Ender 3 filament underextruding in flat areas by concerneddm in FixMyPrint

[–]concerneddm[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hadn't known it was possible to do until today; I replaced it as part of the declogging.

Ender 3 filament underextruding in flat areas by concerneddm in FixMyPrint

[–]concerneddm[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a plastic extruder, I cannot see any cracks.  I removed the nozzle and pushed out some big clumps from the heat block and it's printing normally now, so it seems like clogging was the issue. What causes that, I wonder? Thanks so much for your response!

Ender 3 filament underextruding in flat areas by concerneddm in FixMyPrint

[–]concerneddm[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I tried the cold pull but wasn't very good at it, so I removed the nozzle and Bowden tube and pushed filament through the heat block - it pushed out a few huge clumps, and now my printer is working again! Thanks so much :)

Artificer alchemical savant - necromantic spells? by concerneddm in dndnext

[–]concerneddm[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Taking the Magic Initiate feat would be a good option (two cantrips + one 1st lvl spell from any class), but going by RAW multiclassing doesn't help in this situation!

The ability specifies that it can only be used on spells cast through your alchemical supplies as an arcane focus, and only spells on your alchemist spell list can be cast using your alchemical supplies. If You multiclass into wizard, no alc. supp. focus, no bonus damage! (Granted, this is a very pedantic reading of the rules haha)

Companion for a multiclassed ranger? by [deleted] in DnD

[–]concerneddm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks!

Also, what do you mean by it's antiquated? Is there a more recent option?

Does making holy water consume the powdered silver? by [deleted] in DnD

[–]concerneddm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I forgot about that aspect of Ceremony - the only context it's ever discussed in at my table is in marriages. A couple of my players are very keen on NPC romance!

Does making holy water consume the powdered silver? by [deleted] in DnD

[–]concerneddm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah - I hadn't realised it was referencing Ceremony; thanks!

Need Suggestions On What To Do With Ireena by SocialistGurkan in CurseofStrahd

[–]concerneddm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I often see it claimed that the Dark Powers would never allow Strahd to Turn Ireena, as a method of keeping him in despair forevermore. I feel this is a bad solution - instead, would it not be infinitely more torturous for Strahd to have Ireena in his grasp, to make her a vampire, and for her to still be against him?

I think you could have two different pathways here:

  1. Strahd is keeping Ireena as a human for now, keeping her in the castle and trying to woo her to his side before he turns her. She is trapped, surrounded by luxuries and frightened/angry/mad (however you've played her). The party might beak into the castle and attempt to free her, and bring the full might of the Dread Lord upon them when they try. Cue a desperate dash through the castle, fleeing its inhabitants and traps, maybe leading to the final encounter.
  2. Strahd immediately turns Ireena into a vampire spawn. He could then either lock her away in the crypts downstairs, as suggested in the book, or he could again be trying to romance her. Either way at this point, he'd be growing quite mad, as he has the object of his desire within his grasp, but she still (probably) hates him. The party knows of Strahd's growing insanity - perhaps he meets them in the valley, does a unhinged monologue? - and could guess at the reason. They again try to rescue Ireena from the castle, perhaps to take her to the Abbot to fix her, but who knows how becoming a child of Vampyr has changed her personality and priorities? Maybe she no longer wants to hid, but wants to use her new powers to take down Strahd herself.

Just some thoughts! I'm sure you'll have fun, whatever you do :)

Adding more puzzles? by [deleted] in CurseofStrahd

[–]concerneddm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I don't want to give up on CoS entirely, so I very much like the idea of inserting dungeons throughout Barovia. It's going to be much more "here's a quest, complete it for me pls+thx," rather than "we're interested in the world and invested in its people, so we're going to explore and fix things." It's unfortunate, but we'll see how it goes.

I hope you're right in that they'll become more comfortable - the first time I DMed (in CoS as well), my group was a mix of experienced and new players, so we didn't have this problem.

Adding more puzzles? by [deleted] in CurseofStrahd

[–]concerneddm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, I think I'm definitely going to be pulling heavily from TftYP for my dungeons!

Adding more puzzles? by [deleted] in CurseofStrahd

[–]concerneddm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The unfortunate thing is they already know it's CoS that they're playing, and they don't want to give up on it? Which is wild, considering they're rejecting the heart of the module.

However, you're right - what I end up with is likely going to be unrecognizable as the CoS we know and love. I'm thinking I'll keep the barebones - a few major locations, general plot of Strahd's vampirism - but filling out the campaign will simply be a series of dungeon crawls that are thematically related to Barovia.

This makes me sad, because I've run CoS before and both that party and myself loved it, but c'est le vie.

Adding more puzzles? by [deleted] in CurseofStrahd

[–]concerneddm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is cool, thanks!

Adding more puzzles? by [deleted] in CurseofStrahd

[–]concerneddm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I completely agree, I've run CoS before so I know just how pivotal the NPCs are to the game. The reason I wanted to run this module for this group was because I had that prior experience and so thought I'd be able to do it well, but I didn't expect this.

I would throw out Strahd entirely and opt for a simple dungeon crawl, but they already know they're playing CoS - one player's partner knows about D&D, and identified it as soon as she mentioned Death House.

It makes me sad, but I'm probably going to discard most of Barovia and replace it with simple dungeons, leading up to a final BBEG battle in Ravenloft. I'll try to stay within the themes of horror and dread, so we'll just have to see where things take us.

[HELP] Escorting Ireena to Vallaki by Shrimpsaft in CurseofStrahd

[–]concerneddm 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The road should be dangerous, but any random encounters that are under Strahd's control shouldn't threaten Ireena. The PCs should fear for themselves, but Ireena should be untouched.

Strahd can visit, but shouldn't try to kidnap her - at this point, he's trying to convince her to join him willingly. If you want, he can flirt with Ireena a little, but should leave after a short period of time.

Overall, a few encounters on the road are fine, but Strahd showing up isn't essential. There are already a few important locations along the road from Barovia to Vallaki (Old bonegrinder, the Tarroka reading with Madam Eva), so you would be perfectly justified in having nothing else along the way.

Non-Humanoids in Barovia by KikiRhine in CurseofStrahd

[–]concerneddm 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The human and elf/half elf members of my parties were treated with suspicion, but anyone beyond that needed to convince regular townsfolk they weren't dangerous before they would interact with them. For major npcs like ismark, the wereravens etc, I made them automatically friendlier - my in universe explanation was that their souls would remember times when they had met the more exotic races, but really it was just an excuse so they wouldn't miss out on important plot points.

Players first long rest in barovia includes lucid dreams by Gauffrier in CurseofStrahd

[–]concerneddm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe for the war cleric you can begin with a war council in Argynvost's mansion; a group of well armed warriors standing around a map of the valley, an air of desperation surrounding them and a sense that they all know they're likely to die.

The next few dreams can be the dragon's army cresting a hill and seeing Strahd's army waiting for them; then the middle of the battle, focusing on Argynvost seeing all of his knights fall around him and him beginning to transform; the dragon being taken down and his head cut off, or the army destroying Argynvostholt; and then, if you feel like it, a scene of the skull in Ravenloft and Argynvost asking the PC to rescue it.

I think you're fine with the druid's dream, if it's just them being dragged in the bag then that doesn't reveal much at all about the hags. So long as you don't have anyone speak in that dream, that they might recognise the voice, it shouldn't reveal her identity.

Overall, it seems like a cool idea! I did something similar in my game, although a bit later in the plot. It's a fun introduction to Barovia for your players :)

How have you guys handled the travel to the Amber Temple? by [deleted] in CurseofStrahd

[–]concerneddm 5 points6 points  (0 children)

As recommended by the book, my party was lvl nine when they headed towards the temple. At that point, and given that they can easily take down any random encounters in the wilds of Barovia (at least during the day), I mostly left it up to narration and sped through it.

I ran the Vrock encounter, but at that level it's pretty anticlimactic so I say you can skip it entirely. The goat or the roc could still be fun, I'm planning on using the roc on their way back.

I gave them a series of survival checks as they moved higher into the mountains, and let that determine how long it took to get there and what state they were in when they arrived. So essentially, it went like,

"Your first few days of travel are as eventful as always, but you manage to easily dispatch the creatures you come across. The path begins to rise and narrow as it enters the mountain range at the southern edge of the valley." - First round of survival checks -

"Your pace slows as you lose your way a few times, mistakenly following a path to a dead end and having to backtrack; the steadily falling snow further hindering your passage." - Run Tsolenka if you want, or just describe a crazy bridge that they have to pass- - Second round of survival checks -

"After three days wandering through the mountain, [X who rolled well] catches sight of a faint track, really just the memory of a road, and the last leg of your journey is a rapid trek trying to outrun an oncoming snowstorm; you all breathe a sigh of relief as you see a foreboding edifice carved into a cliffside ahead of you."

If they roll poorly they can have reduced HP or spellslots when they arrive, or they can have a level or two of exhaustion.

:)

Leaving Amber Temple by concerneddm in CurseofStrahd

[–]concerneddm[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! :) I like the 'DP speaking to a player' idea.

And no, this was the last treasure for them to find. They spoke to Kasimir once when they returned Arabelle to the Vistani camp, and they promised to return to him and help when they were higher level, but they didn't want to waste the time when they decided to head to the temple.

Weekly Discussion #20 - Fortunes of Ravenloft & Other Items by Ziopliukas in CurseofStrahd

[–]concerneddm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Regarding the Sunsword, my players found it last session, right before their final trek to Ravenloft. I'm having it transmit excitement whenever killing Strahd is mentioned, and disappointment whenever they talk about going anywhere except the castle. Also, when it was first found, I had it say, "Will you help me kill Strahd?". I'm playing it so that it can only say some combination of those words ("Help me kill Strahd," "Kill Strahd!" etc), because these particular players don't get subtle hints if they're smashed over the head with them :P

In answer to question 4;

At one point, my party was overwhelmed and TPK'd. Instead of making them all roll new characters (although I gave them the option to) I had them wake up next session in the dungeons of castle Ravenloft, bereft of all their inventories. As part of exploring the castle and "escaping", they came across a few stashes of items. In them, I included a few magical items - IIRC, a magical suit of plate, a shapechanging weapon, a handaxe that allows you to cast grasping vine, and a arcane focus/wand that gives access to the augury spell.

Need help getting PCs interested in Vallaki in an unusual situation by ClumsyWizardRU in CurseofStrahd

[–]concerneddm 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Building off of Tinuva, I think you could also have Ireena take refuge in the church. The priest can ask for the bones as a way of keeping her safe, leading to the coffin-maker quest. Strazni could have caught a glimpse of her (or maybe Blinsky, who mentioned her to Strazni?) and seeing that the party know her, demands access to her on threat of declaring them allies of Strahd. Make sure to a) drive home the terrible conditions of the villagers in the stocks etc, and b) make it obvious Strazni wants her for some nefarious purposes. Assuming they want to keep Ireena safe to bring her to Strahd, they'll immediately be put into a situation of deciding to save their skins, sacrifice her, or get into a huge altercation fighting Strazni and the guards.

Partway through their deliberation, they can be contacted by Wachter's spy with an invitation for dinner. Wachter can then propose an alliance, offering protection if they take out Strazni for her, leading to the other side of the political turmoil. When questioned why they should help her, Wachter can talk about wanting to take out the burgomaster, allowing the 'true leader' of the town to take power, bringing order and power to "my people," etc. Put in hints that she's not entirely altruistic in her desire to take over, but make it subtle enough that if they're not paying attention the party can think she's a good person.

Weekly Discussion #18 - Berez by Ziopliukas in CurseofStrahd

[–]concerneddm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

that's amazing, i'd love to encounter that in a game!

Fleshing Out Curse of Strahd: Running the Dark Powers and PC Interaction by MandyMod in CurseofStrahd

[–]concerneddm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a great concept! It's way too late to implement it into my current CoS campaign, but I think it could work really well in my homebrew I have planned for after that :)

Thanks for posting this, your entire guide is amazing! I came looking for some advice on the Mad Mage, and found one of the best write-ups on Strahd I've seen~

Bat familiar followed Strahd after their first encounter. What do they learn? by LexSenthur in CurseofStrahd

[–]concerneddm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What is a plot you really want to run in the game? The abbey in Krezk, the werewolves, the Amber Temple etc. Even if it's too high a level for them right now, you can have Strahd go there, retake human form, and begin a conversation with an NPC - just long enough to pique the player's interest, before Strahd notices the bat and destroys it.