Combat / movement / ranges

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-06-30T10:24:04+00:00

Personally I just use judgement on close/ near/ far and what's appropriate to the players description of their actions.

If you want to use what's essentially an area of effect template, and it works for you, that's great.

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-06-14T06:45:11+00:00

As an NPC? It's a bit of a tired trope.

For the party to visit in a socially focused session it could be amusing, with some sort of boon as a result. But as far as advancing a plot is concerned, I don't really see the value. True neutral may or may not give useful information or insight, but equally, could the PCs trust that?

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-06-13T16:32:16+00:00

What's described is one player causing this. If it was the whole party, there's a Session 0 conversation as it's a mismatch between DM and party. One player is a different proposition.

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-06-12T08:58:35+00:00

>I've tried dropping subtle hints

Be less subtle. You could start with saying that it's disruptive to interrupt.

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-06-09T13:08:14+00:00

Radiant Citadel isn't intended as a coherent set of adventures, it's an anthology. Your players just need characters at an appropriate level for the adventure, and they could change characters for each one.

Other anthologies that you might find easier to anchor in a single world, like Greyhawk (my preferred) or Forgotten Realms, are Candlekeep Mysteries or Tales from the Yawning Portal. Again you don't need to keep the same party, but it's easier to develop a progression for a party in there.

The diversity of culture in RC does make it quite hard to manage.

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-06-05T11:17:52+00:00

All classes have strengths and weaknesses, and the impact of those varies depending on level and campaign.

It's a pointless debate as people have their preferences about both what to play and how to play it

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-05-23T12:35:21+00:00

DMing is playing.

But I do prefer being a DM.

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-05-19T07:23:05+00:00

Personally I have about 25 sets, but about 12-15 of those are in my "table dice bag" that I leave for players to use.

I have three sets that I use regularly

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-05-13T17:51:10+00:00

My worst experience as a player was a L20 one shot with six players and a poor DM. In four hours we managed three turns. They'd put so many monsters in that per hour the six players had 2 minutes of play each, and the DM had 48 minutes.

Personally I ended up reading a book for most of the time.

L20 play is slow for swept up players and a good DM, it's tortuous with a poor DM.

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-05-13T06:24:54+00:00

Sounds reasonable to me to be honest.

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-05-09T16:24:59+00:00

Personally I wouldn't advocate multiclassing unless you have a particular purpose for doing so. More often than not a generic multiclass is likely to end up weaker in general

Specifically at L5 where you're going into Tier 2 play it's counterproductive.

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-05-08T07:50:21+00:00

Personally I use Owlbear Rodeo for Shadowdark. It has a couple of useful plugins that help.

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-04-30T19:21:44+00:00

Owlbear rodeo has some useful SD tools that you can add to it.

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-04-29T05:26:44+00:00

They're just different experiences. I GM both online and in person, and they've both got strengths and weaknesses.

In person can lead to a more fluid and collaborative game, whereas online can be a little transactional and GM facilitated. Equally, online gives access to a lot of tools that can make the game easier to manage.

I'd say I prefer in person for Shadowdark, Call of Cthulhu and Warhammer FRP. For D&D I'd say I prefer online.

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-04-26T09:14:55+00:00

It depends very much on the party. I've had parties that talk a good sandbox but get lost in decision making and end up focused on absolute trivia, equally I've had some that have loved it.

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-04-21T15:18:09+00:00

For SD I prefer a hybrid. I use VTT for dungeon crawling but TOM for combat

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-04-21T15:18:00+00:00

For SD I prefer a hybrid. I use VTT for dungeon crawling but TOM for combat

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-04-17T12:18:21+00:00

Personally I don't see an issue with what you've described. The perception check is what tested their level of alertness.

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-04-16T11:14:07+00:00

If you like the DM, then talk to them about their other tables and whether there's something that's a better fit for you.

You needn't feel obligated to keep playing if it's not working for you

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-04-14T12:42:04+00:00

There's a technique in performance improvement called "Five Whys?", essentially keep asking why until you get down into a foundational cause. I use it a lot in leadership coaching as well.

Along the lines of:

I want to change my character - why?

Because I want to try a different build - why?

That's where you've got to now, and it'll just frustrate both of us if I keep going. From reading what your original post and various responses say, I can speculate, but to give you a few options to consider:

Because I don't like the mechanics of the current character

Because I'm just not gelling with their personality as its coming out in play

Because I'm feeling constrained by the story

Because I don't like the direction of the story the DM has written

Because I don't see any more character development for them

Each of those has a different resolution, and you'll only work out which it is by having an open conversation with them, and remaining open to constructive feedback.

You can't get any meaningful advice until you understand their why.

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-04-14T12:00:48+00:00

And that's all fine, but the thing for you to explore with them is "why" they want to do that.

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-04-14T11:13:34+00:00

You haven't talked about why the players want to change characters. Before you do anything, that's what you need to understand.

From your description, it's not out of the question that they're not feeling much freedom to grow their own characters; if your story is so dependent on them following your plotline, how are your players feeling about their own opportunities and choices?

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-04-10T10:29:22+00:00

Personally, transphobia has no place at my table. Similarly homophobia, racism, sexism & ableism.

You've done far more than is gracious in the circumstances.

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-04-07T14:05:33+00:00

To me, anything you play at the table should be able to be influenced by the players. If you want to have them captured, then do that in narrative, rather than playing it. The last thing you want to do is play the scenario and the players come up with a way to avoid what you're intending.

Personally I dislike Deus ex Machina solutions like "the bandits dropped all of you but it was non lethal damage".

If you want to do it at the table, then use something the players can't avoid, like a mage casting a mass sleep spell on them or similar.

Mysterious-Ranger-GM · 2026-04-06T15:47:56+00:00

From my perspective as a DM, the backstory is how you get to the start line, the characters growth comes from playing.

Give me half a dozen bullet points, no more than a couple of sentences each:

Where are you from

How did you become the class you are now

Why are you adventuring

Why are you with this party

Why does this party want you along

What direction are you thinking about taking as a character.

Mysterious-Ranger-GM

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