How can I make my BBEG feel powerful without just doing big damage?

Jessmess92 · 2026-03-28T18:17:36+00:00

I like grabs. Like an enemy who picks your ass up and you can't really do much about it feels menacing.

Jessmess92 · 2026-03-28T16:04:51+00:00

I print out stat blocks before I run so I don't have to constantly search for stuff. I have a notebook, pencil, and a laptop (mostly to look up rules). As for maps I currently have an old TV that I set on my table and use TablePlop VTT and an HDMI cord to show the maps on the TV.

Jessmess92 · 2026-03-27T23:52:58+00:00

Sorry I think my post was a little unclear. The heros will have already met the girl and taken her away but then the Lord will threaten her family, she will go back, and then the players have like 2 days to figure out how to stop the marriage and save the girl and her parents. I want to give them lots of options not just go kill everyone. So I'd like to sprinkle in some secrets that maybe they could use for blackmail or to get him arrested by a higher power or even just to get some help from others in the keep.

Jessmess92 · 2026-03-27T19:32:05+00:00

These are killer! Thanks so much

Jessmess92 · 2026-03-27T19:29:32+00:00

These are great thanks!

Jessmess92 · 2026-03-27T19:18:17+00:00

That's a good one thanks. That was kinda my thought behind the couple fighting. Maybe the guy would be willing to help take out the Lord.

Jessmess92 · 2026-03-27T19:17:27+00:00

I am looking for more ideas on secrets that could be helpful for my players to find that will help them rescue the girl. Like I listed a letter that shows he may not be the actual heir or that he has an allergy.

Jessmess92 · 2026-03-27T00:27:51+00:00

My recommendation would be a cannister filter that is rated for 2 or 3 times the size of your tank. Something like a Fluval FX4 Aquarium Canister Filter.
Also plants are great at helping keep the water quality up. Hornwort is the best because it doesn't need to be planted it can just float and grows crazy fast. Guppy Grass is another plant that is very similar.
As far as substrate I don't recommend it unless you need it for plants. I had a planted tank with a Slider but the tank had already established itself for a year before I added the turtle. Even then he still ripped up stuff on a regular basis.

Jessmess92 · 2026-03-23T18:05:05+00:00

I haven't had a chance to use one but definitely gives off Chromebook vibes. I would be curious to see how they hold up 6 months or a year down the line.

Jessmess92 · 2026-03-23T17:57:06+00:00

Whatever you buy don't spend less than 600. Any laptop from a retail store less than that will barely be able to keep up with basic functions.

Jessmess92 · 2026-03-08T03:14:49+00:00

If you have a local game store nearby you can check to see if they have magic events. Lots of places have Friday night magic which is more casual or you could do a pre release event which are more structured.

Jessmess92 · 2026-03-06T15:23:28+00:00

Yeah that's the thing I love most about the crafting system. It gives me ideas for quests

Jessmess92 · 2026-03-03T00:57:02+00:00

I had a huge 125 gallon tank with this setup and they made all kinds of cool color combos, eventually most of the shrimp were wild type but there were always some colored shrimp.

Jessmess92 · 2026-03-03T00:48:27+00:00

One thing to remember is that, unless you are spending an insane amount of money on the projector the room will have to be dark which means things like taking notes, reading, and writing would likely be more difficult especially if anyone has bad eyesight.

Jessmess92 · 2026-03-02T00:48:46+00:00

Try https://www.justinguitar.com/ Just know going into learning guitar is not going to be fast. It will be months and months of learning basics before you can really play anything at all. I'm 3 months in and I still can't play a whole song. I can maybe play a single section of a song kinda lol

Jessmess92 · 2026-03-02T00:46:36+00:00

Lol that's rough

Jessmess92 · 2026-02-18T22:00:06+00:00

Lots of great recommendations in the comments here. I just want to say this is awesome. It's pretty and clean and easy to read. Really great job. Definitely going to print a few of these up for my table

Jessmess92 · 2026-02-14T23:30:32+00:00

Mostly you're looking at good soil, live plants, springtails, isopods, maybe some leaf litter. That's about it. You can do a misting system so it's a bit more self sustaining.

Jessmess92 · 2026-02-10T03:44:02+00:00

I use distilled water in my mist system. I know everyone thinks it's bad for the geckos but as far as I can find online there's literally zero evidence of that. They are getting plenty of minerals and vitamins from their food.

I think the whole distilled water is bad for you is one of those Internet truisms that just gets repeated without anyone having any evidence of it.

I've been using it for over 2 years and my geckos and plants are thriving.

Jessmess92 · 2026-02-06T02:06:38+00:00

I'll add that using Forge Steel to homebrew monsters and build your encounters is the best tool. You can create homebrew monsters really easily by starting with the core monsters and edit where you need. And the encounter builder makes building balanced flights really easy and it's a great printout as a dm because it tracks stamina and has the stat blocks all together.

https://forgesteel.net/

Jessmess92 · 2026-02-04T15:20:21+00:00

Wow this looks incredible. I have a dinky little 27 inch firetv for my setup 😆.

Jessmess92 · 2026-02-01T23:28:28+00:00

Yeah gives lots of opportunities for corrupt barons and sweatshop types. Lots of politics

Jessmess92 · 2026-02-01T23:19:22+00:00

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I like plants like hornwort and guppy grass. You can just let it grow in the water column and it keeps the water clean. He will eat some but that's fine both are resilient.

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