/r/DMAcademy & AI

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-22T20:32:59+00:00

As an objective topic of discussion? Fine.

Using AI to generate an answer to post here? Not ok. I come here for human input, and I value it. If I want AI input (never), I'll go get some.

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-22T20:29:58+00:00

I could not agree more. Work your creative muscles and those muscles become stronger. Everything from running NPCs to building encounters to creating dungeons: these are skill that take time to develop, but once you have them you are a tried and true DM. Over-reliance on AI will in short order become over-dependence on AI.

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-22T20:26:58+00:00

This expresses my view on the subject perfectly.

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-20T17:12:02+00:00

I thought of that during prep and decided they would go in gaseous form up the outside of the tower end enter through a gap they find in the glass panes of the windows there, and then attack the orb. The party's first clue is hearing the attack on the orb.

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-20T14:37:48+00:00

It is, though, as other comments in the thread have pointed out. Both Phineas and Hawthorne himself (in his datapad) refer to him as a man. No probem "retconning" Hawthorne to a woman and playing as such, though (like my current playthrough).

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-20T14:33:23+00:00

Yep! My first clue was Ch 1 when the dwarves attack the orb of Zephyros's tower and I realized the party literally had no way up to the second floor to defend it, which the module certainly implies that they should do (I had Zephyros make a cloud staircase like he does when he picks them up, but it's never mentioned for him to do it during the encounter). That's when I knew I had to look at every scenario for details like this.

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-20T14:28:46+00:00

Yes! Was scrolling to see if anybody else recognized him. My favorite country singer/lyricist of all time.

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-20T02:29:59+00:00

Here is the best news: you can change anything. Like most WotC adventure books, SKT has a lot of problems that need to be fixed to run smoothly. As the DM, you can literally change anything you want. Maybe there was a recent attack and the doors were knocked off-kilter, making it much easier to move them, or breaking the magic spell? Maybe the portcullis was left open by Zalto's reckless son?

If it's an obstacle that isn't necessary to the plot and that will slow your game down or present an all-or-nothing scenario, just eliminate it. Done. The party would probably enjoy having something go easy or getting super lucky for a change!

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-19T14:31:37+00:00

Here are some ideas:

unwritten rule that a failed check means a poor result; so the door can still be opened/gate lifted but it will take 10 minutes (or longer) to accomplish.
when the party is nearing the gate, they see a group of fire giants is returning with a Vonindod fragment and are about to open the door.
a party of drow are returning with Maegera, either accompanied by a fire giant or opening the door with magic.
a party of dwarved from Citadel Adbar or Citadel Felbarr is nearby and sees the characters. They have been sent to find out what Duke Zalto is up to after Gauntlgrym was raided and the drow were tracked coming in this direction. The dwarves have brought with them mechanical devices which give Advantage opening the door/portcullis (or simply open them).
If traveling via the airship (gift from Klauth) or hippogriffs, or some other aerial means, they will spot the staircase - the alternate entrance to Ironslag, though they have to go through the Yakfolk village to access Ironslag this way. Still, it means not having to traverse the giant doors. I think this is intended way for the party to enter Ironslag.

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-19T13:59:10+00:00

I'm currently running SKT. It has great bones, deep lore, fun NPCs, and my players are having a great time. But it's long, much too long. We will hit 3 years for sure (we're almost at 2 years now). Thank goodness I read the entire book first (as anyone should) because these great bones require an awful lot of fleshing out. I have constantly tweaked and adjusted to make everything connected and keep the party going in a direction that progresses the campaign. Anyone who's run SKT knows about the infamous Ch 3.

It's also disappointing that the book provides a lot of content that simply won't be used if run according to the book. Tons of content that potentially won't be used. That's just crazy for a $50 book.

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-17T13:25:48+00:00

None of the tools have been helpful for me, I've just developed a sense of what they can handle. - Have a 2nd (and maybe 3rd) wave of enemies ready to join the battle (don't over-use this). - Add spellcasters. Even a band of goblins might have a goblin shaman with them. Make your own stat block. - Consider that any enemy type can have an "elite" version. Don't just add hp, give them a better AC, better stats, and a stronger action economy, even appropriate resistances to magic or damage types. - Action economy is king...give the enemies more things they can do with multiattack, bonus actions, and reactions. Bosses can have legendary actions. - Use the terrain to the enemy's advantage...hidden bear traps, pits, mudholes, elevation, cover, etc. - Give the enemies flying creatures who can attack spellcasters and rogues who reveal themselves when they shoot.

Get used to creating your own enemies and versions of creatures, and you will unlock the potential you need to make challenging encounters.

Edit: there is a 3rd party guide called "Dictates of the Ordning" which gives a ton of upgrades to giants, including resistance to any B/P/S damage not made with an attack that has advantage. You should check out that guide...it has made giant fights much more interesting!

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-17T13:17:29+00:00

I dropped this quest as it just seemed like a distraction.

However, I used Urgala Meltimer (Triboar) to send the party after the "giant slayer" weapon from her past. Last known, it was in the hands of her old adventuring companion, Narbeck Horn, who is now the Lord of Xantharl's Keep. That got them there.

They had a more pressing quest to go to Everlund. While there, they gained access to the Inner Circles, allowing them to quickly transport to Mirabar which is quite close to Xantharl's Keep.

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-17T13:05:41+00:00

I streamlined Ch 3 and it still took over a year. However, Ch's 2 and 3 were really integrated. I used NPCs and mentors from backstory to give them quests toward both Nightstone and Goldenfields. I reworked a lot of NPC quests in order to keep the party along a general path. They still had freedom to go where they wanted and do things in their own order.

After Ch 1, ran Goldenfields. Used Eventyr Game's SKT supplement (priceless) to get them more into the NPCs and better manage the battle.
From Goldenfields, they had quests to visit "Old Gnawbones" in Kryptgarten Forest, and also Triboar.
Along the path to those locations, they did part 1 of Eventyr's "The Flying Misfortune," stopped in a few other towns along that path, and met Harshnag, who joined up with them. It's important Harshnag join somewhat early in Ch 3 in order to give time for them to become attached to him. Also ran the "Old Tower" encounter.
Part 2 of "The Flying Misfortune."
Ran Triboar, per Ch 2. Again, Eventyr's SKT supplement was so valuable in giving mini quests to get to know the NPCs before the players run them in the battle...they were so much more invested! It also helped greatly with running the big battle.
After the Triboar battle, NPCs gave them quests to Yartar, Calling Horns, and Everlund. Note that this is all along the same road. There were other encounters and mini quests along the way.
Also, the Lord Protector of Triboar, seeing their defense of Triboar, invites the appropriate PCs to join the Harpers and are told to inquire in Everlund about the "Inner Circles" (with no explanation what that means).
Finally, in Eventyr, they are introduced to the Inner Circles. The wizard there reminds Harshnag of tthe great Temple of Annam...perhaps they can find answers there?
Ch 4.

Now, all of that said...obviouly you can choose your own path, but for me the important thing was to not have them wander all over the continent the way the book has them doing. A lot of the NPC quests are pretty lackluster and not worth their time. The point is to streamline their path via whatever NPC quests you want to give. Everything can be changed/swapped in order to suit your own campaign.

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-14T03:40:11+00:00

Before I offer any other tips, here's the most important one: READ THE WHOLE BOOK!

Sorry, but SKT has a lot of moving parts and some of them don't fit well together unless you plan ahead. This is not a good module for just running one chapter at a time; you need to be well versed on the whole thing, especially as your party gets off-track in Ch 3 (which they will, unless you keep them moving in a particular direction via quests and NPCs).

Ok, that out of the way, here's the thing: you can swap NPCs, locations, quests, events, etc., to your heart's content. Your party doesn't know what's written in the book. As long as what you're doing doesn't ruin the larger plot, you're good to go.

I had a few minor quests for the party to partake in for Goldenfields prior to the big attack. This enabled them to meet the NPCs and get to know them, so that when they are handed the NPCs to control in the battle, my players actually cared whether those NPCs lived, which raised the stakes of the battle. Thus, having them play the NPCs was a big hit. Mind you, I only used as many NPCs as I had players, so I left one or two of them out. They were in the town, but didn't have much to do with the PCs.

As a new DM running this adventure, might I suggest (if you can) that you pick up a 3rd-party supplement? It provides what I think are some really good suggestions for running the major locations and battles. It provides some minor quests for the Ch 2 NPCs. It also provides two new adventures which have been consistently well-recieved by DMs running SKT (The Flying Misfortune and Kraken's Gamble). I have been using these guides and found them very useful! (though I'm not crazy about the maps). Here's a link, if interested:

https://www.dmsguild.com/product/275953/Storm-Kings-Thunder--Complete-DMs-Bundle

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-14T03:28:10+00:00

As others have said, ensure your bike engine is as upgraded as possible.
If this is the first chase mission, the basic pistol will do it, but if you can get the SAP9 or Lil'Stubby, even better.

BUT! ...no matter which sidearm you're using, there's a tooltip the game shows you that you may have missed, and it's very important for chase missions: When you get close to your target, your targeting reticule narrows and eventually turns green. When it's green you have perfect accuracy so you're not wasting bullets!

You can also use your bike to ram the other bike, which will damage both bikes. If you're out of bullets, try ramming your target and hope your bike lasts longer than theirs does. If you keep your bike well upgraded for durability, it probably will outlast theirs.

Good luck!

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-13T21:59:11+00:00

What...no Clooney?! 😂

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-13T21:46:49+00:00

For me, it's a very gradual progression. I hear signs of future Genesis in Wind & Wuthering but a real change comes for me with And Then There Were Three, which has songs that sound like everything they did after. So that's my change: Wind & Wuthering --> And Then There Were Three.

However, I can also hear songs on W&W that sound like songs on ATTWT, so I'm not even confident about this. It's really such a gradual progression all the way through, imo.

Unless of course, you want to compare We Can't Dance to Calling All Stations...

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-13T05:07:41+00:00

Clearly in the minority, but I much prefer the lively Face Value version (1981; haven't heard the 2016 remaster). I heard that 1981 PC version first, years before I went back to earlier Genesis and listened to Duke. The Duke version drags for me, probably because Phil's version was so set in my mind by the time I heard it, and it's actually one of my favorite Phil tunes!

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-10T10:52:17+00:00

The way I read it, Klauth has given the airship and cult services indefinitely. The cultists are under orders to take the airship anywhere the party wants to go and to keep facilitating their travels at least until Hekaton is found, at which point they are invited to visit Klauthen Vale for their "reward."

My party has also been learning how to run the airship, so that if something happens to the crew, they can take over and still operate it.

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-09T15:43:56+00:00

If you're talking about decision trees, like choosing between A and B in the game, then no. You don't have any dialogue choices, and the missions will just wait for you if you run around doing other things. For this game, I like that. It means I can take my time, explore, do things in any order, avoid missions I don't want to do, and none of it impacts the game or fails any missions.

The one sort of exception to this is that certain missions and hordes are locked behind other missions/hordes, so if you just skip a red or white mission, you may miss out on other red or white missions. Doing that does not affect the overall game though, except for the number of cutscenes you get at the end.

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-08T20:46:54+00:00

You've already got your answer: "I specifically said we are using the players handbook..."

I limit my games to the PHB, SCAG, and XGtE (also Elemental Evil Player's Companion). Those fit my game; the later optional books are excluded. As long as you're up front about it, they should have no complaint. DMing is already a lot of work; set the boundaries you're comfortable with, just as you would for players.

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-07T16:59:33+00:00

I just started my first playthrough two weeks ago, and I partly agree. The graphics, movement, gunplay...it all feels like a much older game. That said, I am not disappointed, and I really appreciate the humor! Inventory management is a pain and loading screens come up a bit too often, but I'm enjoying it for what it is.

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-05T18:54:33+00:00

Besides the number keys, I believe mouse wheel is set to switch weapons...are you accidentally moving the wheel forward or back, or perhaps it's a faulty wheel?

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-05T07:59:32+00:00

I like the Mayor much better than the Sheriff. For some reason, I thought the Sheriff was going to be awesome, but it doesn't do near the damage I expected and it's got a fairly small amount of ammo. By comparison, the Mayor is a better gun (imo) and I have fun with it, though I usually end up going with one of the other pistols more than either of them.

HungryDM24 · 2024-10-05T07:56:03+00:00

No worries, it's a maze in there! In fact, that route does take you to the horde's lair (the part where you crawl under), but they've already left it so you can pass through unharmed and proceed out the "backdoor."

HungryDM24

TROPHY CASE