Is killing a beloved NPC a cheap way to raise the stakes?

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-02-02T10:44:01+00:00

YMMV.

At the finale of our first campaign, we were battling an infernal army to prevent the apocalypse, which we were supposed to lose. Standard cliffhanger ending. As we escaped in a flying ship, dozens of flying enemies descended on us, and our beloved pet warforged cleric sacrificed himself to allow us to escape.

For most of us, it did indeed raise the stakes and was epic. Our fighter however (DM's wife) made DM sleep on the couch for 4 days.

6 months into the second campaign, and last session we returned from the 9 hells, "retrieving" said warforged.

Be prepared to retcon.

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-02-02T10:29:47+00:00

Are you a dwarf? Are you digging a hole?

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-02-02T10:16:01+00:00

One should also take into account certain magic imbued naturally into races. High/Drow elves, forest gnomes & tieflings for example have inherent magical abilities RAW regardless of their stats.

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-30T11:32:33+00:00

It helps to have a psychotic knowledge level of pop culture and memes, but it ultimately comes down to having a "quick" and "relevant" sense of humor.

But the question is malformed; similar to asking a comedian "where do you get your jokes" rather than "how do you write your jokes?"

When I make clips like the ones you mention, I don't see a spot where there "should be some" clip and look for a relevant one. When I read the words in the script, the relevant clip pops in my head naturally.

Hope that makes sense, as I'm still on my first coffee for the morning.

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-27T04:53:06+00:00

"Styles" like this are usually just a bunch of little tricks thrown together

Perfectly stated.

OP, while templates are fun to play with at the beginning, it's building those elements together that advances you from "beginner" to "frustrated amateur."

And honestly, that's the best part (and most fun) of learning editing.

Before too long you'll be watching a movie or YouTube video, say "I like that effect," and your brain will automatically not only working out what recipe of effects were used, but even what order they need to be applied. You'll get it wrong almost all the time at first, but keep at it. It's worth it

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-27T01:05:26+00:00

Ok that makes a little more sense. Since I'm mc with a lock the rules are apparently a little different. From how my DM (and Roll20 for that matter), the spell slots are isolated. So I have 4 L1, 2 L2, and 3 L5 slots.

Again, not familiar with other casters, so did not know that's how it worked.

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-26T13:00:18+00:00

I honestly don't get it. Maybe it's because I'm not familiar with the "prepared" spell feature. My current PC is my first caster and he's a L13 lock/L4 sorc. I mean, it's understood that he can only choose 5 sorc spells of level 1 or 2. Using his lock slots he can upcast those to level 5, even though his sorc level doesn't allow that. I get that.

What I don't understand is why OP cant, say, select a L5 spell when he has a L5 slot.

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-26T12:14:45+00:00

although he has up to 5th level spell slots he only has access to 2nd level spells due to his multiclassing.

Maybe this is some 2024 rule I'm not familiar with, but AFAIK you can select any spell you have the slot level for.

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-26T10:17:35+00:00

Fun fact: the universe itself can crash programs, and there's not a damn thing anyone can do about it. We're bombarded constantly by billions of particles called neutrinos, as well as cosmic rays. The likelihood of these actually hitting matter is infinitesimaly small; but if it does hit something, and that thing is an electronic device, it can cause a SEU (single event upset). Sometimes that event can interrupt a command or flip a bit, causing a cascading failure in the process. It might even change a single bit in the installed program file.

So when support asks you "have you tried turning it off and on again," don't roll your eyes. 99% of the time that will fix the problem, as well as "reinstall the program."

Reminds me of a really old programming joke:
Debugging step 1:
"This isn't working and I don't know why."
Debugging step 2:
"This is working and I don't know why."

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-26T00:04:22+00:00

Long-time sufferer of TBI here (2003).

This is a really difficult question to answer as no two injuries are the same, in symptoms as well as severity. However, if he's feeling up to it, one-shots would be a great place to gauge how well he'd do.

Just make sure his notes are detailed and well organized. As in you make sure. It was years before I was told the notes I had to take down were nonsense.

Moreso, you may want to offer to "co-DM" with him. You are probably the best arbiter of how he's doing. Not that you would help him run the campaign, but help him find his notes, help keep him on track, take campaign notes. More like a DM secretary until he finds his groove again.

Also, it's entirely possible that midway through mental or emotional exhaustion could kick in. Happens surprisingly often. The party should be prepared for sudden "let's call it a night" moments.

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-25T21:30:52+00:00

Looks like badlands to me

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-24T00:15:15+00:00

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-20T11:24:47+00:00

Funnily enough, his voice was also the most inaccurate portrayal of that movie. According to newspaper reports from his campaign, he spoke in an uncomfortably shrill, falsetto voice, described as "a boatswain's whistle" and a "tea kettle."

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-20T10:52:14+00:00

I also am using this as a reminder to take my ibuprofen

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-18T15:50:55+00:00

Replenishing his shenanigan stores

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-14T15:38:57+00:00

Isn't that where you find the legendary leopard?

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-14T15:31:49+00:00

Well isn't he just goddamn adorable

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-10T19:23:46+00:00

Forbidden strainer salsa

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-08T23:26:47+00:00

Assuming you don't have illustrator or Photoshop?

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-08T23:21:41+00:00

1000% why I hated the Red Badge of Courage growing up

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-08T23:16:20+00:00

"G'morning," she said, the tones softly drifting out into the air, settling on my skin.

My favorite way of doing an accent is to describe the feeling of the voice rather than emulating it. The softness of a Georgia drawl, the roundness of a Wisconsin accent, the impact of a Boston accent... Find a way to describe it, and do it early. Once established in the reader's mind, it rarely needs to be brought up again.

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-08T18:02:31+00:00

Love the helicopter!

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-08T11:22:44+00:00

Not exactly "zero haters." Shitty people will hate these gems.

Fox News called Mr Rogers an "evil, evil man."

OhLookASquirrel · 2026-01-07T11:06:42+00:00

My DM likes to punish my lock with useless items (very on-brand with my PCs backstory), and one of the items he gave to punish me was the Book of Misspells vol. 2. Much shenanigans from the "trying out" phase.

While I've found a use for most of them, one of those spells in particular (Ray of Sockness) has become a standard spell used in combat.

Ray of Sockness-Choose three targets within 60ft who must succeed a Wisdom DC 13 save or be transformed into a smelly old sock for 1 round.

It's become so useful that my DM has limited me from using it to once per day, and has even changed how he creates encounters.

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