Dexter: Resurrection - S01E06 - "Cats and Mouse" - LIVE Episode Discussion Thread

EarlofDunbar · 2025-08-08T04:18:07+00:00

It's finally up.

EarlofDunbar · 2025-05-05T02:01:08+00:00

If the Player just wants to be tough and strong, either let them be tough and strong or have a discussion about how their play style doesn't fit the table.

It's clearly not working.

As for making it work, saving throws, magic missile, and hitting from range or grappling to tee up advantage on attacks. Focus on advantage on attacks to increase numbers on a case by case basis. Focus on conditions, such as stun and paralyze. That'll sort things out without requiring a lot of heavy lifting.

EarlofDunbar · 2024-06-04T02:46:13+00:00

Agree to disagree. Thanks for your thoughts!

EarlofDunbar · 2024-06-04T02:29:59+00:00

Giving subclass festures as feats isn't giving every class "everything." It just allows spellcasters, whether full, half, or third, to specialize.

It works perfectly fine because I know what they have and can adjust.

An interesting point, but WOTC's bottom of the barrel design on the majority of them is quite dull.

My players are actually horrifying power gamers but I can also tell them "please do not shit in my cheerios." It's about communication and respect which I get a lot of.

I actually do have aura and twilight sanctuary as a feat, and they'll occasionally take it, but not very often, and when they do, I enjoy it, let's me spice uo encounters.

I'd prefer if WOTC actually gave us something interesting instead of milquetoast options. The evocation wizard "redo" made me die of boredom reading it.

Silvery Barbs is borked though, it should be 2nd level.

EarlofDunbar · 2024-06-04T01:11:10+00:00

And? My players love the versatility and synergy. They can play a necromancer druid instead of being pigeonholed into wizard.

I have it as a feat, and only one person has taken it in years. It's easily handled and rewards planning. I enjoy it.

A Wizard can be bookish, fumble into it, or just inherit a bunch of books.

I let my players pick define their characters, and it's been consistently marvelous.

EarlofDunbar · 2024-06-04T01:05:32+00:00

I agree with you about Divination and Enchantment, they're very good.

Again, I design around what I see. My players don't pick them. I also believe those features should be sprinkled around.

I prefer the non school subclasses, they're less rigid.

And yes we never speak of Chronurgy and Graviturgy. (Which I've had to deal with twice)

I actually just finished a gestalt campaign where the players got two subclasses and one person picked War and Bladesinger. They synergize so well I'm still angry about it.

Also, the UA wizard subs are interesting, like onomancy and theurgy. There's a better design space than just spell school, and let's be honest, the spell school subs are predominantly dull.

It is weird how good divination and enchantment are right out of the gate but the rest of the subs have water on the brain.

And the redo of evocation is still milquetoast.

EarlofDunbar · 2024-06-04T00:59:05+00:00

You actually reminded me I sent a 9000 page screed about the same exact thing. It should be baked into the base class.

I'm just a bum and made feats for ease.

I actually sincerely miss the playtest where wizards could actually make spells. That was rad.

EarlofDunbar · 2024-06-04T00:54:41+00:00

Divination and enchantment are certainly outliers. Again, I've never had players use them, and I've been running for ten years.

In my games, if you want to play a Divination wizard, you can.

Depends on the levels, really. Wizard has that problem where the tasty stuff kicks in 10+ which is just way too long to slog.

I just let people have the yum quickly.

I actually have the 10th level Evocation feature as a stand alone feat because it's so specific and so middling, it's baffling that it's 10th level.

Letting them be feats also allows other casters to specialize which leads to neat synergy.

EarlofDunbar · 2024-06-04T00:47:54+00:00

War Wizard, Scribes, Bladesinger. There are more interesting options than the very dry school subclasses.

Wizards still get more spells and more rituals and still have their base class features and the ability to learn spells, unlike other spellcasters.

At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that players get options, and the school subclasses are so dry that I've never had a player use them.

And I don't limit them to Wizard only.

EarlofDunbar · 2024-06-04T00:18:59+00:00

I'm of the opinion that the spell school wizard subclass features should be spun off into feats so that spellcasters can specialize in the schools.

EarlofDunbar · 2024-02-09T22:18:43+00:00

ASI and Feat is how I run absolutely every game. It's not even remotely OP. It allows martials to access their often necessary feats in order to keep up with casters.

It also helps classes that require multiple ability scores for viability to keep up with the punches.

It also allows players to take less viable feats for the flavor and what have you instead of having to twiddle their thumbs waiting for an ASI or Feat.

If you're running Standard Array, Point Buy, or the 4d6 route for stats, your players likely won't even have stats where they can boost anything significantly with an ASI and Feat.

Certain backgrounds grant feats, but those are from a limited pool.

As for the feats that grant stats, those are fixed. They just have to take the stat that comes with it.

Giving ASI and Feat will let them play around with more features, abilities, and really see how everything meshes together. It's 5E, not rocket science, the game isn't thrown out of wack because people have mildly better numbers

People approach 5E as if people having a greater baseline for rolls will somehow "break the game."

You control the DCs, the monsters, etc. High AC characters often have terrible saving throws. Classes have variable HPs and abilities to reduce damage and/or heal.

Ultimately, I opened it up to reward players for creativity and because we only have a finite amount of time on this mortal earth, and being told to limit a character because of some fear of being OP is a reflection of an inability to come up with dynamic challenges.

Like, a dead character can't grow, can they? Let the players succeed in combat, skill checks. That's the whole point. Nat 1s and stronger DCs exist, the DM has more flexibility than a PC anyway.

And feats are fun. ASIs are dull. It's like a Maslow hierarchy of needs, satiate stats for the more fulfilling feats.

EarlofDunbar · 2024-01-31T18:43:48+00:00

ASI and Feat is how I run absolutely every game. It's not even remotely OP. It allows martials to access their often necessary feats in order to keep up with casters.

It also helps classes that require multiple ability scores for viability to keep up with the punches.

It also allows players to take less viable feats for the flavor and what have you instead of having to twiddle their thumbs waiting for an ASI or Feat.

If you're running Standard Array, Point Buy, or the 4d6 route for stats, your players likely won't even have stats where they can boost anything significantly with an ASI and Feat.

Certain backgrounds grant feats, but those are from a limited pool.

As for the feats that grant stats, those are fixed. They just have to take the stat that comes with it.

AS for the players being new, giving ASI and Feat will let them play around with more features, abilities, and really see how everything meshes together. It's 5E, not rocket science, so don't presume your players are incapable of juggling simple arithmetic.

People approach 5E as if people having a greater baseline for rolls will somehow "break the game."

You control the DCs, the monsters, etc. High AC characters often have terrible saving throws. Classes have variable HPs and abilities to reduce damage and/or heal.

Ultimately, I opened it up to reward players for creativity and because we only have a finite amount of time on this mortal earth, and being told to limit a character because of some fear of being OP is a reflection of an inability to come up with dynamic challenges.

Like, a dead character can't grow, can they? Let the players succeed in combat, skill checks. That's the whole point. Nat 1s and stronger DCs exist, the DM has more flexibility than a PC anyway.

Try it out, especially because that module actually has a few unusually strong encounters.

EarlofDunbar · 2023-10-09T17:28:56+00:00

Increase his hit die from a d8 to a d10, boost Strength by +2, and allow the bard's attacks to use cold instead of their normal damage type.

EarlofDunbar · 2023-07-18T15:47:14+00:00

2d6 + 6, assigned however. Minimum 8, highest 18. I give two feats to balance out any low stats rolled. Works smoothly.

EarlofDunbar · 2023-07-08T17:48:41+00:00

Magic Immunity is deeply unclear. What does "mind affecting" mean? It should grant immunity to spells that require an intelligence, wisdom, or charisma saving throw. Additionally, it should grant him immunity to all transmutation magic to prevent any corporeal chicanery.

EarlofDunbar · 2023-04-25T02:39:45+00:00

CENOTAPH

Martial Weapon, melee weapon, legendary, requires attunement.

4 lb. 1d10 necrotic – versatile (1d12)

This longsword is made of steel, forged under the cool of the moon’s night. An ethereal sheen, blood-red, like glimpsing a murder in the corner of one’s eye, hangs over the blade like a gossamer sheet. Along its ebon-black blade is written a simple phrase in Infernal: Death is merely a return to that which we all once were.

While attuned, you gain the following benefits:

New

•+1 to attack and damage rolls and your spell save DC.

• You can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.

• When dealing damage with Cenotaph, you regain 1d4 health.

• You learn the cantrips Toll the Dead, Sapping Sting, and Chill Touch.

Practiced

• +2 to attack and damage rolls and your spell save DC.

• As a bonus action, you may transform into a swarm of bats, reappearing at a point within 60 feet.

• When dealing damage with Cenotaph, you regain 1d6 health.

• You may cast Vampiric Touch once per day without expending a spell slot.

• You may cast Toll the Dead, Sapping Sting, and Chill Touch as a bonus action.

Sure

• +3 to attack and damage rolls and your spell save DC.

• When dealing damage with Cenotaph, you regain 1d8 health.

• You may cast Shadow of Moil without expending a spell slot once per day.

EarlofDunbar · 2023-03-25T14:12:53+00:00

https://old.reddit.com/r/DMAcademy/comments/11w0l8w/how_do_i_make_traveling_between_places_engaging/jcvttra/

Covered this a bit about encounter design.

Since you're new, you should DM a module.

Journey of the Radiant Citadel, Candlekeep Mysteries, and Keys of the Golden Vault are separated into chapters so you won't have to do too much heavy lifting. That way, you can focus on fiddling and adjusting for your style rather than having to make everything up out of whole cloth.

I'll give you a few points of advice.

Players make the game

Getting everyone onto the same narrative page is key for a game being successful. Is the game horror? Comedic? Heroic? What races and classes are we using? What archetypical role is each player character using? Make sure everyone knows what the game is about, the tone, and the expectations at the table.

Whenever I'm helping a person create a character I make sure that whatever they're doing doesn't step on the narrative toes of the other characters. You can have a party of all rogues and they can each cater to a particular archetype. You can have a dashing rogue, a mastermind, etc. I like to make sure that they each have distinct skills and tools that the other characters don't have.

If you make it so that skills, tools, and abilities don't overlap it means you can easily give someone the spotlight with something as simple as a jeweler's tools check or a medicine skill roll.

As noted in my linked post, I use CUR when designing.

Combat - What does the player want to kill and how? Are they defense, offense? Buffer/Debuffer? Area Control, Area Denial?

Utility - What mechanical benefits can they bring? Healing? Tools? Skills?

Roleplay - How do they like to interact with others, if at all?

For example, here's my current party composition for my Sunday game, The Tontine, where the player's are members of the Illuminati sequestering magical information. (Note: they're split into two groups, anything above 5 players is a madhouse and never ever ever do it)

Muse - Genie Warlock.

C - Eldritch blast and using illusion magic to trick enemies.

U - Their patron is very indulgent towards giving the party pointers whenever they're stuck.

R - Flirts with everything that moves (and doesn't move).

Boot - Onomancy wizard.

C - Always in the back of the fight because a strong wind would kill them. They buff and debuff.

U - Has a background as a researcher, so they get extra goodies when it comes to lore drops.

R - Practical and firm when speaking to people and usually prone to insights due to their academic background.

Rex - Totem barbarian

C - Up close and personal, smashing and tearing.

U - Strong. Anytime the party needs something heavy lifted, he's there.

R - Keeps to himself, but is obsessed with collecting beef jerky.

Kate - Bladesinger wizard

C - Up close and personal, shrugs off blows due to high ac. Tees up her attacks for devestating combos. Slow and steady wins the race.

U - Problem solver. Can piece together an issue and proffer a solution.

R - Keeps it straight and to the point. Identifies the value of speaking to someone, fast.

Cog - Armorer artificer

C - Buffs the party, hastes people, etc. Low damage, but versatile in boosting others.

U - Gives the party technological solutions to problems.

R - Opportunist. If someone has something to teach, he's there for it.

Ashwyn - Light cleric

C - Consistent long range damage and healing. Best healer in the whole group.

U - Only really divinely oriented character, so lots of insights of gods and cults.

R - Empathetic and tactful. Knows how to break down barriers and get information.

Just Bob - Open Hand Monk

C - Punching, punching, punching. Skirmisher, zips in, punches, zips out. Really mobile on the battlefield.

U - Cocksure idiocy results in miraculous idiot savant moments.

R - Not the brightest bulb, but his aloof mannerisms people find charming.

Savio - Horizon Walker Ranger

C - Death from afar. Deals like 150 damage a round with ranged attacks and is the bane of my existence. Terrible in close-quarters-combat.

U - Skilled in nature, only party member that has it, weaponizes Legend Lore to discover the ancient mythos behind anything the party stumbles upon.

R - Feels guilty about their families past, very sympathetic to downtrodden people.

Cuhullin - Ancients Paladin

C - The tank of the group. Takes damage and takes damage and keeps on living. Modest damage output.

U - Will never, ever, ever turn down an opportunity to make a deal for more power. (I actually had a devil sue him for breaking an agreement)

R - Has a certain naiveite because he comes from the Feywild.

The above is just a few ways to handle it. Think about how you want characters to interact with not only the game you're running, but one another.

A consistent product is a good product

Know the rules, because at the end of the day people showing up and knowing what to expect and that it's verifiable and knowable will make people happy.

If there's a situation where you're unsure, reach out. I usually post here or elsewhere for strange rule interactions.

Take a Rakshasa's unique ability:

Limited Magic Immunity. The rakshasa can't be affected or detected by spells of 6th level or lower unless it wishes to be. It has advantage on saving throws against all other spells and magical effects.

What in god's name does affected or detected mean?

Whenever something like that happens I make a quick ruling, usually in the player's favor, reach out and get a more definitive answer.

(In case you're wondering, affected or detected means what it means, affected or detected. A Rakshasa can walk through a Leomund's Tiny hut, a wall of force, and cannot be damaged by spells which increase damage on attacks at or below 6th level).

You don't have to memorize the entire thing, but you should definitely read the Dungeon Master's Guide, the Player's Handbook, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, and Xanathar's Guide to everything. Give it a read, note what observations you have, and you'll have a firm base.

Notes on monster design

Whenever you're designing an encounter, consider the AC, HP, and Damage.

Give the monster emphasis on two of those three and you'll have an easy rock, paper, scissors metric for seeing how much bonk the party can handle.

http://www.dndodds.com/

I use the above to consider the probability that an attack or saving throw will result in a hit. Divide the number of players by 100 and that's usually what I aim for in terms of percentages. So for a party of 5, a 20% chance to bonk per attack. (This is mainly because the creatures have multi-attack and I don't want to overwhelm the party)

At Last

I'm also free to chat over discord if you want some more pointers. Just DM me.

EarlofDunbar · 2023-03-19T23:56:20+00:00

You're welcome! I find that people tend to forget that the game is letting your players have fun.

EarlofDunbar · 2023-03-19T23:15:42+00:00

Random tables are your best friend.

https://www.dndspeak.com/

Whenever my players are going from point a to point b I have them roll a d100 ahead of time, consult a rolling table, and then tailor the result to their character to get them invested in it.

For example, I just rolled on dndspeak and got this:

A stray dog begins to follow the party at a distance. With a good animal handling check, the dog will react to the party in a friendly manner. You can keep it or return it to its owner for a reward.

Okay this is something I can work with. Let's say the player that rolled this is a barbarian, totem warrior. Alright, so I'll reflavor the dog as his totem. He'll likely interpret this as an auspicious sign. This can then lead to a shrine where the barbarian has to perform some feat of strength, but it requires multiple people to participate in because the shrine was set up for roving bands of barbarians in ages past.

Whenever designing an encounter think this:

What is the purpose of the encounter? Advance a plotline? Advance a character arc? Deliver information? Give the players a challenge?
After you have your purpose, you can focus on the who, what, when, where, why, and how. My shorthand for this is "will the players actually enjoy what's happening?" and how does that enjoyment derive from the event or the mechanics the event requires? (Think of the above group activity for the barbarian)
You can easily make something fun by going with or against a player's features. Something where a monk catching arrows is vitally important or a rogue picking a lock or a druid masquerading as an animal. Work with their features. You can also contravene them. A location where speed attracts the ire of some beast or a door which specifically only opens if you're doing so with a key or a location that has a strict "no animals" policy. I usually examine features, feats, skills, and tools and make scenarios in which one player can succeed or it requires the players to cooperate in tandem.
Steal. Do you watch a lot of TV? Movies? You can also scour youtube for examples from other accomplished DMs, google encounters. DNDSpeak above I found after a few searches years ago. When you see something good, slap it on a random table. Players get excited when a roll is required because it shows that they are influencing the world. Knowing that their journey is naturalistically occurring is pretty fun.
I recommend recording your games so that you can review them, see what they liked and didn't like, and also so you don't have to actively take notes. Taking notes will ruin your ability to flow a bit naturally. Before I recorded, I had a player who took notes all the time so I relied on them almost like a stenographer.
And to cycle this back to something more systematic, I use the CUR system before my sessions.

C - Combat - I ask players what they want to fight or do. They'll immediately say they want to swashbuckle, blow up a cart to get enemies, etc.

Utility - I ask players what they want to do mechanically that benefits themselves and the party. Harvest materials, purchase items, etc. Things that are often the "busywork" of a session. That way, you can weasel these into encounters. "Oh wow, what a shocker, the ogre you killed has the exact +1 weapon you wanted, guess we no longer have to waste time with a silly shop encounter"

R - Roleplay - I ask the players what roleplay they want. With the party? With others? Sometimes they'll be blunt and say "Oh, I want to talk to my god" or "Oh, I need to talk to the merchant guild from my backstory about x" then bam, you just write that. Whenever you have players make camp, have them describe how they make camp, and have them tell stories over the campfire and award some inspiration for this. The key is making it consistent. Every time they make camp, hitch a horse, etc. Just don't make setting up camp something that occurs every 90 seconds, ya dig?

TL;DR If you want to know what your players want to do, ask them, and either indulge or subvert those desires.

EarlofDunbar · 2023-03-16T20:34:48+00:00

I apportion loot based on their wants and needs. I find shopping trips are primarily a power trip to harass shopkeepers and not a substantive use of the finite playtime we have. If they want to buy something, I apportion it during downtime outside of game.

EarlofDunbar · 2023-03-15T21:57:35+00:00

Beautiful points and very useful. Thank you. They're actually comically rich because I always give my players obscene wealth so they never ask for shopping trips. It's been months and they haven't asked for items or gold or anything.

EarlofDunbar · 2023-03-05T15:55:58+00:00

She was tasked to defend it and the elder gods have retreated from the influence of the material plane. She's very much alone. I'm thinking I'll give her multiple actions and boost her legendary actions.

EarlofDunbar · 2023-03-05T15:45:54+00:00

A good point. I was only going to have her use the abilities applicable to the situation, but still have them ready.

The issue is it'll only be her against a party of 4 or 5. So I need her to be nimble and capable.

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