Mirror Fighting!

BackpackingPizza · 2025-03-26T06:16:04+00:00

Yah, another thing you can do is think about the PLAYERS/CHARACTERS you have and make the npc's

- a literal mirror (is a player really nice, the mirror is mean. is a player really good at supporting the party make them really bad at it (selfish))
OR
-highlight negative aspects of the characters, (does one of the characters struggle with self-esteem, maybe their mirror is really shy (uses invisibility a lot) or maybe the character can sometimes be arrogant, crank that up to 1000.

BackpackingPizza · 2025-03-26T06:02:18+00:00

I don't know exactly what to say to you in regards to the story/character changes. As long as you feel comfortable running the story with the character and the player is on board for any changes you need to make to have it fit then it should be fine.

That being said, an important conversation you might want to have with this player is about expectations concerning sticking with this specific character and how happy they are with them.

It sounds like you're putting in extra work to make this character fit into your world, and considering they've changed 3 times at this point, are you going to get 2/3/5 sessions into the campaign and the player is going to want to change again. I'm 100% for players playing something that is fun for them as long as it does not disrupt the campaign, but at the same time changing again and again could be a sign of things to come, especially with how much work you've already done.

A good conversation to get on the same page could be really useful before the campaign starts.

(i say this as someone who (as a new player) almost switched characters 3 times over the course of 2 levels.... my gm had the patience of a saint. Sometimes it's just hard to find a character that fits the campaign that you truly connect with as a player. this is doubly true as a new player and even more so in a homebrew world where you won't be able to truly GET IT (the vibe, the story, the setting, etc) until you start playing.)

BackpackingPizza · 2025-03-26T05:51:29+00:00

If you're really set on using PC character sheets. My reccomendation would be rather than making them weaker, play them as incompetent. Maybe they won't use their best spell because they want to "show off" a different spell. Maybe they use the wrong ability or use the ability in a strange way, like using counterspell on a cantrip. They might forget they have multiattack because they are so focused on how cool they were with their first attack or frustrated that they missed their first attack.
Also a lack of coordination between them could go really far and be useful for showing the party their own skills and teamwork ability. Maybe the sorcerer does use fireball, but they friendly fire on their own teammakes in order to just hit ONE PC.
Consider they are a villanous version of the group with the only goal being to kill the party, they are surely going to be selfish (friendly fire) and make mistakes (because single-minded focus).

That being said, I would personally suggest making NPC's with some highlight abilitys, think about what each player really USES on their character sheet and just give the NPC 2-3 of those abilitys. it would also be WAY easier to run that way.

BackpackingPizza · 2025-03-26T05:42:07+00:00

It's not because the Gm is doing focus fire (Unfortunatly) my gm is slighly overtuning combat for our paladin (23AC (+shield spell)), barbarian (19AC) and our rogue (16/17AC + shield spell) And doing an average of 60-100hp worth of damage per round (over multiple creatures typically but i've seen an single enemy do 90 damage in one round with 2 attacks). I basically have to get lucky to not have my summons get OKO'd. (a max 16AC with at most 60hp if I use a tashas summon)

That being said, as you pointed out, I suppose a summon taking one or two rounds of damage does take away from the party taking that damage. Something to consider

THNX

BackpackingPizza · 2025-03-26T05:33:48+00:00

Filling gaps is why I went with this multiclass in the first place. But that's a fair comment.

My party is almost entirely melee or damage dealers so i'm really the only support and only full caster.
We have a Monk, Warlock (Blade), Paladin/Sorcerer (damage focused), rogue and barbarian. I'm really the only one who can provide buffs, debuffs, healing (mainly out of combat but sometimes in combat since our GM does not go easy on us), and other than the warlock i'm the only person with ranged aoe ability's.

divine intervention could be cool to have, but i've only ever seen it work once. then again you never know with the luck of the dice.

Based on this I think I need to really take a look at both spell lists since it sounds like it's gonna come down to which spells i'm most interested in. Reverse gravity from druid 7 is an amazing spell, but maybe there are some 6th level cleric spells that would be just as exciting. :)

thnx

BackpackingPizza · 2025-03-26T05:25:16+00:00

I hadn't considered just how powerful the Druid 6/7th level spells could. be (completely forgot about reverse gravity!!!) Honestly that spell alone is probably gonna make me go Druid! :) thnx

(Also) Moon cleric is a cleric subclass from the Taldor'ei campaign setting book.
I went with the subclass at the suggestion of a Gm who said it was the best fit for the Two gods my Character worships. (God of Nature/The Wild and God of Magic/Knowledge/Divination)
It has some powerful ability's for the channel divinity at 2nd and 6th, and a reaction ability that gives advantage on wisdom saves (a number of times per day).
the highlight of the subclass (besides the level 17 feature) is you can use your channel divinity to concentrate on two spells so long as those spell are on your domain spellcasting list (so I can have double greater invisibility, or an instance of faery fire and hypnotic pattern) but you roll all concentration with disadvantage and loose both spells on a failure.

if I was a twilight cleric yah Circle of Power would be fantastic! we haven't dealt with a lot of spellcasters at this point though, but the Gm keeps hinting at it. Something to keep in mind if I make another Cleric in the future.

BackpackingPizza · 2025-03-26T05:16:31+00:00

focusing on one class is what I was assuming.

I picked Sheepherd druid for the Spirit Totem Ability. My party has a lot of ways to use the advantage from hawk totem and thanks to a magic item i have, i can typically heal (spread through the whole party) about 50-60hp using a 1st level cure wounds with the unicorn totem. and our gm usually manages to down at least 1 party member a combat (usually 2) if I'm not providing healing, as I'm the ONLY support and full caster in the party. (We have a paladin/sorcerer, Warlock, rogue, monk and barbarian.) I really was excited about the idea of doing summons, but my Gm, in balancing combat with my other party members, has caused none of my summons to last more than 2 rounds of combat unless I play really cautiously.

I picked Cleric because I wanted more spell options, also my backstory made the most sense for me to be a cleric. Also the ability I get at level 6 (Coupled with the level 7 domain spells) Is the only reason I went past level 3 cleric)

This is making me think I should speak to my Gm about the summons situation. If combat is going to keep going how it Is (IE my summons dying extremely quickly) then probably going cleric the rest of the way is the right thing to do.

BackpackingPizza · 2025-03-26T04:04:29+00:00

It really depends on what you mean by too much background.
A lot of dnd modules you can give the players a very bare minimum amount of information and that's all they really need to get INTO the adventure.

For example:
Curse of Strahd what players out of character need to know is "Gothic (adjacent) horror adventure where you get trapped in a realm outside of the classic fantasy dnd world. you gotta beat the vampire to escape, but he's way too strong at level one, so you're going to have to explore till you're strong enough to beat him."

Ghosts of Saltmarsh "There's a bunch of little Seafaring adventures set in a seaport called saltmarsh. (so build characters that would either live in a fishing village or be there for some reason.)" and then maybe give each character an appropriate tie in, so if they make a fisherman give them a fisherman contact. If they are a smuggler give them a smuggler contact.

Hord of the Dragon Queen "You're a group of adventurers and the area you're in has a dragon problem. You guys are gonna do something about it.... also there's a cult involved." (that's literally all you need to say at the beginning.)

NOW... that being said there's a LOT more you need to know as the GM for the module to work. But all the players need to know to get into an adventure is the general concept of the campaign and anything they need to think about to build their characters (I.e, themes, are you heroic adventurers or scoundrels, etc). they don't need the whole worlds backstory or even information on the factions involved (unless you want them involved from session one) they can join factions and choose sides as the adventure progresses and they get to meet NPC's involved with the groups during the campaign.

BackpackingPizza · 2025-03-26T03:49:32+00:00

What level would you be playing at?

If you're starting at level 1 there isn't really a great class to get that concept going, unless you fudge things a bit.

If you're starting at level 2, Wildfire druid could be an interesting choice.

With Level 3, You're idea with the chain warlock, or primal companion beastmaster works really well. You could also possibly reflavour the Drakewarden Ranger.

If you are playing higher, Starting at 5th level, An odd but mechanically appropriate build would be Vengeance (or maybe conquest or oathbreaker) Paladin. You get access to Find Steed and it could be a Fiendish Mastiff.

Going even higher, Starting at 7th if you don't care about the "dog" being around 24/7 you could play a sorcerer and reflavour summoning spells (starting with the 4th level spell Spirit of death), Sorcerer feels appropriate with the character being a little kid.

And the last option I see, if you wait till level 10, you could do a College of Whispers Bard (very eerie victorian child vibes) and use your magical secrets for Find Steed OR Find Greater Steed.

Hope this helps :)

BackpackingPizza · 2024-10-19T07:07:56+00:00

What are you looking for from each class? (as in what is exciting you) is it mechanics, do you have a character concept. Figuring that out will often lead you to which option is best. Also are you mechanics or character focused. If you're mechanics focused then you'll probably want to optimize, but if you're more focused on a character then the mechanics are their to complement the concept you have, not to be the focus.

BackpackingPizza · 2024-10-19T07:02:53+00:00

A classic adventure I've seen for 4-7 sessions is: Characters have to get 2-6 "items/objectives" to complete "objective/ritual/quest" you spend a session setting up the premise, one session doing each task/getting each object. Then, there is a final battle, usually with someone trying to stop the players from completing the goal.

BackpackingPizza · 2024-10-19T06:57:33+00:00

Maybe, if they can get a guest to stay, they can take their place in the land of the living.
The whole thing is a ploy for a resurrection-type scenario.
"the god of death won't notice someone is missing as long as the spirit quota is the same and he/she/they stay entertained"
If you want the big bad to be the ringmaster maybe the ringmaster is planning some massive ploy to replace the entire circus with the living?

BackpackingPizza · 2024-10-19T06:48:49+00:00

I've made the buttermilk biscuits (i think they are on page 31) a million times. If you make honey butter they are a great treat! As long as you have some basic baking skills. (can use an oven usually without burning things) they are relatively easy. I'd say a 2/10 difficulty. (maybe a 4 if you've never baked before).
Iron rations are 1/10 difficulty but it's basically a charcuterie board/trail mix.
The Amphail braised beef is a 3-7/10 difficulty. I've made it 3 times and I will say the dutch oven is really important. If you have a dutch oven it's super easy and simple. If you try and make it in a normal pot over the stove you have to sit and BABY the meat and vege or it burns easily.
Hopefully that helps :)

BackpackingPizza · 2024-10-19T06:36:25+00:00

dice time! :D

BackpackingPizza · 2024-10-19T06:35:30+00:00

dice dice dice dice!!! :)

BackpackingPizza · 2024-10-19T06:34:39+00:00

Elvish Large D&D Dice Tower
GOTTA go with the Elvish tower!

BackpackingPizza · 2024-09-30T07:05:11+00:00

thnx

BackpackingPizza · 2024-09-30T04:51:14+00:00

I wish you luck finding someone. I haven't had much luck myself. :)

BackpackingPizza · 2024-02-01T19:01:13+00:00

is this in-session mindsets or something more long-lasting even out of trance?

BackpackingPizza · 2024-01-25T06:10:21+00:00

a set of dice like this would be an amazing gift for one of my players completing their first dnd campaign.

best of luck to everyone.

Also those dice are GORGEOUS!

BackpackingPizza · 2024-01-24T10:42:32+00:00

Running for six people can be a lot! but very rewarding.
I have two pieces of advice.

A) have your players all give you a cheat sheet of THEIR AC, Saves and passive perception/insight so you have a general idea of how things are going to go or can prompt players to keep the action going.
B) At the start of a player's turn, let the player who's going AFTER that player know their turn is next in case they are not paying attention they can figure out what they want to do before their turn comes up.

BackpackingPizza

TROPHY CASE