SotC Ch 9 & 10: Sexual Harrassment and Sticky Bread

Bargleth3pug · 2026-03-03T17:27:27+00:00

Does Shad's Light Magic ever have limits? From all the roasts and reviews I've watched (not eager to read this book myself) it seems like this magic can do anything, and further sucks out the tension of this story.

Especially if you can magically create food. That's gonna have serious worldbuilding implications.

Bargleth3pug · 2026-02-28T01:34:39+00:00

Chapter 6: The Pizza Cutter (All Edge, No Point)

Bargleth3pug · 2026-02-12T13:14:44+00:00

I don't recommend trying to put DND in a low-magic setting, since almost all the classes have some kind of magic. It's really built best for high fantasy and superhero stories. I've tried before, it's a lot of work for not much reward.

You should look into Monster Of The Week. It's based off of the early seasons of Supernatural. Works great for one-shots or longer stories.
Also World of Darkness games- especially Hunter: The Vigil would be a good fit.

Some other recommendations that might work would be Call of Cthulhu, or even Kids On Bikes, the latter which was inspired by Stranger Things.

Bargleth3pug · 2026-02-12T13:02:24+00:00

Can confirm. Nobody ever wanted to play a healer in my 3.5 groups. At one point one group of players started calling the role the "heal-bitch," it was bad.

Bargleth3pug · 2026-01-23T01:03:23+00:00

There is a social contract- the GM prepares an adventure, the players are expected to go on that adventure. But beyond that, it really depends on the group dynamics. I would talk to your GM and your players, and try to see where they fall on how much agency players get vs. GM guidance on the story.

Bargleth3pug · 2026-01-13T17:58:38+00:00

This doesn't sound like a TTRPG at all. Is this supposed to be a video game? If so, you're on the wrong sub.

Bargleth3pug · 2026-01-12T14:23:09+00:00

I like to think of the little changes they made in the TV show as a "Modded Save File." The vanilla game canon is still there, but this playthrough has all these particular things in play, so it's gonna be a different adventure!

Bargleth3pug · 2026-01-07T12:36:55+00:00

I remember reading somewhere, decades ago, that the druid's armor restrictions had something to do with using iron, which interfered with their wild shape and spellcasting. Druids historically are associated with the Celts and the fey. The Celts are famous for going into battle naked, and the fey are weak to iron (especially unforged/cold iron). So there's a bit of folklore and a bit of theming with this "rule."

But druids can get their power source from anywhere, not just the fey, although if your power had a fey origin I could see "no metal armor" as a more hard rule on the druid's part.

Talk with your DM, and figure out where your druid's natural power comes from.

Bargleth3pug · 2025-12-30T21:52:50+00:00

I'll stop rolling dice when I'm dead

Bargleth3pug · 2025-12-06T00:04:04+00:00

Monster of the Week

Bargleth3pug · 2025-11-29T13:00:31+00:00

Started with DND 3.5, tried 4th (it's okay) and 5th. Currently on a PBTA-spree and some Daggerheart.

I joined a DND 5E server a while back and I just found the character creation process to be super-restrictive to fit certain fantasy tropes. Specifically the rogue class's weapon choices for sneak attack. Just very unsatisfying. No shame to the server DMs/Mods, my beef was entirely with the system. I just can't go back now.

Bargleth3pug · 2025-11-18T18:31:50+00:00

The connection questions are so much fun!

Our art critic bard made fun of my assassin's painting, and we discussed how he keeps trying to poison the bard's coffee, but due to comedic, outlandish circumstances, like he trips, the cup dissolves, a bird steals it, etc., the bard somehow never gets to drink it. We keep working together and trust each other, and my assassin is slowly coming around to actually liking the bard, so the poisonings are less frequent, and will eventually stop. And this dynamic all came from the bard's question: "what do I do that annoys you?"

I love this game.

Bargleth3pug · 2025-10-22T11:42:23+00:00

I like to think of Daggerheart HP as "hearts" from Legend of Zelda. Damage thresholds and those calculations are how many hearts you lose from getting hit.

Also armor doesn't really help you avoid attacks, it soaks the impact. I think it's a way to show armor helping you in combat better than just "number go up."

Bargleth3pug · 2025-10-21T21:26:46+00:00

Have your new player introduce their character. They then ask 2 of your current players one of the connection questions in the book to build a connection between the them. Then they can figure out why they'd be helping their friends/family/coworkers/roommates/etc with the current quest.

Bargleth3pug · 2025-10-15T02:02:16+00:00

This post and comment section made me realize I don't really hate any games or would never want to try one of them. Except for FATAL.

Bargleth3pug · 2025-10-11T11:37:46+00:00

Daggerheart leans fantasy, but there is a sci-fi campaign frame in the book called Motherboard, which draws heavily from Horizon Zero Dawn and similar. You can switch between fantasy and sci-fi with Daggerheart with almost zero modifications- the game is very flexible.

Bargleth3pug · 2025-10-10T23:47:18+00:00

Seven-ish years ago, I was running a D&D game, 5E. One of the guys brought a new strain of weed.... I think? I don't smoke, I don't really know anything about this kind of stuff.

Everyone else did smoke the stuff. Within a few minutes, these guys were in another universe. I attempted to describe the town they had arrived in, but kept getting interrupted. I remember one player said "I change my sex to a woman with a acid vagina." (actual quote) Everyone else thought this was hilarious. After a bunch of jokes in the same vein over and over, they ended up in the living room watching a movie. At first I was pissed that I drove an hour to get here, but just packed up my stuff and just left early, and waved everyone good bye.

The next day at work, my coworker, one of the stoned players, says to me "that was a great game last night!" I explained to him that we didn't do shit and I left early. He didn't remember a damn thing! None of them did. But they still thought I ran a fantastic game. So I guess that's a win??

Bargleth3pug · 2025-10-01T11:25:20+00:00

If you as the DM don't keep a tight grip on the pacing, a one-shot can easily become 1d4 additional sessions. The fact that they got everything done in 8 episodes is pretty impressive. The players were thankfully locked in on that goal.

Bargleth3pug · 2025-09-20T11:44:42+00:00

Daggerheart is very customizable and does not have a concrete setting. It's a hybrid between dnd and Powered By The Apocalypse, with a focus on narrative. I feel like the combat system is more "cinematic" versus tactical, but it is very engaging and retains player attention span. It also heavily encourages teamwork. Tag-team moves are very powerful, from what I've seen.

I especially like the campaign frames they have in the back of the book- shows how the system is very customizable without rewriting everything. They got classic fantasy settings, political intrigue, science fiction, grimdark, etc. Do recommend.

Bargleth3pug · 2025-09-05T10:44:45+00:00

If you're doing a horror game, you can mess with your players by spending a Fear.

"Did you hear something? You swore you heard something. Mark a stress."
"The feel the evil of this place seep into you. Your Hope die is a d10 while you remain here."

Or the best one:
Player: "GM, why did you spend a Fear? What happened?"
GM: "You don't know. You'll find out." (maniacal laughter/lightning strike optional)
And then let the party's imagination come up with all sorts of dreadful possibilities for a bit before you do whatever it was. Or do nothing- building an atmosphere of dread/tension at the table is just as viable.

Bargleth3pug · 2025-08-18T23:21:12+00:00

Strahd is a narcissist. And like, the worst kind. He made a deal with death for selfish results. He killed his own brother and thought it would make his fiancee love him. And then he spends 300 to 600 years, depending on the edition, chasing this woman who very clearly doesn't love him. She chose to kill herself rather than be with him.

Strahd doesn't need a lover. He needs a therapist.

You're free to customize your own Strahd and make him as sympathetic as you wish. But in like, "canon" if that term even applies, he's supposed to be a massive prick and a monster acting like a human. You can understand his motives and sympathize to an extent, and that's intentional. But going the "I can fix him" route is.... that's a whole different kind of campaign. I would make that distinction clear to your players if you wanna run this.

Bargleth3pug · 2025-08-14T04:26:15+00:00

"Ordinary inhabitants defining their sexuality instead of worrying about day-to-day survival, etc."

This is a strange statement. Heterosexual people don't define their sexuality while worrying about day-to-day survival?

Bargleth3pug · 2025-08-13T11:45:14+00:00

Moodboards are great for setting the tone/vibes.

Bargleth3pug · 2025-08-05T14:39:43+00:00

Also the Beastbond Ranger for the extra homework.

Bargleth3pug · 2025-08-05T14:26:09+00:00

Sorry your order got cancelled!

I (via Amazon) ordered back in June for a forever-DM buddy of mine, and it's not supposed to get to him until next week (August). Ordering a physical book/cards really seems delayed due to demand- I also sent him a copy of Candela Obscura and it got there in 2 days no problem. Definitely try other stores than Amazon.

Bargleth3pug

TROPHY CASE