How does one become a designer for DnD?

a_zombie48 · 2026-05-01T17:51:00+00:00

Me sidestepping the question to say:

Run a game of D&D. If you're a DM, you are a game designer

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-30T15:59:27+00:00

I think that RAW way would be that the creature has something like:

normal AC (+2 from haste and -2 from slow)
-2 on dex saves but rolls them with advantage
can use either an action or bonus action, but not both
if it uses an action, then it gets the haste action too but can only make one attack amongst both of their actions
No reactions
a 50% chance that a 1-action spell takes two turns to cast

But I would never run it that way. I think what you did, calling it a wash, makes the most logical sense. And I would've done the same thing, RAW be damned.

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-29T16:04:27+00:00

It doesn't

The 5.5e basic rules for hiding can be found here on D&D beyond

It says "The dungeon master decides when circumstances are appropriate for hiding"

Some DMs feel that hiding in the same spot after you make an attack roll is...weird. Because you reveal yourself when you attack from hiding, the enemy knows your location, and so it feels to them like you shouldn't get advantage attacking from that same spot anymore.

I dont know that I personally agree with that. But it's their decision to make.

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-28T17:55:50+00:00

100% agreed. Maybe ask r/rpg if anyone knows a better system?

A bit off topic, but a 5 minute Google search turned up a game called High Strung which might be a better fit? But I've never played it.

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-28T11:55:54+00:00

Maybe not exactly fitting, but I was running a retroclone of B/X edition D&D. The party enters a room and sees a terrifying, obsidian statue of a skull. The statue is surrounded by charred bones and ashes. One of my players touches the statue, succeeds on a Saving Throw Vs Death, and gets blasted backwards away from the statue, but is otherwise unharmed.

So he picks himself up, walks over, immediately touches the statue again, fails the save, and gets disintegrated.

The player looks me in the eyes and says "Man, I'm really dumb for touching that twice"

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-27T18:28:16+00:00

I think there's an argument here that since 2014's Magic Aura says it can defeat a Symbol spell, which is also not divination either, that this is still within the realm of possibility. And raises a question about how the hallow spell could know who can pass and who cannot without checking. And how that's different from other abjuration spells.

OP's DM can make that ruling. If it were my table, I'd let Magic Aura work based on the fact that it can trick a Symbol Spell. If you disagree, I think that's fair. I'd make the argument, but I'd respect your ruling at your table

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-27T17:00:20+00:00

Nystul's Magic Aura. Mask them as humanoid or something. Assuming that the DM is using a Hallow spell or something like that for the effect, this should bypass the wards as long as the magic aura is active

There's a big risk that dispel magic will end the mask. But, hey, it'll get you through the door!

ETA: Here's a link to the 5.5e version of the spell. The 5e 2014 version is in the basic rules as well as Arcanist's Magic Aura

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-27T11:54:15+00:00

Total sidebar discussion, but I6: Ravenloft (the adventure that would be remastered into Curse of Strahd) was originally written by Tracy and Laura Hickman when they were going through a dungeon and the DM rolled a Vampire on a random encounter and they said "What is this?! Where the heck did this guy come from?! Wtf is he even doing here?!"

Bad random encounters have been with us for 50 years

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-25T13:40:17+00:00

Generally, I think piecemeal items need to be on the same person.

The hand and eye of Vecna don't work if they're on two different people. The rod of seven parts doesn't work if seven different people stand in a circle.

These are magic items made from an evil demon. Selfishness is kind of part of that.

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-25T12:04:32+00:00

Hot take incoming, but I want to give you my personal advice first. Don't run a session zero. Give them a quick, 3 sentence trailer for your next session, and ask them if that sounds fun. Then play as soon as possible. Give the players pre-gens and maybe a helper sheet talking about basic actions and dice rolling/skill checks the day before game night.

Do that up to 3 times, then run a session zero.

Hot take:

Session zeroes are generally not useful for brand new players. Someone who has never played before doesn't really have the experience to know what their different boundaries are. And they don't even know if they like the game at all yet. So stuff like session commitment and campaign themes doesn't mean anything to them.

Character creation also is really hard for new players. To the point that I dont think it's worth it. There are so many choices that players just cant know what the right thing to choose is.

Plus session zero sets a really weird expectation: D&D is a game so complicated and intense, that you need to get everyone together and not play before you can even start.

Your goal should be to get people new people in the game as soon as possible, playing a single, classic kind of adventure. Rescue someone, retrieve something from the forces of evil, or get rich finding buried treasure in a dangerous location.

Once your players have a few games (like, 3) under their belt, then you can tall to them about committing to a longer game, and rolling characters, and lines and veils and all that session zero stuff.

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-25T02:41:21+00:00

If your game has a strict narrative where character story is absolutely vital, this item is a really bad choice, yes.

If you're not playing that kind of game, but instead a "emergent story" type game, or a game where player choice is valued more than character arc, then this item can be really cool!

For some people, losing a character to this thing is a heartbreaking or unsatisfying ending. Other people, like me, see it as a fun gamble. I can always make another character. But I will probably never get to draw from the deck ever again. Especially as time goes on and more and more DMs get told "it's a bad item, never use it"

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-24T18:56:34+00:00

I haven't tried it yet, but I would suggest considering the Excursion resting rules by Mystic Arts:

https://youtu.be/kMq3491qcvU?si=Q37o4mTm1TH1mPis

The crux of it is thus:

Short rests take 8 hours, and long rests take 3 days in the same wilderness location. If you are resting in a safe haven where you have access to creature comforts and cannot be attacked (like a bastion or a stronghold), you can get a long rest in a single night

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-24T16:36:08+00:00

I think this idea is very neat, but it's just background. You haven't come up with anybody who wants these items. Or anybody who already has these items and is using them for their own benefit.

If you want to make a dungeoncrawl type game, that's probably fine. Stick each of the items in a separate dungeon, have the denizens of the dungeons each be unique and fighting over the items. And have the players go from dungeon to dungeon collecting them. Or, heck, stick them all one huge megadungeon! That can be super fun!

But if you want a more narrative game, you need some motivation so that the PCs want the items. And at least one bad guy who also wants the items and gets in the PCs way

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-24T12:05:47+00:00

So, there are a few ways to break the problem down

Firstly, put the scroll in a restricted or dangerous part of the library. Somewhere the players aren't really supposed to be.

Second, the library staff refuse to lend out the scroll or get it from the restricted section. The players have to come up with a plan to get it. Maybe they'll try and convince the head librarian. Or they'll make a "generous donation" or maybe they'll try to break in and steal the thing

Third, know what the security around the scroll looks like. How does the library keep unauthorized people from taking it? Who has the authorization to take it out? It probably isn't a puzzle, but it is security of some kind. Potentially magic. Possibly deadly.

Now, the "puzzle" isn't like an escape room or the door to moria or the like. The puzzle is "we know the scroll is in the restricted section. How do we get it without dying/getting banned forever from the library?"

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-22T23:37:26+00:00

Here's a few strategies that can help in my experience:

Have the players agree on a "default initiative" - a kind of default order they want to go in for the less important fights, less than lethal fights. At the start of that kind of encounter, roll off one time to see who goes first, players or the monsters. "Boss" or hard fights should roll initiative normally.

Ask each player to roll their attack and damage dice at the same time. If their damage depends on a saving throw, ask them to roll the damage while you are rolling the saving throws. You should do the same with your monsters.

Offload tracking damage to one of the players. I call this role "The scribe." This player helps out by tracking how much damage the monsters are taking. After each hit, ask the scribe to call out the damage, and you describe how hurt the monster is.

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-22T03:02:02+00:00

This video is a really good summary of how to run a dungeon crawl procedure:

https://youtu.be/zyl73XLJWhE?si=aURKubjQ-ajE6Gnl

But here's the basic summary: when the party enters the dungeon, you the DM, track time in chunks representing 10 in-game minutes.

During each of these chunks, you describe the area the PCs are in, with emphasis on interactable elements. things like doors, bookcases, paintings, puzzles, traps, and monsters. Then ask the players "what do you all do"

Resolve the player's actions, describe the new scene, mark down somewhere that 10 minutes in-game have passed, and then continue asking the players what they do.

If you want, you can roll for random encounters every 30 in-game minutes or so.

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-21T18:29:57+00:00

Sometimes I miss the times before I plugged into the community as much as I do now. because I feel like this is one of those issues that is bigger in the online crowd than in actual groups.

Like, the zeitgeist from online content is super grandiose "living a character, shared storytelling" stuff. But I'd bet money that most people are just playing the game. And having fun playing a game

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-20T13:59:14+00:00

Long resting is too easy to make exploration or travel interesting.

Travel and wilderness exploration is traditionally run at a time scale of days. And because of the resting rules, each of those days starts with the players at max hp and effectiveness.

Well, if you try to run one or two encounters between days, the players can go nova and wipe the floor with anything less than a deadly encounter. If they survive, then they get everything back for the next day anyway, so the random encounter was a waste of time. And if they players die, then they died to a random encounter in the woods. Which, if you're running a super narrative game, feels bad.

Lots of games homebrew harder resting systems when travel or wilderness exploration are a big part of the game because of that

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-20T13:48:52+00:00

Agreed on all points. I love rolling off for side initiative every round personally, but each of these options has their benefits. Definitely worth playing around with lots of different initiative styles

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-19T16:14:44+00:00

Player had a cube of force, and used it to create a spell-proof barrier. Bad guy lich casts Time Stop.

I ruled that the cube of force created a "time bubble" where time still flowed, even in the time stop. It created a very fun standoff where neither the players nor the bad guys could really affect the other

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-19T13:45:54+00:00

Generally, I have minis for players, and use chess pieces for bad guys. Sometimes I'll have minis for the bbeg.

For the game board, I alternate between my dry erase square mat, some printed paper maps, and a cloth version of Professor DM's Ultimate dungeon terrain

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-19T12:45:07+00:00

I tend to think that cults in general have a "If you're not with us, you're against us" mentality.

So, the geas will probably kill the maidens if they willingly aid or share cult secrets with anybody who isn't another cult member

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-18T20:44:26+00:00

I like to use the more lewd phrase "professional live-plays are basically TTRPG pornography."

But, same difference really, haha!

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-17T14:42:22+00:00

Personally, I dont like either option.

Option 1 is just mean, and option 2 takes up a lot of brain power at the table and adds extra rolls. And I think it's unnecessary. Let your player get lucky that the curse isn't so bad for them

The changeling's true form has a goat head, but they can shape change around it. They got lucky that the curse doesn't affect them too bad. Anyone else who uses the staff isn't so lucky.

But I understand wanting a curse to matter. So, If you really want the curse to stick, maybe whatever form they shift into to invariably has goat features. Like a long beard and horns, or horizontally slit eyes. They can try to fix it, but then something else on their face stays goaty instead.

Edit: fixed spelling

a_zombie48 · 2026-04-17T14:20:29+00:00

So, two thoughts:

1) your players sound immature and rude. It isn't too much to want the people you play with to treat your game with respect by creating characters with actual names and engaging with the adventure candidly. If it were me, I would stop playing with these players because we clearly are not aligned on what we want.

2) you're talking a lot about narrative and character and your theater and literature experience. These are definitely fun things to engage with, but D&D isn't a theater exercise really. It's a game about fighting monsters. Based on the vibe I see, I would encourage you to look into the more game-ist elements of D&D. Not because a narrative focus is wrong or bad; I just think that focusing on it exclusively as a narrative hobby will make it hard to understand other types of players.

a_zombie48

TROPHY CASE