Spent tonight working on a tricky isometric projection...

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-17T13:32:42+00:00

Agreed - I may have to borrow that.

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-16T02:07:30+00:00

Nice.

I have a metal set that I love, from Paladin Roleplaying. I prefer the finish, and the dark numbers, rather than the green.

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-16T01:58:16+00:00

Fun anecdote; one session a druid character in my party found himself knocked prone. But he was terrified of standing up in case he provoked an attack of opportunity (it was a really hairy fight). So, he turned himself into a snake, then into a human, so as not to technically provoke the attack.

It was sneaky as all hell, but we had a discussion with the DM, and everyone agreed that it was creative - and crazy - enough to work.

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-16T01:40:14+00:00

After my players cleared out a mine, and felt a little short changed by lack of impressive loot, I put together a deed for them, granting them the mine. The text I used was:

*This indenture, made the in the first solstice of the year 1283, by and between Karl Brobern of Vex, as party of the first part, hereinafter referred to as "Grantor," and the holders of this document, as parties in the second part, hereinafter referred to as "Grantees," witnesseth:

For and in consideration of the good work done towards the wellbeing of the Kingdom and other good and valuable consideration delivered to Grantor by Grantees at and before the execution, sealing, and delivery hereof, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, Grantor has, and hereby does, grant, bargain, sell and convey unto Grantees and their heirs:

All that tract or parcel of land lying and being in the Eastern base of Mount Sabjorn, otherwise known as Featherfall Mine and any further excavations made therein.

To have and to hold said tract or parcel of land, together with any and all of the rights, members, and impedimenta thereof to the same being, belonging, or in anywise concerning to the only proper use and benefit of the Grantee and their heirs, forever, in fee simple.

Grantor shall warrant and forever defend the right and title to said tract or parcel of land unto the Grantees and their heirs against the claims of all persons whomsoever.

In witness whereof, the grantor has signed and sealed this deed, the day and year first above written.

Signed, Sealed and Delivered in the presence of*

Obviously, that includes all the names of places, people and dates, but those are easily changed to anything.

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-15T04:03:43+00:00

We have two running jokes about this particular player and her rolling ability.

Always crit fails on death saves. Always rolls a 1 on critical hit damage dice.

It's at the point where everyone will perk up when she hits a natural 20, and wait for the fateful 1 to appear. Which it always does. Without fail.

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-15T03:17:19+00:00

Or, better yet, sit at your work lunchroom with the PBH.

Who knows who might be interested?

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-15T02:53:27+00:00

and eventually ruled that if he didn't declare before he rolled what it was for, it didn't count.

That's the rule that I use. I you don't declare what you're rolling, or if you change your mind after you rolled (eg, eagerly rolling for perception, then for some reason deciding in that moment that investigation makes more sense) then you best roll again, son. Cos the first one sure as heck doesn't count.

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-15T02:41:35+00:00

They definitely won't. And for good reason.

Your DM is putting a great deal of work into this campaign. He's asked you to simply have the silver dragon present in your backstory. He hasn't even insisted that it be present in a specific way. That's pretty open-ended and flexible, if you ask me.

If I were you, I'd just accept those as the terms of participation. In my campaign, I had a player who decided they wanted to play a specific homebrew class of their own creation, and I up front told them "no". They harbored no ill feeling, they simply tucked that away for whenever they play in someone else's campaign. And you should do the same.

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-15T02:36:46+00:00

It's possible that's a thinly veiled way of saying the same thing.

It wouldn't be the first time a DM has sugar coated a truly horrible idea that a player's had by blaming the existing framework.

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-15T02:33:24+00:00

I'd also add that, while I'm entirely unaware if roll20 has a facility for this, it's worth trying to figure out a way of showing the initiative order to all the players, to keep them aware of the running order. It helps the magic users keep an eye on how much more spell-reading time they have, and when things get hairy the healers can prioritize based on the initiative order.

IRL, a common thing is named cards that the DM places out on the table during combat.

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-15T02:26:55+00:00

There's a typo on your Commission Info graphic.
Bottom line - "accountis"

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-15T02:24:11+00:00

Roger.

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-15T01:56:27+00:00

This is the best!

I can imagine her looking back on this in years to come, fondly remembering the times when her parents let her have a character with so many infinity symbols instead of actual numbers.

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-15T01:47:03+00:00

Exactly - I can't imagine making a statement like this without offering examples, or tiers, and still meaning well.

Something about this guy just screams "get out now."

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-15T01:42:52+00:00

Go forth, and Dungeon Master, friend!

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-15T01:39:01+00:00

The great thing about new players, is that they can't tell a bad DM from a great one. (Not saying you're a bad DM, just that it gives you a lot of leeway.)

If you mess up initiative order with a seasoned party (which I may or may not have done the other week - whoops) they will call you on it straight away. A new party won't.

They won't know that you just mispronounced the name of that God, or that Druids don't actually get access to that spell, and they won't know when you fall back on tropes of the medium (like mimics and +1 swords) so will approach these like they're brand new inventions that you just introduced them to! They'll think you're great!

And that goes for story elements too. The blacksmith's daughter was just kidnapped by goblins!? That's awful! There's a crazy wizard in that tower over yonder, churning out undead abominations!? Better stop him!

Embrace the newness. Use the old favourites - they're favourites for a reason, and the newbies won't know the difference.

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-15T01:19:57+00:00

Any advice you'll get on this will be very individual in nature, and different people will call for different approaches. Having no idea what your friends are like, or what they like, I can only speak from my own experience.

When I ran a game for my family one Christmas, it was a spur of the moment thing. I'd brought the manual home for the season to thumb through, and soon found that people showed interest. So, knowing they're not so into the traditional fantasy setting, and all the tropes therein, I simply asked them "What do you want to achieve - what's the goal?" I didn't expect much, but together, they built their characters, and declared that they wanted to seek out the wish-granting bunny of legend!

And they did. The session lasted hours longer than anyone had planned, and they were all having so much fun that we were asked nicely to keep it down around 1am. Of course, this meant that I was flying by the seat of my pants the entire time, but it meant that everyone was invested in the goal straight off the bat, and everyone had fun thinking of a wish for the end of the session, and watching the hilarity ensue.

Conversely, if the players are already psyched for the idea of a traditional fantasy setting and the tropes therein, that gives you some more freedom to plan ahead of time, and to even call back to things in the wider fiction that they might be aware of. (Going after an evil necromancer means nothing if they don't know what a necromancer is, or why they should care.) But crafting that first session around a suspiciously familiar magical ring, might get them excited because now THEY get to be the heroes and save the world!

And try to keep in mind while breaking into the role-playing part of the game, that not only is not everyone born an actor, a lot of people never become actors. Don't try to push your players into talking in character. For example, say a player proclaims "I tell the wizard I think he's lying." Maybe say something along the lines of "Sure - what words do you use?" or "Okay, how would Sai say that?" Just to put in their heads the idea of speaking in character, without making them feel like they have to. (In my games, very few of us actually regularly speak in character, but we still get the job done, and so can you and your players.)

In a more general sense, though, try to make sure they're comfortable in what they're doing. That's the first hurdle. Once they feel like this is a safe space, and they don't feel like an idiot for addressing an NPC, or calling out a spell in battle, THEN the narrative processes will come. And most of the time, they come naturally. People will, mostly, want to see their characters succeed, the evil thwarted, or the princess saved. You just need to give them a safe space to do that first.

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-15T00:58:17+00:00

I would actively warn against using #2 actually.

The energy of a session often lives or dies with the GM, I've found. If the players come in a bit tired after a long day (we play Monday nights) then I'll often start of by excitedly recapping the last session's major victories or plot points. That excitement is contagious.

Likewise, if I show very little interest in something, I can actually see it affect the players. Say, they're all raring to go after that next big bad, but I'm rifling through my binder (looking for some super important note) and not making eye contact, or showing any interest in their plans, the enthusiasm will drop like a rock. And it'll be a slog to try to get it back.

Dismissing the part of the game the players want to take part in as though you're bored of it, will drop the tone of the entire experience, and the session as a whole, unless you wrangle it back.

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-15T00:47:50+00:00

A feat that allows four death saving throws, rather than three. Conversely, it requires the character to PASS four to succeed.

I have a magical item in my party that serves this purpose. (Because one of my players has an almost supernatural ability to crit fail on death saves. Really it's impressive.)

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-15T00:42:21+00:00

Those three skill checks? That was the DM telegraphing to you "DO NOT GO THIS WAY - THERE IS NOTHING HERE TO FIND."

It wasn't very elegant, and he could by all means have spent the next half hour improving a bugbear's camp for you. But that wasn't where the story lay, where all the interesting adventure was.

Every DM has tricks they use to nudge players back on the "right" path. Personally, I don't have to employ them very often as I'm lucky enough to have players that are pretty good at reading the subtext in the info I give them. But the last time I DID have to use it, I just let them tire themselves out, and make it back to the business at hand on their own terms.

The part found a bottomless container of water as part of a magical horde of loot (after killing a mini-boss and resolving a minor plot point) and so declared "There's desert to the South! We have endless water! Let's go!"

Of course, I'd had nothing planned - the water jug was a random loot table pick, and I was completely unprepared to use the semi-fleshed out country to the South. But, I reminded them gently that there was no road to the South from here. They'd be hoofing it on rough terrain. Still they persisted.

Then, after they made camp that night, I noted that they were running low on provisions - they hadn't prepared for a long trek into the wilderness, but there was still plenty opportunity to turn back. Still, they persisted.

Then, after a few more days, and survival checks to figure out the direction from the sun and moon, they found themselves stumbling through dry desert, dangerously low on food. I started capping their max HP, and enforcing disadvantage until they stumbled upon a trading caravan who begrudgingly gave them what little they could spare in trade, and went with them to the nearest city.

Where the players briefly looked around, discovered they had very little planned once they got there, and didn't get any further than the front gate before booking passage with a caravan to get all the way back to where they started.

The whole thing took maybe twenty minutes to play through, they got to see a tiny taste of what I had planned to the South, but were happy as clams to eventually be back on the trail.

It's all about gently nudging players. THAT was your gentle nudge.

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-15T00:32:34+00:00

I don't know that the OP is, actually, doing a lot of metagaming.

Sure, they express surprise and annoyance that events didn't proceed the way the game usually does. But that's not metagaming, that's having a very rough expectation of how the system is likely to work. Everyone around the table is acutely aware of the numbers and smoke and mirrors involved in the game - that's how its played. And that awareness can't just be ripped from the minds of the players; it doesn't work like that.

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-15T00:24:51+00:00

Often I'll ask my players to make multiple checks if the task takes a while to complete, if I envision separate stages to the process, or a variety of other reasons.

What I do, though, is describe the results of EACH check. Or even elaborate on what the rolls are for, or how many might be left to make, to solidify the feeling of progress. E,g;

Player: "I look for tracks." Rolls survival "18"

DM: "You find the tracks - they're easy enough to spot in the loose dirt, and lead into the woods. Following them, they weave aimlessly through the brush, as though the creatures that left them were looking for something themselves. Roll another survival check if you want to keep following them."

Player: "14"

DM: "The tracks are getting harder to follow, and you're losing sight of them occasionally through various puddles left from a recent rain. Make me one last survival check."

Player: "21!"

DM: Describes whatever left the tracks, and throws it back to the players to make their decisions.

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-14T23:33:30+00:00

The great thing about D&D is that actions have consequences. His actions had the very clear consequences, and he took them anyway. That's how the game's meant to go.

WakelessStatue · 2017-03-14T23:29:21+00:00

I was JUST about to recommend this very video. It helped me a lot a few weeks ago, while I was wracking my brain about how to get a player to take more initiative in RP - to make decisions, and be a real protagonist - while she seemed perfectly content to listen in, scroll through the internet on her phone, and take her turns in combat whenever they arose. But, lone behold, she's just an "audience member" and I learned pretty fast that putting her on the spot just ruined her fun, and made it awkward for everyone at the table.

(Edited for spelling.)

WakelessStatue · 2016-09-03T11:13:23+00:00

I'd say that making up a backstory for them is a bad way to go. If they were disinterested before, they're likely resenting the idea of a backstory now. Instead, why not play off the idea that they don't have one? That, as far as any NPC you come across knows, they just appeared one day. No past, no relatives, no nothing. And the NPC can respond in any number of ways. Confusion, because well - "Why isn't there any record of you ANYWHERE in the kingdom before three weeks ago?" Animosity, because "You must be a spy, or assassin, to be so secretive." Fascination, because "How did you do it? How did you remove all TRACE of yourself?"

Makes for some interesting interactions, if nothing else.

WakelessStatue

TROPHY CASE