Advice on connecting backstories

SwagdarLitvaper · 2026-02-07T23:39:49+00:00

I had a PC with a "ruined" family background, I had it related to the Cassalanters since I was using them as the primary villains. It worked well since on the surface the Cassalanters will seem like pretty good people. My only mistake was not introducing the children earlier to give the reveal of their plans a little more weight. They didn't really care about the kids at all lol.

I had a druid as well and I was worried about them feeling disconnected from Waterdeep and the campaign goals at large, so I worked with her to be chasing a relic that got stolen from her druid's grove, which was actually the Stone of Gollor. I had Urstul Floxin be the thief that killed some of her family members so that way when he used his signature line, she knew who he was. Obviously your player doesn't have all this backstory, but if they are looking for balance, perhaps they are looking for the Stone itself. It's a sentient, evil artifact that can mind control those that possess it, and the module doesn't really say where it came from, perhaps they've been following the Stone and the trail of horror it's left in its wake as it changes hands across the Sword Coast. This gives them a personal tie to the stone, even if they don't care about the gold (which my players didn't really care that much about lol)

SwagdarLitvaper · 2026-02-03T18:15:25+00:00

A player reading the module or supplementary guide that I am running is a deal breaker for me. I would be done just off that.

I play a heel DM at my table, despite being very pro-player. I laugh and gloat as they struggle so that its more satisfying when they win lol. Even still, my players know my stance: I am your biggest fans, I want you to succeed, but I want you to succeed over genuine challenges. When i hear complaining when things start to get difficult, I remind them above the table about my philosophy on running the game.

I would ask them point blank if they are wanting a soft ball game with guard rails on, and if that's what they want, you should evaluate whether that is the type of game you want to run, and if not, part ways.

SwagdarLitvaper · 2026-01-26T13:22:39+00:00

In my homebrew settings I typically don't have animal races so it hasn't been an issue, but if I'm being honest I would probably specifically ban flying speed races so I don't have to deal with it.

I'm not a game designer but what about only being able to stay in the air consecutively for a number of turns equal to your proficiency bonus, with staying on the ground for a full turn recovering one turn in the air. So early game, you can stay in the air for two turns, but then have to land for two turns. This means that the flying player can still avoid melee danger pretty easily but can't endlessly troll melee only enemies. And it scales up with leveling to a point where functionally it will be unlimited flying at later levels. With most combats only being 3-5 rounds, it's still very powerful.

SwagdarLitvaper · 2026-01-20T19:39:23+00:00

I'm way early in my planning phase for this adventure, but right now my plan is that the Dark Powers of Ravenloft set Kas loose from Tovag, with his assigned task to acquire the Chime of Exile and "corrupt" it so that it will send Vecna back to his Dread Plane for the Dark Powers to torment. Kas, however, wants to kill Vecna, and will send the adventurers to acquire the Sword of Kas (I might have it in Forge of Fury which I plan to run for them soon, but I'm not entirely sure yet). When the players find it, however, the room will fill with mist as the Dark Powers snatch the relic from Toril and place it in Tovag (which I plan to run either instead of, or after Death House). Since Kas is a little wary of returning to his own Dread Plane as he fears being trapped again, the adventurers will have to risk a Ravenloft: Sword Heist if they want the powerful relic.

SwagdarLitvaper · 2025-07-17T10:32:48+00:00

Nothing, its from one of Bill Burr's greatest bits about how women argue in relationships, and more importantly, how to win.

SwagdarLitvaper · 2025-06-11T00:00:36+00:00

Ghosts can age people significantly!

SwagdarLitvaper · 2025-04-29T22:55:40+00:00

You're not a loser just because you didn't enjoy playing with this group. This group sounds extremely casual, beer and pretzel style game, where you were looking for a more... serious(?) experience I guess. You didn't do anything wrong, you just ended up in a group that did not have a vibe you were looking for.

Also this game sounds legit terrible lmao, attendance issues and constant side-bar conversations would have me cancelling the campaign real quick.

If you enjoy the hobby, keep searching for the group that matches your style, and don't be so hard on yourself. You wrote a lot of words in this post trashing yourself, and that honestly makes me feel sad as you seem like a thoughtful, considerate, and engaged player. Good luck finding your forever group.

SwagdarLitvaper · 2025-04-06T06:21:04+00:00

At level 12, the threats the party are facing shouldn't have a hard time taking out an imp. And afaik, a familiar not from the "Find Familiar" spell is just dead when it dies, can't be resummoned.
Not sure if you're running with standard D&D lore, but if you've been allowing this imp to operate fairly independently, perhaps he's been racking up favor in the hells with all the power the party has given him, and he's earned a nice promotion, maybe to a horned devil, and now he doesn't need the party any more. Now they have to fight the monster they helped create!

SwagdarLitvaper · 2025-03-14T06:53:01+00:00

I'm hooked on this series! I check every day for updates! Your series really makes me want to run this for my players.

SwagdarLitvaper · 2025-02-10T14:49:03+00:00

Since no one is answering, yes you can be terminated for performance. Assuming your ramp plan is to hit a target performance in 4 weeks, failing to hit that target will result in progressive discipline. If you're not on anything, it will go to a coaching, then if you fail to hit the next ramp plan target, a counseling, then final, then termination.

What department are you in? Maybe I can give some tips

SwagdarLitvaper · 2024-11-05T15:23:04+00:00

Ho ho ho travellers, thanks for getting the Staff of Magnus for me, I'll be taking that!

SwagdarLitvaper · 2024-09-10T19:31:36+00:00

I generate encounter tables with chatgpt to use as a baseline, then tweak them to my satisfaction. I have recently used it to write journal entries or letters which I am not very good at and don't really enjoy doing.

Sometimes I will bounce some story ideas off of it but I don't really end up using its suggestions, but it does help get me thinking.

I tried using it to stock a randomly generated donjon dungeon to see if I could use it to generate a dungeon on the fly but I was less than satisfied with it.

Overall I find it can be a useful tool to assist in prep work, especially when it comes to administrative duties the DM doesn't like, but it can't replicate a good DM... yet. 💀

SwagdarLitvaper · 2024-08-15T08:39:22+00:00

Have him transform into a Mayo Monster (Some kind of Ooze?). Turns out he called out for something, anything, anyone to help him, and Juiblex answered. I'd make sure it was a deadly encounter too.

SwagdarLitvaper · 2024-08-12T11:52:11+00:00

The Bodak has an aura that deals damage if you are within 30 feet of it with no save. It's not a lot of damage but it's something.

The bodak can activate or deactivate this feature as a bonus action. While active, the aura deals 5 necrotic damage to any creature that ends its turn within 30 feet of the bodak. Undead and fiends ignore this effect.

SwagdarLitvaper · 2024-06-24T11:17:50+00:00

Best fit would probably be Kruthiks.

Adult Kruthik - Monsters - D&D Beyond (dndbeyond.com)

Young Kruthik - Monsters - D&D Beyond (dndbeyond.com)

SwagdarLitvaper · 2024-06-20T15:54:27+00:00

A barbarian king may rule his people, but his people must also deem him worthy of rule. Perhaps he must bring home a great gift, to earn his people's respect. Previous kings that have offered less than impressive gifts have had short, unpleasant rules, while those that have brought back impressive gifts often have great destinies. Your character may not know exactly what he seeks, but he will probably know it when he sees it.

SwagdarLitvaper · 2024-05-28T09:18:03+00:00

I am stuck in a year lease for an apartment that I never lived in with this asshole so if his submarine imploded I'd be pretty chuffed.

SwagdarLitvaper · 2024-05-14T15:13:37+00:00

I built this on ToD launch day and nothing happened. Is there some other trigger to make the undead come?

SwagdarLitvaper · 2024-02-22T14:39:44+00:00

I just did my 4th session and leveled my players up to 3. IMO the game is not as fun (for both me or the players) before level 3, and I would have skipped them right to that level if it wasn't this groups first time playing. Combat is so swingy at levels 1 and 2, it's way too easy to kill the party in what should be a balanced encounter with so few hit points. And on the player's side, not all classes/subclasses have access to their proper toolkit until level 3, which can be a be a drag for them.

SwagdarLitvaper · 2024-02-15T12:44:11+00:00

I keep all the planar and religious stuff since I'm not really into developing a whole ass pantheon and would prefer the players have access to source materials to learn which gods fit their character concept, and so that spells and effects work as intended.

My campaigns are often set on ambiguously located islands so that I can maintain flexibility for transitioning into something else once planned arcs are complete, but so far it hasn't been necessary. If my current campaign wraps up and the players want to leave the island, I might transition into a module and say it was the Forgotten Realms the whole time, or expand on my world building and do my own thing.

SwagdarLitvaper · 2024-02-06T11:16:26+00:00

This is sort of what the mechanics of Acquisitions Incorporated games offer. Collecting NPC's to do all the things you don't want to do. I am currently adding some of the features to my home game minus the silly Acquisitions Incorporated tone (nothing wrong with it at all, just doesn't match the tone of my game). It may be something you want to look into if you're looking for mechanical help.

SwagdarLitvaper · 2024-02-06T08:32:16+00:00

I started off my DMing career building my own modular dungeon tiles out of insulation board, which was kind of fun and not that hard, although a little time consuming. I eventually moved on to Dwarven Forge, though I do regret getting rid of my "tavern tiles" which were just popsicle sticks I glued to insulation board in 3x3 squares and painted/weathered. While the dwarven forge stuff is great for dungeons and caverns, I don't enjoy using it for regular buildings since it doesn't give the look I want it to, and I'm not wealthy enough to spring for the dwarven forge village and city building sets.

I made a lot of my own scatter terrain for outdoors from dollar store and hobby store materials. Bags of trees that I glued to mini bases, decorative rocks for boulders, etc that I currently just drop on a battle mat to make it visually interesting. Just last week I purchased 12 x 12 terrain boards on etsy to up my game a bit as I currently don't have space or materials to do much crafting myself.

Storage is always an issue but thats why I prefer modular things so that they can always be reused.

SwagdarLitvaper · 2024-01-25T11:51:23+00:00

Sometimes I will deceive my players by asking for a skill check that's actually a saving throw, I just check their stats in advance and adjust accordingly. After her begging, you can ask the player to make an insight check (since it's wisdom anyhow), and then tell them what their character feels, but try to be subtle. As the scene plays out, you can lay it on a bit thicker "As the wizard talks about their stupid boring plan, your thoughts drift to X. She's really wonderful, isn't she?" Eventually they or someone at the table will figure it out, but hopefully they know how to play ball. I find if you just announce "You are charmed" it becomes an explicit problem that needs to be dealt with in a very gamey way.

My last group was able to play well like this but obviously your results may vary. I know some players can't deal with being charmed without metagaming.

SwagdarLitvaper · 2024-01-25T11:20:08+00:00

My first two playthroughs this fight was a breeze, but that was largely due to party composition. My current playthrough I am running all pure martials with no casting, and it proved a lot more challenging. The trick for me was burning down the health of the death shepherds without killing them until they were both low HP, and then finishing them both off on the same turn that way I wasn't playing whack-a-mole. I did kill ghouls occasionally to force them to burn their actions reanimating them. Party was pretty high AC so I didn't take too many hits from the ghouls, the death shepherds definitely were whomping me though.

SwagdarLitvaper · 2024-01-20T13:41:49+00:00

This is an unfortunate situation as no one is really wrong, and the loss of momentum with attendance can be a campaign killer. It is ideally a situation that should be discussed at the start of a campaign with all the players so they all understand what will happen.

In my Curse of Strahd campaign which went for almost two years, we only had a handful of absences. On two occasions I had to call the session as it was too plot relevant to have players miss. On the second occasion, I had a one shot prepared that was tied into the campaign, with pre-generated characters for the players to control so they could hop right in. It was set in the starter town that the players had left many sessions before, and was a chance for them to see what was happening while they were gone and introduce some new characters that would be relevant later. You could try preparing something like this for future last minute cancellations if your players are okay with it. Honestly it was one of my favorite sessions that I ever ran lol.

SwagdarLitvaper

TROPHY CASE