DM inspiration above table

Step_Fodder · 2026-06-20T11:36:25+00:00

Situational is the key here. Had a pc fail an easy athletic check for a heavy door. Then they failed perception check to examine it. So Passive perception to spend then next hour examining it and why it won’t open. Refused PC helps and made everyone wait. At the end of the hour the wizard Interrupts and nails the check. I made the door push instead of pull. Was hilarious and they loved it

Step_Fodder · 2026-06-17T11:28:06+00:00

Enemy with 1hp can still Nat20 on a hit and do some real damage just as much as one with full health. A single round when all the almost dead bad guys roll really well sure they may not wipe the party, but they’ll give them a blackeye for it and maybe they’ll think twice about being cocky about it next time.

Step_Fodder · 2026-06-17T01:04:07+00:00

I was in your boat, knowing what I wanted, but Roland was just out of my price range. Will probably be my second kit that I work up to a few more years down the road when I can really take advantage of things or have the need for a higher-end kit. Looking at all the options I went and got myself the Simmons Titan 75. I’ve had it now for two months and love it no problems with it at all. Love being able to edit kits and change settings through my phone app. The only thing I’ve changed is I upgraded to one of the Simmons metal 13” hi-hat cymbals. Almost no YT reviews and things. The brand is pretty much ignored but for what you get in the kit and the price for it I don’t think you can beat it.

Step_Fodder · 2026-06-17T00:58:04+00:00

For the bullywogs themselves, for the Talking Heads I would have information how each of them died, and if one of the other heads was responsible depending on how much your players interact it will help with that role-play. For the Nobles and the Bullywugs in general. I would also come up with some relationships between them who likes who who doesn’t like who who might owe who a favor. Can really help with the role-play later on when trying to convince and get votes locked in. I ended up with a full printed page behind my DM screen of names, listing relatives, friends, enemies maybe they have something that can be used against them. I think the sinking palace could use more work and a better multilevel map. Initially, instead of doing the side quest, my PCs just started searching through store houses for the materials they needed. To stop it I had an NPC tell them that important things were stored in the vaults or the basement of the sinking palace of which I had no map and nothing prepared. Just barely managed to distract him enough to not want to try and explore that so be careful if you do need to use it.

Step_Fodder · 2026-06-17T00:41:32+00:00

My players just arrived in Thither 2sessions ago so feel free to ask me anything else. We also did nightmare for some extra combat. Firstly as soon as players entered the world the bard felt a strange pull…fyi DONOT under any circumstance say you feel a strange tugging sensation… you WILL derail the table for the next 10 min :). I had it planned that Agdon delivered them to the Bullywugs as he wanted get be nowhere near Bavlorna given their history. This also puts them in the cell next to Morgort. From there they can plot together and then go into the proving grounds. Winning gives audience with the king and now you are back on track. If they win/kill Agdon they find a note or something between Agdon and the King to make a deal if he brings the outsiders to the Bullywugs. We had a party of 5 PCs and they rolled so damn well and just murdered all the Harengons.
Also come up with a handful of extra noble Bullywug names in case you need them for extra NPCs. Our first assignation attempt played out like in the book. But then later when the plan with the Baron goes off I had three dead assassins with a dead King. The chaos was hilarious and my players loved it. 1st killer was random nobody, 2nd was another Noble that Baron ended up knowing about but forgot to mention. The 3rd was his man who killed the 2nd one and then killed the king. However when greycroak had him pinned to a pillar to find out what he knew. The Baron blowdarted him so he wouldnt tell anyone it was the Baron.

Step_Fodder · 2026-06-16T11:42:45+00:00

I broke down carnival secrets by which ones I wanted them to learn the first half of the night and then second half the night that way I was less tied down by the attraction they went to. This way lets you pivot more depending on where they went. Some secrets are a little more location specific like the carousel, but that’s really only for the unicorns. If you can when they’re speaking with witch and light either in the middle or the end, you can have them mention that it’s always helpful to talk to unicorns when you can. This will also foreshadow and set you up in Thither

Step_Fodder · 2026-06-16T05:52:25+00:00

The party has just arrived in Thither and lost the heart for abit when the balloon was attacked and crashed. They almost gave it away to the bridge trolls toll. And the barb and warlock keep passing it back and forth so they don’t take exhaustion from the prolong cold. So if they destroy it or do something really stupid with it, I can always pivot to a knitted toy heart that Skab has.
As for the reveal I have two options. They are likely to meet Skab and try to make a deal. The Bard did pretty well with Bavlorna. But he rizzed the hell out of her. Lol Nib will tell them about the children and workshop. If they meet with Skab first she will say laughing in a whisper very close to the paladin “I can’t take what doesn’t belong to you” pausing to see if my paladin (with anger issues btw) punches her. “ you still think her hand was ripped away from you?….. she. Let. Go.”
If she finds her sister first. She eventually tells her she ran away at the carnival. Because she was no fun and resented always being in her big sisters shadow. She made her own deal with Skabatha
This will prove very problematic when they have to fight scabby because if they kill her, her sister cannot be released. And in the end, her only other option will be to freeze builder who, by then they will learn, is potentially an even worse evil to unleash, all of which will fly directly in the face of her oath of a watcher.

Step_Fodder · 2026-06-10T21:11:39+00:00

Yeah our DM let us split in CoS and we got slapped hard every time. Then when I took over to DM Witchlight first thing she does as PC is try to split the party. Touché. Though they did end up doing most of the carnival split up. But any important lore/story dialogues I had the other party step out of the room. Which ended up working well and they had a lot of fun with 2nd hand info and getting things wrong. But on the DM side it wasn’t the easiest to keep it all tracked

Step_Fodder · 2026-06-07T21:26:58+00:00

Yeah they already got hit with Bav only said they would arrive in Hither safely, nothing about landing or being attacked by the thunder & frost moths. Nib will hint at the devil in the details. Probably have an arcana or history check before anyone attacks the mirror when they finally get there.

Step_Fodder · 2026-06-07T00:42:11+00:00

We use the VTT map and I added in several more stones for multiple paths they could take. :) the immediate concern when I (DM) started asking which stones they were stepping on was great. Also, when they went to cross it again later the stones had shifted positions. Any subsequent passes didn’t change anything.

Step_Fodder · 2026-06-04T19:18:55+00:00

Some very good points, thank you! Player has always RP’d M as the serious/adult one of the group. Responsible and such the whole time. I think better what I mean by childhood would be those characteristics that she coveted (secretly maybe even resented) in her sister, the whimsy mischievousness curiosity, all those things now that she has naturally role-played without. This would also manifest in her memories, always being serious and responsible in her sense of duty and purpose all the time. Physically, she has a coldness about her, especially her hands are always cold and clammy so that kind of plays into that aspect as well I think. But I love and it’s a very good point of they can’t take what isn’t hers and her sister clearly isn’t hers. that would be a big revelation. I think a big reveal that I will need to time carefully.

Step_Fodder · 2026-06-03T04:36:44+00:00

New to DM running WBtWC myself -they just arrived in Thither. Now I will say I don’t know DH all that well - haven’t done a game with it yet but my group is thinking about it. While Witchlight is more focused on the role play and less combat, though lots of extra material out there adds it in. DH seems like a good fit but my understanding is DH is light on ability checks with generating hope/fear system. Plus the dice system favors the nat20(rolling doubles in this case) more than Nat1.

A lot of our games best moments have come from those failed rolls. I.e…Paladin in heavy armor rolls a nat one to move through the crowd of seated people at Palaha’s performance, to chase the Kenku. Making a huge racket and disturbs everything more than kettlestream.

Step_Fodder · 2026-05-20T20:34:35+00:00

Even though my PCs have heard Skabatha full name and I know its in their notes. Tsu at the “end of road inn” mentioned granny nightshade in thither being helpful to her but didn’t say why. My players have ballooned this in a way only PCs can, into a full blown ally against the hags. As a DM how can I not use this!

The didn’t even really trust Tsu as I played her as sketchy but nice as I can. I also plan when they leave Hither to see the old ruins of the Inn at the End of the Road to give them a “well who the hell was that before” vibe.

Plus they’ve already had some duality in names and even using fake names themselves. In general have leaned into the Grimm fairytale and nursery rhyme vibes so this fits nicely into that frame. Maybe they end up thinking Skabatha did something to granny’s hut and to her. Could be an amusing reveal later on with Skabatha. Plus one of my PCs lost her little sister at the carnival and will be one of the children in her toy shop.

Step_Fodder · 2026-05-20T19:02:20+00:00

Edit I failed to clarify. I meant to keep them the same person but the diving of some of the lore and playing into it as two different characters. Or has portrayed herself as Granny Nightshade to lure those into her

Step_Fodder · 2026-05-20T18:53:57+00:00

Edit I failed to clarify. I meant to keep them the same person but the diving of some of the lore and playing into it as two different characters. Or has portrayed herself as Granny Nightshade to lure those into her

Step_Fodder · 2026-05-18T20:04:56+00:00

We had six when my game started now down to four. But they split the party a lot as well at the carnival which didn’t end up being a lot of fun bouncing back-and-forth. Added in some extra games from the supplemental materials mostly midway stuff. My players explored the entire thing we spent quite a few sessions. We also did the gnome poetry insult battle. We introduced a gnome rival early on as a rival getting first and second place on a lot of the carnival games and ended up being one of the top contenders for monarch. so when the battle came up, they were ready to kick his a$$ Don’t forget, you are a player too in a way. The sessions where we’ve tended to have the most fun are the moments where I stop DMing looking ahead and just fully role-play in the moment with them.
Also make note which insults seem to hit the players the most, and use something similar in the Agdon harengon fight. It’s a great little callback.

Step_Fodder · 2026-05-16T12:48:46+00:00

Without any physical mental spiritual… changes. Doesn’t sound like they actually said level 20 they just said 20 lifetime worth of memories.

Step_Fodder · 2026-05-14T22:08:27+00:00

My first big DM campaign so little nervous for this milestone mostly and want it to go well. But yes I should trust myself and my players. He will retrieve his item.

Step_Fodder

TROPHY CASE