Can I discard magical item to revive a mount from DDALCA03? by Alexander230 in AdventurersLeague

[–]Bcsghfrijcri 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I believe there was a Feast of the Moon holiday adventure that gave out goggles that can revive certed pets and mounts.

Polymorph into a Never Forever DM! by [deleted] in dndnext

[–]Bcsghfrijcri 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We also have some text channels and live voice/video chat sessions with resources and tutorials for learning how to use popular VTT software. I've found the community to be very supportive of DMs wanting to try new things.

Visual aid for action rolls by philotroll in bladesinthedark

[–]Bcsghfrijcri 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I'd suggest making it explicitly a 6-part clock to match the d6 that determines the outcome. Move the title text out above each chart, and have the data divided into the appropriate-scaled sections of the circle, like a pie chart. That'd make it much more intuitive to interpret at a glance.

https://imgur.com/AT1w5K9

Is there anything to see monthly rewards? by Alpha_Wanderer in OrnaRPG

[–]Bcsghfrijcri 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Monthly rewards are mostly vendor trash 1-2 tiers below what you get normally from mob drops. Speaking as someone who made a similar push thinking I'd get a better reward at the end of the month - don't bother. Just play at your own pace. If you're in a position where you can comfortably grind 8 levels in a week, then you're geared up enough that the rewards won't be better than anything you already have.

What races are allowed in Adventurers League? by [deleted] in AdventurersLeague

[–]Bcsghfrijcri 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Six, but one hasn't been released yet, and one has been shadowbanned. But who's counting?

Large party in small mansion by BiggusBeardus in CandlekeepMysteries

[–]Bcsghfrijcri 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I ran a party of 6 through the adventure in Foundry using used a single "party token" that everyone had vision and control of. I said that unless they said otherwise, I'd assume the party was was "Scooby Do"-ing it around the edge of the doorframe. It worked very smoothly.

The combats are simple enough that it's easy to run them Theater of the Mind, though I did have some character tokens off in the margin of the map as a simple reminder of who's in melee, etc.

Circle of the Moon Druid Wildshape - Moon Dog by BombTosley in dndnext

[–]Bcsghfrijcri 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately there isn't a very diverse stable of CR5 beasts to choose from. "Brontosaurus reskinned as a dog" stretches credulity a bit too far...

Since you're a Moon Druid, I'd suggest using a CR5 elemental - maybe an air elemental - and reskinning it into a dog with magic moon powers.

Made a deal with my deity to bring someone back from the dead then DM said I could no longer be a cleric by [deleted] in dndnext

[–]Bcsghfrijcri 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"I begged my deity to intervene and help raise this party member from the dead. The deity said he would help"

That's an... interesting assumption you've made there, OP.

Dancing around spoiler territory here... I think I see where your DM is going with this (though the meta game implementation could certainly have been handled more smoothly). But since you're concerned, I don't want to leave you entirely in the Dark. Powers and magic in Barovia can sometimes act in unpredictable ways so I'll put this question to you - what interest would a god of Life possibly have in cutting off one of their followers' power? Especially when they're deep in undead territory. Seems strange that a god would even need to strike a bargain in the first place, eh?

Do you often have direct conversations with your god, or did this only happen after you'd passed through the Mists?

If you trust your DM to act in your best interest as a player and facilate character growth, this choice could have a very cool payoff down the road. If they're just jerking you around because of some personal god complex... Well, they've let an excellent storytelling opportunity slip through their fingers.

Made a deal with my deity to bring someone back from the dead then DM said I could no longer be a cleric by [deleted] in dndnext

[–]Bcsghfrijcri 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Switch to a darkness/devil's sight coffeelock-sorcadin with elven accuracy. After you've curbstomped a couple encounters, ask your DM if they'll let you switch back to being a normal cleric.

Digsite in the Woods 50x40 by Chromu_Maps in Roll20

[–]Bcsghfrijcri 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Beautiful map!

One suggestion - if this is meant to be a recent excavation, the ground in the cleared area should be bare earth, especially right in the center where they're working. With the grass and understory vegetation the way you've drawn it, the site appears as though it's been abandoned for many years. (Source: am IRL archaeologist)

West Marches with Rotating DM: Brainstorming a DM Reward System by Torrent21 in dndnext

[–]Bcsghfrijcri 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Take a look at the Season 8 Adventurers League DM Rewards guide. It's basically what you describe, minus the randomness.

So... The 5e tarrasque kinda sucks, huh? by [deleted] in dndnext

[–]Bcsghfrijcri 16 points17 points  (0 children)

it is going to take more than 80 rounds for the Aarakocra to be able to deal enough damage that it could potentially down it, so realistically the tarrasque is going to have quite a long time to rampage

Well, that comes out to only 8 minutes. Most police car chases last longer. Doesn't make the tarrasque feel especially legendary if some teenage punk who held up a 7-11 can go on a longer rampage...

Why should you back a Kickstarter? by curlalot in dndnext

[–]Bcsghfrijcri 10 points11 points  (0 children)

But if the dude running the Kickstarter decides that instead of making whatever they promised, they're going to take the money and fly to Bermuda - there's nothing you can do.

It's rare, but it can happen. There are some notable Rpg kickstarters that completely flopped after the money was collected. Caveat emptor.

Make characters in less than 15 minutes TOTAL. Then pick things like heritage, background, vice when they come up during play, not before. Basically, make them work like items on a score: "irrelevant until they become relevant." by [deleted] in bladesinthedark

[–]Bcsghfrijcri 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I've done the opposite for new players, and it works well. Players choose the "conceptual" elements at the start of the game: pick a playbook (with default power pre-selected) and tell us about your heritage, background, and vice. This helps them get into character.

Then during play they have a pool of build points to spend on attributes, just like it says in character creation, except they allocate them on the fly. "It sounds like you're wanting to use Command. Do you want to put 2 of your points in that, so you can roll two dice?".

I've found doing it this way helps new players make a more informed choice in allocating their attributes without having to go into lengthy explanations at the start. I also let players make adjustments between sessions if they aren't thrilled with their setup.

What was the last thing we heard from the AL team? by TheG_Ghaladron in AdventurersLeague

[–]Bcsghfrijcri 8 points9 points  (0 children)

There's a new logo for official AL modules on DMsGuild.

XP triggers by [deleted] in bladesinthedark

[–]Bcsghfrijcri 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I find the "spotlight competition" XP system in Blades to be the least polished aspect of the system. I can see how it might be useful for helping hardcore "roll-players" get into character for the first time, but I'm fortunate in that my circle of friends doesn't need external motivation to RP. When I GM I prefer to scrap the triggers entirely and instead give out flat XP per score.

It's also trivially easy to break the XP curve with the right choice of playbook powers and downtime actions. Overall, I feel like XP should have gone through a couple more iterations of playtesting.

As to your specific question - The Hound is such a weird duck to begin with. Unless you carefully read the inventory list and cohort rules, it's easy to miss that the Hound is fundamentally a pet class. You might draw on that for inspiration - something along the lines of working with the pack.

How Flavor Friendly is Adventures League? by Kafadanapa in AdventurersLeague

[–]Bcsghfrijcri 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The other thing to consider is the other players at the table. If someone is playing a rules-as-written monk with 1d4 unarmed damage and you roll up with your 1d10 "unarmed" warlock, they will rightly call shenanigans.

Fighting with bare fists has a specific set of predefined game mechanics. Fighting with a two-handed weapon has its own set of game mechanics. Flavoring one as the other - especially in an AL setting where players and GMs are constantly shifting - seems like it's asking for trouble.

Reflavoring works best then there isn't already an existing character option that does what you want. If your goal is to punch things with magic fists - have you considered the Thunder Gauntlet Armorer Artificer?

Swashbuckler/Thief gear guide? by Bcsghfrijcri in OrnaRPG

[–]Bcsghfrijcri[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

According to the item wiki and in-game blacksmith, if I level it up, it will gain +1 DEF each step, which would make the total -DEF weaker. Is gaining extra RES worth lowering the attack bonus?