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[D&D Discussion] 5th Edition HD Remaster Coming in 2024, Entering the Disney Vault in 2025

DenadaDenada Registered User regular
edited February 2022 in Critical Failures
Welcome to a land of epic battles…
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brave heroes…
xoq9vu0omlgr.jpg

fearsome dragons…
umy2chfdsm36.jpg

and dangerous monsters.
mps0rux4f6cm.jpg


In this thread, we talk about Dungeons & Dragons, one of the most well-known tabletop RPGs of all time. Its quality is debatable (and oh do we debate it, frequently), but no one can deny its popularity. It has spawned numerous editions, offshoots, play-alikes, and subgenres. We talk about all of that here. Chainmail, 1E, 2E, BECMI, 3E, 3.5E, 4E, 5E, Pathfinder, Starfinder, Gamma World, it’s all fair game because it’s all D&D or basically D&D. Also we just can’t help ourselves; trying to make this thread strictly about D&D 5E is a fool’s errand.

With that being said, 5E is the current version of D&D, is extremely popular, and is what most people are playing or want to play right now. With that in mind, here’s some possibly useful information about 5E:

What You can Get for Free
  • The 5E Basic Rules are available in both PDF and web versions. Note that these rules do not include all of the available character options, monsters, and other material. A free D&D Beyond account also has access to Basic Rules material.
  • There is a 5E SRD. Same caveat applies about it not having everything. There are a lot of different versions of this out there, so just search engine it and use the one you like.
  • There's an amazing OneNote notebook that contains all of the freely (and legally) available 5E content that was out there at the time it was last updated.
  • There are a lot of character sheets, both official and unofficial. Pick one that makes sense to you. Yours truly just uses the standard one, but tastes vary.
  • There's Dragon+, which is a free digital magazine. I've never read it so I don't know if it's any good.
  • There are no full-content PDFs legally available.

What You Can Buy if You Want
  • The Starter Set is generally considered to be a pretty good option if you want to dip your toe in. The included adventure is well-liked by most, though it has a few gotchas that can sometimes trip up unsuspecting groups.
  • The Core Three books (Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual) are your standard initial investment.
  • Most of the official adventures are somewhere on the scale of fine to great. Your mileage will vary depending on your group, but they're all at least okay if you don't want to write your own stuff.
  • 5E content is available for purchase on a few different platforms. None of these digital purchases overlap, meaning if you buy into Fantasy Grounds, you'd have to pay again for Roll20 or D&D Beyond.
  • The DMs Guild is a branded DriveThruRPG sub-site that's full of D&D content, both official and third-party. Some of it is free. Some of it might be good.
  • Some companies produce accessories and other merch for D&D. These things can be nice to have, but aren't necessary for playing the game. Personally I like the spell cards, though they are a bit pricey.
  • There are no full-content PDFs legally available.

Where You Can Play
  • In-person with your friends is what most people want to do. The expected party size is one Dungeon Master with four Players. You can play with more or less players, and adjusting isn't really that hard. Really big groups can be hard to handle, but some DMs like them. If you want to (or have to) play as a duo of one player and one DM, go for it. It will be a different experience from "regular" D&D but it can be really fun.
  • You can also play online if in-person sessions aren't going to work for you. Roll20 and Discord are the big players in that space, but really you just need a way to talk to each other and maybe share a screen if you want to use a map. There are lots of different ways to do that.
  • Asynchronous online play can happen too, usually via PbP (Play-by-Post) games. We used to have a lot of those here in Critical Failures, but not so much anymore.
  • If you don’t want to or can’t play yourself, Penny Arcade has Acquisitions Inc and the C Team for your viewing and/or listening pleasure. You can also watch a lot of other people play on Twitch, Youtube, and probably other platforms. If you prefer an audio format, there are many, many podcasts of people playing all sorts of games, D&D included.

A duck! on
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Posts

  • DarmakDarmak RAGE vympyvvhyc vyctyvyRegistered User regular
    Yes, actually!

    There won’t be any parties until you make them. Everyone will start alone at the outer edge of the dungeon. It’s up to your own character’s decision as to how they interact with others making the delve!

    So D&D Battle Royale?

    JtgVX0H.png
  • HellboreHellbore A bad, bad man Registered User regular
    aqqwcvffoxfq.png
    Alan Moore hanging out with toad demons is the least weird thing on this page

  • override367override367 ALL minions Registered User regular
    That's actually just a regular night with Alan Moore, from the perspective of an artist on the same drugs that Moore is

  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    Darmak wrote: »
    Yes, actually!

    There won’t be any parties until you make them. Everyone will start alone at the outer edge of the dungeon. It’s up to your own character’s decision as to how they interact with others making the delve!

    So D&D Battle Royale?

    Yes. That’s absolutely what it is.

    Spoilers for the opening lines of the game:

    “Ages ago the Plythmerians worshiped whatever they worshiped; Yilnarabi, Parthmarginus, Yonth, whatever name you want to attribute to the nameless, to the forgotten things a dead nation might care for. Like breath from a corpse, isn’t it? Yes.

    Still, what there is, is a temple. Or so they say. A great hulking pyramid. Impenetrable, unscaleable—yet the doors are opening again, and here you are. The night of the pursuit is being rung in once more by a mercurial sky and a droplet of blood for a moon, distant, not a guide tonight. No.

    Don’t tell me why you’re heading there. All the tales get tangled for one of my elderly disposition. Heroes, villains, fools and more have darkened my little abode, and I’ve enough darkness. You’re on the right path, trust me, you’ll get there alright. Ehehehe!”

    Perhaps it was a hag in her hut, an owl with an elven face, the cat that isn’t, or the bleached bones of a mermaid in a shallow river. No matter. You steeled yourself to their gaze, their words, that mocking laughter. You marched on until your aching feet had carried you to the beckoning shimmer of starlight on blackest metal. The temple awaits. You enter, swallowed by its vastness, and the door behind you melts seamlessly into the walls.

    What do you do?

  • SleepSleep Registered User regular
    I have more questions anot the relationship between AC and HP but I suppose I can save em for when a thread arrives.

  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    I mean I am breaking the system so I expect questions. You can PM me any time.

    Thank you for your potential participation!

  • SleepSleep Registered User regular
    Honestly it may all be easier than I'm thinking, basically you're not really trying to push heavy armor and shields you're just converting AC to HP in some way?

  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    Yes so, let’s imagine Jon Fighter sees a monster. He uses his action on his turn it stab it in its damned dirty face. He does! So he rolls 1d8 + 2, and winds up dealing 4 damage.

    Since there is no AC, as attacks always hit, what you wear grants you more HP.

    I’m still tweaking, but I’m thinking:

    Shield — Ignore one attack, then the shield is broken.

    Padded — +6 HP, disadvantage to stealth checks
    Leather — +5 HP
    Studded — +7 HP
    Hide — +8 HP
    Chain — +9 HP

    and so on, up to Plate being +15 HP.

    Having a big bonus to HP is a good starting point, but it won’t be what endures your survival. In a lethal dungeon crawl having the skills to sense danger and figure out stuff will come in handy.

    However, there will be a ton of magic items, so being able to wear certain armour will be beneficial in itself.

  • SleepSleep Registered User regular
    Hmmm so the shield dex build is slightly less useful and going up the armor scale is of some importance. Do I at least get to choose which attack I ignore via the shield? Either way I've already put together a little dungeon delver (eladrin, urchin, fighter) so I guess I'll try to give it a try.

  • override367override367 ALL minions Registered User regular
    edited August 2020
    My SKT party is in Acq Inq so I ran them through the same battle royale that they had on stage at pax, I made my own island and they had a blast

    Drizzt was included as a wildcard and the party picked a fight with him for no reason so... they did not win

    they did kill him, but he turned 4 out of 6 of them into cat food, after that the last two were killed by Giants guarding a lootbox

    they just awoke a month later 600 miles from where they entered with notes congratulating them on their ranking and assuring them that none of that was real and they definitely were not clones

    override367 on
  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    Absolutely, it’s a get out of damage card.

  • TastyfishTastyfish Registered User regular
    How are you doing magic, with rests etc?

  • Hexmage-PAHexmage-PA Registered User regular
    edited August 2020
    I'm watching a 2019 Chinese animated film that focuses on a war between humans and "snake demons" that look pretty much just like yuan-ti (including purebloods, type 3 malisons, and abominations). It kinda rules so far. Within six minutes the pureblood-esque heroine has killed like six guards, tried to assassinate the villain with a flying hairpin, and engaged in a spell duel. Now I'm at a scene where the snake demons are hiding out in a cavern and I want minis of all of them.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FCY7E0oHW6Y

    Images spoilered just in case they're huge (I'm posting from my phone):
    tdthn0r80wy5.png
    0yymqxtkupae.png

    The film's based on "The Legend of the White Snake" (a folktale dating back to at least the Ming Dynasty), and it's original title is "Báishé: Yuánqǐ" in pinyin. Pretty sure I know where D&D got the name and concept for the yuan-ti now.

    EDIT: This scene here seems like great inspiration for a magic seller in the Feywild or something.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYInh6WmoGQ

    Hexmage-PA on
  • The Zombie PenguinThe Zombie Penguin Eternal Hungry Corpse Registered User regular
    New subclasses for the Bard and Warlock:

    https://media.wizards.com/2020/dnd/downloads/UA2020_Subclasses04.pdf

    College of Spirits and The Undead - seem pretty neat. Undead lets you go full frank franzeta undead knight, which is rocking.

    Ideas hate it when you anthropomorphize them
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    Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/thezombiepenguin/
    Switch: 0293 6817 9891
  • A duck!A duck! Moderator, ClubPA mod
    Undead seems pretty well built for a full adventuring day. You can burn spells on battles as long as you get some short rests and then you can burn your ult to tank in a tough battle or turn around a losing situation. It might be too strong with the extra damage.

  • WACriminalWACriminal Dying Is Easy, Young Man Living Is HarderRegistered User regular
    Dear diary,

    Today I built a character without any homebrew content whatsoever. I feel I'm growing as a person.

  • evilthecatevilthecat Registered User regular
    anyone had any experience with the mass effect d20 rulset?

    tip.. tip.. TALLY.. HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
  • GaddezGaddez Registered User regular
    So I'm cooking up a brand new character to run into the upcomming module, and as is my want I'm doing both a hard 180 from my last character, challenging myself and also seeking to bring something nobody's played at the table yet.

    So I've come up with Tash; a kobold ranger from the now defunct blue claw colony and protector of their most treasured artifact, the scale of a blue dragon that (inadvertently) saved them from a group of adventurers. Unlike my Aasimar paladin who was confident, diplomatic and optimistic, Tash is stressed out by the sudden loss of his colony and being surrounded by big folk whom he simultaneously doesn't trust but needs the support of.

    Now I just need to decide whether he becomes a gloom stalker or a Monster hunter at level 3 :)

  • The Zombie PenguinThe Zombie Penguin Eternal Hungry Corpse Registered User regular
    Gaddez wrote: »
    So I'm cooking up a brand new character to run into the upcomming module, and as is my want I'm doing both a hard 180 from my last character, challenging myself and also seeking to bring something nobody's played at the table yet.

    So I've come up with Tash; a kobold ranger from the now defunct blue claw colony and protector of their most treasured artifact, the scale of a blue dragon that (inadvertently) saved them from a group of adventurers. Unlike my Aasimar paladin who was confident, diplomatic and optimistic, Tash is stressed out by the sudden loss of his colony and being surrounded by big folk whom he simultaneously doesn't trust but needs the support of.

    Now I just need to decide whether he becomes a gloom stalker or a Monster hunter at level 3 :)

    the dragons have failed him, REVENGE

    in otehr words i am very pro Monster Hunter here.

    Ideas hate it when you anthropomorphize them
    Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/id/TheZombiePenguin
    Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/thezombiepenguin/
    Switch: 0293 6817 9891
  • GaddezGaddez Registered User regular
    Gaddez wrote: »
    So I'm cooking up a brand new character to run into the upcomming module, and as is my want I'm doing both a hard 180 from my last character, challenging myself and also seeking to bring something nobody's played at the table yet.

    So I've come up with Tash; a kobold ranger from the now defunct blue claw colony and protector of their most treasured artifact, the scale of a blue dragon that (inadvertently) saved them from a group of adventurers. Unlike my Aasimar paladin who was confident, diplomatic and optimistic, Tash is stressed out by the sudden loss of his colony and being surrounded by big folk whom he simultaneously doesn't trust but needs the support of.

    Now I just need to decide whether he becomes a gloom stalker or a Monster hunter at level 3 :)

    the dragons have failed him, REVENGE

    in otehr words i am very pro Monster Hunter here.

    The joke is that the dragon "saved" them during the year of rogue dragons, wherein basically every dragon was succumbing to a dragon rage and this particular one had simply seen some adventurers and obliterated them before taking off, with the kobolds assuming that it did so because dragons are awesome.

  • The Zombie PenguinThe Zombie Penguin Eternal Hungry Corpse Registered User regular
    Gaddez wrote: »
    Gaddez wrote: »
    So I'm cooking up a brand new character to run into the upcomming module, and as is my want I'm doing both a hard 180 from my last character, challenging myself and also seeking to bring something nobody's played at the table yet.

    So I've come up with Tash; a kobold ranger from the now defunct blue claw colony and protector of their most treasured artifact, the scale of a blue dragon that (inadvertently) saved them from a group of adventurers. Unlike my Aasimar paladin who was confident, diplomatic and optimistic, Tash is stressed out by the sudden loss of his colony and being surrounded by big folk whom he simultaneously doesn't trust but needs the support of.

    Now I just need to decide whether he becomes a gloom stalker or a Monster hunter at level 3 :)

    the dragons have failed him, REVENGE

    in otehr words i am very pro Monster Hunter here.

    The joke is that the dragon "saved" them during the year of rogue dragons, wherein basically every dragon was succumbing to a dragon rage and this particular one had simply seen some adventurers and obliterated them before taking off, with the kobolds assuming that it did so because dragons are awesome.

    Well, it clearly didnt do it this time, therefore, MONSTER HUNTING

    Ideas hate it when you anthropomorphize them
    Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/id/TheZombiePenguin
    Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/thezombiepenguin/
    Switch: 0293 6817 9891
  • WACriminalWACriminal Dying Is Easy, Young Man Living Is HarderRegistered User regular
    Dear diary,

    But then, sometimes, the homebrew just lines up perfectly, doesn't it?
    h6pvgqg2yfd3.jpg

    (Sources pictured: Old Gus' Heroes of the Multiverse + Old Gus' Errata: Beastfolk)

  • BrainleechBrainleech 機知に富んだコメントはここにあります Registered User regular
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol4BJbIZHW4

    So I know I have been to busy or to tired to look it up where is the modern stuff in unearthed arcana in?

  • Romantic UndeadRomantic Undead Registered User regular
    So, session number 2 of DragonBee Z with Mini-dead took place yesterday and, sadly, did not go as well.

    At first, Mini-dead seemed excited! She and the Mrs. started by levelling up. Mini dead picked 2 new spells (Thunderclap and Charm Person as I recall) and we resumed after we left off.

    After successfully tracking down a band of kidnapping Kobolds and returning the stolen child to its mother, our duo returns to the town to find more clues concerning the mysterious bee disappearance. After rewarding them, the Captain of the Guard directs them towards the home of a local "kook" named Arven. The duo follows the Captain's directions and comes upon a strange multicolored-smoke-spewing house nestled behind some hills in the outlying area of the town. Upon approaching the strange house, they are stopped by what appeared to be a strange metal construct bearing a lance and shield. The duo attempted to reason with the creature, but it did not take long for them to realize that the creature was not sentient, and simply programmed to bar the passage. A successful perception check revealed that this creature was not very well built. A simple poke by CeeCee's spear causes it to simply fall to pieces immediately.

    Upon the "destruction" of the automated sentry, a strange man emerges from the house, lambasting our heroes for destroying his property. Jerand successfully intimidates the gnome into calming down, after which point the duo explain what brought them to the tinkerer's house. They explain how animals have been mysteriously disappearing without a trace. Intrigued, the gnome, who is, of course, Arven, explains that he's been tracking odd bursts of magical energy in the area that may corroborate with the reported missing animals. Arven suspects this is some variation of teleportation or gating magic, though he has not yet pinpointed the source.

    As it happens, Arven was planning to travel to nearby Oakhurst, where he hopes to meet up with some colleagues to discuss his findings. Arven offers to hire our Duo as bodyguards for the trip. Some of you may know Oakhurst as the staging area for the old school module "The Sunless Citadel". I decided to go ahead and run that campaign as I don't have the free time required to come up with a homebrew campaign of my own, especially considering that I'm not even sure how long Mini-dead will maintain interest.

    It was at this point, however, that Mini-dead called an end to the proceedings.

    Her: "Dad, I don't know why, but I don't feel like playing anymore"
    Me: "Oh no, how come?"
    Her: "I'm sad inside for some reason"
    Me: "Did I say something to upset you?"
    Her: "I don't know, but it started when we met the inventor"
    Me: "Well ok honey, we can stop now"

    and that was that.

    So, I'm still not sure what exactly happened to upset her. I suspect that it might have been the fact that I portrayed Arven at being mad at Jerand and CeeCee for 'destroying' his robot, which might have made Mini-Dead feel like she was in trouble/I was yelling at her, but she doesn't want to show it because she knows, logically, that it's pretend, and that she's not really in trouble, but she can't help feeling upset just the same.

    So, assuming she still wants to play after a time, I think this is a really important lesson when playing with kids. Children are far more sensitive to emotions than grown-ups are, even when they know everything is pretend, so I have to be really careful about introducing emotional elements to the game. I'm willing to bet that victories will feel super-sweet to kids, but sad and angry characters are likely to upset her all the more, so, assuming she comes back, I'll need to be very careful to really tone down angry/upset characters in the future if I hope to maintain her interest. I'll also have to be very careful to not linger on themes of death, even bad guy death, too much. I'll try to stick to Disney-deaths (enemies fall "off screen" or just poof into dust) and redemption arcs for enemies as much as possible, or keep bad guys really monstrous so their deaths don't hit too hard. Hopefully, it all turns out ok!

    3DS FC: 1547-5210-6531
  • NipsNips He/Him Luxuriating in existential crisis.Registered User regular
    Brainleech wrote: »
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol4BJbIZHW4

    So I know I have been to busy or to tired to look it up where is the modern stuff in unearthed arcana in?

    It was from way, way back.

    https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthed-arcana/modern-magic

    JXUBxMxP0QndjQUEnTwTxOkfKmx8kWNvuc-FUtbSz_23_DAhGKe7W9spFKLXAtkpTBqM8Dt6kQrv-rS69Hi3FheL3fays2xTeVUvWR7g5UyLHnFA0frGk1BC12GYdOSRn9lbaJB-uH0htiLPJMrc9cSRsIgk5Dx7jg9K8rJVfG43lkeAWxTgcolNscW9KO2UZjKT8GMbYAFgFvu2TaMoLH8LBA5p2pm6VNYRsQK3QGjCsze1TOv2yIbCazmDwCHmjiQxNDf6LHP35msyiXo3CxuWs9Y8DQvJjvj10kWaspRNlWHKjS5w9Y0KLuIkhQKOxgaDziG290v4zBmTi-i7OfDz-foqIqKzC9wTbn9i_uU87GRitmrNAJdzRRsaTW5VQu_XX_5gCN8XCoNyu5RWWVGTsjJuyezz1_NpFa903Uj2TnFqnL1wJ-RZiFAAd2Bdut-G1pdQtdQihsq2dx_BjtmtGC3KZRyylO1t2c12dhfb0rStq4v8pg46ciOcdtT_1qm85IgUmGd7AmgLxCFPb0xnxWZvr26G-oXSqrQdjKA1zNIInSowiHcbUO2O8S5LRJVR6vQiEg0fbGXw4vqJYEn917tnzHMh8r0xom8BLKMvoFDelk6wbEeNq8w8Eyu2ouGjEMIvvJcb2az2AKQ1uE_7gdatfKG2QdvfdSBRSc35MQ=w498-h80-no
  • BrainleechBrainleech 機知に富んだコメントはここにあります Registered User regular
    Nips wrote: »
    Brainleech wrote: »
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol4BJbIZHW4

    So I know I have been to busy or to tired to look it up where is the modern stuff in unearthed arcana in?

    It was from way, way back.

    https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthed-arcana/modern-magic

    In the video he talks about modern weapons and stuff as well
    I just know about it from the very 90's urban arcana book and the weapon one from that era

  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    edited August 2020
    Aw nuts, I posted in the wrong one.

    For those that were interested in my Battle Royale / race to the finish game, I’ll be creating a recruitment thread very soon, potentially after work today. So long as you are 1st level and of a reasonable race and class (I’ll trust you to pick), feel free to sign up!

    Endless_Serpents on
  • Hexmage-PAHexmage-PA Registered User regular
    edited August 2020
    So I'm combing through D&D lore and found more info on a powerful NPC who could at the very least be an interesting quest giver for higher level parties.

    c4dumebvnsil.png
    With the form of a tall, muscular woman whose features were chiseled out of stone, the Neutral Good Archomental of Earth, Sunnis, is a true power to be respected on her plane. Though she lacks the interest in power possessed by her hated enemy Ogremoch, she still possesses a fortress to call her own in the Sandfall - a cavern underneath a perpetually falling column of sand, which drains away into a seemingly bottomless pit not far from her stronghold. Of all the Goodly Archomentals, Sunnis is the one who is most bitterly opposed to her planar neighbor. There are rumors she seeks to lay a trap for Ogremoch and imprison him in that pit, but such a tale is regarded as far-fetched.
    ---
    This gentle archomental leads an existence of quiet contemplation, doting over her many servants and followers as cherished children. Whilst she spends much of her time in the Sandfall, she works hard to oppose the ministrations of evil. She is renowned for both her inner and her outer beauty, and has attracted many suitors, but remains stoic to all their advances.
    ---
    Sunnis tirelessly battles against the dao, viewing them as brutal and heartless taskmasters who are undeserving of the wealth they so callously spend lives to acquire. The Demon Princes Ugudenk and Zuggtmoy are both ancient enemies of hers, as is the Archdevil Dispater.

    But her truest hate is reserved for her rival, Ogremoch. The Plane of Earth shall know no peace until one or the other is destroyed. Even during the ancient War of Law and Chaos, in which Sunnis alone amongst her compatriots of the Goodly Archomentals fought on the side of Law throughout the entire war, the two opposed each other. It was Sunnis who prevented Ogremoch from interfering in a crucial battle, allowing the Rod of Seven Parts to be used to defeat Miska the Wolf-Spider and end the war.

    Stories also claim that Sunnis once did battle against the Tarrasque, and that it was her use of a powerful artifact called the Sands of Slumber that forced the beast into its present cycle of prolonged dormancy.

    Hexmage-PA on
  • KelorKelor Registered User regular
    My 4e campaign has been running well.

    I try to combat to neater set piece encounters and avoid random encounters almost entirely while we’re getting the ball rolling.

    Story is fun, everyone seems to be enjoying it but the player who was most eager to play I cannot get to engage with the game.

    We’re running it over discord, then streaming combat through a webcam. Everyone rolls their dice at home to keep things more exciting than just clicking a button.

    But I can’t get him to engage or be proactive. He can be a bit passive outside of combat and tends to let the rest of group take the lead. And that’s fine, some people are like that. The bard, wizard and rogue are pretty good at discussing things and deciding on a path.

    But this is just basic stuff like thinking his attack roll is the +10 it says on his sheet, then asking if he rolls a d20 for damage. This example has happened in multiple sessions. He’s a smart guy, which is why I put it down to disinterest.

    He’s also the first one to pull out a phone when we have a board games night, which was why a phone ban was put in place and might be what’s happening here.

    I’ve raised it with him, asking if he’s bored, doesn’t find his character fun to play and if there is anything I can do to help (like a cheat sheet or something but he swears there is nothing.

    Anyone struggled with this before?

  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    Kelor wrote: »
    My 4e campaign has been running well.

    I try to combat to neater set piece encounters and avoid random encounters almost entirely while we’re getting the ball rolling.

    Story is fun, everyone seems to be enjoying it but the player who was most eager to play I cannot get to engage with the game.

    We’re running it over discord, then streaming combat through a webcam. Everyone rolls their dice at home to keep things more exciting than just clicking a button.

    But I can’t get him to engage or be proactive. He can be a bit passive outside of combat and tends to let the rest of group take the lead. And that’s fine, some people are like that. The bard, wizard and rogue are pretty good at discussing things and deciding on a path.

    But this is just basic stuff like thinking his attack roll is the +10 it says on his sheet, then asking if he rolls a d20 for damage. This example has happened in multiple sessions. He’s a smart guy, which is why I put it down to disinterest.

    He’s also the first one to pull out a phone when we have a board games night, which was why a phone ban was put in place and might be what’s happening here.

    I’ve raised it with him, asking if he’s bored, doesn’t find his character fun to play and if there is anything I can do to help (like a cheat sheet or something but he swears there is nothing.

    Anyone struggled with this before?

    Ask him what he enjoys the most about the sessions. Also, what class is he playing?

  • override367override367 ALL minions Registered User regular
    edited August 2020
    Does this sound like it would be worthwhile to anyone:

    It starts as a traditional high fantasy D&D game, until at some point your party finds out that the entire world is an artificial world and magic and the gods are really eccentric AIs that provide the effects of magic because they wanted to run a 10,000 year long social experiment, and the party is introduced to a group from a galactic civilization that is forbidden from directly interfering for political reasons, as are the "gods", but they want to break your world free of its artificially imposed technological stagnation, and yes this is just slamming The Culture and D&D together

    I'm seriously considering this after I finish running Curse of Strahd but things often sound more interesting in my head than they do to others

    override367 on
  • webguy20webguy20 I spend too much time on the Internet Registered User regular
    Does this sound like it would be worthwhile to anyone:

    It starts as a traditional high fantasy D&D game, until at some point your party finds out that the entire world is an artificial world and magic and the gods are really eccentric AIs that provide the effects of magic because they wanted to run a 10,000 year long social experiment, and the party is introduced to a group from a galactic civilization that is forbidden from directly interfering for political reasons, as are the "gods", but they want to break your world free of its artificially imposed technological stagnation, and yes this is just slamming The Culture and D&D together

    I'm seriously considering this after I finish running Curse of Strahd but things often sound more interesting in my head than they do to others

    I love that kind of thing, you have to make sure your players are on board though. I wouldn't necessarily be up for being surprised in it mid game. If you pitched that to me though, I'd be all on board.

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  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    webguy20 wrote: »
    Does this sound like it would be worthwhile to anyone:

    It starts as a traditional high fantasy D&D game, until at some point your party finds out that the entire world is an artificial world and magic and the gods are really eccentric AIs that provide the effects of magic because they wanted to run a 10,000 year long social experiment, and the party is introduced to a group from a galactic civilization that is forbidden from directly interfering for political reasons, as are the "gods", but they want to break your world free of its artificially imposed technological stagnation, and yes this is just slamming The Culture and D&D together

    I'm seriously considering this after I finish running Curse of Strahd but things often sound more interesting in my head than they do to others

    I love that kind of thing, you have to make sure your players are on board though. I wouldn't necessarily be up for being surprised in it mid game. If you pitched that to me though, I'd be all on board.

    I think if at any point they get laser cannons and pump action giga-wands they’ll survive the shock.

    That’s really cool though. It’d be even more interesting if all the AIs are fed back to a greater whole, so the good and evil gods oppose each other, but are still subordinate to the whole structure. Perhaps one good god (whatever the cleric, of you get one, goes for) switches to their side part way through the campaign.

    If you wanted to layer the lore a bit, perhaps the AI are held in the middle of the planet, all those ‘ancient ruins guarded by monsters’ are the equivalent of the inside of an old computer.

    Last thought, look up Endless Dungeon and Endless Space.

  • override367override367 ALL minions Registered User regular
    edited August 2020
    webguy20 wrote: »
    Does this sound like it would be worthwhile to anyone:

    It starts as a traditional high fantasy D&D game, until at some point your party finds out that the entire world is an artificial world and magic and the gods are really eccentric AIs that provide the effects of magic because they wanted to run a 10,000 year long social experiment, and the party is introduced to a group from a galactic civilization that is forbidden from directly interfering for political reasons, as are the "gods", but they want to break your world free of its artificially imposed technological stagnation, and yes this is just slamming The Culture and D&D together

    I'm seriously considering this after I finish running Curse of Strahd but things often sound more interesting in my head than they do to others

    I love that kind of thing, you have to make sure your players are on board though. I wouldn't necessarily be up for being surprised in it mid game. If you pitched that to me though, I'd be all on board.

    I'll put a bit more spit and polish, I don't want to give them specifics, but I will let them know it will get sci-fi later on

    The structure will be similar to the book Matter, where a society of ~1910's people lived and warred in a lower level of a Shellworld that couldn't directly be interfered with because of a complicated web of politics as to which species controlled their sphere of influence

    - The AIs that control the place were structured to literally believe they are gods, and they simply see the Involved civilizations as other gods, and the civ that created them as some kind of overdiety
    - The Culture, being the sort of folks who object to humans being used as pawns, but who (put a lot of effort into appearing to) play nice, will have a presence on the world, but have to agree to play the part of wizards in towers or shining queens and kings in castles of some sort (think Silverymoon as being the kind of city controlled by the Culture), unless they want to start a war with the high level involved civilization that owns this sphere of space, they will have to go along with this charade and play by the rules
    - Each player at some point in their backstory will have been given some unspecified "gift" by a member of the Culture, usually a fine bottle of some kind of wine or a magical talisman, the campaign will begin with the town they live in being overrun by soldiers using arquebus muskets of all things, a sudden technological leap recently realized by a neighboring city-state (someone isn't playing by the rules...)
    - That gift they got? a neural lace, growing inside them, backing up their consciousness
    - They will all find themselves overmatched and quite dead by the end of the first session (unless they escape, which, good for them, I'll plan for that contingency), and find themselves waking up in a VAI construct onboard a GSV with a doting mind offering to print them new bodies and a Contact agent contextualizing things for them, about how since they're natives they can reinsert them without breaking any rules.
    - They'll get some kind of package of super secret squirrel contact stuff, a fake tooth that can be removed and unfold into a ridiculous gun that looks like a folded paperclip but fires a single shot burst of compressed antimatter that can annihilate a 20 foot sphere, a false thumbnail that displaces the entire party back to their headquarters, each item very carefully crafted to be undetectable and, as long as not used in quick succession, reading as "Spells" to the AIs overseeing things. Each item a single use get out of fucked card that a player gets.
    - When shit gets hot around endgame and moves start being made overtly, break out the combat suits, rapid fire micro artillery, plasma lances, CAM displacers, gridfire line engines, wide dispersal lasers (for the spellcasters? well, the more area of effect weapons will use mental states to operate, not dexterity)
    - Obvious question popping up, did The Culture's Special Circumstance Division oversee them being picked for Neural Laces, leak the gunpowder technology to their homeland's enemies, and make sure that they were targeted so that they could be recruited? Naaahh... right? They wouldn't do that, would they?

    I anticipate a short length campaign, maybe 10 sessions

    I think I'm going to schedule a one shot for Friday and run a proof of concept game to see how this skeleton works out

    override367 on
  • Rhesus PositiveRhesus Positive GNU Terry Pratchett Registered User regular
    I had a similar reveal planned for a WFRP campaign - the mysterious Man in Black they had met in an early session was going to be a marooned Rogue Trader, and the "coffin" that two of the characters found in the woods while vampire hunting was his dropship

    It was only going to be the epilogue, though - basically a way to introduce the idea of the wider 40k universe to the players, who were mainly new to Warhammer, and give the option of transitioning to Dark Heresy or Rogue Trader

    That way I could keep the surprise, but it didn't railroad the players into a sci-fi game when they'd signed up for fantasy

    [Muffled sounds of gorilla violence]
  • SniperGuySniperGuy SniperGuyGaming Registered User regular
    I'm gonna be running descent into avernus soon and I'm very excited. Will be streaming it and hopefully doing some fun production value stuff. Anyone run it before and have some tips for the actual adventure?

  • Hexmage-PAHexmage-PA Registered User regular
    I haven't run it myself, but I am aware of a website that offers several suggestions for tweaks to the adventure.

    The Alexandrian: Remixing Avernus

  • webguy20webguy20 I spend too much time on the Internet Registered User regular
    edited August 2020
    SniperGuy wrote: »
    I'm gonna be running descent into avernus soon and I'm very excited. Will be streaming it and hopefully doing some fun production value stuff. Anyone run it before and have some tips for the actual adventure?

    Spoilers for unique mechanics
    As a player in Avernus, read up on the vehicles. They are super cool but seem incredibly fragile in play. We got a cool ride that we upgraded, but after one battle it got seriously damaged and we couldn't fix it. Or we end up leaving vehicles to go on foot and are not able to go back to them. Makes them feel like a waste of time and resources, which is a bummer!

    Also make sure if any of your players are magic users and take flame based spells/cantrips that they have a method of changing them out/altering their elemental damage at some point.

    For example my DM let me reflavor melf’s minute meteors into tiny tennis balls that do bludgeoning damage. (My character is a golden retriever. Its thematic).

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  • ToxTox I kill threads he/himRegistered User regular
    Smrtnik wrote: »
    Let's say your group gets a ring of regeneration (slow hp restore to whomever had it attuned, not really for in-combat). It's a low magic items game, and a few extra survival mechanics are in place (long rests don't give back full hp unless they are in an actual comfortable place of safety i.e. never in wilderness or dungeons). Spend hit dice only. Fights feel real scary with this btw.

    The party is
    High con barbarian with a 2 hander that ends up "tanking" most of the time via rage charges
    Medium con monk dps stacking dex
    Medium con druid that fights at rage and uses wildshape charges to summon a fire elemental instead
    A melee rogue with little con that seems to get one-shotted a lot
    A rogue/wizard that mixes up casting and timing into melee that had negative con

    Who should wear said ring if you are metagaming this?

    @Smrtnik hard to say, the answer is "whoever would benefit from it most" which I'd determine based on the data at the table. Who would it actually help the most? The Barbarian probably has the HD to spend, but the ranged characters ideally are staying out of harm's way and don't take as much damage. So probably one of the other melee characters, but if the rogue is getting dropped constantly they're probably not gonna benefit as much from slow HP regen, but if the monk is never getting hit they won't need it either.

    Gotta look at who doesn't seem to really need or benefit from spending HD/healing as often.

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  • SmrtnikSmrtnik job boli zub Registered User regular
    Doh! Had it in the old thread, whoops, thanks for answering.

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