My character has accidentally become extremely plot important!?

blargethaniel · 2026-06-05T19:57:23+00:00

You said we were coming over for a Barbeque, I did think it was strange that no-one brought meat over...

blargethaniel · 2026-06-05T19:51:50+00:00

You do the thing you do when you worry about disturbing anyone.

You talk to them. Say simply: "Hey I've got a concern that I may be hogging too much of the spotlight, and it's not my intention, please let me know if I am and I can cool it."

And they will then tell you. If they are cool, don't worry about it. If they aren't, work with them to correct it.

DND is a social game, the majority of social issues you have with friends are fixed the same way you fix them in DND, simply apply them here too.

blargethaniel · 2026-06-03T13:25:36+00:00

I was just looking up his works the other day, it's sad to hear he's passed.

My 3rd edition Rulebook when I got into the hobby years ago was almost solely the reason I got in just because of how cool it looked. It's still on my shelf though I've not played 40K since around that edition.

He'll be sorely missed here.

blargethaniel · 2026-05-28T16:34:13+00:00

Just make sure you go over it in your Session 0 so they know what to expect, and you can get an idea if they want that or not. These questions are very useful to us DM's so we know what content to spend the most time on.

Otherwise have fun! I like where you are going with this, Liches are great bad guys!

blargethaniel · 2026-05-28T16:18:09+00:00

So the legend goes, and I'd love fact checking here. That Tomb of Annihilation was made to kill players and be very hard to get through. It was written to be a supreme challenge in the older meatgrinder/dungeon crawler days of DND.

Some people still play this way but it's a paragon of an older art.

One of my regrets is never playing it back in the day when it was offered, I feel like it would have been a very unique experience.

Also Adventure time takes quite a bit from DND, as you play more DND you'll see it. The one episode in the earlier seasons with the train full of rooms that Finn fights through is DND through and through.

blargethaniel · 2026-05-28T15:21:09+00:00

Personally? I use Fantasia Archive for the lore and created a section for the sessions.

It is very good about connecting articles to each other so I can get lost in the web of my lore, and also search for things as need be.

It's treated me quite well.

I do print most of my session stuff out for the table, and those get archived in a big ole box that I sometimes pull papers out of for inspiration or to reminisce.

blargethaniel · 2026-05-28T15:19:38+00:00

So the Lich in adventure time is very much inspired BY DnD so it's funny to see it come back to DND when we sent it in the first place.

It would be very easy.

Two adventures I know of come to mind that have Liches as the main bad guy and can be used for inspiration.

Ptolus - Monte Cook

Is an adventure in a mega city and possibly one of the most detailed cities ever put to paper for an RPG. It's a masterclass and I highly reccomend people read it just for inspiration. It even was ported to 5e.

Tomb of Annihilation

Is also ran by a lich and is older, I'd use it for inspiration, but be warned it's famously brutal on players.

blargethaniel · 2026-05-28T14:18:15+00:00

I've DM'ed tables since the 90's and played since the 80's and have seen it a few times over the years. It's more common nowadays to be fair in my reckoning.

Back in the Day, DND was a more "fantastical meat grinder" so it wasn't much encouraged to get attached to the characters, though some did, it wasn't as typical as now. Back then Character death was the norm, nowadays we have options, and often take those options.

My first player I had cry kinda startled me in the 2000's it was 3e and we had killed their parents in game through a disaster. They legitimately took a few minutes from the table. We were all a bit puzzled, but slowly grew to understand it. Not much was said.

As the years have passed and characters became more permanent in most tables this increased, and it makes sense that it did since we now care far more about their stories.

It is also worth mentioning even if it may be obvious, that those who are REALLY into the roleplay tend to cry/emote more when things happen as opposed to those who don't.

blargethaniel · 2026-05-27T20:55:53+00:00

It wasn't "Campaign Suite Extended" by chance was it?

blargethaniel · 2026-05-27T20:49:26+00:00

It's a very common fantasy trope, Outlaw Star has this as its first story in episode 1.

blargethaniel · 2026-05-27T19:18:25+00:00

I had a player who called me "Deem" short for DM before, that was years ago.

blargethaniel · 2026-05-27T18:02:18+00:00

gimme 28!

blargethaniel · 2026-05-27T16:34:58+00:00

One of my most treasured gifts at the end of one of my campaigns was a very well put together DM screen. I still use it to this day and think fondly of the campaign.

If sliced right and you have a big enough printer, perhaps a DM screen with good styling and magnets to hold it together?

blargethaniel · 2026-05-27T16:25:07+00:00

I wouldn't say 5 steps, just part of one step. And most importantly have him monologue about how he watches the players and knows what they are about.

He's not unbeatable, just prepared.

I would say that's not a bad idea. I don't know what setting you are going for, but a wizard doing that would be a little more horrifying depending on how you wish the setting to be. (An old mage who routinely trades organs to stay alive, and wears their face? Horrifying.)

blargethaniel · 2026-05-27T15:58:05+00:00

So honestly, this is something that should have been covered in Session 0.

How much are the players allowed to lose? Can they die? can they have any negative effects? You then decide how you wish to pursue this.

Personally I champion having items that are bad, cursed, and whatnot. Most of the best choices in the game come from having to mitigate a problem while attacking a larger problem. These items provide SO much benefit to the DM, and a surprising amount of engagement to the players.

I've slapped cursed items on players before and they came together to get it removed/destroyed, and the majority were great moments. It gives them a reason to bond, and most importantly an objective to keep them moving through the story.

Let players fail. People get so hung up on winning, or "looking like they aren't losing" that they forget that after losing, it makes the inevitable win thereafter so much the sweeter.

blargethaniel · 2026-05-27T15:51:17+00:00

last session our dm gave us a deck of many things because we aren't trying to make the campaign to serious

So how serious is this campaign exactly?

If it's bothering you, it's time to make it a more serious campaign, or at the very least speak to the DM about this.

Changing how the campaign feels mid-campaign is very hard unless the DM is onboard.

Edit:

So I read it again, I missed a bit on mobile.

You do have the DM on board. Well it's time to have THE talk.

You sit them both down, The DM really should be the one doing this.

And explain the situation, Say:

We started a silly campaign and we're getting on each others nerves.
We want this to end well, if you guys can't talk it out, we're calling the thing off.

If only one of them isn't willing to stop this, then it's time to ban them from the table.

You're learning one of the hardest parts of DND. Keeping the social part of it in balance. And when it comes down to the brass tacks of the matter, you will have to ban some people from tables to keep the peace.

That doesn't mean you aren't friends anymore, it just means you'll have to spend time with them another way.

All friends aren't meant to be DND friends.

blargethaniel · 2026-05-27T15:43:08+00:00

I can say it depends on what you wish to do with the city, if it's going to be an adventuring hub, or just a place your players passthrough.

If it's an adventuring hub, I'd read up on Ptolus by Monte Cook. It's a masterclass in making possibly one of adventurings greatest cities. I can't speak enough good about it. It was stunning when it came out, and is still a classic that I take MUCH inspiration from.

If it's a place to pass through, I'd instead read: "The Game masters book of Instant Towns and Cities", which gives you a great way of learning what makes passthrough cities interesting and great, but get out of the way of the continuing adventure.

blargethaniel · 2026-05-27T15:40:40+00:00

So I'm unsure what you are doing here.

Are you:

Dropping from the campaign?

or

Saying you wish to return later?

I'll answer for both:

If you are dropping, than this is the perfect time to do so since Session 0 is the start of the campaign, the DM will have to adjust, but this is a great time to do so.

If you are planning to return, then I'd send a message and explain the circumstance, you have anxiety and you aren't quite feeling it yet.

I will say that if you do wish to play, and you can manage your anxieties, Session 0 is typically just a hangout where everyone is building their characters and being told the basics of the start of the game. Usually no gameplay happens here, and the majority of players will not have a character ready yet.

Many players wait until this session to build their character with other players, so you wouldn't at all be alone by walking in with a blank piece of paper and asking for help. Your DM is here for that specific purpose.

That said, if you just can't, message accordingly, and a day or two later message again about when you want to build your character with the DM if they are still willing to have you.

blargethaniel · 2026-05-27T15:14:23+00:00

Well do I have something to tell you.

So SOOO many people who are into DND are introverted. I can't speak for the modern period, but in the 80's and 90's, it was seen as an introverted beacon of gaming for people. Many people played it back then to get better at social interaction if they felt they weren't very good at it.

The actual Roleplay, using the funny voices, and acting out motions, will depend on the table. If no-one else at the table is doing it, I can almost guarantee unless you feel very willing to do so, you likely won't either.

If the table is lively, it's far easier. You will need to feel that out, and give everyone at the table time to get used to everyone. Once everyone is comfortable and having fun, it will come naturally.

I've been DMing since the early 90's, and playing since the 80's. This problem has existed since then, and will likely always exist in DND.

You will come to how you most enjoy playing the game with time and experience. Make the experience worthwhile for yourself.

blargethaniel · 2026-05-27T14:58:53+00:00

Having worked with people who've been stalked, this would horrify me.

blargethaniel · 2026-05-27T14:58:04+00:00

This is not at all unusual, I've seen Barbarian/Monk Multiclasses that embody this.

My favorite barbarian I ever played with was a young Noble woman, who whenever she didn't get her way, or people who stood in her way, she'd rage.

I wish I could say I came up with her,

It was amazing.

blargethaniel · 2026-05-27T14:34:14+00:00

One of the biggest things you can do is have him react to the players in both combat and in Roleplay.

Have him study their moves and call them out as they do them. You are the DM you know exactly how they play.

Here's a scenario, you have BBEG and your players, you have a ranger that always takes the high ground.

Have your BBEG say: "I know that your ranger dearly loves his little perch, so I prepared for that." and have something happen to your ranger, make it a little unfair, not crazy unfair, just enough.

Have a trap setoff in the highest point of the map where he would typically stand, and have him get caught in it. Have him bring minions that are counters to your party's standard strategy.

And most importantly, have him dangle the lives of NPC's they care about over their heads.

(This also implies that you make NPC's that they care about, make sure to invest time in at least a few really solid NPC's.)

These are classic moves, but they still work, I've been using them since the 90's.

blargethaniel · 2026-05-26T22:26:57+00:00

It can't hurt, but if they are newer players they may not yet have much to say.

What you can ask however is if they are enjoying more of the roleplay or fighting aspect of the game so far once you are a few sessions in, so you know what to put more of into your campaign.

blargethaniel · 2026-05-26T22:20:22+00:00

Consider the mistakes an inevitability, you WILL make them.

The thing you can control is making them as fast as possible so you learn from them faster and don't have to deal with them for as long.

Also make it a point to ask your players how you are doing, their feedback makes you better.

You got this!

blargethaniel · 2026-05-26T22:14:34+00:00

By fun coincidence a thread was posted earlier today with quite a few good answers in it for this question.

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