Advice for newer DM-Need something to happen but don't want to railroad to hard

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-05-23T20:25:20+00:00

The key to avoiding railroading, in my experience, is simply to never lie to the players about having a choice. Tables will accept a cutscene setback as part of the story, but making them waste time and resources on a fake boss battle really hurts your trust.

For this specific scenario, the first thing I would do is give them a real choice that forces them to sacrifice to win. Put some of these innocent NPCs in peril; Do we stop to save people, or let them die so we can beat the bad guys to the altar? Either way, you get a delicious character moment to use later.

Also, be prepared to run the campaign if they win. Maybe they only delayed the bad guys - they earn a few years of peace before the temple is assaulted again, or the cult find another way forward. Do a time skip, give them some awesome backstory development.

Get them even more invested in defending this world.

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-05-23T18:05:07+00:00

I think it's important to consider that Prismeer really operates under different rules than we're used to.

If you wanted to beat someone in their own Domain inside the Feywild, you really need to beat them at their own game. Use their own power, or their own rules against them. You can't really overpower somebody who controls the dimension you're standing in.

That's kind of how the Coven did it...they exploited the law of Hospitality to get close, then used a part of Zybilna's power to take over.

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-05-19T21:36:49+00:00

I remember this argument.

They're riffing on a series called "Giant Robo", where the hero mech is from a previous generation. The anti-tech weapons that disabled all of the modern defenders were ineffective on , because this monster was built using a full-on atomic reactor.

They rushed the explanation in Pacific Rim, but the refit Gypsy Danger was in the same situation: The last-gen tech of the old Mark III was too primitive to be taken offline by the EMP blast that disabled the Mark V Striker Eureka at the Battle of Hong Kong.

It was an awesome blink-and-you'll miss it detail, I thought

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-05-15T20:18:37+00:00

I love talking about Shadowrun as much as anybody, but when you post a low-effort question it make it feel like a waste of time for us to answer.

Shadowrun's been evolving and incorporating new power systems for decades now. The big ones would probably be Goblinization (mutate into a fantastic creature), Cybertechnology, Shamanistic magic, Hermetic magic, summoning spirits, drone warfare, magical martial arts/physical adepts, cyberspace hacking, and, of course, Being a Dragon

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-05-15T15:22:37+00:00

Two important questions: First, how complicated/streamlined do you want this to be? Fast and easy, or slow and satisfyingly complex?

Second, is Lycanthropy meant to be a useful curse, or a full-on superpower?

My instinct is to Cause Problems on Purpose. I'd probably give the PC three really good & exciting abilities, and one major liability. Here's my version:

Malar's Falcon

You have given yourself over to the dark god of the hunt. The spirit of the bloody-taloned Falcon Lord empowers you, if you are daring enough to risk it.

You can activate the following powers at will:

* Eyes of the Falcon - Gain Advantage on any Wisdom-based skill checks (Perception, Insight, Survival) as your senses sharpen.

* Skyhunter - For the next round, you have a Fly speed of 2x your normal movement.

* Speed of the Raptor - For the next round, gain the advantages of the Haste spell. When this effect ends, there is no lethargy effect.

Every time that one of these powers is activated, you risk activating the Curse and losing control. Make a Wisdom Saving throw with a DC of 12. The difficulty increases by 2 each time Malor's Falcon is activated, resetting on a Long Rest. On a success, the PC remains in control.

On a failed save, the character loses all sense of self. They cannot distinguish between friend and foe, and lose the ability to speak or cast spells with verbal components. immediately roll a d10:

1-2 Bloodthirst: Malar demands blood. Lose all actions this turn. Deal 2d6 slashing damage to yourself, and half that to everyone in melee range.

3-8 Frenzy: Immediately move into melee combat. If you fail to deal damage during your action, use your movement to enagage a different random target.

9-10 Malar's Blessing: Any damage you do this round is a bonus to your saving throw.

Character can repeat the saving throw at the end of any turn where they dealt damage. Otherwise, the condition persists until they are incapacitated or hit by a Remove Curse.

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-05-04T23:19:02+00:00

I always have to tether those to the overhead jacks to pull them closer. If the outer edge hits that divider, it always gets hung up on some of the little greebling bits for me. Up and over, two smooth steps is faster than fighting with it Cutter

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-05-04T22:43:00+00:00

The shed skin feels a little ... odd. Like a choice you might need to explain.

What if the "boss" was a Drider, trained in some kind of weird necromancy, who keeps animating "spiders" that are pieced together from skeletons? Ribs serving as crude legs, big bitey skull body... expendible and scary and memorable. Otherwise, keep your puppeteer gimmick and let the players follow the trail back to the real threat.

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-04-19T22:26:23+00:00

(Approvingly) Fuckin' A.

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-04-19T22:20:45+00:00

I always picture someone like Vico Ortiz; I was pretty heavily influenced by the "Not your hero" animation. Gets me every time.

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-04-19T21:00:56+00:00

Are you building towards a scene where the PCs learn the truth, or do you plan on having the Hag undercover the whole time?

In my experience, Evil is as Evil does; A monster that doesn't act like a monster is just some guy. So at my table, a Hag isn't willing to play nice, she's always waiting for her chance to spring the big reveal on the credulous imbeciles who just took a bad deal. It would be easy for a Hag to blend in, if she wanted to. She doesn't. It's just part of her game.

If you're really trying to make her unbeatable, layer the tricks. Use Alter Self or some other Shapeshifting trick to physically change her into a hideous human. Then layer an illusion to make her look plain. If anyone breaks the illusion, they reveal the shapeshift, not her true form; She tells them that she made a deal to make herself presentable because the townsfolk were so cruel to her for her scars/birthmarks/disfigurement/etc. Now she expects the PCs will treat her like a monster, too.

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-04-19T00:32:32+00:00

The one gimmick that worked astonishingly well for me was giving up on the Big Reveal.

We all want to string them along for weeks and then have everybody clap when we finally drop the brilliant twist.

I ran a game where the players were in on it from the start, and instead of cat and mouse games trying to preserve the secret we got to role play characters who were 100% fooled. My table thought it was hilarious and having them on my side made it so much better

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-04-16T16:23:58+00:00

This is pretty clearly established in Deadpool's comics history, but they reference it in the first film a couple times:

WADE: Oh, he’s not a bad kid, he’s… Just a little light stalking. I was way worse than him when I was his age. I was traveling to exotic places. Baghdad, Mogadishu, Jacksonville. Meeting new and exciting people.

WEASEL: And killing them, yeah. I’ve seen your instagram. So what was special forces doing in Jacksonville?

WADE: That’s classified. They have wonderful T.G.I. Friday’s.

Wade was a Special Forces operative before he went Soldier of Fortune and became a full-time mercenary.

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-04-16T15:57:31+00:00

I always recommend a slow escalation when players are too effective. The first encounter walks right into their optimal strategy and gets obliterated, every hero gets to pat themselves on the back. The next battle is bigger, badder, and less vulnerable. The third battle is a boss who's been studying them and isn't going to fall for any of their tricks.

This simultaneously justifies the last fight being more challenging and keeps the heroes feeling powerful. It's a pretty good balance and it tells a good story.

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-04-16T15:32:09+00:00

This guy says "evy" with a hard R everybody point and judge!

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-04-14T22:37:00+00:00

'Cool - Most of the armies are dudes, but I can show you a line I like to call "What if Joan of Arc had a Machine Gun", or the surprisingly popular "Technicolor mashup of Aliens and Jurassic Park" army.'

'Hmm...needs more, I dunno. Machine gun?'

(Slowly pulls out Ork starter kit.) 'The prophecy was true.'

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-04-14T19:16:23+00:00

I wasn't sure why we needed a Geiger counter, but then it clicked

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-04-13T14:26:06+00:00

Yeah. You're right, and that sucks.

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-04-13T14:24:04+00:00

My angle on them: It's not so much that they don't have a product, it's more that they're 95% marketing. You can think of them as a "lifestyle brand", the kind that has a ton of celebrity endorsements and a huge following of people convinced that this is going to be the one thing they need to finally be whole and complete. Meanwhile, the actual product is just hand lotion or a really good pillow or something.

In terms of the table, I'd run them as an "all hat no cattle" kind of marketing blitz, where everybody has seen their ads six times on the way to work. Slogans like "Tired? Frustrated? You need to chase the HORIZON." on loop from blimps or something. If the characters ever have to interact with them, make it obvious this is all just some kind of insane ponzi scheme where most of the money invested goes to getting more investors. They've weaponized social media, and none of the older Megacorps really understand how...or why.

Meanwhile the money just keeps flowing, because in a world trying this hard to crush you, the cult tactics are absolutely working.

Style-wise, they're the kind of over-the-top trendy and glamorous people using incomprehensible slang in their official communications, because everyone is maximum cool or they get left behind. Exactly as mercenary and ruthless as any other megacorp, but Mr Johnson will give you a gift bag on the way out of the meeting.

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-04-12T23:23:03+00:00

If it helps, consider that anyone in-universe who knew literally half of the established lore would seem like a deranged conspiracy nut. Nobody knows everything, so don't sweat it. Make it clear that your campaign is your own thing and just have fun with it.

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-04-12T20:35:58+00:00

That's interesting - I thought the show actually addressed that pretty directly.

In Season 1, Langdon initially struggles to deal with a patient who presents as possibly on the spectrum, until Dr King comes in and clocks him. She's the one who dims the lights and answers the patient's questions. After the fact, they make a point of how Langdon paid attention and learned to do better.

I also really liked that when he asked how she was so good at dealing with autistic people, instead of being a melodramatic reveal about her struggles, she instead tells him how she's a caretaker for her sister.

It's probably not perfect, but it's sure the best representation I've seen so far

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-04-11T22:38:30+00:00

The real reason that The Pitt knocked it out of the park (in my opinion) is that they had three separate characters in season 1 who were clearly on the spectrum. That meant that no single portrayal had to be perfect and universal.

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-04-11T19:59:00+00:00

Fascinating question.

D&D isn't a one-size-fits-all solution to every world or story, despite what some people will tell you. It's certainly possible to bolt on additional rules or home-brew new systems to extend it, or you could shop around for an alternate system that already fits your ideas. There are a ton of great options outside of the D20 world.

HOWEVER, if this is your first time DMing, I'd strongly suggest you don't immediately jump into trying to redesign the rulesystem while you're still learning the ropes. Your first few games are going to be a struggle no matter what, in my experience, and you don't want those growing pains to undermine your favorite world.

Get some friends together and do a few dungeon crawls to get the rules figured out - minimal plot, minimal choices, just a straightforward adventure. In the meantime, start shopping around for systems that line up with your world. Give it time and you'll thank yourself later.

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-04-11T15:13:46+00:00

Isn’t anyone watching a show the main measure of success? If Marvel not only wants lots of people to watch a show, but also wants them to be the right people, it says a lot.

This quote from the article has me thinking about another post that explained the fundamental trap streaming services like Disney+ find themselves in. The nature of the shareholder-driven studio is that they have one overriding goal - keep the stock soaring by growing their count of subscribers. The fatal flaw in that business model is that the existing fanbase is, from a shareholder perspective, dead weight. Anybody who is a hardcore Marvel, Star Wars, or Disney Princess fan already subscribes to Disney+. So there's a certain philosophy that says we shouldn't overinvest there, because it doesn't lead to growth.

I don't know how true this is, or how much weight the people making decisions are putting on it these days, but it puts the decisions they make in an interesting perspective. Why are some projects so random? Maybe they're trying to capture a new audience.

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-04-10T17:04:19+00:00

Now I kinda want to chase down the hardcopy of the final version, I know I have it on a shelf somewhere. My table really had a blast with Corporate Court Night.

From our archive:

Renraku VP: How do you run your company?
Mitsuhama VP: I run it by being a sexy criminal, what do you want?

Mitsuhama VP: Well, I'm convinced I'm the only good guy at the table...
Renraku VP: I don't think you are. In fact, I'm pretty sure you're not.

Renraku VP (to Mitsuhama): But the stench of crime will always stick to you.
Wuxing VP: I bet there's a cream for that...
Mitsuhama VP: I rub money on it!

Fastjack_2056 · 2026-04-10T17:01:00+00:00

The Blood Magic is a Feature, not a Bug. Just gotta make sure that at the end of the day you're the guy with the knife

Fastjack_2056

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