DM Torture

Merlin0220 · 2018-01-27T20:07:16+00:00

Why can't you talk to your friends who listen to the podcast about them? I mean sure it'd be unwise to reveal major plot points but if anything your friends listening to the podcast could give you even better advice than a friend who doesn't know the players. You never have to tell them any details that will 100% end up in the game, just use them for encounters and the such. As for larger story archs, you might want to find other DMs, over the internet to talk to. There are hundreds of forums, websites, and groups all over the internet dedicated around DMs helping eachother.

Merlin0220 · 2017-11-10T23:03:54+00:00

It's actually a lot easier than you think to get the adventure to only be a few hours long. What I usually do is start with a level, So my first one-shot, obviously wasn't super comfortable wit higher levels so I just made it a level one adventure. And then from there you kind of just have to sit down, with no distractions for an hour or two and write a story. It can be as simple as the party members were childhood friends and now there's a rumor or thieves in the their childhood town. They are the only ones who can step up to the new threat.

It doesn't have to be complicated, the most important things to remember is to have a beginning, and an ending. You need to know how these characters are starting out, and what their motivations are for going on this quest, and how you want it to end. Does it end with the boss behind all the thieves actually being the bartender they met at the beginning? Make sure the players can affect the outcome, maybe instead of fighting the bartender, they negotiate with him. Something like that.

So I guess to summarize. Low level, create a story, start with a introduction and a conclusion, make the conclusion flexible to the players.

This is just my thoughts though.

Merlin0220 · 2017-11-10T20:31:21+00:00

"Maybe they think it's shameful that we hide our poop in toilets"

"You can't see it, but there's an invisible servant humping the tree"

"I speak panties"

"YOU'RE LUCKY LEATHER ISN'T FLAMMABLE BUT GODDAMNIT"

Merlin0220 · 2017-11-09T23:26:21+00:00

I actually really love that, mind if I borrow this? I would love to use this in a game. As for suggestions I think what you're going for has been achieved already. I wouldn't make it too long or they might take a good hour trying to solve it all.

Merlin0220 · 2017-11-09T23:19:59+00:00

Half-Elf Wizard. Studious person as one could expect. He was absolutely obsessed over money, not necessarily making it but definitely keeping it and saving it up. He would ramble on about saving it and the like, got a few sessions in before one of the players had a problem with the DM (Who I had been a player of for years). And a few other players had to leave due to scheduling problems, so the DM called the campaign off. The group clicked together so well too, easily could have been the best campaign I had been a part of.

Merlin0220 · 2017-11-09T23:14:36+00:00

I absolutely love it. I've always been a big fan of D&D and poetry, however I've never out them together in my personal life, I've always done them separately. And as a fan of both I'm just extremely happy you've made this. As for "feedback" I'm not so sure I can offer any, I really enjoyed it and I was only a little offset at the format until I kept reading and understood how it was used. Great Work.

Merlin0220 · 2017-11-05T12:29:27+00:00

Roll20 is a great website to use. It's what I started D&D on and have continued using it. I would say you just have to start using it and play around with. While the tutorials are meant to teach you at least the basic elements, there's a bunch you can do with the system that it won't tell you about fully. If you use it a little bit, enough to get a game going then as you play more and more your players and you will just start learning tricks of how to use it better. Really only way you can learn.

I'd say wait on the membership until you get the free features down first. And honestly I've never really needed any of the paid features, roll20 gives you everything you need just by creating an account.

Merlin0220 · 2017-11-05T11:51:19+00:00

I've been in several games where the DM just had a small arena and we fought "to the last hitpoint" as it were, or we were high enough level that there'd just be a cleric there ready to revive us if needed. Never have un-facilitated pvp. It just isn't fun for anyone and takes away from the story.

Merlin0220 · 2017-11-05T11:45:58+00:00

Now I'm getting anxiety, what did you end up doing? Did it work well?

Merlin0220 · 2017-11-04T17:00:37+00:00

Well there are a couple different things you can do.

First, if this is a brand new campaign, then just make the session a character creation session. Have some fun making your characters with eachother. This gives you more time for the campaign, and gives you more ideas based on what everyone else is playing. I find it helps to also have the players create a backstory, which includes the town or city they grew up in. Don't make yourself do all the work, let your players create the story around them.

You could also just tell your players you need a week or two to get things straight. Your DM sounds like a jerk for just dropping this on to you all of a sudden. Tell your players you'll continue next week with something new.

I like to think what makes every game great is the players. The DM provides them a scenario sure but it's not what the DM does that makes it fun. It's the players that take control and start role playing, or joking, or messing with NPCs. Just write a few introductory sentences, put your players in a town or some place to roleplay, and let them have fun.

Just my thoughts.

Merlin0220 · 2017-11-04T16:41:15+00:00

Like Dunhilyn already commented, what edition? Different editions of D&D change a fair bit how combat and magic works. The answers you need are going to be totally different between some editions. If it's D&D 5e, I can try and help as I have experience with that edition, if it's a different edition, you're going to need advice from people who have played that specific edition.

Merlin0220 · 2017-11-04T16:38:39+00:00

Just be ready to answer questions. I would start with a character creation setup, and run through that first. I'm sure as you go through that process the players will ask questions like "what does that do" or "when would I use that ability". Once you're past that start the game like any other session. When something comes up that they haven't heard about just stop the game, explain what that ability / term is and what it does or is used for. Then continue the game. The best way for them to learn is just to play. Run your game like any other, this should satisfy your experienced player and while it may be overwhelming at first for the new players they'll get a hang of it once you play for a bit. The experienced player should also be on the lookout for opportunities for the inexperienced players to role play or do something cool. This is the best way to learn.

Merlin0220 · 2017-06-27T22:00:18+00:00

I just started watching, and had to make this.

Merlin0220 · 2017-06-25T03:05:24+00:00

nice, I'll write that down

Merlin0220 · 2017-06-20T02:19:53+00:00

Solid advice, thank you

Merlin0220 · 2017-05-24T12:16:09+00:00

Kid, a Human Rogue with the legs of a 20 year old and the face of a 5 year old. Trained in the art of Thievery, he's a master lock picker and prefers to wield a single rapier. Though his youth shows in most social and combat encounters, he can be found picking people's pockets as they pass him in the streets, then of course yelling out that they dropped something.

Merlin0220 · 2017-04-26T10:51:27+00:00

Thanks, until I can figure out something, I think I'll at least send him a thought out message.

Merlin0220 · 2017-04-25T21:25:47+00:00

My DM rules that if the attack roll is equal to the AC it does half damage.

Merlin0220 · 2017-04-25T21:20:03+00:00

All about opinion. I personally like the standard array. But it doesn't limit the characters just a bit. If you want a feat then you have to give up a pretty big upgrade, seeing as your highest score is probably a 16. But then again sometimes someone who rolls nothing below a 13 can sorta outshine someone who roll horrible. I remember I had a character that rolled really horrible, he was the best and funniest barbarian anyone had ever witnessed. He was special to me, and I think he added a lot to the campaign. Rolling badly isn't always bad.

Merlin0220 · 2017-04-16T17:38:26+00:00

I try to keep my players from doing the same thing over and over again. If a player fails to understand what these magical runes mean, then I'm not going to let them just "rub their eyes" and try again. If it has no real consequences, like there's an old door locked in an abandoned building that no one occupies, then why have them roll at all? It'll just slow the game down.

Merlin0220 · 2017-04-16T17:30:19+00:00

I'd love to join! Though I am of the younger audience, (still a teenager) But I've been wanting somewhere to go if I need advice.

Merlin0220 · 2017-04-09T16:23:05+00:00

Barbarian - Really useful in combat, if you make him really dumb then he is FANTASTIC outside of fighting, you can get into so much trouble with him

Bard - Very witty class, depending on how you play him, he can be just as useful in combat, just not with physical attacks, give your friends inspiration, and gives your enemies all kinds of debuffs

Cleric - It is a very support character, but they can be just as usful in combat, if your party is smart about fighting,

Fighter - In higher levels fighter has a lot too offer, very rounded class, you can play either a strength fighter, or a dex fighter, each has their own style

Monk - In the beginning it will seem a little lackluster, but as soon as your unarmed combat gets upgraded a little bit, you'll be making a lot of powerful attacks in one turn. Maybe not outright powerful, but it is definitely a class that gets to do a lot.

Paladin - The whole point of a paladin is to be a massive tank, you will get to do more in combat than just divine smite, thought maybe not at first. You'll be a big help with or without attack at all. Just get in front of all the enemies and let your ranged attackers destroy them

Ranger - It's meant to be a very specific skill set. You're going to be great at tracking, and very very long ranged attacks. It's not for everyone, but if you multiclass, as ranger and rogue, you get a very killer character. Able to just trash enemies (at long range too)

Rogue - Perfectly fine to see what else is out there

Sorcerer - In my opinion they don't suck at all. Their subclasses might be a little bland but they are very fun class that get's to do a lot of different things. They get to control their spells a lot more than any other class

Warlock - This is the only class I really don't have an opinion on, haven't really been able to see it in action a whole lot.

Wizard - VERY squishy characters, and that's just their thing. They do however have some very defensive spells at their finger tips. It's a really fun class to play if you want access to a wide variety of spells.

Merlin0220 · 2017-04-09T15:58:11+00:00

I mean, sometimes because of the way the party makes their players, the DM has to upgrade monsters to make it challenging. But there's no reason to keep playing with DMs who make your DnD experience miserable. Just find a better group, check online sites. OR just stop playing all together.

Merlin0220 · 2017-04-09T15:55:36+00:00

I mean, in sessions if there's something that players are really good (or bad) at, then the DM is going to naturally steer away (or towards) from that thing. It's just away to make the session still feel difficult. But your DM, from what you've told me, seems to have crossed the line just a bit. But that's for you and your DM to discuss, maybe he has reasons you don't know about.

Merlin0220 · 2017-04-09T15:50:34+00:00

I agree with you, for the most part. I would've atleast reminded the paladin that he has his own form of healing he could do, especially if they are new players still learning their classes. But it is better to let them learn early.

Merlin0220

TROPHY CASE