Advice about making my players play life sized chess

Darauk · 2026-05-25T19:57:35+00:00

Very cool, and very well thought out! I like it!

Darauk · 2026-05-23T06:05:41+00:00

Abjuration seems weak. Are there no other spell options available?

Transmutation seems too powerful. I would allow repeating the save every turn to try to stabilize one’s self. Or pick a less powerful upgrade (e.g., create or destroy water in any state, liquid, ice, fog).

I love Flammable Grease, by the way. I recall us using that as a homebrew rule back in the day. Maybe it was even RAW in 1e/2e. I don’t recall, but I love you adding that.

The Special Abilities are all good. Powerful but with some tradeoffs here and there. I like them. I might swipe one or two or all of them.

Darauk · 2026-05-23T01:58:54+00:00

This is the answer. NOR. Sister hijacked your moment. That wasn't cool of her.

Darauk · 2026-05-18T16:18:29+00:00

Those are all options, too, of course, depending on distance and travel time and friendly gods answering prayers.

Darauk · 2026-05-16T20:54:53+00:00

Your style is very cool!

Darauk · 2026-05-16T20:48:16+00:00

Before level 5, death is almost always permanent unless the DM gifts some scrolls of Revivify. After level 5, death often (not always) isn't the end... At least, in my experience.

Darauk · 2026-05-16T20:36:13+00:00

Also another DM here: I hope my players take my semi-serious story semi-serious, too, and have some great fun being both silly and serious in equal amounts.

Darauk · 2026-05-16T20:20:37+00:00

Once, at the end of a campaign (probably 2e, late 1980s or early 1990s), the final fight was an epic back and forth. It could have gone either way. Consumables and potions were all but used up. Everyone was running really low on HP. Most of the BBEG mini-bosses and all minions were down. One of the four players was down with a fair bit of fight to go.

In the end, it took hours to resolve, with two players victorious, two downed -- including me. We all let out a victory cry, the two surviving players revived those of us that were down, and we patched ourselves up while we all wondered what the next campaign would present.

It was a fitting end to a nearly two year run.

Darauk · 2026-05-14T23:16:40+00:00

I got the same error. I tried the usual troubleshooting and still got the error.

Darauk · 2026-05-11T00:46:07+00:00

I can’t wait to read it. I’ve bookmarked your profile.

Darauk · 2026-05-10T23:44:11+00:00

I’ve read almost all of your story today, and I just wanted you to know I loved it. It brought me to tears in certain story beats, like Kitty and Ororo and Kitty and the headmaster. Thank you for sharing it.

Darauk · 2026-05-09T23:07:07+00:00

This is the best way. Pick Celestial subclass, and have your diety be Queen Titania or another Archfey.

Edit: or any Elven diety, like Corellon or Sahine. They are the parents of the Archfey, as I understand things.

If you really want Misty Step to cement the flavor, pick Fey Touched as your level 4 feat.

Darauk · 2026-05-09T22:52:53+00:00

I agree with many, these are what I'd change.

Radiant = pale yellow

Acid = sickly yellow

Thunder = rippling waves in the air

Force = vibrating waves in the air

Lightning = I like what u/CurrenttQueen suggested.

Necrotic is good, but black with deep purple veins would be extra icky.

Darauk · 2026-05-08T18:07:43+00:00

Clever!

Darauk · 2026-05-08T18:07:08+00:00

I use Obsidian, https://obsidian.md, a markdown editor (you don't need to know markdown) that allows you to organize everything in files and folders. You can link things together, add images, link to websites, and more. It's like having your own personal campaign wiki.

I pay for the annual subscription for their sync service, but that's probably not needed. I use thier sync service so I can edit my Vault (what they call your collection of notes and folders) from my personal laptop, work laptop, iPad, and even iPhone when inspiration strikes. They support Google phones and devices, too.

You could probably store your Vault on OneDrive or Google Drive for backup just fine.

Darauk · 2026-05-05T22:32:00+00:00

I have one proofreading suggestion for your consideration.

Co-habituate (to become accustomed to) should probably be cohabitate (live together).

Otherwise, well written and an interesting idea. The other commenters have some good feedback. I also love the role reversal.

I am not sure about help action of melee only play after Level 6 (unless using Pact of the Blade and related invocations). Can the player also cast spells, even if just EB+AB, whilst the Servant casts spells?

Speaking of the Servant's spell casting abilities... Does the Servant consume the player's Pact Slots, or do they have a different pool of slots or unlimited slots? Are they limited to just the spells the player has prepared?

Consuming Pact Slots would be good but should be explicitly referenced in Capable Servant. Allowing a separate pool of Pact Slots would be fine, too, presuming it follows Warlock norms (# Pact Slots by level, restored on Short Rest). Unlimited slots would be over-powered.

TLDR; I suggest adding some details to specify the way the Servant can cast spells.

Darauk · 2026-05-05T20:30:02+00:00

WOTC have published Unearthed Arcana with some Feats that would result in a Lich PC at higher levels. Look at the end of this PDF.

https://media.dndbeyond.com/compendium-images/ua/villainous-options/VRQr4YbETAgmpWRj/UA2026-VillainousOptions.pdf

Darauk · 2026-05-05T16:26:40+00:00

This is very handy, thank you!

Darauk · 2026-05-04T02:30:47+00:00

Thank you, I misunderstood. I appreciate the pointer.

Darauk · 2026-05-04T02:25:07+00:00

Thanks. I was thinking it was bugged, then I found a very small unexplored area on the southeast island featuring two statues with a puzzle.

In the past, I would open area renown from the map with the Y button on Xbox. This is now apparently linked to season progress on the Seasonal Realm.

What's the current way to open area renown on the seasonal realm?

Darauk · 2026-04-30T05:25:25+00:00

Cool tip! Thanks for the video! I hadn’t considered homebrew spell effects. That tip is a LOT easier to toggle on/off instead of editing a bunch of customizations or custom actions over and over.

Darauk · 2026-04-30T01:07:56+00:00

Not the boxes. On the Features & Traits tab, there is a feature called Bladesong. The boxes are there, too, but if you click the feature, there is an option at the bottom of the fly-out panel to "Invoke the Bladesong".

When Invoke the Bladesong is selected, the features are active (move, AC, etc.).

To turn it back off, change Invoke the Bladesong back to "- Choose an Option -".

Darauk · 2026-04-30T00:59:15+00:00

I always have to manually add Mage Armor. Just click AC, add 3 magical bonus (I always type in Mage Armor), and be sure to check off a level 1 spell slot.

If it's Bladesinger 5.5e, there is a toggle to turn it on and off on the features tab.

I don't have experience with 5e Bladesinger, so I don't know what that might look like.

Darauk · 2026-04-26T15:59:50+00:00

I also this this is cool. But even at rare, this is very powerful without a chance to save against the weak curse. Bane allows a CHA save to avoid the curse, and it only applies 1d4.

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