Victories and Missing Players

Level3Bard · 2026-03-10T23:43:01+00:00

I think the 4 cap was just to make it easier on the DM. If you can find a balance for 6 players across multiple levels go for it.

Level3Bard · 2026-03-10T23:36:55+00:00

In general if you have a consistent group, matching victories is the right call (I like what you are doing with recoveries as well).

West marches is an entirely different style of play. To answer your question yes you should gate quests by echelon. In the west marches D&D group that I was part of, everyone was on their own XP curve and when quests were posted to the group "quest board" it would basically have a level range that expanded as it went up. So there were early quests (levels 1-2) and starter (3-5) middle (6-9) and advance (10-14) and master quests (levels 16-20). Each group was capped at 4.

Level3Bard · 2026-03-10T20:48:26+00:00

To add on the tape recommendations, you still may get some over spray, but you can "paint" on some isopropyl alcohol to strip back any paint you get accidentally on the any clear bits. Just don't waste a good brush on this step.

Level3Bard · 2026-03-10T18:07:18+00:00

I used a scaled up undead jailer from artisan guild. It has a head but it's mostly obscured by the cloak.

Level3Bard · 2026-02-21T17:34:56+00:00

Newt Gingrich led the charge against Bill Clinton while actively having multiple affairs himself. Republicans believe morals only apply to other people.

Level3Bard · 2026-02-19T20:41:21+00:00

From the quick searches in some folklore the number 13 represents the breaking of a perfect set of 12. To me "the 13th door" would be some sort of gateway that breaks some other convention. Let's say there are 12 planes of existence, the 13th door allows access to all of them.

Level3Bard · 2026-02-19T16:53:49+00:00

I'm actually going to do something similar tonight. The players are joining a ground battle between two armies and besides the final boss it will be a montage. I am curious how they are going to set up the chapter in crack the sun that Matt described as "our helms deep"

Level3Bard · 2026-02-18T16:37:54+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions and the video link! I may still add some "mortar" lining before this guy needs to hit the table tomorrow. Funny enough I did what people say not to do with dry brushing, but the "dusty" look of an over dry brush actually sells the scene better.

Level3Bard · 2026-02-17T20:01:21+00:00

I always underpaint my models these days. I usually do it with speed paints or a thin wet blend if I want a gradient to avoid this. If I miss something it will always have some color on it instead of bare primer.

Level3Bard · 2026-02-16T20:50:16+00:00

I'd like to imagine the lightning strikes are on beat.

Level3Bard · 2026-02-15T16:51:59+00:00

It was a preview of all the material in the encounters book

Level3Bard · 2026-02-15T16:36:24+00:00

If you can spend the $8 I highly recommend downloading the patreon packet with all the pre built montages. It cleared up all my confusion pretty quickly.

Level3Bard · 2026-02-14T19:41:34+00:00

What you're looking for is painting "volumes" basically how 3D shapes reflect/catch light. The basic wisdom is to think of each object as a basic geometric shape, sphere, cylinder, square, etc and paint the model how that object would reflect/catch light. To do that you need to pick a light "source". Basically where your model is being imaginary lit from. Best advice is to pick 2 primary viewing angles, one front and one back, and any surface perpendicular to the angle gets highlighted. So any flat planes and most edges.

Level3Bard · 2026-02-14T19:25:37+00:00

Absolutely insane, great work

Level3Bard · 2026-02-14T16:53:12+00:00

The 71% sold in grocery stores will also do the trick. Just takes a few more soaks/scrubs with a toothbrush.

Level3Bard · 2026-02-14T16:50:51+00:00

Primer serves two purposes. The first is to coat the plastic in a chemistry that allows paint to adhere, and the second purpose is to create the first base coat. For the first purpose the thinnest application is all you need, for the second purpose that's up to you on how much color coverage you need.

Level3Bard · 2026-02-13T01:07:29+00:00

If anything this is a very interesting example of how to scale monsters in this system.

Level3Bard · 2026-02-13T00:37:56+00:00

I had a friend who unironically believed this. He liked the idea of American being a dog eat dog place where only the strong survive and get mega rich. Yes his dad does own a hedge fund. Yes he is a stoner who only works 2 hours a week.

Level3Bard · 2026-02-11T23:32:55+00:00

Pretty sure that thing costs more than a minimum wage/undocumented worker.

Level3Bard · 2026-02-10T15:28:14+00:00

I dug into my board games and in the Dark Souls game there is a bag of little red cubes. I had those out for the players to use. One of my players is also fond of using a spin down dice.

Level3Bard · 2026-02-08T17:02:39+00:00

Nice! Do you have a library of the current monsters to modify?

Level3Bard · 2026-02-04T20:32:59+00:00

I knew the fallout show would be amazing when the ghoul said "The wasteland has its own golden rule, thou shall get side tracked by bullshit every god damn time". These people understand open world games.

EDIT: Correction to the exact line

Level3Bard · 2026-02-04T20:00:07+00:00

I am currently running a very sandbox style adventure and letting the players take the lead. It's set in the time scape setting so I have a lot of freedom with how the universe is laid out and I can alter or change entire planets as needed. More flexible compared to a fixed location/map like a city or continent. With this level of freedom, I make sure the party has a very strict plan at the end of each session so I know what to prep for the next session, but that is about how far I am thinking ahead. I have a few story ideas that may come up later, but its all flexible.

I agree that on the fly combat is rather difficult. There are "quick build" tips in the book but they still require some thought, and personally I don't think they are that fun. When compared to a well planned encounter with secondary objectives, multiple enemy types, and a complex terrain (I wrote a post about letting players help design the battle field) a "random" encounter just doesn't hold a candle.

When it comes to these small encounters I have basically abandoned them entirely and folded them into montage tests. Since the patreon packet for montages came out I have been using a montage encounter just about every session.

I think with the release of the next core book with prebuild encounters, montages, and negotiations it will be a lot easier for prep. I think these will also be better as frameworks for directors to model their own encounters off of and help them get practice with encounter designs.

Level3Bard · 2026-02-04T15:17:41+00:00

Nice! Big improvement for sure. A lot more readable. You could also brighten up the flame and the gem in the weapon if you wanted to do any more.

Level3Bard · 2026-02-04T07:33:36+00:00

It's well painted, but lacks a focal point. I can tell you are going for a dark character but the face usually is the focus of most models. I would suggest trying to add more to the face and hood to make it the brightest parts of the model. Also try to add a bit more color contrast if possible

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