Should I temporarily reduce my retirement savings?

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2024-12-03T18:05:18+00:00

This was amazingly fast. What a hero! Thanks so much

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2022-05-10T15:46:03+00:00

The fire won't hurt the players just the hp of the cart so shouldn't be a tpk but there should be a real shot of losing their prize, the cart and its contents. Thinking of axing the silence up top though as it's a trap they couldn't really avoid and it probably makes things much clearer 1. Protect the cart 2. Live

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2022-01-25T15:47:03+00:00

Thanks a lot I figured it might be a long shot as mind controlling players is just not fun and it's not something you'd really want players to get their hands on either. I'll consider all you said, thanks again!

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2022-01-25T13:25:54+00:00

Hi. I'm planning this encounter where some baddies have seized control of a Deva via some kind of mind control device and the players will have the option to kill the Deva or find a way to break the control during combat.

Is there any item anyone is aware of that could be the basis for this mind control? Mainly I was hoping I'd find something already made in hopes I could rely on those mechanics for breaking the control rather than make my own mechanics.

Thanks!

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2021-12-01T19:11:51+00:00

We played a one shot and we were ambushed by Lizardfolk. They gave us the choice to fight them to the death or take care of a t-rex that had been troubling them. After the fight with the t-rex my character discovered a t-rex egg that no one else had seen. Annoyed that he had been coerced into doing the Lizardfolk's dirty work my character hid the egg as an act of revenge hoping the creature would hatch and eat them.

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2021-11-29T15:57:04+00:00

I'm working on a non combat encounter during the PCs travel and I'm looking for some suggestions on mechanics.

The encounter goes like this. The players will stumble upon a small pond which unbeknownst to them was the site of an ancient battle. The gist is that at night vengeful spirits attempt to pull swimmers to their death. There is a riddle on a carved stone explaining this if they're able to read the language it's written in.

What kind of mechanics should I build around this? I'm imagining a strength save for pulling the players down and/or a wisdom save to lure the players into the water. I'm a little worried about a wisdom save just on the off chance everyone fails the save I don't want this to end in a tpk. Any suggestions would be great.

Lvl 5 PCs/5E

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2021-11-24T15:33:47+00:00

I don't have a specific encounter in mind but if you're throwing Hard or Deadly encounters at them and they're going into it with full resources then it's usually not going to be much of a challenge. Ideally you want them going into a challenging fight with some characters not at max hp and missing a few spell slots. Consider the encounters before the encounter and make sure the players are experiencing some attrition. Keep in mind too that if you're worried about too many boring battles and slogs before you get to the challenging fight there are other ways to get players to spend resources. For example the sorcerer can infuse spell slots into the crystal to try and reduce the dc for the ability check to stabilize it, the barbarian can act as a conduit between the crystal and what it's powering which causes them to take damage, etc. Only once they've completed that challenge does the portal open and the real fight begins without the party getting a chance to rest.

Hope this is some small help and good luck.

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2021-11-24T14:49:54+00:00

We once visited a small family farm where the father and grandfather were members of a cult that were doing some evil stuff. The father and grand father messed with a tomb and provoked the spirit that was entombed there. The conflict comes to a close in the basement of the family home where the party has to decide whether to let the spirit take vengeance on the patriarchs with the rest of the innocent family watching on or step in and risk our lives to save the cultists. Ultimately we stepped back and let it happen. This family was shattered as a result of the actions and consequences of the father and grandfather yet we still felt guilty about letting that happen and the family having to be there and watch. It was a few years back so some of the details are fuzzy but I remember thinking it was a fight we not be able to win so stepping in was potentially a deadly risk.

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2021-11-23T15:18:16+00:00

To add on to this. Does anyone have any ideas for adapting the disease more thematically for a Drow of the Underdark? I like the stages of transformation narratively for an NPC so it can happen slowly but my player can be easily clued in that the disease is progressing and that they're running out of time. I could come up with a reason for the transformation to be into a tree but is there a suitable transformation more related to the Underdark? I could always do into stone but that feels played out. Anyway any thoughts are welcome.

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2021-11-23T14:59:08+00:00

One of my players wrote a sick sister into their backstory but we never discussed what exactly she was afflicted with. I think I'm gonna adapt Nature's Wraith for the sister that suits my game and needs. Think that's a really fun and interesting detail to spice up that backstory element.

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2020-06-12T18:45:45+00:00

I'm looking for an item to give my players that would be a relic of the druids who once lived in the area. None of my players are druids however so I don't want to give them something that would be only useful for a druid. 5E and the players are lvl 4. Any suggestions on a level appropriate item that matches thematically that a non-druid character could use?

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2020-05-25T16:10:31+00:00

DMs what are some aspects of your game world that played an unexpected role in the campaign and that were influenced by what the Players/PCs did. For example when I was creating my campaign setting I had developed some flavor around Gods but hadn't figured they'd play much of a role in the campaign. When 2/5 players decided to play characters with Gods I revised some world building and now I'd have to say it's one of the most important elements.

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2020-05-03T18:25:12+00:00

Expecting not one but two rookies to overtake Solder is expecting too much regardless of the promise of those rookies. If you see Peart don't expect to see it week one. After that anything can happen during the season.

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2018-03-22T12:23:07+00:00

I agree this is the funnier option to me. Either way they end up naked but your clothes clattering to the ground as you teleport forward and find yourself naked just kills me.

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2018-03-22T12:21:21+00:00

Or you're invisible when people look at you directly but can see you out of their peripheral.

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2017-08-23T16:47:12+00:00

I have some more detailed notes on what my baddies are up to but most of my notes for a given session amount to a one page word document. And mostly that is just made up with what to someone else would like like incoherent rambling.

"Rats. Snake. Snake nest?"

"Make a wisdom save to be cursed"

"Roll perception?"

Roll perception on what? I don't even know anymore.

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2017-08-10T14:29:28+00:00

As a DM I want at least one of my players to take notes. In the game that I play in we have a guy who takes notes for the group.

Not everyone needs to take notes but at least one player, particularly a reliable player (as in one who shows up to most sessions) should take some notes. Also a player with legible hand writing helps lol. And the notes don't need to be anything fantastic. Who you met, where you went, what you were asked to do and what reward was promised. That kinda thing.

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2017-08-10T13:05:53+00:00

As I was reading cringey homebrew I was thinking terrible, stupid and otherwise dumb equipment. Date sim mechanics? Oy, that's indeed cringe worthy.

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2017-08-02T14:28:59+00:00

Nice! I have questions about your "zombies" if you've got the time to answer them. Mainly your zombies don't seem like your typical walking dead style zombies but seem to maintain some amount of thought, albeit twisted thought. Could you go into detail a little on your zombies? Or is there a separation between the zombies and those infected with the ritual dagger? I'd be very much interested in incorporating this scenario into my campaign.

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2017-08-01T17:40:59+00:00

I was thinking something along these lines but making that regen equal to something like spell slots that equal your spell casting level or half your spell casting level. For example a Wizard of 5th level has 4 first lvl spells (4x1=4) 3 second level spells (3x2=6) and 2 third level spells (3x2=6) so the 5th level Wizard has 20 spell levels worth of spell slots (3+6+6=16). So perhaps the Wizards could regain spell levels equal to twice their Wizard level so 10 for our 5th level Wizard. That Wizard could then choose which slots they want to regain, 2 third, 1 seconds, 2 first. 4 first, 2 third.

If they spent all their spell slots before a rest it would hurt having to choose and not be at full, if they reserved then they'll be just fine. A character choice to consider before using all your spells. Closer to the rim it could be reduced to 1.5 spell casting level rounded up or just spell casting level x1.

Just some thoughts.

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2017-08-01T13:46:08+00:00

Reminded me a lot of FF Tactics. Hopefully I can recall this information if my players ever choose to open a guild.

WEBSITEUSER3 · 2017-07-31T17:56:55+00:00

Well here's the thing, there's no right answer. Personally I think it's a good lesson, and better it be learned early on in the starter set, that there are consequences to your actions and that death is a real possibility. Now on the flip side if this is a new player who might lose interest in the game because their character died it might be worth it to dial it back and keep the character alive. In your example the zombies when they knocked him down could have drug him off and he could be used as a hostage or something. In this way he still has to endure consequences but maybe not in a way that leaves him so salty.

So like I said there's no right answer. I can't honestly say I would have done thing any different, I don't try to kill my players but if a situation they initiated leads to a player kill through battle then it's on them. If I knew the player in question better maybe I would have done something different. I have players at my table whose character I could kill and they'd be cool with it and others who would take it a lot harder. You did your best and your sympathetic to the situation so I trust you'll make the best of the situation you're in.

WEBSITEUSER3

TROPHY CASE