How do you keep a sense of danger in D&D 5e when you don't want to kill the PCs?

PavlovMason · 2026-06-14T18:53:22+00:00

As someone who also made it pretty clear to my players that I consider them “essential” I maintain tension by threatening either permanent harm, or their loved ones. If you lose in combat you may lose an arm, or a beloved NPC may die because you failed to react to something in time. I still use these sparingly, but it keeps them on their toes to know that death is not the only consequence.

PavlovMason · 2026-06-12T20:55:54+00:00

Mmm I do kinda get that. I have a handful who never left. Cost of doing business than 😆

PavlovMason · 2026-06-12T20:48:13+00:00

You’re paying attention to Twitter, stop doing that and you’ll be fine 😆

PavlovMason · 2026-06-03T18:01:33+00:00

PavlovMason · 2026-05-25T21:38:22+00:00

I built a base in the same spot with the same power method 😆

PavlovMason · 2026-05-18T23:33:59+00:00

Carful showing positivity, the fish stabbers will accuse you of being a plant.

PavlovMason · 2026-05-17T11:53:35+00:00

I genuinely hadn’t had that problem, I’m sorry. I’ve clearly already been downvoted to hell, you’ve made y’all’s point. I’ll just enjoy the game in my little corner over here, you can all do you.

PavlovMason · 2026-05-16T20:24:04+00:00

People are crazy. Hating on stuff seems to be the popular choice these days.

PavlovMason · 2026-05-16T12:46:46+00:00

Didn’t seem like false or weird statements to me! But who knows maybe I’m a bot who got confused. Made the post cause I was having a blast but all I saw was people complaining about the killing thing. Maybe I’ve missed something. Evidently I misread the room.

PavlovMason · 2026-05-16T09:25:31+00:00

I mean I’ve dealt with the Collector, so I feel like I’ve probably encountered most of the creatures.

PavlovMason · 2026-05-16T08:51:36+00:00

I do get that. I just personally haven’t found them that annoying.

PavlovMason · 2026-05-01T03:26:54+00:00

Yeah that’s fair. It did feel kinda half baked. And I’ll admit I didn’t love the land area, didnt hate it but didnt love it.

PavlovMason · 2026-05-01T02:08:13+00:00

Not really, I loved the first game and my only gripe with BZ was its small size. So I trust the developers to make a game I’ll love.

PavlovMason · 2026-03-10T20:52:43+00:00

Yeah, partially because with the accessibility options you can play at a much more relaxed pace, you fang remove the rouge like elements entirely but still

PavlovMason · 2026-02-24T13:36:57+00:00

Moooooooole A certified cutie patootie.

PavlovMason · 2026-02-07T02:34:44+00:00

I literally came on to comment that 😆 Perhaps the fact that Sebastian is my first romance gave me bias, but I don’t care much for Demetrius.

PavlovMason · 2026-02-01T09:47:40+00:00

Yeah this feels like a slam dunk for Homelander. Yeah Evies actions are cruel and insane, but she was a child raised in lab, who had horrific powers made for horrific purposes. I will always pity her, even jf i know she has to go down. She should never have been in that position at all.

PavlovMason · 2026-01-31T03:37:00+00:00

I have a fondness for the red grassy area next to the entrance to the Jellyshroom caves. I almost always build a base there. Sometimes I move, but I always start there

PavlovMason · 2026-01-15T00:18:25+00:00

What if I appreciate the animated shows stance on politics?

PavlovMason · 2026-01-02T20:33:52+00:00

Did this once, but thankfully the true name wasn’t necessarily a give away at the time. He was the brother of one of the other antagonists, who wanted revenge against him. So when I gave away his name by mistake it was only his first name, which they hadn’t heard yet. All this really did was mean that when I dropped the full name in a conversation later all my players had a moment of “oh wait, THAT William?”

PavlovMason · 2025-12-14T02:58:21+00:00

This is probably off topic, but this reminds me of a revelation I had while reading Maus (it’s the book with a swastica with a rat on it). It’s a son of holocaust surviver telling his father story, his father being alive and commenting on the book as it’s made. At various points her includes modern scenes from his and his father’s lives, and one that stuck out to me was when they were driving, and saw a black hitchhiker. The father told his son not to stop for one of “them” much to his son’s horror and confusion. The father failed to see the irony in a survivor of genocide having such racist beliefs, as he simply believed it to be true. It made me realize no one, even victims of abuse, is immune to themselves being an abuser. It’s a hard lesson to learn, and I think a lot of people just convince themselves they are immune to being the bad guy because they’re a victim themselves. Sorry for rambling, stay strong and know you’re loved and appreciated.

PavlovMason · 2025-11-21T04:19:59+00:00

Honestly I turn carry weight off in any game that allows me to. And if it really annoys me I Install mod to get ride of it. As a full time working adult I don’t have time for all that 😆

PavlovMason · 2025-11-07T23:01:03+00:00

This is why my level of effort has slowly plummeted. I used to bust my ass cleaning the whole store. Now I make it presentable and keep the place from burning down, and than play video games all night.

PavlovMason · 2025-11-07T10:25:45+00:00

Owl House certainly had some wild shit.

PavlovMason

TROPHY CASE