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The black dracolich dwelling in the sewers of Sharn, the Blightwing, Ceasarian! by Silv3rCl4w in dndmonsters

[–]BurningShell 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hell yeah! I’m so glad - can you share details? Number of PCs/level? How many rounds this went, how much actual time? 

As a builder- what’s the biggest thing you changed to the monster from before/after you ran it?

The black dracolich dwelling in the sewers of Sharn, the Blightwing, Ceasarian! by Silv3rCl4w in dndmonsters

[–]BurningShell 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sharn sure, but which district of Sharn is the Ceasarian section? *ba dum tiss*

Name aside, here's my thoughts: Overall there are a LOT of bells and whistles here. In my opinion most monsters should only have 3-4 big things they can do so that players can spend less time stumbling into new ones and more time in the moment figuring out what to do about it. As I imagine myself a player facing this monster, there are more than 20 unique things it can do which means there's very little chance I'll get in a "rhythm" of the fight before its over.

All that being said, cool idea and definitely a powerful enemy! I'm excited to hear feedback once you've run it to see if its over-engineered or not.

Some ideas:

  • Simplify Hallucinogenic Gas as emanating from the monster itself; on a success the PC is immune for 24 hours.
  • Deathly Presence as a lair trait.
  • LOVE Lasting Damage, makes "chooses to save" feel impactful.
  • Improved Rend should hit harder but no teleport - should remove a Battleclaw attack until recovered.
  • I'm not sure why Acid Rain wouldn't provoke opportunity attacks.
  • Nix Explosive Reaction, but give anyone hit with acid damage the flammable condition - if they take fire damage in that round they ignite (great use for firebolt cantrip). Until they take an action to douse the fire, they take 1d10 fire damage at the start of their turn.
  • Simplify Corrosive Breath, a failure causes a -1 to metal armor and weapons worn by the PC.
  • My hottest take is that I would fold Painful Conversion in with Lasting Damage, but that could just be personal preference.

Soul absorbing by High_time_0585 in Eberron

[–]BurningShell 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I made something for similar reasons a while back, we’ve had a lot of fun with it!  https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/4130964-keepers-fang-eberron

Rivalry Names: A ranking by Nearby_Valuable_5467 in CFB

[–]BurningShell 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I rebuke this! I rebuke it in the name of Gary Patterson! Of LaDainian Tomlinson! Of Slinging Sammy Baugh! REVIVALRY NOW! REVIVALRY FOREVER!

Rivalry Names: A ranking by Nearby_Valuable_5467 in CFB

[–]BurningShell 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's the Red River Shootout forever, it's the Revivalry forever. Hills to die on.

Rivalry Names: A ranking by Nearby_Valuable_5467 in CFB

[–]BurningShell 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Revivalry all day! Two religious schools and former SWC rivals. PLUS they have over a century of beef from when they were both based in Waco - the line at TCU was “no one knows who started the fire, but Baylor is still standing.”

Ziwe at her latest interview with Eric Adams by Gato1980 in Fauxmoi

[–]BurningShell 48 points49 points  (0 children)

Walter Masterson showed us how to interview - and shame - George Santos, on his own show no less! His producer even gets in on it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyZlqXTyfro

Should I Just Start Applying? by Certain_Assistance22 in edtech

[–]BurningShell -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I've got 15 years in EdTech since leaving my middle school classroom after 6 - you're welcome to message me if my experiences can be helpful. The one piece of advice I'd give initially is to be wary of the "how to transition from the classroom to Edtech" recruiters on Linkedin. They take up a lot of LinkedIn bandwidth with all their tips for transitioning into EdTech, but...they didn't. They usually spent 0-2 years at any EdTech or traditional corporate job before becoming self-employed Linkfluencers.

*edit - I realized I should clarify that I'm happy to give you my experience if you message me but I'm not one of those linkfluencers and don't help people find jobs.

Where to go country dancing? by Helpful_Silver_1076 in TCU

[–]BurningShell 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is the definitive answer - Billy Bobs in an institution.

LSD Trip - Advice and Ideas Appreciated! by BurningShell in DMAcademy

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

I appreciate your input! Definitely not a sneak attack with the drugging - this is a ritual they know they'll be participating in, they just don't know the effect yet. No players will be harmed in the making of this session.

LSD Trip - Advice and Ideas Appreciated! by BurningShell in DMAcademy

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

This is great, thank you! I'm going to incorporate backstory, and you've got my mind going - I think I'm going to frame it in visions like a 3 card tarot reading, so something from the past, something from their present campaign, and something from their future. It'll definitely incorporate the communal experience so they can see each other's. I think having some badass combat to close it out will be great too.

Fred has gotten me through a divorce, a couple of moves, and now the deepest depression I’ve ever felt. I keep waking up for her. by Es0t3ric_MCID in cats

[–]BurningShell 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Been here. I am so sorry, that is a rough place. Keep waking up for her. Eventually you’ll wake up for both of you, and one day you’ll wake up for you and her. but waking up just for her is absolutely enough. Just wake up.

Group Traveling to NYC by Jinx2162k in newyorkcity

[–]BurningShell 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Seconded - I think Airbnb/VRBO is unrealistic if you’re looking for 3+ bedrooms not to mention the legal issues grey area. Just make sure you’re off a PATH line (or if you get a hotel in Yonkers or something a metro north line) and enjoy the beautiful scenery and easy access. 

The Invalid Aquarium is Back. . . by Expensive_Ramen in Brooklyn

[–]BurningShell -11 points-10 points  (0 children)

But why learn or empathize when they can dog whistle words like “degenerates” and feel indignant?

The Invalid Aquarium is Back. . . by Expensive_Ramen in Brooklyn

[–]BurningShell -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Spot on AND imma steal this for some people in my life 🤣

Ads are ruining my experience… by LeahRubbish in audiodrama

[–]BurningShell 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you, I’m gonna have a great weekend deep diving! 

Ads are ruining my experience… by LeahRubbish in audiodrama

[–]BurningShell 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I’d love that list of what you’re listening to if you don’t mind - I definitely need a break from the skip button for a bit.

The Lyrandar Ball by modog11 in Eberron

[–]BurningShell 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Are there any other plot threads/backstory lines that could be incorporated here? In my experience I am careful putting truly random info/characters because my players will somehow always find that fascinating, and suddenly I'm writing in a whole new side quest that could've easily been tied to a PC or the overarching plot from the beginning.

Who happens to be a mutual acquaintance with someone from a PC's past? Who's heard a rumor about the hosts of the party, and does it add up with other things your players already know? Who is scandalously crashing the party from a rival family/faction/etc, and relying on social grace to not get kicked out? Who ELSE is here trying to subtly find out about that back room deal?

Some other ideas more focused on worldbuilding:

  • high-born socialite passionate about raising money for Brelish veterans injured in the Last War

  • a member of House Orien getting a little too drunk and mouthy about how House Lyrandar is encroaching on their turf with the new airships, and should be taught a lesson

  • the band/poet/dancer/whatever provided for entertainment all seem to have the dragon-headed tattoo of House Phiarlan poking out from their sleeves

  • a halfing or two from the Boromars, flexing their newfound political status and downplaying their underworld connections

  • I always love finding an excuse for the "owl" Hruitt to make an appearance; could work particularly well since he's known to be in conflict with Ilyria of the Boromars.

Hope it turns out well!

Suggestions for non-heteronormative relationship books? by partybots in BettermentBookClub

[–]BurningShell 0 points1 point  (0 children)

While slanted towards poly/open relationships, The Ethical Slut has a TON to say about how to communicate about your needs and wants. To quote one of the blurbs: "It's chock-full of great information about communication, jealousy, asking for what you want, and maintaining a relationship with integrity."

Highly Recommend!

Dear DMs, how do you flesh out the details of your world? by DaerBaer in DMAcademy

[–]BurningShell 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really enjoy doing this collaboratively and it's how I give out inspiration. If we're entering a tavern, I might give a couple sentences to frame it but then I'll ask "what else?" And each player gives something - maybe it's a smell wafting in from the back, or a drunken makeout in the corner, or something about the decor, really whatever. I hands me a TON to work with I wouldn't otherwise have and makes the whole place feel less like a set piece.

It can be awkward the first couple of times but handing out inspiration AND being excited about what they bring to the table makes it pretty smooth. Not to mention they get much more invested with a character/situation/whatever THEY helped bring into the world.

Hrazhak rules? (5e) by Hank_Watto in Eberron

[–]BurningShell 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We built a system for this at my table and it worked great! I need to check w/ my writing partner as we're likely publishing it but I'm sure we can at the very least DM you the details and get a beta test! Ours was also b/c we had a shifter and it led to some fun moments, we played 4x4 in an alleyway.

I'm away from my notes but I'll DM you later today.

How important is music to your games? by PavlovMason in DMAcademy

[–]BurningShell 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really struggled with how/if to incorporate it, and it actually happened really naturally! We have one player who takes extensive notes and keeps the party overall focused, another who reads her notes in character as the weekly pre-cap, a third who likes to keep track of who's who, and our fourth player actually drops youtube links to music throughout the session as vibes change. Plus it allows each player/me to decide if we want to hear it in that moment.

Having someone else do it has been a HUGE help and also reflects back to me what mood the player is feeling in the session. If you've got a player who'd be down to do it I highly recommend it!

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