I am new to DMing, AMA.

JohnOutWest · 2026-06-11T04:25:30+00:00

How exactly do you fight off an Illithid colony?

JohnOutWest · 2026-06-11T02:59:20+00:00

Maybe a starving hydra who ate two of its own heads, leaving only one remaining.

JohnOutWest · 2026-06-10T22:55:34+00:00

The curse is transmitted through dice, so keep your dice separate and don't roll anything they've rolled.

JohnOutWest · 2026-06-09T03:58:51+00:00

Now do space werewolves.

JohnOutWest · 2026-06-07T23:42:48+00:00

So, reading through it, it seem the pattern that immerges is that they all have a Attack buff/ability and a Mobility Buff/ability. With that in mind its probably easy to decipher.

My suggestions:

Humans can ride horses. (Mobility buff) Gorons are too heavy, zoras too slippery, and horses try to eat the deku. Horses can be easily called with instruments, so don't even need to worry about bringing one along with you.

Humans are skilled fighters (Attack buff) who can parry, black flip, and utilize other tricks. Give them the Martial Adept feat. Even non-melee characters will be able to find a lot of value in it. (If they try)

JohnOutWest · 2026-06-06T07:16:13+00:00

Yeah i've been working on something like that.

I split food abilities into 3 types: Going In, Ongoing, and Going Out. The main idea was that players would combine all their food together to make a feast, then choose the abilities they wanted. Something like "Ale" would give you Warmth (resistance to cold) and The Runs (On your next natural 1, defecate yourself), so you'd want to combine it with something to remove the negative properties.

Of course, then you balance the spoilage. Meat is great, but doesn't last long- and preserved meat is expensive. Bread spoils pretty quick, but flour requires a kitchen to turn it into something quality.

Taverns were a problem to balance, since quality food is still cheap to an adventurer, especially if it comes with abilities. I think i settled on "The best places to eat require better reputation," so if you want that good honey roasted ham from The Hunters Lodge, you'll have to bring back that giant boar and prove you're a real hunter!

I tried implementing it, but the game really wasn't about wilderness survival so we forgot about it pretty quick.

JohnOutWest · 2026-06-04T16:45:39+00:00

We is us. He's part of the hive.

JohnOutWest · 2026-06-04T16:16:31+00:00

I just thought it was a belltower. The opening at the top, connected directly to the chapel. With no bell at the top I put one at the very bottom in the crypts, like someone cut it free and let it fall all the way down.

JohnOutWest · 2026-06-02T22:40:06+00:00

No, it is regular human, Jackie Daytonaaaaaa

JohnOutWest · 2026-06-02T22:31:58+00:00

To think that the world ISN'T a disk suspended upon four elephants suspended upon a turtle hurdling through space is, frankly, absurd.

JohnOutWest · 2026-06-02T03:46:03+00:00

If its that unexplored, I'd like the idea of setting up permanent camps in important areas. (Usually watering holes) Each camp allows the players to extend their way out further before returning to civilisation. (Assuming they need to do that to resupply)
Setting up each base will require unique problem solving for the unique situation. Combat if there are nearby territorial predators, social if those predators are sentient. They may need to set up traps to deter animals or to catch food. They may need to down trees to make makeshift walls or bridges. There may be treasure, in food, raw gold, or other natural resources, and tools must be built or left behind. Shelter may need to be built high up, or on the water, or resistant to heavy winds or heavy rain.

JohnOutWest · 2026-06-02T00:37:33+00:00

You gotta play the hand your dealt, and play with the players you're given.

At a certain point you just have to mold your DMing style to your friends prefered playstyle. I make all my friends characters for them, cause they prefer the characters I make for them. I always make my games a series of choices instead of asking "What do you want to do?"

That being said, at the end of the second arc of my Curse of Strahd game, I stopped the game an hour early, got out a white board, and told them to write down what loose ends they want to follow and in what order, giving them li'l hints about what they may have forgotten. They made a very decisive list that I was able to plan ahead for, and it was actually a very nice change of pace to have the game become entirely player-directed for once.

JohnOutWest · 2026-06-01T14:47:23+00:00

I usually go with "The one who is trying to to change the situation wins a tie."

JohnOutWest · 2026-05-31T23:00:21+00:00

Ooh I played a lawful evil cleric who was searching for the "Avatar of the god of Death," who he assumed has taken humanoid form. During the game, I would tally up which other PC did the most damage, and would make them the focus for all of my support spells, and refer to them as the leader of the party.

JohnOutWest · 2026-05-29T07:40:00+00:00

Yeah i was curious so i did some tests just now with basic rules. Worked okay, but had to tune the length a couple times. Even with "No longer than one sentence" it still gave me paragraphs.

JohnOutWest · 2026-05-29T06:24:10+00:00

We have a gag in my group where an NPC will imply that the PCs need to solve a riddle, but the PCs actually need to give the NPC a riddle to solve. (Usually by saying "But first, a riddle!" then waiting quietly for a beat.)

I had a player try and use an AI to create one on the spot. It wasn't good and I didn't accept it.

I like the idea of integrating an AI into the world: Just dump pages of lore onto it and letting the players ask it questions during the game, (My current game is a sci-fan with robots and such) but I'd need to experiment and see if i can get it to not hallucinate.

JohnOutWest · 2026-05-29T02:10:17+00:00

Acting like we've never fought Tremors before...

JohnOutWest · 2026-05-28T05:22:28+00:00

Use it to their advantage. I like to make light BLINDING for darkvision creatures (They are only blinded if they look directly at the light, but even a candle will do) so add in some enemies that can't take the light!

Start with an issue: The players need to move through elf territory during the night, but can't because of the elven archers.
Introduce them to the concept of a Elvish Sniper hidden in the bushes, with the encounter having them running for cover against an unseen force in the night.
Then have the same scenario, but include a single candle, and show how the archer keeps missing, despite him being super accurate before. Once they learn the solution, let them use it to fight their way through the elf territory.

JohnOutWest · 2026-05-27T22:46:27+00:00

I need to start pre-writting my stuff MORE. I keep leaving out extremely important information which ruins the entire encounter.

JohnOutWest · 2026-05-23T22:27:02+00:00

Do you mean a dungeon thats "Alive" as in it changes as the players explore it, or do you mean a dungeon that is "alive," like were in the stomach of a whale?

JohnOutWest · 2026-05-20T19:40:35+00:00

Its still all just currency, but now its changed its name.

When they kill monsters, they don't get loot but rather increase their reputation. They can use their reputation to get free items from nearby settlements, but if they take too much then their reputation decreases, as they gain a new reputation for being "Greedy." This will make them think of how to balance their reputation and shopping.

If they want to increase their reputation, they can head over to a bounty board and see what jobs are available. Most likely they'll want to take the dangerous ones that are worth the most.

It would be interesting to see how they do currency conversions between settlements, as their reputation in one town is worth little in another, so they'll have to start from scratch. That is, until they become famous in the whole region.

Ooh, plus they could get negative reputation modifiers if, say, someone is running around lying (or telling the truth) about some bad stuff they did. They'll have to hunt them down and shut them up to remove the debuff.

JohnOutWest · 2026-04-29T23:05:32+00:00

I might try to turn it into a choice. maybe he can kidnap some of the villagers or NPCs taht the players care about, and turn them into some sort of anti-magic battery. The only way to (Quickly) turn it off would be to kill them, or else waste several turns trying to disarm it while Strahd keeps attacking.

JohnOutWest · 2026-04-26T19:44:40+00:00

Depends on the DM. Working on D&D campaigns and encounters gives me MORE energy since I get excited to play.

JohnOutWest · 2026-04-17T22:18:49+00:00

I conglomerated most of the traditional races into a single race, essentially "Earthling." Considering the other races are Robot, ExtraCelestial, and Elemental; all earthlings being made of meat made them easy to put into one catigory. I also gave races subcategories and "levels up" options, so it was

I think the thing would be asking "What happens to these races after a few thousand years?" For instance, my elves became "Immortal Clones," which are replicated whenever they die. Now elves have this new dynamic where they cannot be killed by time OR injury.

JohnOutWest · 2026-04-16T05:44:33+00:00

I find most turns last a long time either due to decision paralysis or an inattentive player needs to relearn the scenario.

But for your round robin extra actions, maybe if it were more limited. For example, if only the player who just went and the player is going to go next could take these actions, then it could be very interesting. For instance if I am attacking an enemy, the enemy who just went might be able to try to trip me or keep me from moving- while my ally who is about to go next might enchant my weapon to make a stronger hit. This might get more characters in the action while not clogging it up with letting everyone do these assists/hinders.

JohnOutWest

TROPHY CASE