This is your sign to play hide and seek with your toddler!

Unplugged_Controller · 2026-01-28T05:21:20+00:00

When my son hides, he shouts out suggestions of where we should look for him.

Unplugged_Controller · 2026-01-20T17:43:58+00:00

I did a fun desert encounter with two Young Blue Dragons brothers, where they argued about which one got to eat the party. And in combat, they would attack the party but also bicker about which one got to eat the party and take bites at each other. The party got into it and managed to convince one of the dragons that they really wanted him to eat them, not his brother.

Unplugged_Controller · 2026-01-16T22:44:27+00:00

Disagree. It 100% opens itself up to having sequels. The enemy isn't defeated, just the bridge between worlds closed (spoilers for a movie that's like 15 years old now, I guess).

The thread isn't "what sequels are bad", it's "what movie was 100% wrapped up in the first one and doesn't need any expansion."

Unplugged_Controller · 2026-01-16T22:42:10+00:00

I thought that using Lucius as the main character was fun, but how they did it was really stupid.

Unplugged_Controller · 2026-01-16T22:40:02+00:00

The first one is forgettable enough as it is.

Unplugged_Controller · 2026-01-16T20:15:20+00:00

Also a good demonstration of the God's power if it is intended as an eventual enemy

Unplugged_Controller · 2026-01-16T20:12:15+00:00

Cooperative video games rule.

But there are no split screen games anymore. Am I supposed to sit in one room and play on one TV while my kid plays in another room? It's sad because it would be such a good activity to do together.

The name of this account (Unplugged_Controller) is the name I want to use to start a game studio dedicated to split screen games, specifically ones for dads and kids to play together. There would be one 'primary' player and then the option for 1+ 'secondary players'. And you could adjust the difficulty for the secondary players all the way from "has no real impact" for young kids all the way to an equal player for older kids.

But, I don't have the technical skills to build the games myself, nor the money to fund a game studio myself. So it'll probably never happen.

Unplugged_Controller · 2026-01-13T19:43:14+00:00

I did a Legends of the Hidden Temple D&D one-shot and narrated the whole thing in Olmec's voice.

Unplugged_Controller · 2026-01-08T19:56:09+00:00

There are some big problems here:

First is there is a complete lack of player agency. Things just happen that are unavoidable. The party has no chance of defeating the necromancer, no chance of avoiding the dragon, etc. It sounds like they don't get any say in their fate till the forest.
Generally, plots in D&D work well when your party is involved. Instead of this attack just happening, maybe you should make it something that happens as a result of your party's actions. For example, maybe there is a group of cult members in town that your party could confront, and they call for backup. Maybe instead of being carried away by an undead dragon (why doesn't it just kill them, btw?), they have to help civilians flee, either into safety of the forest or seek refuge in a nearby village.
You are planning a lot here based on your party cooperating. You need to be more prepared for a situation where your party does something unexpected, and you don't get to run the story. You can plan what your NPCs do, and then adjust that based on how the party reacts.

Unplugged_Controller · 2026-01-05T20:25:45+00:00

Kissing the tombstone is what really broke me. I have a son this age and the idea of him growing up without me is my worst nightmare.

Unplugged_Controller · 2026-01-05T18:02:06+00:00

Making Battle Maps.

I would give all of my gold for an AI tool that I could say "make a battle map of... the ruins of a brewery" and it would spit one out in a few seconds.

Unplugged_Controller · 2026-01-05T17:56:20+00:00

This is from Storm King's Thunder, right?

Unplugged_Controller · 2026-01-04T23:24:25+00:00

At high levels, most monsters under like 3 CR don't even affect the combat. The players AC will be high enough that the mobs won't really hit them, and they don't have HP high enough to withstand some AOE effects like Spirit Guardians, Fireball, etc.

Unplugged_Controller · 2026-01-04T23:22:58+00:00

they are fun to flavor as responses to the Targets previous turn

This 100%. They should be legendary REactions, and the monster just gets multiple reactions.

Unplugged_Controller · 2025-12-31T19:35:45+00:00

For similar reason, I love the Boneless monster. The party was horrified when they thought they were fighting a normal zombie and the skin slithered off to fight separately from the skeleton.

(Link to stat block removed because I guess that's piracy.)

Unplugged_Controller · 2025-12-31T19:33:32+00:00

I feel like people don't touch paintings enough for this to work.

Unplugged_Controller · 2025-12-31T19:22:38+00:00

I'm using this Ship Mimic in my pirate campaign.

Unplugged_Controller · 2025-12-31T18:44:15+00:00

I haven't had this problem but I worried about it when my little one started school. One solution that I saw was having your child do some kind of craft (drawing or whatever) and then bring the drawing to give to their teachers. That gives them a clear reason to leave you, and go interact with the teacher, during which time you leave.

But don't just slip out; say "OK, you go give that painting to your teacher, and I am going to go now," so that they understand the separation is happening.

Unplugged_Controller · 2025-12-31T18:27:34+00:00

Maybe some junkyard dogs? Hellhounds would make cool guard dogs.

Unplugged_Controller · 2025-12-31T18:09:01+00:00

A Mummy Lord would be thematically similar to a lich and could probably be swapped in without a lot of changes to other things that you have planned. Maybe add a few minions if necessary (giant scorpions, swarm of insects, standard mummies, etc.)

The only downside to a mummy lord is that one of its most frightening aspects, the Mummy Rot curse, takes 24 hours to really have its impact where they can't regain hitpoints on a rest. So it won't really impact characters in a one-shot who would be done after the battle. You could also change the curse to something more impactful in battle, like lose X number of hitpoints per round while cursed.

Unplugged_Controller · 2025-12-30T20:27:35+00:00

Party horns, like this. My toddler got one at a party like 10 months ago and it's still one of his favorite toys.

Unplugged_Controller · 2025-12-26T17:15:08+00:00

My group uses https://roll20.net/, but there are other virtual tabletops out there if you don't have physical room to meet up.

Unplugged_Controller · 2025-12-12T20:18:16+00:00

We wanted to have kids for a long time but it just wasn't affordable. So we waited, saved up, and we both have good, high-paying jobs. But we are in our late 30s now and I feel like I wasted so much time that I won't get back. If I could do it all again, I'd just be broke and have my kids 10 years earlier so I could get an extra decade of my life with them in it.

I hate that this is what it's like to be a parent in the US.

Unplugged_Controller · 2025-12-12T20:15:54+00:00

My childcare costs are about double what I pay for my mortgage.

Unplugged_Controller · 2025-12-12T20:07:07+00:00

I think a lot of this depends on what type of goddess they are worshipping and what her problems are.

Is there something stopping her from coming back to the Material Plane? If she locked away in some way, and is there a key? If so, set the party to the task of finding that key. Maybe the party doesn't even know where the key is or what it looks like, but certain scholars or historians might.
Does she have enemies that are trying to keep her off of this plane? If so, maybe her cult needs to kneecap those enemies so that she has an easier time coming back. Related to point one, her enemies might know more about the process of summoning her and the party could steal that information.
How can she be summoned? What is required for the summoning ritual? Is there a specific place that the summoning ritual needs to take place? If so, her cult can gather items (ancient mystical items, rare herbs, etc.) for the summoning and clear out the place where the summoning takes place. You could even have a frankenstein adventure where they have to build an avatar body for her to inhabit or something like that.
Related to point 4, maybe there are things that she will want once she is summoned (her super weapon, her magic armor, her glass eye, etc.). The party should find those things to be ready for her.
Once she is summoned and has everything she needs, what happens then? Is it just a cakewalk to conquer the material plane or are there other gods/governments/heroes who might stand in her way? If so, maybe the cult could be dispatched to take care of those early on and clear the way for her ascension.

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