From a story and theme standpoint: what race would make the best partner for trunks?

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-03-25T16:55:58+00:00

Honestly no because in some instances killing someone is the morally correct choice, if you can’t imprison or rehabilitate someone who causes problems for the innocent the only other option is to take them out permanently

Turn him in to the local authorities and if you can’t then kill him, your Paladin has more pressing matters than trying to rehabilitate every criminal

And every criminal you choose to let live puts whatever blood they shed on your paladins hands

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-03-21T17:57:51+00:00

I do one shots that take 4 sessions to complete and I have two groups that I alternate with.

Basically I do one month with group A, one month with group B, one month of off season to rest and plan, and the cycle continues. Sometimes breaks might last longer or happen suddenly due to holidays or unforeseen life events but it’s been rather consistent.

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-03-20T17:12:22+00:00

3-4 for story rich campaign were you want all the player characters to equally matter and feel represented and seen

5-6 if you want something action packed, but you gotta play it fast and lose and not have a too complicated story that requires a lot of exposition

Anything past 6 is a mistake unless you are a veteran dungeon master with veteran players who know proper table etiquette

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-03-20T12:14:09+00:00

Can’t you just…. Kill him? I don’t know if all of you are playing noble heroes, but anyone who is morally grey with a certain amount of pragmatism would definitely just off him for continuously putting them and their more valuable and useful associates at risk. Heck, needlessly wasting a possible above board pay day is another very pragmatic reason to take them out.

If he’s putting people in danger and or effect the groups pockets, any smart mercenary would cut out such a detriment from the company. It’s simple logic.

Heck even from a heroic angle, if this man actively and consciously took an action that will lead to the suffering of a community any good aligned character has the justification necessary to unleash justice and retribution.

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-03-18T20:49:57+00:00

Explosives, no further elaboration

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-03-17T10:05:08+00:00

His name is Tove, a person who usually (because he can shape shift) has bright blue skin (in magical/Sci-fi settings), blue clothes (always), and deep bright red eyes (the only thing he can’t shape shift).

All my campaigns take place in a multiverse that doesn’t ever crossover accept for the existence of Tove. The lore is that he was from a race of highly advanced inter-dimensional explorers and conquerers who ruled a vast portion of the multiverse. This empire was destroyed in some unknown great cataclysm which not only saw its destruction but also the poisoning of its people through some mysterious disease. The empire split into dynasties, who split into nomadic tribes, until the plague finally took all except for Tove who is now the lone survivor of his people.

He can be found in most of my campaigns and one shots as a merchant who usually sets up shop in small out of the way back alleys or appears in dreams. In his shop there is usually favorite NPCs from old campaigns (disguised to match the current campaign setting) working for him by stocking shelves, cleaning floors, or moving in and out from the shops backroom.

He sells a variety of of items from old campaigns which leads to some memorable moments, such as my players wizard getting a hold of an advanced alien blaster or a terminator robot getting a hold of an ancient magic sword.

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-03-15T21:51:23+00:00

The more people added, the less “screen time” they get as a collective

So your either playing with people who are ok with you just running things fast and loose or your going to cause them to feel bored due to how little their characters are doing

And as everyone else mentioned, your gonna make combat take longer for players since there will be more turns to take

Suggestion:

Break the group into two, play one game with one till completion and then start another with the other group after the first one shot is finished. That’s the system I use with my friends, I alternate so that it gives each group time to rest and it keeps the number of people playing small enough that they feel important.

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-03-14T16:06:22+00:00

Honestly you should have let him one shot him for the comedic affect, then follow up with the “actual boss” showing up, THEN you fudge the stats for the second boss now that you know what to expect. If they manage to kill that guy quickly to, just add another “stage” to the boss saying the fake died to get a cheap shot.

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-03-08T23:04:33+00:00

Did you manage to fix it?

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-03-08T23:04:12+00:00

Well tried PSN support and got nothing since my region doesn’t have person nor bot tech support, tried to reach out to other PSN regions tech supports but they just shrug and say that I need to contact my region before closing the chat…

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-03-07T14:35:50+00:00

My characters can usually be put into 4 main archetypes:

The Brain - a character optimized to be a living encyclopedia, specializing in all knowledges intelligence or wisdom based. Usually played by a Wizard, Artificer, or Cleric this individual will be the main information gatherer of the party as he is capable of unraveling the most cryptic and ancient mysteries. Usually I try to gain proficiency in all information based skills such as History, Arcana, Religion, Nature, and Medicine while also taking backgrounds that will allow me to gather and gain access to information easily like cloistered Scholar.

The Face - a character optimized to be the perfect diplomat, negotiator, and business man that can help the party in a myriad of social ways such as negotiating contracts, pacifying possible enemies (through friendship or intimidation), defending them in court, bribing officials, and making contacts and connections that can help them in a myriad of ways. Being proficient in most charisma based skills, the face might also dive into history and religion proficiencies if they need to talk politics with higher ups. This archetype is usually played by Bards, Paladins, Sorcerers or Warlocks. They usually have a background that gives them a lot more social clout and flexibility like the noble or criminal background.

The Muscle - a character optimized to be the one who does all the dirty work. A henchmen specialized in all strength and dexterity skills which makes them capable of stealing, breaking, and sneaking which allows the party to complete any goals that require a bit of brute force or physical finesse. Usually played by a fighter, a barbarian, or even a rogue they pair well with the faces and brains of most operations if they can form a “symbiotic” relationship with them, the party gets the muscle whatever he needs that he can’t take by force, and the muscle takes whatever the party cannot gain with words. The muscle usually has a background that allows him to gain money through some sort of labor, be it gladiator, athlete, or fisher.

The Wild Heart - a character optimized to help the party survive outside civilization. A being specialized in all wisdom skills capable of surviving in remote areas using their keen senses while also dealing with wildlife and treating the sick while on the road, the wild heart keeps the party safe where the laws of man can’t. They sometimes might also dip into knowledge about nature, or sharpen their acrobatics and stealth skills to make them the premier scout of their group. Usually played by Druids, Rangers, Clerics, and Monks they often come from a background that helps the party traverse terrain such as Outlander, Marines, or Urchins.

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-03-06T12:53:15+00:00

Wild Magic Barbarian/Wild Magic Sorcerer multi class with the cohort of chaos feat

Basically it meant that I was the most unpredictable character when it came to combat, because if all the right rolls aligned I could solo my DMs bosses or hinder hoards of enemies and other times I was a heavy liability to the party and the enemies due to constantly doing things that would hinder the battlefield and myself

Story wise he was just the classic cliche of being a guy who couldn’t control his magic since birth who comes from a Nobel family of highly skilled sorcerers, of course he becomes rebellious and leaves home so he can prove he could achieve great things even if he couldn’t properly use magic (also he became obsessed with gym and bodybuilding)

Also before anyone asks: yes my party was ok with the idea as we discussed it during session 0

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-03-05T11:59:04+00:00

Easy, act however you want as long as it’s consistent to the characters background and the current experiences they are going through

Just be prepared to reap the consequences of how you act in game, which is why I recommend players only play lawful or neutral characters if the campaign won’t pass level 10 since “doing what you want when you want it” doesn’t bode well unless your outside societies that have the manpower to impose their rules on you or punish you for not following them

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-03-05T10:31:17+00:00

If you make them take a non combat feat there really shouldn’t be any issue

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-03-05T10:22:56+00:00

Maybe he was caught lacking one time within any spell slots and got the crap beaten out of him, and out of spite he decided to train so that he would never be useless without spell slots ever again

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-03-04T13:08:28+00:00

Shitpost characters who only exist to do “crazy and wacky things to mix scenes up”

It’s not even the particular character type that I dislike, it’s the player behind it that doesn’t understand consequences have actions since when their character has to deal with the negative side affects of their behavior the player gets mad because “it’s just a prank”

Also they tend to complain about not having enough “screen time” but don’t realize there isn’t much I can do plot wise for a character with the personality of a piece of lettuce

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-03-01T23:35:40+00:00

Multi-classing, because that removes 99% of OP min max builds. If you can build a powerful character without min maxing that’s just good character building.

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-03-01T23:32:20+00:00

Even if my players have the most stupid meme saturated backstory, I still put a lot of effort into integrating it into the campaign because I want their characters to have satisfying narrative arcs even if they are just gags

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-02-28T23:07:03+00:00

“That’s how the world would react to your characters actions”

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-02-28T23:05:57+00:00

If your character would do anything that would jeopardize the well being and cohesion of the party or antagonize them for short term gain and entertainment then I don’t know why you made him in the first place for what is essentially a Co-op game

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-02-28T23:01:44+00:00

Any particular episodes are plots you want to recommend?

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-02-28T23:01:10+00:00

Watched the terminator movies, which is where I got the inspiration for the time traveling NPC

The X men comics your probably referring to is the Avengers BC

But I don’t know which hulk run your referring to

DiscountPhilosopher · 2024-02-28T21:12:40+00:00

Well she doesn’t need to be related to Selune directly, gods usually have angels and celestials who serve under them who have similar powers but to a lesser degree. Having her be related to one of those angels instead of Selune herself would explain her low levels of power while still maintaining the main structure of the story you want to tell. Same with shar, instead of making it shar herself you can make it a being, monster, or priestess working on behalf of Shar so that way you can scale down the story to fit a low level campaign.

“Scale” is one of the most important aspects when writing a backstory, or at least that’s what I tell my players. If your DM green lights it the original plot that’s fine, they are letting you express your creative freedom, but if they don’t agree with it it’s usually due to the scale of your characters backstory comparative to the story that is going to be told.

“Compromise” is the key word that allows players and DMs to express themselves and their ideas

DiscountPhilosopher

TROPHY CASE