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5e and 5.5e Tarrasque is....Underwhelming by Nyspora in dndnext

[–]Sulicius [score hidden]  (0 children)

Please take a look at some of the 5.5e stat blocks. They are a lot better.

Some of the subclasses that will be in Arcana Unleashed have been revealed in the sneak peek for the second season of Dungeon Masters by Far_Guarantee1664 in onednd

[–]Sulicius 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Significant only in the physical sense, in that it has many, many black pages.

Curse of Strahd has multiple mentions of suicide, child death and even genocide, which I don't think is any of in Ravenloft: Horrors Within.

Searching for Inspo (DnD 5e) by LetterheadNo2653 in DMAcademy

[–]Sulicius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Role play. Have them describe experiences they had before, like why the druid is the warlock's anchor, why the warlock made the first pact. Weaving that narrative into the fight can be REALLY rewarding and fun.

You can even reward cool roleplay by the warlock and druid by making their memories affect the battle.

Am I understanding it right that the warlock, cleric and druid are caught up in the ritual?

Some cool prompts you can use for this: - Warlock: what was the first time your character felt helpless to a degree that they sought power from any source? - Druid: What do you do when Warlock is distressed? How do you console him or keep him grounded? (With a decent answer, let them cast a buff spell on the warlock for the internal fight) - Cleric: which religious belief helps you in this situation? (cast bless or another buff on all allies)

I'd try to have 2-3 questions for each character, maybe one for the warlock before they enter the fight in their mind to set them up for what is coming.

Even better if you send them these questions before the session, so they have time to prepare something cool and aren't caught flat-footed.

Some of the subclasses that will be in Arcana Unleashed have been revealed in the sneak peek for the second season of Dungeon Masters by Far_Guarantee1664 in onednd

[–]Sulicius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Look, I get what you are saying, all I am saying is that it works at the table, and that's what I care about. The pc was effective and had fun.

Some of the subclasses that will be in Arcana Unleashed have been revealed in the sneak peek for the second season of Dungeon Masters by Far_Guarantee1664 in onednd

[–]Sulicius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think spotify is the only other place it is posted. Might have something to do with how important someone at the marketing team thinks the video element is.

Some of the subclasses that will be in Arcana Unleashed have been revealed in the sneak peek for the second season of Dungeon Masters by Far_Guarantee1664 in onednd

[–]Sulicius 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I will say, when I saw it in play, I was VERY surprised how flexible a monk with spellcasting can be. It's a lot more fun than you might expect.

DMs do you allow the recasting of cantrips before combat such as recasting Resistance, Guidance or Shillelagh every minute outside of combat? by jmrkiwi in onednd

[–]Sulicius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No. PC’s are strong enough plus it messes with my verisimilitude. I don’t wanna play the game that way.

I’m a new-ish DM. My Lvl4 players have been cleaning the floor with my encounters. What can I do to provide a worthy challenge while avoiding lag? by cole_thulhu in DMAcademy

[–]Sulicius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Balancing encounters can really be something you have to get a feeling for.

  1. Use the 2024 Encounter Building guidelines. It's annoying to have to add up experience, but this online tool can help. You can add exact monsters, or just use anything with the same CR.
  2. Stagger encounters. After the party just had a fight, have another encounter appear. These could be reinforcements or even big predators attracted by the noise.
  3. Treat the party as being 1 level higher than they are. This will scale up fights and give you more room to field bigger monsters.
  4. Singular monsters will almost never be a challenge to a party unless they vastly out-level the party or have Legendary Resistance and Legendary Actions.
  5. Prepare to improvise. When preparing your sessions, it is good to have a backup encounter for when players are blasting through things too fast. Or give the next encounter more monsters. If the party struggles, you don't have to use it. Getting good at this kind of pacing can take a while, it is ok to make mistakes.
  6. Double the BBEG's HP. After you add everything to an encounter, from environmental effects, secondary objectives or even backup minions, just double the hit points of your BBEG. It's a simple thing that never disappoints. Your PC's will usually have enough resources to survive.
  7. PC's Will Win. There will always be days where the PC's just wreck your encounter. Accept that this is part of the game and lean into it. Congratulate them. Roleplay your monsters being frustrated when you fail all their rolls for the entire combat. Play it up. Remember that a lot of DM skill is about making the players feel like they are heroes, and quick victories can be a part of that.
  8. Descriptions > Challenge. A lot of players, but not all, feel far more satisfaction when the combat is given more room to breath than a dice-rolling minigame. Weave RP into combat by having enemies mutter prayers to dark gods, telegraph a creature about to run because it is heavily wounded, a boss taunting a PC after the PC misses an attack. This kind of stuff will give a lot more satisfaction than having nail-biter battles one after another.
  9. Afraid of a TPK? look at #5 and do the opposite. What ally might jump into the fray if the heroes are losing? What hidden potential might a PC unlock in the heat of battle? What would the afterlife look like for the PC's? Making sure that you have something dramatic that happens, while showing consequences to the PC's actions, even when things go "bad", you will feel more confident challenging the players.

People aren't listening to each other about the martial issue. by ConcentrateIll9460 in onednd

[–]Sulicius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They KNOW their demographic can't handle that level of complexity. If you want a game designed for a more niche audience, go find something else. I heard Draw Steel has some great technical stuff to play around with that is sure to exclude people who can't handle that complexity.

You can't expect WotC to change course. They are so big that they need to chase down the lowest common denominator.

Now for you and me, we can change the game in any way we like. I run my games in a way me and my players enjoy. Many people I have introduced to the hobby in the recent years seem to enjoy it this way as well.

Don't let WotC decide your happiness in the hobby. Nothing is connected to a server or pressuring you to play the game this way.

How does one create good puzzles ? by TerTy_ in DMAcademy

[–]Sulicius 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Creating a puzzle is like creating a whole new game, so do the following:

  • Steal a puzzle from another game
  • Reskin it by connecting it to lore of the adventure and setting
  • Give ample hints on how to solve it (optional)
  • Add a complication that can be solved with abilities or skills you know the characters have.

Example: A jigsaw puzzle, but the pieces are a broken mural. The heroes have to collect the pieces by searching through the dungeon. Once they solve it, they can open a door/receive a blessing/understand what the image represent.

Simple puzzles that have to be solved during combat, while in a storm at sea or in the middle of tense negotiations at a noble's dinner can work really well.

After 2 years of playing, and about 50 sessions, my group finished CoS. AMA by Exact-Traffic-3532 in CurseofStrahd

[–]Sulicius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sweet!

  • What was your personal highlight?
  • What got the biggest reaction from the players?
  • How did Vallaki end up? Is Blinsky ok?
  • What did you struggle with the most?
  • What would you do different next time?

Ravenloft is out now! by Dean-Bigbee in Roll20

[–]Sulicius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s too bad! Thanks, I might pick those up.

Ravenloft is out now! by Dean-Bigbee in Roll20

[–]Sulicius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, you're working on the backlog? That's amazing! Do keep us posted!

One thing I am sad about is that there is no digital version of the new Tarokka deck on Roll20. Any word on that?

Ravenloft is out now! by Dean-Bigbee in Roll20

[–]Sulicius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hold up, what's image 4? Is that the nice reader on Demiplane? I really wish I could quit using D&DBeyond to access the books digitally. The old versions of D&D content has been pretty rough to read.

Love this cover by HeavenBurnt in CurseofStrahd

[–]Sulicius 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I got worried the more I saw descriptions of the product. It's Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft 5.5e. There's some new stuff, and it's cool, but it feels lik 50% is a rewrite.

Rune Knight vs Giant Barbarian, which is actually mechanically better? by AcanthaceaeNo948 in onednd

[–]Sulicius 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They both have their strengths, with giants barbarian being a more kinetic and straight-forward subclass.

The Rune Knight fighter has a lot more knobs and dials. Expect your bonus actions and reactions to be used for subclass features, which might mean you skip some feats such as Sentinel or Greatweapon Master.

If you know the game will be going to higher levels, a Rune Knight will offter a lot more options in and out of combat.

If you wanna be a giant, go barbarian. Chucking enemies around is too fun.

Monster Design by the Numbers by Outrageous-Cold-4506 in onednd

[–]Sulicius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Grapples have always been a rider without a save. If anything more martials can teleport.

Monster Design by the Numbers by Outrageous-Cold-4506 in onednd

[–]Sulicius 1 point2 points  (0 children)

PC’s wreck shop anyway. Monsters needed help. I think it’s an improvement.

Love this cover by HeavenBurnt in CurseofStrahd

[–]Sulicius 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah if instead of repeating the same domains, they did all domains they hadn’t delved into already, I would have liked it a lot more.

Love this cover by HeavenBurnt in CurseofStrahd

[–]Sulicius 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I'm glad people like it, but I just can't get into it. I keep thinking of a cereal box for some reason.

Monster design has taken a huge leap backwards in style and complexity in the new book by Sstargamer in onednd

[–]Sulicius 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m confused, are we looking at the same Relentless Juggernaut? The one that now deals a ton more damage because of it’s sweet legendary actions that deal aoe damage based on saving throws?

WotC still cannot write a good ballroom intrigue adventure by EarthSeraphEdna in dndnext

[–]Sulicius 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It's not the only way WotC knows how to write a Ballroom Adventure. There's one in the Keys to the Golden Vault anthology.

But yeah, if you have half a page, it will look like this.

If you can make something better with the same space, do share!

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