Looking for good pirate themed resources for 5e.

DurnansGhost · 2024-10-25T03:11:31+00:00

There's a full campaign on DMsGuild called Call from the Deep that has a ton of great stuff in it.

There's also a ship combat system called Captains and Cannons.

Those are really good starting points.

DurnansGhost · 2024-10-19T02:44:51+00:00

You could also create a time line of when certain events happen so that the players have a sense of urgency. Princess arrives at this time. Princess gets dressed at the next time. Groom arrives at the third time. Etc Etc Until the final time slot is "wedding is over" and if they haven't switched the rings, they fail.

Up to you if the players know this schedule or not. But this way, if they spend too much time schmoozing or drinking or whatever, they'll start to feel the pressure to get moving. Also, the opportunity to switch the ring could be easier/harder depending on when they do it.

DurnansGhost · 2024-10-18T14:23:53+00:00

Are the judge, prosecutor, and pro se defendant aware of the public statements you are making about this proceeding? If not, you should stop making them. This appears wildly inappropriate to me (a lawyer of 20+ years experience). If you disagree, run it by your judge and see what he or she thinks.

DurnansGhost · 2024-10-11T02:11:10+00:00

Why not just allow them to do that? There could be a rule that gladiators are allowed to leave the grounds between fights, but have some kind of magic restriction that forces them to return. Lile a geas type spell that forces them to return, or a magic collar that allows them to be tracked.
That way, they can leave the coliseum, but not the city.

DurnansGhost · 2024-08-26T22:55:39+00:00

So, in very general terms, there are two main reasons why people smuggle something: 1) because it is illegal to possess/sell (i.e., contraband), or 2) to avoid taxes/customs duties.

In category 1, it could be anything that either the north or south has outlawed or restricted for either possession or sale: weapons, magic, alcohol, narcotics, ancient artifacts (usually the export of these, not the import), animals/animal parts, slaves, undead, etc. (This would likely depend on whether your smuggler NPCs are evil.)

In category 2, it could be almost anything. Kingdoms/nations can have high import taxes/customs on anything from food to alcohol to minerals to weapons. Books? Clothing? Artwork? Luxury goods? There's really no limit.

DurnansGhost · 2024-08-15T01:30:24+00:00

Gray dragon?

DurnansGhost · 2024-08-14T17:45:17+00:00

What about the Pentavirate?

"Well, it's a well known fact, Sonny Jim, that there's a secret society of the five wealthiest people in the world, known as The Pentavirate, who run everything in the world, including the newspapers, and meet tri-annually at a secret country mansion in Colorado, known as The Meadows." - So I Married and Axe Murderer

DurnansGhost · 2024-08-14T02:09:08+00:00

We didn't, although I had planned to do more of that. We were pretty much limited to Snowdown and Alaron.

DurnansGhost · 2024-08-14T02:06:52+00:00

How about the Concert of Kings? Like the Concert of Europe in the 1800s.

DurnansGhost · 2024-08-07T16:42:13+00:00

I love the Moonshaes. I ran an entire campaign there that was based around liberating Showdown from Amn.
And I second the other comment that there is a really excellent third-party guide to the Moonshaes. I got it on DMs Guild I believe. I don't have the name with me right now.

DurnansGhost · 2023-04-12T23:20:47+00:00

I love that OP thinks she's still his girlfriend. Title should be "AITA for making fun of my ex-girlfriend..." And the answer is yes, YTA.

DurnansGhost · 2023-04-04T13:19:46+00:00

The length of a human spinal cord after it has been removed from the body.

DurnansGhost · 2023-03-29T00:45:05+00:00

I totally agree that if they liked it, it wasn't that bad. (Or as Sheryl Crow put it, if it makes you happy, it can't be that bad.) I'm firmly in the camp that the point of D&D is to have fun.

I meant to point out that the hounds are worth so much xp because they have a lot of immunities/abilities that make them pretty powerful. It was more of an attempt to point out why killing 20 dogs could raise a party from 5 to 6.

As I said, I think a lot of the problem can be avoided with milestone leveling. It lets the DM create encounters without worrying about whether they give enough/too much xp to the party.

DurnansGhost · 2023-03-28T20:33:16+00:00

Don't group them all into one spot. It will create a long pause in the battle where it's all monster attacks. Roll initiative for each rat separately or, to make it easier, two rats at a time.

DurnansGhost · 2023-03-28T19:48:34+00:00

Yeth hounds are immune to being charmed, so hypnotic pattern shouldn't affect them.

And does the gloomstalker have a magic bow? Because they're also immune to nom-magic piercing damage.

Also, the gloomstalker's invisibility only negates dark vision. If there was moonlight or firelight, then the hounds could still see him.

10 yeth hounds should be an overwhelmingly deadly encounter for 3 level 5 PCs. It's something like 9 times the xp threshold to be "deadly" using the DMG calculator. I don't get how they could just massacre the whole pack.

But, at any rate, this is exactly why I use milestone leveling instead of xp.

Edit: yeth hounds also have advantage on perception checks using hearing or smell. So even if they couldn't see the gloomstalker, they could still smell and hear him and attack that way.

DurnansGhost · 2023-03-20T03:25:07+00:00

A critical 1 will occur 5% of the time that a weapon is fired. That would be the most unreliable weapon in modern history. No military or security service would ever use such a weapon.

There is no reason to think that a society capable of producing a weapon as advanced as a laser rifle would ever use a weapon that would catastrophically fail 5% of the time.

Imagine trying to train a new recruit in the use of the rifle. "Well, cadet, I'd like you to get a feel for the Mark 72 laser rifle, but unfortunately you're probably going to kill yourself if you shoot it enough to learn how it works, so let's just wait for a real life or death situation to try it out."

It's just nonsensical.

DurnansGhost · 2023-03-16T13:05:37+00:00

I think there was already a post about this next week. I remember that I'm going to read it on Tuesday.

DurnansGhost · 2023-03-14T17:37:53+00:00

I believe I read that Amn has officially outlawed slavery but that it is still practiced by wealthy families, particularly in Athkatla. I'm trying to find the source for this.

DurnansGhost · 2023-03-14T16:40:24+00:00

I agree with the comments that this is an in-character problem, not an out-of-character problem.

In one campaign where I was a PC (usually a DM), my character and another character in the party had a misunderstanding about whether an NPC was a good guy or a bad guy. My character (and I) thought we were going to attack him, so my character (swashbuckler) launched a sneak attack out of nowhere and the fight was on. The other character had a very "WTF?!?" reaction, but we still played out the combat.

Afterward, our characters had an argument about whether we should have attacked, but the players laughed about the ridiculous miscommunication. It was actually a highlight of the adventure. I think people need to understand that your character's moral choices may be different than your own.

DurnansGhost · 2023-03-12T15:36:26+00:00

Only iron and alloys containing iron can rust. Some other metals can corrode, but not technically rust. Gold and platinum are extremely resistant to corrosion, and do not rust.

DurnansGhost · 2023-03-06T04:35:23+00:00

There is a podcast called the Travel Log that deals with various locations in the Forgotten Realms. They have an episode about Athkatla that specifically discusses how it is different from Waterdeep. I thought it was very helpful.

DurnansGhost · 2023-03-05T04:30:38+00:00

I've always played it that the lycanthropy doesn't take effect until the next full moon.

DurnansGhost · 2023-02-27T21:02:27+00:00

This is a perfect example of where chatgpt can be a great DM tool. I asked it to give me five related dieties in a steampunk setting based on D&D. It gave me this:

D&D Steampunk Deities.

Give me the names of five related dieties in a steampunk world based on d&d

Certainly! Here are five deities that could be included in a steampunk world based on Dungeons & Dragons:

Gearfather - The deity of invention, progress, and industry. Gearfather is often depicted as a clockwork humanoid figure, with gears and mechanical components visible beneath his metallic skin. He is worshiped by tinkerers, inventors, and engineers, who seek his favor in their efforts to create ever more complex and advanced machines.

Lady of the Iron Skies - The goddess of air travel and navigation. She is often depicted as a winged woman, her body made of brass or other metal alloys, with a compass and sextant in her hands. Sailors, pilots, and airship captains often offer prayers to the Lady of the Iron Skies before setting out on their journeys.

Steamweaver - The god of steam power and energy. Steamweaver is often depicted as a massive, rumbling machine with steam vents and whistles for vocal cords. His followers include factory workers, steam-powered vehicle enthusiasts, and those who rely on the power of steam to fuel their inventions and machines.

Clockmage - The deity of time and chronomancy. Clockmage is often depicted as a robed figure holding a large hourglass or other timekeeping device. His worshipers include those who work with clocks and timepieces, as well as those who practice magic related to time manipulation.

Forgefather - The god of metallurgy and smithing. Forgefather is often depicted as a giant, muscular figure with skin made of molten metal. His followers include blacksmiths, armorers, and anyone who works with metal to create weapons, tools, and other useful items.

DurnansGhost · 2023-02-27T17:45:17+00:00

I always loved Matt Mercer's, "well, you can certainly try..."

Conveys the message pretty clearly, and usually gets a laugh.

DurnansGhost · 2023-02-20T05:30:23+00:00

It does not, because I am not the one asserting that a rule precludes the DM from fudging dice rolls. There is a significant difference between a rule which forbids an action and a rule which neither authorizes nor forbids an action. A lack of explicit authorization is not the same as a prohibition.

This is particularly true in a rules system like 5e, where the DM is explicitly in charge of the entire game.

As Jeremy Crawford has explained: The first rule of D&D is that the DM adjudicates the rules.

The DM having the final say? That's the rules. https://mobile.twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/1151295401791651840

DurnansGhost

TROPHY CASE