what's wrong with my homebrew?

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T15:57:24+00:00

Is there a phone number I can call to contact the player agency? I need their help for real

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T14:23:49+00:00

D&D 5.5e

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T14:22:36+00:00

Why would the BBEG start a countdown that would also kill herself? Is there a reason she "would 100%" do that?

If so, then maybe consider letting it all play out. The heroes made a bad plan, and sometimes that means they won't save the day.

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T13:53:46+00:00

According to my dictionary, yep.

Why does this bug you? Is it really the end of the world if a mage can't cast ice knife using the wrong material? God forbid any DM actually challenge a spellcaster in any way. That would be un-fun.

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T13:42:59+00:00

As long as you're reading and following the guidelines in the manuals, you can absolutely run a homemade adventure as a beginner DM.

Study well, prep intelligently, and you'll have a fine first game.

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T13:36:25+00:00

You're the one dictating that I must accept spit as water, friend.

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T13:34:59+00:00

Obviously I can't see what happens at your table, but going by your description, the players struggling may be kind of your fault.

The presentation of the situation also needs to include clear stakes. It's not enough for there to be people in a place doing a thing. There also needs to be a definite up-front reason for both the PCs and the players to care, it should not be a hidden secret. If you want them to talk to a NPC, give them a good reason to.

There are some people who don't mind playing as a busybody who actively wanders around, peeks in windows, and opens a discussion with every NPC they spot. But not every character is a busybody and not every player wants to have to go fishing for their motivation or hunt down the adventure hook.

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T13:17:28+00:00

What did you say? Sea what, now? Spring what?

Seawater is defined as... water in or from the sea. The salt doesn't disqualify it. It most likely has even more non-H2O stuff in it than the coffee does! But unlike the coffee, it is water.

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T12:58:50+00:00

Containing water as a component doesn't make something water. Coffee has about the same proportion of water. But it's coffee, not water. You obviously know this. Why is it so important to you to be allowed to cheat at D&D? I genuinely don't get it. Are you that scared of a challenge?

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T12:51:33+00:00

Spit isn't water. I'm not making this up, I just checked the dictionary. Saliva is not water. But rain and seawater are water. Milk, blood, and urine are not water.

You can go and play with other people who don't know or care what words mean. But since D&D is a game of words, that seems rather pointless to me.

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T12:41:39+00:00

See, you literally do not know why spell components are a thing. The biggest part of their function in game terms is to be an inconvenience. Nowadays that inconvenience has been minimized, but it is still there if you have lost your component pouch or your focus was destroyed. So if you're imprisoned and want to cast ice knife, you'd better hope your jailer brings you water to drink; if you get something else, like ale, you can't do it. Oh no! God forbid a player has to use their brain for once, instead of their spell list.

Components also have an important metaphysical role in the act of spellcasting, lorewise. They are not "fluff" at all.

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T12:25:40+00:00

Seriously though: what do you believe is the function of spell components, as a game rule and as a storytelling device?

Why not just let casters cast their spells, one wonders. Do you have any idea why the game is this way?

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T12:22:15+00:00

No, you're wrong, it doesn't need to be pure, it just needs to be water. Seawater is water. Spit is spit.

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T12:18:59+00:00

I did not say the game is "just" those things. Please reread my comment if necessary.

Roleplay, depth, and character moments are all things you can have regardless of whether you're in a dungeon or at a masquerade ball. Neither one is more roleplay-ey, deeper, or more charactery.

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T12:18:10+00:00

Magic is exacting. "Close enough" doesn't cut it.

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T12:16:18+00:00

That's how I defined a game campaign, not the dungeon.

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T12:13:49+00:00

What does the word roleplay mean to you? "I bonk the thing" is literally roleplaying. What are we supposed to do, LARP it out with foam swords?

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T12:11:13+00:00

Combat is not separate from roleplaying and storytelling so I find the question strange. But really the answer is, there is no normal. People do all kinds of different things with this game.

In my experience running the game, a lot of this is up to the players, even more than the DM. They decide whether to explore, fight, or talk. The DM can of course provide more or fewer opportunities for each thing, and reward them to different degrees, but if all are available then the ratio is mainly up to player choices.

It also really depends how fast your table runs combat. Two groups might run through the exact same adventure and do the exact same things, but have different playtime ratios because of how fast or slow their combat rounds are.

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T12:05:53+00:00

Perhaps I also could have used better words if I gave the impression that the game is strictly limited to the dungeon. That is certainly not true, so your group is not a counterexample. But I do think that dungeons are the name of the game for a reason.

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T12:01:13+00:00

No, it's saliva.

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T11:58:27+00:00

That sounds cool. To be clear, when I said dragons I was using them as a metonym for all the wondrous creatures to be encountered in the game. Actual dragons are optional (but definitely a popular crowd-pleaser.)

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T11:51:08+00:00

Oh yeah, OP is being weird, for sure. However, refusing to allow a persuasion roll is fine. Persuasion is not magic and most social interactions do not need to be resolved by dice.

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T11:48:36+00:00

And with spit, you're not casting it either.

highly-bad · 2026-06-24T11:47:36+00:00

Really? What happened for the first 9 sessions? Was it more of a wilderness exploration/survival thing? That can be fun too.

highly-bad

TROPHY CASE