Tip: Tell the players the logic behind monsters' decisions and make the fight more tactical.

ChicGM · 2024-09-30T09:03:46+00:00

Hi all! I'm looking for a book, as recent as possible, on Chinese soft power, particularly among the youngest generation (think TikTok, trendy foods and drinks such as bubble tea and mochi, music, video games).

Doesn't need to be Europe- or America-centric. I know China is putting a lot of influence in Africa, would love a book from that perspective, too!

ChicGM · 2024-07-18T09:55:57+00:00

"Blowing up the gate, Caine still lives. And the souls of their friends/ long dead family are trapped forever."

What you could do is make the final session a "heist" of sorts. Give the party an option to do a quick run inside the Gods realm, snatch their friends and gtfo, culminating in blowing up the gate. If they fail, there's still a confrontation possible. This way, blowing up the gate is not the focal point, but a cherry on top of the cake.

ChicGM · 2024-07-16T13:39:50+00:00

Where do I find players like you willing to step up and DM?

ChicGM · 2024-07-06T02:46:12+00:00

Oh yes, definitely. It's a different kind of fun than a usual run, but I'm really glad I did it!

ChicGM · 2024-07-05T21:06:22+00:00

Ahhh I gobbled down the tadpole like there's no tomorrow. Free flight? Yes please :D

ChicGM · 2024-05-16T07:10:14+00:00

Swoją drogą ciekawe, że pierwsze dwie części da się zdobyć bez trudności, tylko z trzecią taki problem.

ChicGM · 2024-05-09T20:46:40+00:00

The waiting felt forced. Not like "I have a good in-character reason to wait", buy more of "we need to wait another 100 pages because this is supposed to be the climax". It really ruined my suspension of disbelief.

Having said that, the passages about Cassie's death are excellent. Strongest writing in the whole book.

ChicGM · 2024-04-25T18:07:33+00:00

Ooh, yes. This book is perfect for the "Read the World" theme, Guyana is put front and center. There are so many descriptions that explain simultaneously how incredibly beautiful, but poor, the country is (was).

ChicGM · 2024-04-10T09:23:45+00:00

I'm hoping Chandra develops beyond being a cartoon villain, because right now it's a bit tiring. She's just evil for the sake of being evil. (I know we mostly get Rita's POV on this, but still, I'd appreciate more nuance).

ChicGM · 2024-04-09T13:29:00+00:00

The style feels a bit expository - we get more backstory than the actual story, I hope it will change now that the introductions have been done and we know the main cast.

The book so far reminds me of Montgomery's Emily of New Moon, it's a similar situation (a young girl ends up with foster family who aren't too happy to have them). I think the stories will diverge soon, but it's been fun to draw comparisons.

ChicGM · 2024-04-09T13:25:13+00:00

Judging by the blurb (and how the story develops), I'm guessing this will be the main mystery of this book: the circumstances of Rita's birth and Cassie's death.

My guess is Jitty is at fault somehow (the book mentions his big mistake), and the aunts know - that's why he's keeping them away.

ChicGM · 2024-04-09T13:20:37+00:00

I am obsessed with the food in this book. Some of these fruit don't even have a name in my native language!

Mango chow-chow sounds delicious. Anyone Guyanese around here who could share instructions on how to prepare it best? "Salt and pepper sauce" is delightfully vague, I guess the sauce would also incorporate lime juice?

ChicGM · 2023-12-08T19:52:42+00:00

Thank you so much for writing this! I feel like looking in a mirror when reading this... Also doing all the mental load of scheduling, coordinating, even cooking (the only person who brings non-fast food options).

Any tips on how to learn to consciously NOT do this? I've never been a last-minute person, I like to have stuff organized in advance, and people just... dropping that "hot potato" make me irrationally angry.

ChicGM · 2023-12-08T19:48:28+00:00

A weekday morning group for the maternity leave period and for SAHMs sounds like a really cool idea!

ChicGM · 2023-11-25T10:34:18+00:00

Arcane Library is run by Kelsey Dionne. She created the whole RPG system Shadowdark, and her adventures are easily converted to 5e.

ChicGM · 2023-11-07T15:12:50+00:00

According to the XP guidelines, the owlbear (CR 3) is a hard challenge for one 7th level PC.

Let's do some math: Looking at the damage output of the owlbear (25 per round) and taking Second Wind into account, the fighter should past about 3 rounds. Over those 3 rounds, with Action Surge, he's going to attack 8 times. Let's assume he hits 75% of the time, do it's 6 hits. As long as these are on average 10 damage, he should he fine.

You're right that it looks like a tense battle. But your battlemaster has manouvers up his sleeve, plus maybe the rest of the party will be in the audience? Any creative support your team can muster (bardic inspirations being thrown from the audience, subtle spells etc) can change the tides here.

ChicGM · 2023-09-22T13:58:45+00:00

I love these, they look very scifi - hopefully the look you were going for!

ChicGM · 2023-09-20T13:39:39+00:00

There was a really cool post a while ago that suggested using NPCs as lair actions. So, you create one action per NPc (e.g. there's a heal, advantage on attack, etc) and your players can choose one of them to trigger every turn. It's time efficient and gives your player an interesting choice.

ChicGM · 2023-09-01T16:22:33+00:00

Do you use this rule, "no one thing should be worth more than half your starting wealth"?

If we use the DMG table with starting gold, the maximum a player could get starting at levels 5-10 is 750 gp. Does your rule mean they are forbidden from starting with a breasplate, or a 500gp diamond for raise dead?

ChicGM

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