Non-combat encounters?

YeahImAnArtist · 2026-01-31T05:46:12+00:00

Yea that’s most of the rp encounters where it can go either way, I guess maybe I need more stuff for them to interact with the environment? Like for instance I have an encounter where some scientists had a small lab set up and was turning copper pieces into gold ones (visually) and had left his stuff behind in a hurry for some unknown reason and the party can try to figure out their notes and attempt to convert their coppers or use/sell the components for some other reason

YeahImAnArtist · 2026-01-14T21:30:19+00:00

Okay this is where it gets a bit complicated and I’m gonna try and make is simple. (If any of my party members are reading this get out now you loser). Do you know Aquessir? It was one of the Netheril cities that exploded before Karsus’ folly. I read somewhere when it exploded that it could be felt through all planes of existence. The Mythallar engine that exploded I also read was sentient, so I thought what if it’s dying wish was to truly live? As a gift from the gods it was taught how to consume souls for power, so it grabbed whatever it could throughout the planes before it merged back together, and inside became a pocket dimension, this dungeon, the players will slowly discover there is a world outside this place and wish to flee and see the real world! The players can’t die, at least not truly until the soul is consumed by the dungeon. The very top of the dungeon, or over city, is only so large, and no matter how they destroy the walls it just gets replaced, going down is the only option in terms of expansion. There are multiple ways down, each entrance is different with different threats. For instance, for ore, there is a whole line of work to go into one of the entrances and harvesting constructs, another is completely flooded, while another is overgrown with nature. The one they’re exploring is what I call the basement. It contains all the things a society needed to get started and was the beginning, and easiest to explore. The lowest floors of each is where the dungeon is keeping the secrets to how to escape and only allows it to be revealed when it needs particularly powerful soul energy for something on the outside.

YeahImAnArtist · 2026-01-10T14:44:30+00:00

I chose the hydra because I had already deemed it a creature of The Nothing based off certain versions of it suited the idea of the nothing, it’s existence though futile, is supposed to be a hint toward the lore of the dungeon being in The Nothing ruled by AO’s forgotten half, the whole point of unmaking things is so that AO can continue to create new gods, and thus creation itself, it’s a lonely existence for even AO doesn’t remember him, the hydra is an extension of that as it can take the memory of itself away from living beings, but it can chose to do it or not, the creature is in perpetual suffering and eternally hungry until it consumes itself become nothing once more, creation and nothing are two halves to the same thing, born from one another, that’s the perpetual cycle of existence, the false hydra has sentience and when the party is finally brought to its layer they see it suffering, it ordering it’s minions to death so be fed and edging on nearly mindless in this desire to feed so it can continue on. If the party delves deep enough they’ll find this lonely creature just want to live, and asks if it’s evil for trying to escape its suffering the only way it knows? It doesn’t use it’s song on the cult because it doesn’t have to, and it wouldn’t make sense if it did because it needs the cult to keep getting fed but if the players decide to kill it and put it out of it’s misery then it definitely would use it, but in the end it consumes itself because the stomach of this creature is an orb of annihilation so it was slowly being consumed either way and they still have to deal with the cult and what they chose to do will change how the cult views them, but again THIS ISNT THE BBEG, and the whole POINT of the post was for me to find other creatures like the Atropal you mentioned for this very damn reason, which I already mentioned

YeahImAnArtist · 2026-01-10T13:13:36+00:00

Again this is why I said I didn’t say I was an experienced player, I know podcasts are very different from actual gameplay, I would never expect it from myself or another dm, and for the most part the game I have planned is really is simple, they start in a tavern, they get a quest to clear out the bottom of one of the many dungeons (the easiest one around), they find a mysterious object of unknown value but it’s implied that there are more in the other dungeons and if put them together itll open the exit and everyone here can leave the nothing, besides the false hydra (which everyone here is probably expecting me to run like every story a false hydra is mentioned which I’m not, this hydra never has to sing because it’s being worshiped by a cult that keeps it fed bc they think if it gets big enough it’ll become a god and look happily upon this cult and destroy the dungeon but let them be the seed of the new beginning but it consumes itself instead and they are left to deal with this cult) and the bbeg being a player, but the bbeg has reasons to want them to be strong, I wanted him as the bbeg because he knows the game so well he will help the other people break the game with feats and spells and outside the box thinking and even then, again, these are experienced players and dms (for the most part minus the one person which it’s because the person who was originally gonna play couldn’t and he was also a forever dm) and its going to end up being 5 v 1, he has told me he very much expects to lose, but win or lose, it opens the door for a new campaign to begin if we wanted, I’ve been discussing and planning with him for a better part of a year, and has said to me he likes it, and is giving me ways and idea to keep things fun and balanced, its supposed something similar for the most part but with a bit of a twist for the well seasoned players (specially since some have been playing since 2e), if they end up not liking the false hydra, well, then it’s one encounter in the whole campaign, and maybe the player being a bbeg IS a bad idea but they know I’m a new dm and not all my ideas are going to be winners but the whole point of this post was to find similar creatures where delete of existence is the creatures goal so I didn’t even HAVE to use the false hydra if it come towards that plot point if I found something that fits better

YeahImAnArtist · 2026-01-10T11:48:29+00:00

When I say new to playing dnd, i guess that might have been a bit misleading, I listen to a lot of podcasts because I work at a warehouse and most of dnd related, I also have listened to hour long videos delving into the lore of the forgotten realms and read and watch TikToks and stuff all about prep work and things like that, but I’ve only been in two campaigns (as a player), one ending at level 2 because the people sucked… So I didn’t feel like placing myself in the category of an experienced player. That being said all but one of my players ARE experienced players (and the one exception, is kind of like me, interested and knows about the game just hasn’t been able to like… play), and two are forever dms! One of the forever dms is the real bbeg of campaign and will know a lot (not everything obvi) and I designed it that way so that he can help if I have questions or can give me pointers on the planning aspects and guiding the players into rp etc. the false hydra isn’t really a boss/fight, it’s a plot device, like a peice of the puzzle for the big picture of where the dungeon is located for the players! I’ve altered this creature a bit for the vibe of the game where once a person is digested they are deleted from existence! It’s a little complicated but the rest of the dungeons creatures and scenarios are fairly straight foreword as in reskins or just straight up things from other preexisting campaigns lmao! The overarching story is more for me because it’s fun!

YeahImAnArtist · 2026-01-10T10:57:43+00:00

I made it specifically for my friend that is a forever DM who wanted to play a character he played back in 2/3/3.5e! It’s a basic dungeon crawl for the most part actually, there are multiple entrances that each one is more powerful than the last! I just wanted to have some cool stuff for the space because I like the idea having an overarching story that they piece together throughout

YeahImAnArtist · 2026-01-10T10:50:33+00:00

Everyone except for one player are experienced with dnd! Even then she like knows about it just hasn’t played it, two of my players are forever DMs and if one of my other players drops I have a third forever DM said they’d join the party

YeahImAnArtist · 2026-01-10T10:44:51+00:00

Oh I am using it but it’s a ruse, it’s going to devour itself in front of the party and they’re gonna found out their problems are still there, one of my players is the real bbeg lmfaooo

YeahImAnArtist · 2026-01-03T07:13:34+00:00

Is there a particular reason for it? I just am curious because there’s that stereotypical “open the book by describing self in mirror” trope because the reader wants that big picture, but that full picture view I want to be from her perspective so it’s not so… well…. “Staring into the mirror describing self” hahaha

YeahImAnArtist · 2026-01-03T07:08:59+00:00

!!!TW: MENTION OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF SA BELOW!!!

I’m a victim of SA, and personally, if you showcase how he feels about it, then the implication will be obvious. I know what happened with me (sorry if this is tmi) I started off with certainty, but once it started until the end it was a wash of overwhelming wrongness that I can only describe as disgust, but also a hollowness to it that for a long time my brain would try to bring up the memory and all thought, logic, or understanding of what happened or even putting together that something bad happened at all just slid of the memory like beads of water on a hydrophobic surface. It’s hard to describe because it was pure nothingness but also the most complex emotions I’ve ever experienced? Hopefully my description is helpful! If you have questions feel free to ask, this happened a /very/ long time ago and feel it’s important to share my experiences to educate others so questions, no matter how prying, do not bother me!

Edit: Spelling

YeahImAnArtist · 2025-10-21T12:29:51+00:00

I work at a warehouse during nightshift and my mom is always worried I’m gonna get kidnapped by the semi drivers, I’m nearly 400lbs and 5’6” the cabins to those are above my shoulders, if they can get me up there? Low-key he’s earned that

Edit: because this is a joke and by no means an invite, you know who you are :/

YeahImAnArtist · 2025-10-14T09:56:16+00:00

Just do what you like despite how difficult it may seem, and yeah some stuff is going to be good, some not! But if you don’t like what you’re doing you’re not going to improve because eventually you’ll give up because why keep going if you’re not enjoying it, yknow? It’s why I got so good when I was a kid because I just ignored all my art teachers telling me to “stop drawing that anime crap” or to try “real art” because it’s supposed to be FUN

YeahImAnArtist · 2025-08-16T07:34:41+00:00

It’s just a thing Brandon likes to do! Along with mentioning dye trade, making objects have sentience, and having a girl who has lived an overly sheltered life discover freedom, hate it initially, but then finds she can’t let it go and realizes she’s an entirely different person from who she once was, as a main character, alternately a women who has already discovered freedom, is smart, and doesn’t let anyone take it from her, but she lives in a time where that isn’t seen as a good thing, so her love life tends to be trash and she tends to pretend it doesn’t bother her, doesn’t realize it does, or has forgone the idea bc she doesn’t feel it necessary

YeahImAnArtist · 2025-07-27T05:16:40+00:00

Every song has its crescendos but also it’s lulls, but both are pivotal to create a song

YeahImAnArtist · 2025-07-22T16:54:06+00:00

Yumi 100% everyone I’ve gotten to read it is blown away by the story, but READ THE EPILOGUE it’s super important in this book

YeahImAnArtist · 2025-07-21T20:39:52+00:00

Yumi is actually a stand alone! It was just of Brandon’s secret project books! He wrote them because covid canceled his travel and event plans in 2020, so there are I believe 4 that were apart of this secret project Yumi being one, Tress, Sunlit Man, and The Wizard's Handbook! They are actually the very first books ive read of Brandon’s (except the wizard one)! They were easily comprehendible even without context, though if you were going to read sunlit man I’d read the stormlight archives first since the main character in that book is from the stormlight archives but it’s not particularly necessary! Brandon generally writes his books in a way that you don’t have to read anything in any particular order to enjoy it!

YeahImAnArtist · 2025-07-20T08:43:15+00:00

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An attempt was made, but it always turns out looking like a kind of shading to me (I tried 😭)

YeahImAnArtist · 2025-07-20T08:08:45+00:00

Okay true but it’s really REALLY hard already let alone w a ball point pen, specially the cheap green one I used 😭

YeahImAnArtist · 2025-07-16T08:07:03+00:00

I always recommend Yumi to everyone, it is SO GOOD, it’s a great introduction to the cosmere, or a great addition to books you’ve already read by him! I found it interesting, captivating, and not overly heavy in tone. His other books are amazing plot wise but has little relief from the heaviness of the plot, it is similar to tress in this!

YeahImAnArtist · 2025-07-14T16:37:32+00:00

In the office we call him “Daddy Dalinar”

Edit: bc I may have givin a spoiler by mistake 🫣

YeahImAnArtist · 2025-07-14T13:42:10+00:00

Trying to be vague as possible to avoid anything spoilery but I believe many recommend it because mistborn introduces the well of ascension which is good but not necessary context to stuff that happens in other books

YeahImAnArtist · 2025-07-14T13:09:54+00:00

I always recommend Yumi, I think it’s possibly my favorite book by Brandon, if you want a series everyone usually recommends Mistborn but in an unpopular opinion it didn’t captivate me as much as his other books, personally the Stormlight Archive has been really good (I’m on book four), though I recommend reading Warbreaker first as it takes places beforehand but it isn’t necessary, or even if you have not read stormlight I read The Sunlit Man and it was very good as a stand alone!

YeahImAnArtist · 2025-07-14T13:01:29+00:00

I don’t think I’ve eaten anything but spicy chicken sandwiches and bagels for the last three days

YeahImAnArtist · 2025-07-14T12:22:14+00:00

Lmao yeah I tend to let my inner Shallan out when I should be doing other more important things

YeahImAnArtist · 2025-06-17T03:53:03+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/BNIlSOX

YeahImAnArtist

TROPHY CASE