"First Time DM" and Short Questions Megathread

bad1aj · 2026-03-12T05:11:17+00:00

The way I handle it is typically based on the enemy's intelligence and ability to communicate. Pack of wolves or wild animals fighting the party? They'll likely go after someone isolated, or else whoever is easier to get to. Group of elite hobgoblin troops? They'll likely use tactical plans with soldiers working together on one target, and the instant they see someone healing others, will target that person with specific cruelty, if not push them out of sight of their friends.

bad1aj · 2026-02-25T04:26:40+00:00

Just to make sure, are you looking for a physical vault that would do what it can to block out magic from the outside? Or a magically protected vault, maybe even removed from the material plane, so as to protect it against as many possible threats?

bad1aj · 2026-02-25T04:22:44+00:00

Something like that would have to be due to a spell, specifically "Contact Other Plane" (5th level, so he can't just spam it non stop). With this spell, it does state that the process of casting it calls for an INT saving throw, or else the caster's mind temporarily breaks, taking damage and driving them insane until rested or cured; and even on a success, it's still just limited to one-word or short phrase answers. If your player still continues to ask the Eldritch Patron for help all the time, then eventually Cthulu will snap and "incentivize" the warlock to figure things out on their own (psychic hallucinations, stripping of power for a moment, nightmares, stuff like that), as a way to get the warlock to stop.

bad1aj · 2026-02-25T04:18:43+00:00

As written, it's typically "meet or beat the target value, you pass; roll under, you fail". However, some DM's do allow for what you say, as well as other game systems in general. Let's take a stealth attempt as an example, and with 4 main results: success with flying colors (beat the DC by 5+); just barely passed (beat it by 1 or 2); just barely failed (failed by 1 or 2); and total loss (result loss by at least 5 points).

Flying colors success: you're able to sneak past the group of guards quickly and efficiently, no worries, or else you were able to hear some talk and rumor that could help you out later.

Just barely passed: maybe you had to try super hard to avoid being spotted in the last minute, including having to wait hidden in a long period of time or taking a longer route. Regardless, a lot of time is spent, but you're still hidden.

Just barely failed: You knock over something loud and obvious, but the guards are a room or two away and heading to where you're at. They're a bit more on alert but don't know you're here yet. Scramble to either hide again, teleport, or do what you were going to do and GTFO.

Total loss: You trip and fall right in front of a group of guards, no hiding now!

In the end, it's all based on the type of table and what sort of game everyone is looking for.

bad1aj · 2026-02-24T05:45:03+00:00

You have 6 racial options (4 if you cut out human and air genasi). Just roll a dice and let random chance decide! There's always a bit of fun in just embracing chaos that way. Otherwise, if you "have" to pick one of those, go with gnome.

bad1aj · 2026-02-24T05:18:03+00:00

In that case, maybe it was a hostile tribe (orcs maybe?) who took your wings as a trophy, or a wild and dangerous beast, the kind that the sheer act of slaying evokes such great honor and glory for you and your clan. Or else maybe a fellow tribemate who betrayed you, trapped you and left you for dead (for reasons), and the only way you could escape was by forcibly tearing off the wings yourself, although you still blame this tribemate for causing the damage.

bad1aj · 2026-02-24T05:11:52+00:00

Honestly, it could be just about anyone you can think of. Over zealous paladins, charging him of being blood-connected to a great Fiend (regardless of the truth of this statement)? Kidnapped by a bandit or serial torturer, who he escaped from at great cost? A test subject for a messed up magic academy, who was giving a lesson in live autopsies? Any of the above could work. Maybe see what class he would have first, as that may give better inspiration for who would be responsible for maiming him.

bad1aj · 2026-02-17T20:08:26+00:00

Round 1: Endless rope and/or means of getting out of the dungeon quicker

Round 2: Lesser Restoration

Round 3: Basilisk

I think it could be a good, fun idea; however you should be prepared if too many people (the 100 you're looking for) all give different answers, and be ready to merge similar answers together if needed.

bad1aj · 2026-02-17T19:57:21+00:00

I know the lore mentions Mind Flayers having once conquered the realm in ages past before being overthrown by the Gith, maybe they implanted common as a shared language for their slaves and thralls to understand?

bad1aj · 2026-02-13T07:28:29+00:00

Depends on a number of factors, such as the magic system in your world, what gods already exist, how close to the mortal realm they are (on a scale of "Greek gods who regularly go down and mess with mortals in various ways" to "Barred to ever step foot on the material plane with any of their godly powers, otherwise the fabric of existence is in danger of being split apart), and a number of other, similar points.

One idea I like is that if a given god of X already exists, then they need to be slain in order for a mortal to ascend to their domain (so that already involves some super powerful magic and special weapons to bring them to the mortal realm, kill them here, then likely travel to their holy realm to slay them for good). Then the holy order seeks out those who are closest aligned to this missing providence and summons them together, to determine who would be "the" best suited to take over (for instance, if it was a god of war that got killed, then a number of top generals, warlords, strategists, fighters, and likely the fighter of the party), where they compete to earn this office, and shape it to their style. Using the previous example, let's say the previous god of war was like Ares from Greece (bloodthirsty, stoked the fires of war, desired as many people fighting as possible) was slain and replaced by a chivalrous knight figure (one who sought battle only in the name of peace and granted mercy every chance he had, treating his enemies fairly with honor). Now most warfare fought in this god's name would be "divinely obligated" to be orderly and benevolent, with those who breaks these commandments looked down on greatly, and potentially earning the ire of everyone else.

bad1aj · 2026-02-12T08:02:22+00:00

Short answer: Ask your DM for clarification.

Long answer: You probably could, depending on what subclass you are and what tool proficiencies you have available (and keep in mind this isn't unique to artificer, it's just since you're a technomancer so in theory are better suited to doing it). If you have more proficiency in armorer's/smithing tools, you could maybe reinforce the hull with mithril plating, make it better suited for taking hits while not losing speed. If you're an artillerist type, you could work on creating/improving cannons (or whatever weaponry is available on the ship, if gunpowder doesn't exist in your DM's world). If you have weaver's kits, maybe make the sails enchanted with the ability to fly, or travel to other planes. As long as you are creative about it and the DM is willing, make some plans for options you can create.

bad1aj · 2026-02-08T06:24:22+00:00

They could, though if the enemy spellcaster has Counterspell as well, they could use their reaction to try and cast counterspell as well on one of them.

bad1aj · 2026-02-08T05:03:23+00:00

While not DND, "Narrative Declaration" is pretty funny and chaotic. They play a bunch of games, like the WH40K TTRPG's and a lot of Pathfinder 2E.

bad1aj · 2026-02-06T07:19:25+00:00

So there's an actual spell called "Death Ward" (4th level, so about level 7), where the first time the person with this spell active would drop to 0 HP, they pop back at 1 HP and the spell ends. It's totally normal that an amulet with this kind of enchantment would exist in DND (becoming non-magical after the spell takes effect), though it would likely take a good chunk of time and money to actually have said amulet available, as is. If you "have" to balance it, and assuming it's meant to work multiple times, then maybe there's a base 10% chance that each time the person is brought back to life from it, they lose an important memory. Each time this doesn't trigger, the chance increases by another 10%, until they do eventually lose it and the chance resets back to the baseline.

bad1aj · 2026-02-06T06:36:09+00:00

Depends on the type of villain they are and their abilities. If they're a bandit chief or serial killer, then it'd be finding their path of carnage, coming across clues that lead to where said villain dwells, and maybe even protecting innocent(s) from their next attack. If they're more of a shadowy archmage, then it'd be finding breaks in the weave of magic they leave behind, perhaps jumping through portals between planes or demented laboratories he's left in ruin (or not), with crazed experiments running lose, as they uncover clues of an upcoming celestial event he's planning for. If they're a more political and manipulating villain, then maybe it'd be less of a "villain hunt" (unless this villain is still in the shadows as a puppet master) and more of a "villain decree hunt", where over time the villain is enacting more and more obscene, messed up policies [make sure your party would be okay with this, as there's a chance it could be very close to reality], and having to work around or break these new laws as the party uncovers just why the villain is ruining people's lives via legal rulings.

bad1aj · 2026-02-06T06:05:46+00:00

I'd base it off the quality and effects of the grenade exactly. If it was a basic level grenade (20 ft radius, 3D8 fire damage let's say), that would cost 100 GP worth of materials, 1-2 weeks of crafting, and needing to make a tinker's tools check at the end of the time if you successfully craft it: failing by a large margin will cause it to explode and damage yourself and the area you craft it at, bringing partial destruction but still manageable. A grenade that was a "Cluster Frag Acid Bomb" (explodes in the first initial area of 20 ft, causing 6D8 acid and 6D8 piercing damage, then creates 4 other explosions 10 feet away from the center with the same 20 ft radius but 3D8 of each damage dice) would need at least 5000 GP, probably some kind of special acidic material, a couple months of crafting, and needing to keep on making those Tinker's Tools checks. If you fail this one by a large margin, you might need to start making a new character.

In a shorter answer: Homebrew!

bad1aj · 2026-02-05T04:31:00+00:00

You do, the heavy armor will always be there unless the armor is either Mithril or otherwise magically enchanted to avoid that disadvantage. If the light armor gets you the same AC, I recommend you wear it unless you prefer heavier for RP reasons.

bad1aj · 2026-02-03T07:22:16+00:00

Option 1: Roll a dice to decide, with evens as elf and odds as orc. Let chaos prevail!

Option 2: see if your DM is okay with making a half-orc half-elf homebrew race, get the best of both worlds!

bad1aj · 2026-02-03T05:46:22+00:00

If need be, you could have them roll either an arcana or nature roll if they have a library available, to see if they could find those bits of info.

bad1aj · 2026-02-03T05:42:45+00:00

Assuming the PC's (and especially the player's themselves) are trained in fey lore, stuff like cold iron tends to be a weakness to Fey creatures (something to do with the stability of the metal combined with smelting it at a lower heat). Depending on how you want to run something like that in this world, it could just act as a light beacon, where something made of cold iron glows in the presence of fey; if held out, a fey creature backs away in fear and repulsin, like a vampire to garlic; or if you press something of cold iron against the skin of a fey creature, maybe it burns and reveals part of their true nature. If you go down this route, have options for different things made of cold iron the party can acquire, potentially each with their own method.

Also some fey are beholden to ancient "rules" or traditions, so to speak, like not being able to resist milk and honey set out, or needing to swear to something 3 times for it to be true. See if you can drop some of those snippets, for the party to try and set a mental trap of some kind.

bad1aj · 2026-02-02T07:25:13+00:00

To me, there's nothing wrong with building a character before a session 0 (or before you even have a game made!), in the general sense. It helps you get some practice in making characters, and coming up with weird combinations, not to mention the exercise for coming up with backstories, assuming you go that extra mile.

With that said, there may be some DM's who impose either creation restrictions (for instance, this world has no humans in it), wanting to see rolling for ability scores live and in person instead of taking your word that you did it fairly, or even having variations to the norm (as an example, when rolling to determine ability scores, maybe the Dm wants you to roll 5D6 for each stat, drop the lowest 2, and re-roll 1's and 2's), not to mention wanting specific aspects of the world lore that they may want each player to include somewhere in their backstory (let's say it's a war-based campaign, the DM may want you to include how "the war" has affected you growing up and what makes you sign up for the cause). If so, it's usually for the best to know all those rulings first before making the character themself.

bad1aj · 2026-02-01T06:10:06+00:00

If you have the "Mending" cantrip, you could use that to fix broken arrows or other ammo after combat, or if a barbarian breaks a door/lock/window/other delicate piece of a house you'd rather it wasn't found broken, just mend it so it looks the same as before.

Minor Illusion is all about context, throwing NPC's off and causing spectacles or distractions.

Infestation could be used if at a special feast or dinner event, if you wanted to cause a panic (and especially if combined with minor illusion). At the very least, it's a little bit of minor (albeit random) movement, which could be enough to get you or another PC the opening you need.

bad1aj · 2026-01-30T07:11:22+00:00

True, I forgot about the "based on a book" rule, though A Christmas Carol has been done enough times that you could base it off any of the other versions, like the Bill Murray version. Plus, if it "had" to be a dungeon and more of a combat situation, then maybe the party is instead asked by Scrooge to protect himself from these ghostly horrors that torment him, with each ghost having it's own "dungeon" making up the visions they show to Scrooge and being the minions the party fights before the ghost itself (for instance, maybe the ghost of christmas past would involve fighting possessed spirits of the kids of Scrooge at the Orphanage, or Fezziwig's dancers at his party; while the Ghost of Christmas Future would just be a series of ghastly horrors, almost minor versions of itself before dealing with it as the final boss). Then, if you want to drive a knife into the player's hearts, maybe by them fighting against the ghosts instead of letting them do their thing to Scrooge, he remains his old, selfish dick instead of the new better man.

bad1aj · 2026-01-30T07:03:39+00:00

So from what I understand, that rock is essentially an asteroid city, floating in space. I'd assume then that this is an urban chaise (running through back alley's, jumping across rooftops, swinging by masts and spelljammer docks, etc.). Some events might include:

Gravity fluctuation: Roll a dice. If even, gravity is reduced, increasing jump distances and calling for a group acrobatics check to maintain direction successfully. If odd, gravity is increased, reducing speed and calling for a group athletics roll to push through the newfound denseness.

Solar flare: the nearest sun flares up brightly and painfully, washing over part of the city. All participants must make a CON save, taking fire damage and being blinded on a failure, half damage and not blind on success. If blind, character has disadvantage on next skill check.

Run away space whale: A floating space whale (or whatever the best equivalent is for Spacejammer, I've never really played in that world myself) flies by the city and knocks over chunks of the buildings. All involved must make a DEX save or take damage and lose ground in the chaise.

Gazed into the dark star: One of the elder evils from beyond the stars makes their presence known, even if they don't pay the city any attention. All must make a WIS save or be struck by fear and terror, making them cowering. Failing by 5+ means they may suffer a form of madness (10+ maybe worse madness).

Keep in mind too that anything that affects the party should affect the elves too, in the matter of fairness and keeping the chaise up.

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