blooms. Or was I the one who blooms? Blooming Blade!"
WearingglassesOf the friendly neighborhood varietyRegistered Userregular
Uhh, I got a question, since I've been seeing the back-and-forth of people when discussing the new 5e's Stealth rules (whether the new or old version is clunkier): How do other systems do stealth, and which one do you guys feel are intuitive and simple?
Well, in the medieval paradigm, all objects give off 'species' which are detected by our organs of perception to allow us to sense things. Altering the species of an object in turn affects how they are perceived. Species fall under the Imaginem Art so a Perdo Imaginem spell will turn an object invisible for the duration of the spell (unlike many Perdo spells it needs to be cast at more than Momentary duration as species are continually produced by objects). Higher levels of spell are required to also make targets silent, and there is also the issue of shadows, as the object is still blocking the light...
/continues for several minutes
...and if their Perception + Awareness roll is less than your Dexterity + Stealth roll, they don't notice you
[Muffled sounds of gorilla violence]
+4
StraightziHere we may reign secure, and in my choice,To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered Userregular
Uhh, I got a question, since I've been seeing the back-and-forth of people when discussing the new 5e's Stealth rules (whether the new or old version is clunkier): How do other systems do stealth, and which one do you guys feel are intuitive and simple?
What are the new 5e rules?
I would say most systems I've played handle stealth the same way they handle any other ability/skill checks, so it's just a matter then of which resolution system you like best there.
Haven’t seen the new D&D. A nice stealth system I’ve used before is making failed checks clues for future investigators. It’s not whether you get caught right now, but whether the trail leads back to you. You can then also have other checks be to cover up that clue you’ve just left, or misdirect it on to someone or something else. During or after the act.
Sometimes though just saying they’re in stealth is fine, as is a catch all “do you do this whole thing stealthily” check at the start or mid-way through.
My main house rule is as long as everyone knows what rule we’re using you don’t have to only use one rule.
I’m still using basically group “stealth hp” where moving around slowly expends the pool, and you can risk losing more to have the group combine their spot/search number instead of their individual values.
It adds some interesting tension when it starts running out between “look for traps” and “sneak past foes”. Since it’s a pool it avoids the “sneaky player plays a solo scouting scene every time the group travels somewhere” problem (as well as the “scout character messes up and walks face first into a full-ass encounter by themself” problem).
It also works ok in reverse so npcs can use the same rules, which I like, even though it’s not really important.
My personal favorite right now is Savage Worlds, where you don't roll at all when you hide, you just say you're hiding and then when you run out to stab a motherfucker you roll stealth vs notice and that's it.
My personal favorite right now is Savage Worlds, where you don't roll at all when you hide, you just say you're hiding and then when you run out to stab a motherfucker you roll stealth vs notice and that's it.
This is how I would handle skill based stealth in essentially any game, unless it has specific reason to do otherwise. The skill check isn't needed until it's for something that is actually in question.
Just a quick one. Not that I do this every time myself, but when I remember I think it philosophically sound:
Don’t do stealth checks (if that’s the kind of rule set you’re using) at the start of the situation. If the players want to sneak into the bandit camp, that’s the fantasy they want to act out right now. If you make them do the stealth mechanic as they suggest sneaking in, there’s a chance they don’t even get to try it and now they’re doing a different scene they didn’t want to act out. If they wanted to bust the door down and make some noise, they would have.
It seems very uncool to me to have a friend say “I open the back door ever so slightly and slip in” only to tell them nope, everyone knows you’re here.
Plus, there’s much less to lose at the start. However, making that stealth mechanic kick in at the half way point? When they have patrolling guards behind them and up ahead? That for me is the fantasy of sneaking around.
+6
WearingglassesOf the friendly neighborhood varietyRegistered Userregular
Uhh, I got a question, since I've been seeing the back-and-forth of people when discussing the new 5e's Stealth rules (whether the new or old version is clunkier): How do other systems do stealth, and which one do you guys feel are intuitive and simple?
What are the new 5e rules?
I would say most systems I've played handle stealth the same way they handle any other ability/skill checks, so it's just a matter then of which resolution system you like best there.
From what I gather, it's the following:
- You still need to be in heavy cover and such to start hiding
- You now have a flat DC 15 to succeed in Hiding, after which you gain the "Invisible" condition. It's less the traditional invisibility and more like an "Unseen" state. Benefits are the usual. The spell Invisibility now automatically grants you the Invisible condition. Invisible state from hiding ends if someone succeeds in finding you, if you make "a noise louder than a whisper", or if you attack/cast a spell.
- Enemies now need to take an action try finding you and make a Perception check (or rely on Passive Perception automatically), but the DC is your successful roll (which... sounds like a longer version of the old contested check? I dunno)
Posts
Murder Clowns are Rakdos: https://scryfall.com/card/rna/164/cult-guildmage
and the bureaucrats are the Azorius: https://scryfall.com/card/clu/211/supreme-verdict
I don't recall the smidge I interacted with the lore painting Azorius as being heartless, dang.
You probably missed Vraska's backstory where, uh, let me just quote the wiki:
(The (Rivals of) Ixalan story is pretty good, btw, and worth reading.)
So I've flavoured my Adviser career as one working for the merchant classes of varying levels of legitimacy
He has his sources, and can catch up on the political situation of a town quickly to understand which approach will cut the mustard
He is a bit tasty in combat, and can be relied upon not to spill the beans if he gets in a pickle
Straight to jail
Said with relish.
Heinz doesn't do porridge
Maybe his old address
A 16 yo adviser??
With how harsh the world is, 16 is a stately old man in WFRP.
The bottom rank of the career is aide
So I guess I'm basically an intern at a think tank
The suggestion in the book is the childhood friend of a minor noble
That "nyaah, shee" gangster voice
I need you to replicate whatever Burn Gorman is doing as Charles Bluhdorn in The Offer.
Can’t do that one though @Rhesus Positive its too regular an occurrence!
Transatlantic accent
Yeah that's the one, the movie accent! Aka the mid-Atlantic accent, it was a deliberately cultivated affectation. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Atlantic_accent
I almost grabbed one at my FLGs but I noticed when I picked up that one of the panels had already torn most of the way off. So I'm concerned about durability.
I got this one a long time ago:
https://peginc.com/product/savage-worlds-customizable-gm-screen/
Nothing fancy, just has clear pockets on both sides so I can put artwork on one side and rules on the other side. I've been using it for every game I run for a long time now.
Someday I might swap it out for something else but this has been good.
I use a similar one. I like putting player cheatsheets in the outer pockets.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
"No I'm the one who booms, you're the one who blooms. Or was I the one who blooms? Blooming Blade!"
Well, in the medieval paradigm, all objects give off 'species' which are detected by our organs of perception to allow us to sense things. Altering the species of an object in turn affects how they are perceived. Species fall under the Imaginem Art so a Perdo Imaginem spell will turn an object invisible for the duration of the spell (unlike many Perdo spells it needs to be cast at more than Momentary duration as species are continually produced by objects). Higher levels of spell are required to also make targets silent, and there is also the issue of shadows, as the object is still blocking the light...
/continues for several minutes
...and if their Perception + Awareness roll is less than your Dexterity + Stealth roll, they don't notice you
What are the new 5e rules?
I would say most systems I've played handle stealth the same way they handle any other ability/skill checks, so it's just a matter then of which resolution system you like best there.
Sometimes though just saying they’re in stealth is fine, as is a catch all “do you do this whole thing stealthily” check at the start or mid-way through.
My main house rule is as long as everyone knows what rule we’re using you don’t have to only use one rule.
It adds some interesting tension when it starts running out between “look for traps” and “sneak past foes”. Since it’s a pool it avoids the “sneaky player plays a solo scouting scene every time the group travels somewhere” problem (as well as the “scout character messes up and walks face first into a full-ass encounter by themself” problem).
It also works ok in reverse so npcs can use the same rules, which I like, even though it’s not really important.
This is how I would handle skill based stealth in essentially any game, unless it has specific reason to do otherwise. The skill check isn't needed until it's for something that is actually in question.
Don’t do stealth checks (if that’s the kind of rule set you’re using) at the start of the situation. If the players want to sneak into the bandit camp, that’s the fantasy they want to act out right now. If you make them do the stealth mechanic as they suggest sneaking in, there’s a chance they don’t even get to try it and now they’re doing a different scene they didn’t want to act out. If they wanted to bust the door down and make some noise, they would have.
It seems very uncool to me to have a friend say “I open the back door ever so slightly and slip in” only to tell them nope, everyone knows you’re here.
Plus, there’s much less to lose at the start. However, making that stealth mechanic kick in at the half way point? When they have patrolling guards behind them and up ahead? That for me is the fantasy of sneaking around.
From what I gather, it's the following:
- You still need to be in heavy cover and such to start hiding
- You now have a flat DC 15 to succeed in Hiding, after which you gain the "Invisible" condition. It's less the traditional invisibility and more like an "Unseen" state. Benefits are the usual. The spell Invisibility now automatically grants you the Invisible condition. Invisible state from hiding ends if someone succeeds in finding you, if you make "a noise louder than a whisper", or if you attack/cast a spell.
- Enemies now need to take an action try finding you and make a Perception check (or rely on Passive Perception automatically), but the DC is your successful roll (which... sounds like a longer version of the old contested check? I dunno)
Anyway, someone tried explaining it all in this here reddit post.
In place of other, clearly inferior game mechanics, every time you want to hide you’ve got to play the shell game with your game host.