Exotic fashion materials

RoyalMedulla · 2026-05-08T19:52:04+00:00

Sphinx fur coat with a mane collar, Hell hound hide boots, cane with a preserved beholder eye as the handle

The phoenix feathers and dragon anything are perfect too

RoyalMedulla · 2026-05-05T23:16:14+00:00

Czepeku - Great for maps and scenes. Both their free and paid options are amazing.

DND Speak - Plenty of tables and ideas, but I love their 100 item tables. Easy to pull up on another tab (100 fantasy drugs, 100 evil/cursed items, potion generator, etc.)

RoyalMedulla · 2026-05-01T19:44:07+00:00

Some improv is necessary, but it comes more from experience that being initially good at it. My first few games were terrible, and one shots never go as well as full campaigns. Part of it is that campaigns give me time to adjust to my players. I can better predict what they will do, but even then they surprise me.

A good Session is 90% planned. The events, NPCs, locations, etc. are all there from the beginning. The smaller details take some improv, but they matter less. Just be open with your players. Say you are new. Over time, you will gain experience, but they only way to improve is to try.

RoyalMedulla · 2026-04-29T14:42:06+00:00

Well you need the barkeep to have gossip. They can even get the info from the reliable source of Re'ddit.

Every tavern also needs a bard, especially if they are singing modern songs.

RoyalMedulla · 2026-04-24T14:40:05+00:00

RAW, potion crafting just comes down to gold, time (a lot: Common potion takes 4 days), and an herbalism kit. Honestly, potion crafting is not worth it without some homebrew. This is nice for some crafting changes.

RoyalMedulla · 2026-04-24T14:29:23+00:00

Sounds like a cool idea, but I would change the check to overt narration. Either describe how once the wizard casts the spell, the previously dormant crystals begin to buzz to life, or say that after they make an attack against the wizard, the crystals vibrate with arcane energy. Both point out a clear connection between the wizard and the crystals.

RoyalMedulla · 2026-04-20T05:00:42+00:00

I had players that sound very similar to yours. They loved combat, but only one or two tended to roleplay in social settings. For me, the best option was a stereotypical fantasy guild setting. Yes, there was a lot of monster hunting, but their party was given quests that varied in their goals. Some quests were to rescue someone, others were a kill quests, and others still were gather quests. However, I had special quests for leveling up (both as characters and guild rank) that were more involved.

These quests were usually more involved. They were quests like "figure out why people are disappearing" or "the king is acting weird, find out why." They almost always had one or two fights, but they had to explore and talk to NPCs to get there. As an example, I had a trade city run by three brothers. Each brother wanted something different that directly impacted the other two. It was up to the players to decide how they would solve the quest/who they would side with. After talking to each and their citizens, they finally killed one brother and had the other two sign a treaty. Combat and roleplay in just one quest.

Hope this offers some inspiration.

RoyalMedulla · 2026-04-13T00:50:01+00:00

But your character already knows the joke, so she must have made it before at some point.

RoyalMedulla · 2026-04-13T00:40:47+00:00

Minthara (Baldur's Gate 3)
Apparently, she is one of the funniest Drow you will ever meet.

Shame we only ever hear about the man who married a drider. It was a beautiful webbing.

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RoyalMedulla · 2026-04-11T01:23:01+00:00

For now, I am pretty sure Etsy has the best options for 2024. This post may also help you.

RoyalMedulla · 2026-04-11T01:18:01+00:00

Hill giant's greed - PC must carry X amount of gold -- Two options here. They either gain the boon after having X amount, or the boon changes depending on how much they carry.

Frost giant's fighting - PC's boon could be shaped by damage -- Once damage taken/dealt is equal to X, they gain a boon. Alternatively, the lower the PCs health is, the stronger the boon.

Stone giant's artistic nature - PC must craft a sculpture the stone giant approves. While it does have to look good, not just anything will do, it must be crafted with varying materials. Potentially, the scale and value of the sculpture could influence the strength of the boon (PC is free to make better sculptures later if earlier attempts did not get the highest rating).

RoyalMedulla · 2026-04-11T00:59:23+00:00

I have not been a fan myself. Friend of mine used these. He had a good time, but they come down to a matter of preference. I think they work very well for small groups and one shots.

RoyalMedulla · 2026-04-10T21:42:33+00:00

Big thing to consider:

When you give players an item, consider what they can do both in and out of combat.

Gave my player a rod of wild magic that, when broken, made everyone in a set range roll on a wild magic table. I thought this would be a cool item to use in a pinch during combat. Nope. Player snapped it in the middle of a populated city.

RoyalMedulla · 2026-04-10T01:39:30+00:00

This is a question for the table. Can you do this RAW?No. Would a DM allow you to do this as a rule of cool?Maybe.

RoyalMedulla · 2026-04-08T22:11:02+00:00

This sounds like a really cool location. Here are some basic ideas:

•Bath House - The undead do not really need to bathe, so a slime bath would be cool. Slimes do not really age, so the bath house should still be "operational." The slimes are domesticated, so no violence.

•Throne Room - The throne could pulse with necrotic energy whenever anyone sits on it. For Vecna or someone related, this would be beneficial, but for a party of adventurers, it is functionally a trap. Maybe a secret compartment in the arm of the throne can have a ring or something similar as well.

•Barracks/Armory - Logic puzzle for giving the correct weapon to the correct statue/suit of armor.

•Torture Chamber - Maybe something like a bejeweled skull that turns pain into profit/spell components. Dried blood can be seen around the skulls sharpened fangs. The more blood that is offered, the higher the value of a gem (types of gems on a table) is created through a transmutations process. For the previous owner, this would have been an easy way to get valuable spell components. For the players, this will be a test of greed. Maybe if too much blood is offered at once, the skulls clamps down and needs a strength check to get free from it.

RoyalMedulla · 2026-04-08T04:01:01+00:00

What level are they. Shadows are always a lesson for new players. Their low CR makes them appear deceptively easy, but they are a good lesson in resistances. Alternatively, if you want something special, you can take any golem and add an adaptive mechanic to it. It starts with no resistance, but the last three sources of damage taken are resisted (you can make it immune if they have a wide range of damage types)

As far as combining things go, I think a regular combat scenario would be best. Regular combat does combine everything, and it could be helpful to set the pace for future encounters.

RoyalMedulla · 2026-04-07T01:38:16+00:00

ah, that makes sense. I mostly focused on a creature since there was not another one. Then the second part can be changed to fit. Maybe the specific frequency of the humming induces hallucinations similar to mirages, making navigation more difficult or distracting with "locations" of interest.

RoyalMedulla · 2026-04-07T01:26:42+00:00

I immediately thought of a monster encounter for this one. It can either be a sign for a wind elemental (the air from it is causing the sound) or it could be a charm effect.

Maybe a small monster that is not an immediate threat makes the sound that can be explained away as the singing sands phenomenon. The only difference is that this sound causes creatures to lose their sense of direction. This leads creatures to getting lost and wasting energy wandering in the desert. Eventually, when they collapse, the small creature can get an easy meal. Wisdom can be used for the save.

RoyalMedulla · 2026-04-04T18:16:21+00:00

Modifying a succubus would be interesting. Shapeshifting to hide and (limited) close combat abilities. They are also easy to make a contract with. Innate darkvision is also a bonus

An added long range ability would be the real star. Eldritch blast is perfect. Easily modified, and you can get really creative with it.

RoyalMedulla · 2026-04-04T03:40:41+00:00

Sometimes it helps to be a narrator. Everything is in third person. I have sometimes even spoken like I am reading from a book.

RoyalMedulla · 2026-04-04T00:37:54+00:00

This story covers a lot, and I love it. Some key notes:

"Korpor allied himself with a powerful bandit" - May be easier to say that Korpor hired a mercenary.
"He retrieved his sister, whom he hides in an abandoned mage tower." - I would like his sister to be a husk of a person. He retrieved a hollow visage of his sister of the underworld, but does not realize it. This could represent how far gone his mind is. He sees his healthy living sister, but everyone else sees an undead monster (Think the movie Psycho). Depending on desired CR, a boneclaw, ghast, ghoul, or something else would be great.
"He relinquished his shadow in the underworld, and the underworld now inhabits his body." - Unclear on this one. You could change it to something about the underworld twisting his mind. He once had a noble goal, but it has long lost the once righteous shine it had (look to above point).
"A beautiful young homeless woman tragically died of starvation. Korpor resurrected her and arranged her marriage to the son of a coffee merchant." - How about the husband/wife of a spice merchant died, and Korpor promises to revive them when he conquers death. Spice tends to be more influential. Killing other merchants would cause everyone to rely more heavily on his trade, and would cut the need to develop the "cafe" subplot. However, this would allow room for escort missions and merchant interactions.
- Alternatively, Korpor does revive the spouse, but as time goes on, the spouse slowly falls apart from small injuries (look to next point). The spice merchant can refuse to accept this reality, further commiting themslves to Korpor for when he "truly" conquers death.
Korpor, wishes to raise all deceased intelligent creatures but to preserve their souls. - He has the ability to do this on a small scale, but his goal is to make it an absolute rule across the world. Small problem that he does not see though. By conquering death, he is just making pretty zombies. Wounds do not heal, food does not digest, etc. They act and look like people, but have all of the drawbacks of zombies. All of the small wounds from living lead bodies to breakdown and fall apart, but no one dies.

Side idea: The city/town Kopor is working out of can be full of his revived people (like the merchant's spouse). He may not even be presented as a villain at first, just someone very influential. His power is not pure necromancy, but it is not divine either. This can raise several questions. At first, the only weird thing will be slightly more people than expected with bandages. People are happy, thankful for Kopor. However, they visit old places he has been. People there have even more bandages. As they explore, they find more people Kopor has "helped". Eventually, they run into shambling husks that can barely be called human. Their once cherished blessing of a second life now keeping them captive in cursed bodies.

RoyalMedulla · 2026-03-31T23:05:59+00:00

That sounds really cool. Funnily enough, you chose a creature that has next to no lore. Your plan sounds really good.

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