As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/

[D&D 5E] Playtest of Chaos (Post-Playtest Discussion)

1468910

Posts

  • AnialosAnialos Collies are love, Collies are life! Shadowbrook ColliesRegistered User regular
    I've got 5k+ left after buying my fancy Mithril shirt, so you fellas can have that for the Bag o' Healing Pots if you want.

  • oxybeoxybe Entei is appaled and disappointed in you Registered User regular
    Oh, Denada, i was wondering if i could also drag along the Oxycorp Portable Rogue
    portablerogue_zps806a0dec.png

    This high tech device, by the fine makers of such adventuring gear as the High Quality Silica Liquid Containment Apparatus and Food-on-a-Stick, is made of 25lbs of premium grade oak, 50ft of bombyx mori thread hand-woven rope and a single solid hoop of dwarven-wrought iron (free of all impurities).

    need to check a floor for traps? let the portable rogue travel the corridor ahead of you!
    need to open a stubborn locked door? let the portable rogue aid you in forcing it open!
    need to check if you can reach the bottom of the bottomless pit? ease the portable rogue down to check for you!
    lost your weapon and backed by an ogre against the wall? nothing says "Sneak attack" like a portable rogue to the jaw!

    THE PORTABLE ROGUE, BY OXYCORP! ORDER YOURS TODAY!

    As a bonus, if the portable rogue fails to get you and your party out of a dungeon alive, you get your money back, guaranteed!

    you can read my collected ravings at oxybesothertumbr.tumblr.com
    -Weather Badge
  • DenadaDenada Registered User regular
    Hiring Lackeys: There are no warriors available for hire. The commoners refuse to leave their homes or workplaces, even for the promise of fame and riches. Speaking of riches, a few of them have some really nice suits of plate armor for sale, only 5000gp.

    Portable Rogue: You can bring it.

    Characters: How are we doing on sheets? Is everyone more or less ready to get started?

  • NealnealNealneal Registered User regular
    Kelmon's in his mithril plate and ready to rock.

  • Der Waffle MousDer Waffle Mous Blame this on the misfortune of your birth. New Yark, New Yark.Registered User regular
    More or less.

    Steam PSN: DerWaffleMous Origin: DerWaffleMous Bnet: DerWaffle#1682
  • oxybeoxybe Entei is appaled and disappointed in you Registered User regular
    Awesome, Xi is ready to rumble too.

    I'll call the portable rogue "Fingers" after the inumerous rogues we've theoretically lost on the way to level 14: "Fingers" Malone, "Fingers" MacIssac, "Fingers" Madison, "Fingers" McMillian, "Fingers" Mulligan, etc...

    May their legacy live on eternally in "Fingers", the level 14 Portable Rogue.

    you can read my collected ravings at oxybesothertumbr.tumblr.com
    -Weather Badge
  • ChrysisChrysis Registered User regular
    Ibilid is pretty much ready to rock. I'll go through and update his sheet with the Spider Man Boots and Ring of Protection soon.

    Tri-Optimum reminds you that there are only one-hundred-sixty-three shopping days until Christmas. Just 1 extra work cycle twice a week will give you the spending money you need to make this holiday a very special one.
  • AnialosAnialos Collies are love, Collies are life! Shadowbrook ColliesRegistered User regular
    I'm ready!

  • ChrysisChrysis Registered User regular
    Am I right in thinking the party is 2 Fighters, 2 Monks and a Rogue?

    We're going to need the big bag of healing pots.

    Tri-Optimum reminds you that there are only one-hundred-sixty-three shopping days until Christmas. Just 1 extra work cycle twice a week will give you the spending money you need to make this holiday a very special one.
  • AnialosAnialos Collies are love, Collies are life! Shadowbrook ColliesRegistered User regular
    I thought there was a Cleric? I know one of everything was listed except Wizard when I asked @Denada before making Rein Jhar.

  • oxybeoxybe Entei is appaled and disappointed in you Registered User regular
    it does seem that way.

    but, we shouldn't need wizards or clerics right?

    you can read my collected ravings at oxybesothertumbr.tumblr.com
    -Weather Badge
  • AnialosAnialos Collies are love, Collies are life! Shadowbrook ColliesRegistered User regular
    Crap, GrimmyTOA was the Cleric. Uh, @Crysis, you want to remake or shall I? I'm fine with it if you don't want to.

  • oxybeoxybe Entei is appaled and disappointed in you Registered User regular
    oh anialos, we should trust mearls and wotc to make the game playable without a cleric or wizard.

    i mean, what kind of silly goose would make those classes mandatory?

    you can read my collected ravings at oxybesothertumbr.tumblr.com
    -Weather Badge
  • DenadaDenada Registered User regular
    Besides, Mearls already informed us that the Fighter is the strongest class.

  • ChrysisChrysis Registered User regular
    It wouldn't be as entertaining for the viewers if we insisted on being sensible about party makeup. And anyway, we have 500 Healing Potions. As long as we survive a fight we'll be right as rain, and we'll survive because they've done their job designing things so well.

    Tri-Optimum reminds you that there are only one-hundred-sixty-three shopping days until Christmas. Just 1 extra work cycle twice a week will give you the spending money you need to make this holiday a very special one.
  • LeperLeper Registered User regular
    I detect no sarcasm in this.

    If my role play is hindered by rolling to play, then I'd prefer the rolls play right, instead of steam-rolling play-night.
  • AnialosAnialos Collies are love, Collies are life! Shadowbrook ColliesRegistered User regular
    Ahaha, yess. So, instead of a healer, we just throw Healing Potions around the battlefield like beads on Mardi Gras.

  • oxybeoxybe Entei is appaled and disappointed in you Registered User regular
    more like we drink 'em like it's dec 20th 2012 and the world is ending tomorrow. or a decent mardi gras party.

    either or.

    throwing the healing pots on the ground is just wasteful. unless they explode with healing.

    then it's awesome.

    you can read my collected ravings at oxybesothertumbr.tumblr.com
    -Weather Badge
  • oxybeoxybe Entei is appaled and disappointed in you Registered User regular
    also, i'll try not to remember what i read about the module.

    or i will remember and do the exact worst thing possible for us, because for Xi that is in character. and like a pro wrestler, i cannot, under any circumstance, break character.

    for the viewers, natch.

    you can read my collected ravings at oxybesothertumbr.tumblr.com
    -Weather Badge
  • ChrysisChrysis Registered User regular
    I intend for Ibilid to actually be a Pro-Wrestler, or possibly Luchadore. All my knowledge of wrestling essentially comes from No More Heroes and Saints Row.

    Tri-Optimum reminds you that there are only one-hundred-sixty-three shopping days until Christmas. Just 1 extra work cycle twice a week will give you the spending money you need to make this holiday a very special one.
  • LeperLeper Registered User regular
    Is this adventure supposed to be a remake of something or are they claiming this is new and original content?

    If my role play is hindered by rolling to play, then I'd prefer the rolls play right, instead of steam-rolling play-night.
  • DenadaDenada Registered User regular
    Well, according to the PDF:
    "This adventure originally appeared in Dungeon 37 and was revised for 3rd edition rules in Dungeon 138. This version has been revised and updated to the D&D® Next rules. Inspired by Gary Gygax’s classic Tomb of Horrors™, The Mud Sorcerer’s Tomb is a deadly dungeon crawl designed to challenge high-level parties to the utmost of their abilities."

    So yeah. The first of those utmost abilities is showing restraint in using player knowledge.

    The second is making a DC 15 Intelligence check.

  • bssbss Brostoyevsky Madison, WIRegistered User regular
    Mud Sorcerers.

    Alright.

    3DS: 2466-2307-8384 PSN: bssteph Steam: bsstephan Twitch: bsstephan
    Tabletop:13th Age (mm-mmm), D&D 4e
    Occasional words about games: my site
  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    I'm just disappointed none of them are dead yet. This isn't a real classic adventure!

    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
  • DenadaDenada Registered User regular
    edited December 2012
    Just wait. It is entirely possible that one of them could die from this.

    Seriously though one of you guys make an Intelligence check (DC 15) or I can't let you in.

    Also if any of you can read Dwarven I can give you some more information.

    Denada on
  • Der Waffle MousDer Waffle Mous Blame this on the misfortune of your birth. New Yark, New Yark.Registered User regular
    All of us failing and deciding to go home might be the best possible ending to this.

    Steam PSN: DerWaffleMous Origin: DerWaffleMous Bnet: DerWaffle#1682
  • AnialosAnialos Collies are love, Collies are life! Shadowbrook ColliesRegistered User regular
    Ahaha, well we've got three more to try before we have to sit there awhile and try again.

  • oxybeoxybe Entei is appaled and disappointed in you Registered User regular
    Xi makes it with a 19!

    hooray for the unlikeliest of possibilities!

    you can read my collected ravings at oxybesothertumbr.tumblr.com
    -Weather Badge
  • Der Waffle MousDer Waffle Mous Blame this on the misfortune of your birth. New Yark, New Yark.Registered User regular
    Ahahaha

    Steam PSN: DerWaffleMous Origin: DerWaffleMous Bnet: DerWaffle#1682
  • LeperLeper Registered User regular
    That was so much better than that stupid skill challenge nonsense of 4e. [/sarcasm]

    If my role play is hindered by rolling to play, then I'd prefer the rolls play right, instead of steam-rolling play-night.
  • oxybeoxybe Entei is appaled and disappointed in you Registered User regular
    of course. because now instead of spamming "i use athletics" we spam "i use strength".

    much better without those silly 4th-isms [/sarcasm]

    you can read my collected ravings at oxybesothertumbr.tumblr.com
    -Weather Badge
  • bssbss Brostoyevsky Madison, WIRegistered User regular
    oxybe wrote: »
    Xi gets up and once more gets in that slab's grill. staring at the letters he mashes a combination to spell "W E L C O M E"

    "THIS IS SILLY. WHY WOULD ONE WELCOME ANOTHER INTO A TOMB WITH SUCH A RIDICULOUS PUZZLE? WHO BUILDS THESE?"

    I don't know but I hope the module has baked in a failure case if you press the Es in the wrong order. It seems fitting.

    3DS: 2466-2307-8384 PSN: bssteph Steam: bsstephan Twitch: bsstephan
    Tabletop:13th Age (mm-mmm), D&D 4e
    Occasional words about games: my site
  • oxybeoxybe Entei is appaled and disappointed in you Registered User regular
    i would accept that.

    any reason to have Xi be even angrier at a piece of rock, the better. do note that should "welcome" fail, Xi will attempt to get in via an alternative method. specifically that if he can't go through front door, he'll make himself a side door.

    he has a pick, a shovel, a sledge, trail rations and bullheaded determination.

    he will get in.

    somehow.

    no matter how long it takes.

    Xi will get in this dungeon, and he will explore the **** out of it.

    you can read my collected ravings at oxybesothertumbr.tumblr.com
    -Weather Badge
  • DenadaDenada Registered User regular
    Now that we're inside the actual dungeon, I should explain how I'm running this adventure and why.

    Normally, I would make assumptions about things you are likely to do and just move you along a bit here and there to keep the adventure moving. That sort of thing just tends to make PbPs run a little smoother.

    HOWEVER, this is 5E, and this is The Mud Sorcerer's Tomb, and both things preclude me from doing that in the same way that I normally would by the way they're designed. The way 5E handles skill checks means I can't just assume that you're doing a certain thing or looking in a certain place or whatever. You have to specifically state not only where you're looking but how you're looking:

    Where: If you say you're looking around at the walls and roll a 50 billion on your Spot check, I can't tell you about the golden key on the floor (there isn't one in the room you guys are currently in, before you get any ideas), because you didn't say you were looking at the floor. This specificity is by design and is a part of the core rules.

    How: Similarly, if you're using Wisdom but The Thing needs an Intelligence check, you're out of luck. There are significant differences between these checks that are a core part of the rules. In 5E, "noticing" and "finding" are two completely different things. I'll just let the PDF explain:
    As a general rule, your Wisdom serves as a measure of your general awareness of your surroundings, whether you notice creatures lurking in ambush, hear the stealthy tread of an approaching assassin, or catch the telltale whiff of troglodyte in the air.

    Your Intelligence measures your ability to find something you’re looking for, whether it’s the faint outline of a secret door in a wall, the hollow sound of a hidden compartment in the bottom of a chest, clues to a murder, or the footsteps of an invisible creature in the dust.

    Sherlock Holmes, renowned for his Intelligence, is the undisputed master of finding clues and determining their significance. Tarzan, on the other hand, who unfailingly hears the rustle of leaves or the snap of a twig, or sees a stalking tiger or lurking snake, relies on his Wisdom.

    The line between using Wisdom or Intelligence gets a little blurry if you try to actively extend your senses in an effort to notice something around you. Making an effort to notice something sounds much like finding, but it still relies on Wisdom. If you stop and spend a moment to scan the surrounding trees, or press your ear to a door to hear what might lurk beyond, you’re still relying on Wisdom.

    The Search skill, mostly relevant to finding, typically modifies an Intelligence check. The Listen and Spot skills, however, are all about noticing, and they typically modify Wisdom checks.

    Now, all of this becomes a very real issue in the context of this adventure, because there's all kinds of stuff in here that needs to be very specifically noticed (or found, as the case may be). I can't just assume that you move on to the next room, because if you do you might miss something, or you might die (I'm just assuming) or some other thing might happen.

    So remember: there is no Passive Perception, and even a DC 5 Intelligence check is impossible for you to succeed at if you don't say you're looking in the right place.

  • AnialosAnialos Collies are love, Collies are life! Shadowbrook ColliesRegistered User regular
    Wheee!

  • DenadaDenada Registered User regular
    Yeah. I mean, I'm going to do my best to give you guys as much leeway as possible, but 5E has these weird chunks of simulation like this and it makes for difficult fun.

    Like, having a guy who's so good at karate that he can shoot fire out of his hands is totally fine, but a character being as good at noticing things as he is at finding them is just unrealistic.

  • AnialosAnialos Collies are love, Collies are life! Shadowbrook ColliesRegistered User regular
    My dude is really good at shooting bows! Seeing stuff? Nah.

  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    Now Denada goes over the part of 5th that makes it very unlikely I would choose to play it as a means of recreation.

    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
  • oxybeoxybe Entei is appaled and disappointed in you Registered User regular
    edited December 2012
    What do you mean "difficult fun"? pixelbitching is a classic staple of old games and thus is the besterest fun you can have because classic is fuun :rotate: .

    Then again, you've already gotten a taste of how my character solves problems. if anything this will be a stress test of how 5th ed stands up to people deciding "screw it, cut the knot".

    which is ironic, since Xi can actually "use rope" like a boss.

    oxybe on
    you can read my collected ravings at oxybesothertumbr.tumblr.com
    -Weather Badge
  • DenadaDenada Registered User regular
    The more of this adventure I read, the more I see that I need to change. For starters, the obscure clues in a language that no one knows and can't learn are going to get a makeover. And then all the puzzles that can only be solved via wizard.

    If there's one thing they're doing really well with Next, it's picking terrible adventures.

Sign In or Register to comment.