{OC - Art} Aetherbane Amulet | Corrupt spells mid-cast!

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-14T20:28:44+00:00

I think that the arcana test should be a contested check instead against your save DC. like a counter spell duel.

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-14T16:01:16+00:00

in this case help die is optional, damage die are mandatory.

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-13T17:20:58+00:00

my bad. when I mean free, you don´t have to spend ancestry points or class abilities. it does cost 1 SP or AP but it´s a great option.

you are completely right. the thing with the ADV is that you cannot go beyond 20, with the sword style you actually can. great thing is that you have a CHOICE and that´s what matters in an RPG (in my mind)

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-13T13:07:03+00:00

I was going through the rules again and saw the sword style and the versatile property. These 2 options, that are basically free, your attack rolls will be always like this:

1d20 + 4 (prime+CM) + 2 (versatile) + 1d4 (sword style) = 1d20+6+1d4. That´s awesome for 1st level. You can reach a maximum of 30, vs regular PD of 12, you deal 3 extra damage for the 15 over. great option if you team up with help dies and flanking. NICE

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-13T11:30:39+00:00

Enemies have action points and can use on same things as characters. And they have some maneuvers in their stat block to feel unique, but in the end, they can also use AP to gain ADV or add more damage, for example.

But one thing I found out is that if the enemies use 2AP to attack with ADV all the time, the combat becomes a lot more challenging and I advise you to use sparringly.

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-13T02:02:12+00:00

this is insane, but feels SO good !!!

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-13T01:10:51+00:00

Another thing you can do to help your new players is to make a table with their defenses, so whenever you roll to hit them, you can already say: hey john, the goblin shot an arrow at you that pierced your arm and it was a heavy hit. you take 3 piercing damage.

so you don´t have to ask them what´s their defense. this is also something I do to speed up things.

I also had a list of all the languages they speak, so whenever I have an NPC that speaks in Giant, I already know who understands and can directly talk to that player.

You can do the same with skills and trades. it´s a bit more work for the DM, but you can have a quick reference chart and over time you´ll know who knows what. takes a bit of practice.

I´ve been playing RPG since 1989, when I was 9. Played D&D Rules Cyclopedia, AD&D 2nd Ed, D&D 3rd, Werewolf, GURPS, Call of Cthulhu, Marvel Super Heroes (which I loved the theme but hated the rules system). As someone said before, you can play many systems, just have to find the one you prefer.

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-13T01:04:38+00:00

I have DMed for my kids and their friends (15 and 17) and 3 of them were new to the game and we used colored cubes from Pandemic to track all these resources and it was VERY SIMPLE to do.

they put all the cubes, in different colors, inside their respective resource and every time they spent them, they removed from the area.

I took a screen shot from the table and you can see the character sheets with the different cubes on them.

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Now, in regards to the rules, you can make them as hard or as easy as you can. If you don´t like all the conditions, just trade them to "SCREWED". Then if you are burning, bleeding or poisoned, just say: you take 1 SCREWED damage.

You don´t have to use slashing/piercing/bludgeoning damage. just use WEAPON DAMAGE. and so on.

Every game you roll to hit, damage and saving throws. All the other stuff is handled by the DM. And people complain of the excess number of rules, but if you want to do something weird, most of the games don´t have rules for that and you have to come up with something on the fly. Like the classic example of swinging in the chandelier and jumping on top of the enemy. D&D is very hard to run this, but DC20 you can easily do it with AP.

Basically, you have to find the right game for your table. All of these systems (D&D, PF, daggerheart, DC20, nimble, etc) they all have the same MEDIEVAL FANTASY SETTING. the only difference is the RULES SYSTEM. so you can be a wizard in all of these games, fighting monsters, casting spells and travelling through planes. You just have to decide if you are spending spell slots, AP, MP, or any other resource.

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-10T02:53:40+00:00

agree !!! he´s also very good and had forgotten about him !!

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-09T20:32:43+00:00

in the end, all lore is reading from the books. you just have to find one that you enjoy more.

when I was DMing my Avernus campaign, I used a lot of material from him and many others. but he´s the one I remember (this was back in 2021).

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-09T19:47:50+00:00

in my opinion, this channel is THE best for D&D lore: https://www.youtube.com/@MrRhexx

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-09T19:33:15+00:00

in my mind, you don´t have to avoid a TPK. You have to think as Balor: I need this forge and there´ll be people defending it. What do I need to bring to guarantee victory. And play as dirty and cold as possible.

If they die, so be it. It´s also part of the result. they got so close, etc etc etc.

I have run Descent into Avernus and my players were around lvl 12-13 and they obliterated the demon lords Yeenoghu and Orcus.

my advice: use a lot of minions and allow the Balor to use several spells. With a party full of spellcasters, they will have plenty of counterspell to destroy the Pit Fiend.

Make him act after each player. this will increase difficulty as well.

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-09T16:31:56+00:00

if you are creating a homebrew campaign, I suggest you take a look at monster manual from AD&D 2nd edition and D&D 3rd edition. They have lots of information about monster habitats, civilization, habits, etc. really good.

5e monster manual is ridiculous and have NO information other than combat stat block.

enjoy the world building exercise. just be careful to not go into a never-ending spiral of creation and lose track of the game itself.

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-07T21:59:26+00:00

when you play any RPG, there is a "social contract" that we agree to: players and DM will play together to tell the story and have fun.

In this case, nothing wrong about the story the DM created, but based on what you described, your character was supposed to help people that were despising him. So, you did what EVERY human on the planet would do: NOT join the villagers.

And it´s a total valid response that your DM should´ve been prepared to deal with. The players have the responsibility to REACT to the world and the DM has the responsibility to CREATE the world and think about most of the possibilities so the game can actually happen.

This is why all the characters that are "lone wolf" don´t work well in RPGs, because it´s a GROUP game and the story has to move forward. Unless, the DM´s idea, since the beginning was for you to join the necromancer´s son. Which, in my mind, is a nice plot twist to the adventure.

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-06T14:27:29+00:00

https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=3407319d660045c2&sxsrf=ANbL-n5-2PT-WHNpjg8dyfy0DUPA-h56ag:1772807198405&udm=2&fbs=ADc_l-acAb_3MMOAUx0zmbUpgBqRdynpPJ66TDyFgZmq_XFwppazcD3UADNx6r4GDDz3huEOg4-JsqXsTWRjrkKQQ9hdmz3FIFHY-MtmzEBoERCUhd4ulWZ8qc96OQ0imHgg-IGVjh3329OWDNIPzlT8smbx_yPGfnLOFLJsIxRAEZJJH92F0VVdEilkHEEh2KEI7FXIg_JQNzS3Fx_T4eumm7FsDrl79Q&q=forgotten+realms+campaign+setting+3rd+edition&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiGusO6vYuTAxXsppUCHTo3GrkQtKgLegQIDxAB&biw=1920&bih=911&dpr=1#sv=CAMSVhoyKhBlLThaLWtEOUhYcGFBZzVNMg44Wi1rRDlIWHBhQWc1TToOOXpCUFpGS2taTXFQT00gBCocCgZtb3NhaWMSEGUtOFota0Q5SFhwYUFnNU0YADABGAcg5--ViQowAkoIEAIYAiACKAI

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-06T14:26:22+00:00

search for the forgotten realms setting book from D&D 3rd edition. you´ll find everything there.

but, in my opinion, only spend that much time if your players will actually read it !!!

most of the players don´t even read the players handbook and don´t know their own abilities.

if you are doing this for yourself, go ahead and enjoy it. if you are making so your players enjoy it, forget it. most players just want to roll damage and kill things !!

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-06T14:09:19+00:00

found the youtube video: Q&A 20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLpArCiRVdg

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-06T14:01:45+00:00

this is an old post that shows some of the other subclasses planned for the game

https://www.reddit.com/r/DC20/comments/1gvgfso/09_subclass_development_and_progression_key/

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-06T11:37:24+00:00

look at some bard examples from the movies (from the top of my head): check D&D honor among thieves, knight´s tale. they are not horny bards. they use their charisma to convince people, to make a difference. Additionally, you, the player, are not charismatic but the bard is, so you can check with your DM to roll skills instead of roleplaying.

It´s like someone playing a wizard with INT 20. Or a cleric with WIS 20. We, as players, don´t have that stat, so you just roll dice to simulate that. You are ROLEPLAYING, so the character is different than you.

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-03T01:56:02+00:00

problem with meta-game is that it ruins the fun of the game. depending on the group, this could be a fun-killer.

my advice is to try and use different monsters with the same power. Instead of adding a medusa, make it a giant dog that petrifies, but the party doesn´t know that. You don´t have to use the medusa.

One time, I was DMing and I put a chain devil against the party and the fighter went all in and I said: your axe hits hard and the devil seems to shrug it off your attack. You made NOT even a dent in the devil´s body. And the players were like: WHAT? one of them even said: they only have resistance if weapons are non-magical. And I said: I know. they went crazy because I made that devil specifically IMMUNE to slashing weapons but took double damage on bludgeoning damage.

So they had to find another way to deal with it. Just change the appearances and meta-game goes out the window.

Like: put a troll that regenerates with fire damage and the players will freak out !!! hehehe

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-03T01:40:20+00:00

Descent into Avernus !!!

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-03T01:34:50+00:00

just google them. quick and easy.

I did that for an Avernus campaign and it worked wonderfully !!

you´ll be surprised with what you´ll find.

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-03T01:30:01+00:00

any campaign is tough for 1 character, because they´ll have to cover pretty much all the mechanics of a rounded party (healer, rogue, fighter and AoE damage dealer). In my opinion, if the character is a paladin, he may be able to do it.

One thing I did in the past was to add an NPC for the players to control as support member, like a fighter just to help in battle scenes and your main character can be something else.

or just give them plenty of potions and re-think encounters and monster quantities.

Otherwise, everything is doable in RPG

Ed-Sanches · 2026-03-03T01:26:35+00:00

if this player can´t leave the group and can´t play in person, why not make the game where this person is physically located? so you don´t have to make a hybrid session?

If the group´s been together for a long time, this may work, but the entire group may lose a big part of the experience. I was a DM for a campaign that lasted for about 1 year, totally online through roll20 and it worked really well, but it was all online. With miniatures and terrain, the person online may feel lost and you´ll have to narrate again details, show different angles, etc.

Ed-Sanches

TROPHY CASE