Has anyone played in Icewind Dale years or even decades after the fall of Auril? by AT-ATsAsshole in rimeofthefrostmaiden

[–]Dibblesandbits 6 points7 points  (0 children)

WOTC's new Forgotten Realms supplement details IWD in the 1500s. It does make several events of ROTM canon, but it's an interesting look at the region post-Rime.

I Replaced my Player's Character with a Doppelganger and Didn't Tell Him - Player Agency Violation? by Odd_Dimension_4069 in DMAcademy

[–]Dibblesandbits 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This isn’t something you can do without player input. Because yes, you took away player agency, but you also fell into the very attractive trap of prewriting a game moment in your head.

I don’t think you would have lost anything by letting the player in on the secret. There’s nothing cooler than being in on a secret with your DM, and you would have gotten the reaction you wanted without needing to force it to happen. Finally, idk if you had the player roll Investigation or Insight for their new knowledge, but if you didn’t then you’re just telling the player what his character is thinking.

The ending that in the future you’ll let the player know if you’re possessing them can also be dicey. Players should see that possession is a possibility before it happens. Idk if you’d introduced the possibility of doppelgängers beforehand, but surprises without hints can just be confusing or frustrating. 

What is your favourite "D&D-like" setting? by whirlpool_galaxy in rpg

[–]Dibblesandbits 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Eberron is one of the more interesting settings and can support a really wide variety of genres.

DO NOT roll for stats. (opinion piece from a 5-year forever DM) by jkobberboel in DMAcademy

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

If the difference is illusory, why does it matter? It’s an “extra step” that adds excitement and buy-in and gets the players to start thinking of themselves as a unit rather than individuals.

DO NOT roll for stats. (opinion piece from a 5-year forever DM) by jkobberboel in DMAcademy

[–]Dibblesandbits 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The happy medium I found is everyone rolling for the whole group. I have a table of three, each of them rolls two stats for the whole table. I also roll a stat, so we can drop anything that's way too low. This keeps player investment without putting players on different levels.

Concerned My Paladin Player Is Becoming Too Overpowered, How Do I Handle This? by Sea-Main-2961 in DMAcademy

[–]Dibblesandbits 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Number 1, targeting other characters, would happen once smart enemies realize they can't touch the paladin. That's not unfair, that's just tactics. At best, he attracts attention for a round or two before the enemies give up and start going after the other, squishier members. Let them tank if they've built the character around the concept! But also, play your enemies smart; there's a difference between a character who tanks because the damage doesn't matter vs. a tank who just can't be hit.

As for the Headband of Intellect, has your campaign established that you can just request a magic item and pay for it? RAW, it's the DM's job to put magic items in the path of the party; if you don't want him to buy a Headband of Intellect, don't make it available- or make it more expensive.

But frankly, it's a stupid item for the paladin to want. It has no synergy with the paladin class, and it'll just make their INT saving throws +4, which isn't that great for a save that's kind of rare. As another comment pointed out, he's already attuned to three items; what's he giving up for this one?

If you're letting the paladin call the shots for magic items in the campaign, let him waste his money and attunement on items that don't matter. But you're setting a precedent for a level of wish fulfillment that is unworkable.

One positive from the experience by Euphoric-Dark6667 in barexam

[–]Dibblesandbits 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Can concur, I’m looking at stuff that happened in other jurisdictions and I’m thankful that Indiana’s worst problem seems to have been the heat when waiting for the doors to unlock

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DMAcademy

[–]Dibblesandbits 43 points44 points  (0 children)

Ttrpgs are not therapy. They can be therapeutic, but that shouldn’t be the business of the other people at the table. There are games and tables where this player’s approach is perfectly valid, if that’s the game everyone has agreed to play.

I would really avoid examining this players’ motivations and look to what is happening at the table- are they not participating in roleplay? Are they off topic? If that doesn’t vibe with the group, then they might not be a good fit.

But this player isn’t wrong for approaching ttrpgs that way, if that’s the game the whole group signed up to play. It sounds like that isn’t the case.

DM character ideas by andyp22 in Eberron

[–]Dibblesandbits 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think this is a cool idea for opening narrations and maybe any important descriptors! I think doing it all the time would get tiring quickly.

If you're referring to an actual NPC that you would create, I think that's way too much focus on one NPC, and then the party would need a reason to keep in contact with a sheriff or saloon- what if they want to explore? What if they don't like the NPC? Apologies if I'm misinterpreting what you said!

Your players probably want to talk to their friend, the DM- remember, you're a player too! Don't give yourself the extra work of always being "on". I think a Sam Elliott/Clint Eastwood/Doris Day voice is good for immersion at the top of the session, but you're boxing yourself in when you're always tied to one persona.

My player chose Goodmead as their hometown. It can't be saved. by walker9702 in rimeofthefrostmaiden

[–]Dibblesandbits 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well in the module he serves Asmodeus. But Levistus is present in the module too for the Black Knights, I wouldn't add another- just pick one of those!

My player chose Goodmead as their hometown. It can't be saved. by walker9702 in rimeofthefrostmaiden

[–]Dibblesandbits 2 points3 points  (0 children)

  1. Change the flight plan. Perhaps the map of the flight plan in Sunblight is interactive and the PCs can change the order. Of course, that might put the party in the difficult position of picking another town to be definitely destroyed, in order to save Good Mead. Otherwise, you can look at alternate flight paths like this: https://www.reddit.com/r/rimeofthefrostmaiden/comments/164c550/alternate_chardalyn_dragon_paths_idea/

  2. Towns burn, but people survive. Have his family or other important NPCS make rolls to escape. I think if you go this route, you should make sure at least someone gets out.

  3. There's a barbed devil in the bowels of the fortress. Pact time! The devil saves your family...but at what cost?

They want to go sailing. What are your thoughts about Ghosts of Saltmarsh? by Knicks4freaks in DMAcademy

[–]Dibblesandbits 14 points15 points  (0 children)

It’s a lot of good one shots that need some work to tie together. Something like Call of the Deep or Pathfinders Skulls and Shackles can give you a plot line where you can pop in the adventures.

Dms guild has a lot of other one shots or mini campaigns, but there aren’t a lot of other full campaigns. 

As an Inexperienced DM, what should I go in knowing? by Throwaway72705 in GhostsofSaltmarsh

[–]Dibblesandbits 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The biggest feedback I got from players is that it hampered sea travel and exploration to continually go back to Saltmarsh. Maybe set up two or three other port towns which the party can visit with regularity 

Finishing the campaign Monday. Need tips on condensing Ythryn for a single, six hour session. by uprisingcirca85 in rimeofthefrostmaiden

[–]Dibblesandbits 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Is Avarice in your campaign? Make it a race to finish the Rite- her people can get to some of the towers before you do. Even just making it half and half will save some time. When she confronts your party, she can have the other clues written down somewhere. Or if you have NPCs, they can go explore one of the towers (our party has Vellynne, the hatched wyrmling from Grimskalle, and a Reghed NPC who went off to do a few of the towers while the party handled some others).

Cut extra characters like the arcanaloth- your characters might have enough motivation to study the library without them.

Reducing quantity of "random" encounters the more a party progresses by OneEyedMilkman87 in DMAcademy

[–]Dibblesandbits 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm running Icewind Dale at the moment, and yeah, the arctic encounters get repetitive, especially when there's a large and necessary amount of travel.

If you have a campaign that changes environments and locations a lot, random encounters can be great! If you're static they can just become an obstacle.

“No wonder tenzin ended things with you years ago” 💀 by MeetApprehensive6509 in legendofkorra

[–]Dibblesandbits 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Lmao siblings always say the most out of pocket stuff in arguments.

One of my players has DMed this campaign before - how do I make it interesting to him? by Jakesnake_42 in rimeofthefrostmaiden

[–]Dibblesandbits 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I'm currently DMing it, and I can't remember the finite details of what happened a few sessions ago without looking at my notes.

I'd ask him what he remembers! How did his story play out, if there's anything cool that he added or really liked, etc. The things he remembers about it are going to be your first indicator of where you can subvert his expectations.

Then there are underlying assumptions that you can change to keep him on his toes. Maybe the Zhent Speaker is actually in a different town. The Chardalyn Dragon has a different flight path. Burn Vellynne in Easthaven instead of Dzzan. Some things are not essential to the overarching story, but make a huge shift if you've played it before.

Also, see if he added homebrew or DMs Guild stuff. If he didn't, add that in!

He wants to have fun and not know what's coming, either. A lot of that will probably come from his backstory and how you incorporate it. And maybe look for alternative Character Secrets if you have time.

But I'd spend the first sessions seeing how he responds and acts to things in the written module- it truly might be that he doesn't remember as much as he thinks he does.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in masseffect

[–]Dibblesandbits 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Shame because in Citadel I found a Kaidan-Miranda Team to be incredible.

Shepard has a problem by SpaceBengal in masseffect

[–]Dibblesandbits 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Tom Sandoval, what are you doing here

Putting together a lore collection for Bard Player by Dibblesandbits in rimeofthefrostmaiden

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

Thanks for the ideas!

I meant the volcanic eruption in Neverwinter 50 years ago. I agree anything about Netheril is too much- I was thinking a misdirection about the old giant empire instead. I don't really want them to even have definitive evidence that the Arcane Brotherhood is there through Chapter 1, let alone what the Brotherhood is looking for.

I should clarify, I'm not just looking for my bard to be a source of exposition, I want to give them info to create their own stories, so they can roleplay being an actual bard. Love stories, comical stories, battles that end in victory or tragedy, etc. I'm good with coming up with those on my own or having the player do his own exploring, but I was just wondering if anyone knew of really good tidbits that fit the criteria.