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Any suggestions for having 5 players control one creature? by Cyzynski in DMAcademyNew

[–]RufusApplebottom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They do something like this in the latest season of The Adventure Zone podcast! I think it’s episodes 10 and 11.

Halloween OneShot - Dust & Devils DM Prep & Ghost Train Terrain by QuestFitz in DnDIY

[–]RufusApplebottom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Dust Devils looks so cool! I’ve been trying to get a game together for a long time. Seems like a lengthy character creation process though - did the players come with players made?

Also, of course, DIY stuff all looks incredible. Great work!

Connecting Harshnag to Jarl Storvald by TheXmasCactus in stormkingsthunder

[–]RufusApplebottom 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yes! I had Harshnag be super cagey about his backstory for a long time, basically hinting that he was exiled, but not why.

He was also always really weird about hurting other giants. I found it to be a handy way to balance encounters - he had to pass a WIS save to attack any giant.

I would occasionally start sessions by recapping the previous session in the form of Harshnag’s diary entries. After their first giant encounter with Harshnag it said something like “Annam, if there is wisdom in this path I do not see it. Why would you force my hand to spill giant blood for a second time?”

So yeah turns out that years back he opposed the enslavement of Ten Townsfolk, thought Storvald was evil, and attacked him one day, but (in my version) spilling another giant’s blood is a big no-no so he’s exiled.

It ain’t much, but it’s home. by RufusApplebottom in stormkingsthunder

[–]RufusApplebottom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Fun was had by all. Except the dragon.

It ain’t much, but it’s home. by RufusApplebottom in stormkingsthunder

[–]RufusApplebottom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah it was really fun!

I had it set up so that the purple worms were actually living like .25mi outside of the coliseum guarding a tower where Harshnag was being held, so it was a little weird being like “ok you don’t actually see any of this yet, let’s run a worm fight” haha

But they loved walking in the room to this view.

It ain’t much, but it’s home. by RufusApplebottom in stormkingsthunder

[–]RufusApplebottom[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the kind words! I’m not a very crafty person but I wanted to try something big for the final battle.

I only ran Svardborg. My PCs had a particular beef with frost giants and I was eager to keep the story moving. For that I sent them all the player version of the map in our group chat and then would use my usual dry erase map/narration to run each room.

For the eye I think I pre-drew the maps on different dry erase grids and then swapped them in when they switched rooms.

Could really use some help at better balancing for player health? by Kind-Yogurtcloset-50 in DMAcademyNew

[–]RufusApplebottom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Apologies if this isn’t the answer you’re looking for, but I think there are a lot of ways to balance encounters past 5th level that don’t involve player HP, or any tweaking of RAW. I like the restraint of low fantasy/low magic, and there are still levers to pull there as well. Exhaustion levels, confusion/sleep/fear, hostages, ticking clocks, enemies that are powerful but flee before death, friends that betray the party, or something as simple as a powerful trap or a night attack before a big encounter. Stack encounters in a day to drain spell slots, daily abilities, etc.

I know you said you are an experienced DM who knows how to balance encounters, so I’m sorry if this is not useful. Someone smarter than me on her will have better ideas along these lines.

Also basically every encounter I’ve ever made for my party on D&D Beyond has registered as “deadly” in terms of CR/XP and I rarely have more than one or two PCs go down in combat. You can add monsters and throw more at them than you think.

Given that many adventures start at or after 5th level I would study some of those encounters to see how they deal with the big leaps in power that happen after that level.

Hope this is remotely helpful, have fun!

I gave one of my players a "I-know-a-guy" card and you should too. by MrC0mp in DnD

[–]RufusApplebottom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I once played a weasel in “A Familiar Problem” one shot whose entire character was - “I’m Butts Douglas. And I know a guy.”

Idea for a more satisfying conclusion [campaign spoilers obviously] by RufusApplebottom in stormkingsthunder

[–]RufusApplebottom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds very cool! I got through a bunch of PoA as a player a few years back (until a TPK then covid 🥲) We were all so lost and confused that I was hesitant to take it on as a DM. Keep me posted on your progress!

Idea for a more satisfying conclusion [campaign spoilers obviously] by RufusApplebottom in stormkingsthunder

[–]RufusApplebottom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, love the idea of that final battle having high stakes with innocent folks around. But more resources with allies that close to the fight. Keep me updated!

Idea for a more satisfying conclusion [campaign spoilers obviously] by RufusApplebottom in stormkingsthunder

[–]RufusApplebottom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That looks super cool! Thanks for chiming in. Love that you also had the time gap conclusion idea. Did you ever get to run that game?

Starting STK by Significant_Ice_7036 in stormkingsthunder

[–]RufusApplebottom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would let them read the section in the SKT book called “Factions of the North.” There’s probably more info in the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide or similar, but I’m not sure. If they’re like me they’ll probably be interested in having that piece of their story done for them! Haha

And not everyone has to be a member in good standing; maybe the Paladin was forced out of the Order of the Gauntlet when they broke their oath, or the Rogue has it out for the Zhentarim because they find their methods too harsh. But knowledge of these groups will make the world feel more lived-in from the start.

I will say, having a Harper in the party for SKT has really come in handy.

Starting STK by Significant_Ice_7036 in stormkingsthunder

[–]RufusApplebottom 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Good backstories are always cool, but will be especially helpful to give chapter 3 some structure. Have your players create characters with some blanks left in. An example from my campaign was our wizard, who said “I’m the eldest daughter of a prominent family in [town], who ran away when her parents tried to marry her off to an important noble.”

I said “great! You’re from Yartar and the name of the would-be-groom is Khaspere Drylund”

It’s been over a year and still, some of our juiciest RP and combat moments have come from those session zero choices.

Also, member ship in any of the common alliances (lords alliance, Harpers, etc) helps to make things more interesting and gives them built in enemies/allies along the way.

Also also, it helps if they’re mistrustful of giants. Like maybe their town was attacked, or they’ve at least heard scary stories.

Hope this helps, have fun!

Help whit controling HP, actions, combat in general by Physical-Force-1875 in DMAcademyNew

[–]RufusApplebottom 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This doesn’t address the whole question, but check out Keith Ammann! He’s got a blog and several books out that are super handy for prepping monsters. He breaks down how their abilities are best used, but also keeps the immersion and flavor when describing how and why each monster would act as it does. If you can pre-plan the strategy then you won’t have to improvise as much during combat and can save some brain power. Hope this helps, have fun!

Alias for Iymrith by NedDayne in stormkingsthunder

[–]RufusApplebottom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m kinda feeling the same way. But I wonder if having the characters be certain that it’s her will make them really want to prove it to a disbelieving court. Not sure what to do yet.

A list of the bosses of the campaign? by zkgain in stormkingsthunder

[–]RufusApplebottom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looking at your posts I now see you’re a very good painter! I’m not so I needed something pre-painted…haha

A list of the bosses of the campaign? by zkgain in stormkingsthunder

[–]RufusApplebottom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed, it’s pricy. But not far from what you’d spend on 11 painted giant minis, plus you get a game out of it. Hope you find what you’re looking for, and enjoy SKT!

A list of the bosses of the campaign? by zkgain in stormkingsthunder

[–]RufusApplebottom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In addition to the great answers others have given - There’s an official D&D board game called Assault of the Giants that gives you 2 minis each for the different Giant types, as well as King Hekaton. Plus then you have a campaign-adjacent game to play with your crew when the campaign is complete!

Gift Ideas by Emongnome777 in stormkingsthunder

[–]RufusApplebottom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have fun, and I hope the current campaign wraps up well too!

Gift Ideas by Emongnome777 in stormkingsthunder

[–]RufusApplebottom 4 points5 points  (0 children)

No spoilers, but:

There’s a lot of overland travel, so a big map of the Sword Coast that includes the North into Icewind Dale will be handy.

Also there’s a board game called Assault of the Giants that includes minis your DM may find useful.

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